OUR BODIES: ANTHROPOLOGY OF DEATH, BURIALS, and IMMORTALITY

This course examines how people around the world respond to death and dispose of the deceased analyzing cultural variations in these practices and how they reflect a society's values and beliefs. It includes topics such as burial sites, grave goods, funeral rituals, cultural beliefs about what happens after death, mourning, what it means to be immortal, and the social impacts of death on the living. The course highlights current death practices in the US along with contemporary issues such as NAGPRA and organ donations.

Objectives: By the end of this course, students should

• Have a deeper understanding of burial practices of various cultures across time
• Learn how burial practices inform cultural patterns and societal values
• Learn how anthropology plays a crucial role in helping us understand cultural differences through how bodies are treated in death
• Understand funerary customs and laws and how these apply in an archaeological context
• Understand contemporary issues such as NAGPRA, repatriation, changing attitudes in museum exhibits and tribal narratives, issues around organ donations, etc.

WEEKS 1-5: History of Burials and Treatment of the Dead

Readings:

Bahn, Paul. (2012). Written in Bones: How Human Remains Unlock the Secrets of the Dead. Firefly Books.

Joyce, Rosemary A. (2001). Burying the Dead at Tlatilco: Social Memory and Social Identities. Archaeological Papers, American Anthropological Association V10:1,12-26. https://doi.org/10.1525/ap3a.2001.10.1.12.

Doughty, Caitlin. (2018). From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death. W. W. Norton & Company.

Goles, Kelly. (2022). Evolution of American Funerary Customs and Laws. Library of Congress Blogs.

Podcast:  Duncan Trussell’s Midnight Gospel with Cailtin Doughty - episode 7, on Death.

Explore TikTok: Hospice Nurse Julie and Tips from a Dead Person

Activity 1: Research burial laws in your home state and one other state. Compare and contrast the laws in your state with the second state you picked in a 1-2 page paper.

Activity 2: Think of someone you know that has recently passed. How was the person’s death handled? What were some of the elements that defined their death treatment (was there a funeral, a life celebration, a burial, etc.). Write a 1-2 page paper describing the person's death treatment and connect it to one of the readings or class discussions.

WEEKS 6-8: Cemeteries and Grave Markers

Readings:

Baugher, Sherene and Richard Veit. (2016) The Archaeology of American Cemeteries and Gravemarkers. (American Experience in Archaeological Perspective). University Press of Florida.

Melville, Greg. (2022) Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries. Harry N. Abrams Press.

Activity: Visit a local cemetery (on your own) and observe the layout, symbols, epitaphs, etc. to complete your cemetery activity guide. Reflect your findings with the readings. Prepare to discuss your observations in class.

WEEKS 9-12: Immortality After Death

Readings:

Lock, Margaret. (2001). Twice Dead: Organ Transplants and the Reinvention of Death (California Series in Public Anthropology, Vol. 1) (Volume 1) First Edition. University of California Press; First Edition.

Skloot, Rebecca. (2011). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown publisher.

Watch: Stone, Ken (Director). (2015). Hard To Believe: Organ Harvesting in China [Video].

Activity: Zoom with a medical examiner, mortician, and/or forensic anthropologist for Q and A sessions in class. Students prepare a minimum of 3 questions of interest for this activity and submit a 1-2 paper on a job that involves working with the deceased. Students present their research on the select job in a 10-minute oral class presentation and reflect on their findings.

WEEKS 13-15: Contemporary Issues in the US: Native Americans, Museums, and NAGPRA

Readings:

McManamon, F.P. (2020). Kennewick Man Case: Tribal Consultation, Scientific Studies, and Legal Issues. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer.

Jaffe, Logan, Mary Hudetz and Ash Ngu, ProPublica, and Graham Lee Brewer, NBC News. (2023). The Repatriation Project. America’s Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains. Jan. 11.

(2022). Native American Graves Protection: The Long Journey Home: Advancing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act's Promise After 30 years of Practice. Statement of Joy Beasley Associate Director, Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science, National Park Service United States Department of the Interior Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. US Department of Interior Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. Feb. 02.

Harlan, Lynne B. (1996). Museum Perspectives from Within: A Native View in Mending the Circle, A Native American Repatriation Guide, ed Barbara Meister. The American Indian Ritual Object Repatriation Foundation. New York, New York.

Teeter WG, Martinez D, Lippert D. (2021). Creating a new future: Redeveloping the tribal-museum relationship in the time of NAGPRA. International Journal of Cultural Property. 2021;28(2):201-209.

Johnson, Meredith. (2024). Ancestors from Moundville repatriated after decades of NAGPRA deadlock, Long-fought battle ends in monumental reinterment. MVSKOKE Media. Sept. 24.

Resources: (2023). Final Ruling for CFR 43 Part 10: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Systematic Processes for Disposition or Repatriation of Native American Human Remains, Funerary Objects, Sacred Objects, and Objects of Cultural Patrimony. National Archives Federal Register. Dec. 12.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/law-and-policy.htm

Podcast: (2024). Healing Through Restoration: The Native American Graves Repatriation Act. National Congress of American Indians. April 1.

Watch: Eyre, C. (Director). (2016). Ishi's Return [Video]. Katahdin Productions.

Activity: Visit a local history museum (on your own) and look at displays that may have been removed or changed due to repatriation. What items were removed? How is this exhibit changing or how has it changed following the repatriation? How did the museum handle the exhibit removal regarding the public (i.e., Was there signage up? Did it mention NAGPRA or repatriation? Were exhibit cases shielded, covered, empty, closed, etc.?). Talk to a museum representative to learn more. Write your findings up in a 2–3 page paper reflecting on what you have learned.

FINAL PROJECT: Activity: Write your epitaph (for your future self) and detail your death wishes/memorial in a 2-3 page paper. Discuss why these choices are important to you. Include information such as if you wish to be an organ donor, if you prefer burial, cremation, or other treatment upon your death, symbols you may want included on a headstone or in your memory, where you want your ashes if you prefer cremation, etc.

Course Reflection

This course is designed to bring together several of my favorite elements, topics, readings, and experiences in one cohesive collective to share with students while piquing their interest in anthropology. The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was life changing for me, redirecting my anthropology career path from archaeology to biocultural medical anthropology. I think everyone should read this book if given the opportunity because it is relevant to a wide variety of disciplines. My sister is a nurse, and she was required to read it in nursing school, and I first read it in a biological anthropology course. Although my anthropology academic course changed, I remain active in archaeology through work with museum collections and NAGPRA--the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. As an archaeologist/anthropologist, I am very interested in burial practices, both in the past and present, and this is a topic that is highly relevant in cultural studies. I created this course to bring my topics of interest together under one umbrella, intertwining biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and archaeology in a way that highlights some of their contemporary issues. Presenting the information in this way will hopefully encourage students to delve deeper and become critical thinkers in understanding what it means to be immortal, and the social impacts of death on the living.