Endocannibalism and Grief and Wine.

So when I looked through a few of the past blog post of some of my fellow bloggers I noticed a few about cannibalism. It got me thinking of an article I read last semester about evidence of cannibalism in remains found in the south western United States. Which then made me think of the first chapter of Parker-Pearson’s textbook and Yanomami endocannibalism. His description of the practice was very interesting to me. After the initial gross out of “ewwwww they eat their relatives” I started to think about what it actually means. I haven’t had a chance to do much reading about it yet. Lots of other work to be done.

Photo of grave with an Amphora of WIne from Colchester. Taken from  http://www.archaeology.co.uk/specials/the-timeline-of-britain/ad-43-colchester-roman-camulodunum.htm

I had a few minutes to spare and looked up endocannibalism in the Library article database. The first article I started to read is about Berawan in Borneo. It starts with a description of their wine making process and the one possible connection between the two rituals.  A separation of the solids and the liquids. The article by Peter Metcalf then goes on to discuss the validity of these stories of endocannibalism. The Yanomami drink the remains in their practice of endocannibalism. Thats not really where I’m going with this though.

Why similarities to wine making and consumption? Alcohol is a part of a significant amount of funerary practices around the world. From jars of wine being found in graves to bodies being boiled in wine before being transported home during the crusades. Is the connection supposed to represent the switch from physical to immaterial. Does the effect of alcohol on ones perception of the world. We ritualize the voyage of the spirit from our physical reality to the spiritual realm by getting a little closer to it ourselves in a relatively controlled manner. Cultures around the world have used mind altering substances to connect to the spirit realm for anything from medical practices to religious ones. Is it the fermentation process? Does the chemical reaction of the rotting fruits creating alcohol resemble the process of decomposition in a body that much? It does not seem like that far of a lea to me. Makes a weird sort of sense. 

Irish Wake. Taken from:
http://www.diggingthedirt.com/2012/02/10/journeys-through-grief-part-1/hw1873p204271/

The physical and emotional reactions to mourning, in my experience, are very similar to a separation from reality. 

There is also a positive aspect to all of these experiences. Creating a link to more positive times helps the mourning process. After the loss of someone creating a link to the world and the past/spirit realm allows the relationship a form of closure. One last conversation with the deceased. 

This whole “Gay Caveman” thing.

You know, I was prepared to be all offended and upset by it but mostly I’m just bemused. After googleing it (I didn’t bother reading the original article), I checked through a few blog posts and various other articles responding to the original. This was my favorite response that I read, from Wired of all places:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/the-allure-of-gay-cavemen/ 

It just struck me as nicely critical, not truly angry or emotional, and an honest reply. He goes through all the reasons why the article is wrongheaded and then more importantly enters into a discussion as to how humanity is a diverse and many sided thing.

 As a species we’ve been on this planet for a while. It blows my mind that anyone would think that we’ve been a homogenous one note species. The fact that we can point to solid evidence of the diversity of humanities preferences, be they sexual partner, gender orientation, clothing choice, etc. yet people still assume we are a boring one note species.

I am way happier and far more interested in a world that isn’t black and white. Where things exist to degrees and shades. It may be more difficult but its far more rewarding.

I'm not going to go into all the technical errors because most of the articles that are critical do well in fixing those errors but it goes to show how aware you need to be while reading newspaper and on-line articles.

man it's amazing how far one writers lazy ignorance can go.

Interview with Mike Parker Pearson | Williams | Papers from the Institute of Archaeology

This post isn't exactly about the archaeology of death but I thought it would fit here nicely.

Here is a great interview with Mr. Parker Pearson. He talks about the importance of archaeology.
The interesting thing to me is his journey from Madagascar to a ten year study of Stonehenge and how answering questions inevitably leads to more questions. The shear scope of Stonehenge, how the site includes areas miles and miles distant from the henge itself. It makes me marvel how far humanity travels and communicates even in periods when you figure most people don't leave a small area.

His talk about how to communicate with the general public about archaeology is thought provoking as well. It's a problem that most of the sciences have, how to make the thing that you are studying interesting to people. When so many things effect that image negatively, things like budget, and even the physical space ideas inhabit. Professions like archaeology, and astronomy, don't impact people in their daily lives to the extent of medical science but, in my mind, are just as important. Most of the sciences, be they social or hard, impact humanity.

These journeys of discovery are important and vital.

Interview with Mike Parker Pearson | Williams | Papers from the Institute of Archaeology

ST. Lukes Anglican Church map

This is the map for the monument analysis project we had to do.


View Monument Analyisis in a larger map

Things To Do With Bodies When They're Dead

An old room mate of mine and I would have some weird conversations. Lots of "would you rather?", and various drunken rambles at two in the morning.

On a particular night he asked me to do a something for him when he dies.

I was to get his body somehow (he was telling me to do this without his wife at the time knowing), most likely I would have to body-nap him. 

Hopefully he would be well preserved. 

Once I had him I was to position him in a casket you could see into, glass or plastic. The casket would have a light display set up either behind it or inside at the back. I would then put J in the casket and fill it with some sort of gelatine, blue or green jello or something similar. Something opaque but with the light shinning through it J would be visible. Once that was all done and the jello, or gelatine, was set J was to be put in a corner and a massive party would be thrown in his honour. I immediately said yes. When his then wife found out she was less than enthused. I would like to say that when he dies I'm definitely going to  do this but I'm not sure its going to be that easy and I'm a bit lazy. I like to tell myself it is still going to happen though.

It reminds me of Gram Parsons friends stealing his body to bury him out in the desert.

also makes me think of this. Fast forward to about 1:30:

I don't want anything that elaborate for my funeral or burial.

I feel the simpler the better.

I would like a "green" burial. No preserving of the body. No crazy ceremony. I am a fairly simple guy and would just like to return back to the ecosystem that created and sustained me. Throw me in the woods for animals and plants to feed on my nutritious body, if I haven't already ruined it with all the crappy chemicals I've ingested.
There is even a a cemetery in victoria that will provide this.
http://www.robp.ca/our-services/natural-green-burial/
Simple and elegant.    

     

The Body.

  This last October my wife's grandmother, Helen, passed. She was very old and was suffering from Alzheimer's, so, while it was sad it wasn't wholly unexpected. While my wife's immediate family aren't particularly religious Helen was devoutly Jewish.  In accordance to her wishes, Helen was buried according to that tradition.

  My family is/was Anglican. When my grandparents passed we all headed down to the church, sat through a service, and then had a little get together to remember them. No body, and other than memories there was no real presence of the deceased. Until Helen passed that had been my experience with death and how people engage with mourning.

  Helen was in extended care at Oak Bay Lodge. The day she passed Emily (my wife) met with her parents who were keeping Helen company there until the funeral home could come and pick her up. This practice of keeping the body company is part of the tradition. The deceased can't be alone until they are buried.

  I joined them once I had finished work.

  I got to Helens room knocked on the closed door and entered.  

  There she was. Thin, gaunt (a complexion hard to describe), mouth refusing to stay closed, relaxed and tense all at the same time. The room had a faint smell that I didn't notice until we left. Emily and her parents were listening to a tape of old answering machine messages, birthday wishes, and speeches from various functions someone had recorded for Helen. The room was not as oppressively somber as I thought it was going to be. 

  Helen was flown to Toronto to be buried next to her husband. 

  My first Jewish funeral. The service itself wasn't that much different than the Anglican ones I had already been to. Less pomp but very similar. I was pressed into service, willingly, as a pall-bearer, which was an honour. We all joined the procession to the graveyard where the last few rites were performed and Helen was lowered into the ground next to her husband.

  Then, every single person who attended the funeral helped to fill the grave. I found this hugely cathartic. Emily's dad and uncle did the majority of shovelling, but our nephew (who is 4) was enthusiastically "playing" along with his own tiny shovel. While he didn't have the emotional capability to understand what was happening, I believe he was aware of the part he was playing, and later in life will remember it as important.

  Much scotch was drunk that night. I didn't get to know Helen that well, by the time Emily and I got together she was already quite sick. The times we visited her though she greeted me with love and could tell I was important to Emily which meant I was important to her. Being involved in honouring Helen's life by taking part in her funeral made me feel closer to Emily and her family. Hearing other people talk about her life gave me an appreciation for a person who I didn't truly get to meet, but was very important to the person I love more than anything. I don't think I would have gained this perspective any other way than through being involved in her funeral. While her passing is sad and she will be missed, Helen managed to bring her family closer together.
  On the flight home, and a few times later that week, Emily and I talked about sitting with the body and how that helped her with her grief. The anthropologist part of my brain was constantly intrigued by the ceremony of the whole day and what many of the little behaviours and traditions meant, like leaving little stones on grave markers to say you had been there. I haven't learned all the answers to those questions yet.
  It was an oddly good day.

  

     

Me, Myself, and I

gotta love that oxford comma.

My name is Pete. I've been living in Victoria now for about 15 years. Ever since getting a phone call from some friends who were moving into their first house here and had an extra bedroom. I am married to an amazing woman, who has been super supportive in me deciding to turn my life sideways and return to school to train for something radically different than being a chef.

I have been interested in people since I was a kid. I watched TLC (before it became "reality" show based) documentaries constantly and the history channel, and of course the Indiana Jones movies

(i Know...). 

This is my second semester at uVic after transferring over from Camosun. While there I took part in the Archaeology Field Assistant class which was working on mapping grave features in Uplands park. Which is why when I saw Archaeology of Death offered I was immediately interested. It was a lot of fun and I am looking foreword to taking part in another field school. I took the Anth of Sound class last semester and really enjoyed it, archaeoacoustics is fascinating, and I would like to explore it more.

My goal, for now, is to continue past BA and onto some post grad studies. I'm interested in eventually working in a museum and have the idea of doing a museum sciences masters floating around the back of my skull.

Testing...testing...

my first blog post ever.

not counting facebook, google+, mySpace, or any of the other social networks I have joined.

the reasons are fairly boring, must get good grades. 

school sanctioned blog.

who am I?  

anthropology major in his mid thirties. music lover. comic book nerd. pop culture buff. 

mostly just fascinated by humans, anything and everything about them.

this blog will explore that.

so, yeah, short, sweet and mostly just filling this space until the true posts begin.