I came across this article when I was adventuring around the interwebs, while the content of the article was very interesting, I do object to the title: Top 10 Weird Ways to Deal with the Dead.
I think it’s important to understand that death is a very traumatic event for any society, regardless of time period or cultural beliefs. Mortuary practices often result from the needs of the living and as such, can tell us about the culture of a community, rather than just information about the individual who was buried.
Mortuary practices, no matter how different from what is perceived as “normal” westernised burials, all serve a social function: to help the living cope with the feelings of loss and grief for the deceased. These practices often hold a community together in times of social desperation. To call the article Top 10 WEIRD ways to deal with the dead, implies blatant disrespect for practices of non-western communities. In this day and age, you’d think we’d all be able to respect the beliefs and values of other cultures!
Anyway, enough of my little rant, I’ve got the flu and a migraine = grumpy!
Below is a list of the rituals that made the list of the Top 10 Weird Ways to Deal with the Dead.
Enjoy!
Number 10: Towers of SilenceThe body of the deceased was taken to an exposed area, usually a stony outcrop and exposed to the elements and animal activity. After the body was reduced to bones, bleached from exposure to weather conditions, they were gathered up and either redeposited somewhere else or destroyed. Such practices have been recorded in Indigenous groups around the world, but particularly by peoples that followed the Zoroastrianism doctrine.
Number 9: Tree BurialsHeavily documented in Indigenous American populations, the deceased person was often wrapped in a shroud and placed in a tree or hung from the tree to decompose. After decomposition reached its final stages, the bones where often reburied.
Number 8: Viking Ship BurialsAlthough not a uniform trend, many Vikings where placed in a ship after death with their personal belongs, items of value and food, and then sent out to sea, buried or even cremated. The grave goods associated with bodies are said to be items needed for the afterlife.
Number 7: Tibetan Sky Burial
The deceased was placed on an exposed outcrop and left to be devoured by animals, usually birds of prey. There has even been a ritual documented where the deceased was bathed in some form of food products to encourage animals to feast on the corpse.
Number 6: Bog Bodies
There are two types of bog body burials, those which preserve the soft tissue and those that don’t. These types of burials are strictly bounded to areas of Europe where the ideal conditions for preservation occur. Bog burials are very mysterious; some bodies are shown to be treated with respect, while others have endured post-mortem practices that indicate some form of social contempt for the deceased.
Number 5: Neanderthal Cave BurialsThe deceased was interned in a dark niche of a cave or crevasse and left to decompose. Ritualistic displays such us the deposition of flowers with the deceased have been documented at Shanidar cave, however, the archaeological record and stratigraphy show that this could be a taphonomic factor, cause by animal activity within the cave.
Number 4: PlastinationMade famous by scientist Gunther von Hagens, this practice involves the dissection of the body of the deceased in several different layers, which are then coated with a hardening preservation agent. The bodies, which have been donated for scientific research, are often then used for education purposes.
Number 3: Balinese CremationThe body of the deceased is carried to a burning ground where it is then placed in a receptacle, and cremated. These ceremonies celebrate the life of the individual and are often very exuberant and energetic.
Number 2: CryonicsThe deceased in interned in a vat of liquid nitrogen solution shortly after death, and will remain frozen until such a time that science enables a cure for disease/death.
Number 1: MummificationMost famous of all mummification practices are those of the Ancient Egyptians, which involved the removal of vital organs from the deceased and pouring salt into the body, before interning the deceased into a sarcophagus and laid to rest in a tomb. However, there are other forms of mummification which occur all over the world, including those bodies found on the Canary Islands and those in the Andes.
In the vain hope that people actually read this little blog, I feel that I should tell you that things are going to be a bit quiet over the next five weeks or so.
Recently I published a blog titled ‘Death=Weird’ in which I, perhaps a little to intensely, ranted about my aversion of the article title ‘Top Ten Weird Ways to Deal with the Dead’.
I know what I’m about to do is frowned upon by many in the archaeological community…but I’m going to do it anyway! Look at me man! I’m a hardcore rebel!
To build or not to build, that is the question.
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I came across this article when I was adventuring around the interwebs, while the content of the article was very interesting, I do object to the title: Top 10 Weird Ways to Deal with the Dead.
Yes, its that time of year again folks!
In extremely exciting news this week, mitochondrial DNA analysis has revealed that the Tyrolean mummy, known as Otzi, has a different phylogenetic structure than that of contemporary Human populations! 
