Anthropology of Death, Mourning, and Burial

3 units

This course offers anthropological analysis of death, mourning and burial. It draws on data and theoretical explanations from different sub-disciplines of anthropology (archaeology, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology). In addition to theoretical conceptualization of mortuary practices, specific case studies will be used to address a wide range of topics. The course covers cross-cultural comparison of burial among hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and complex societies. Mortuary practices will also be conceptualized based on religion and secularity, social organization and biological approaches (eg. paleodiet, paleodemography, disease). Ethical and legal issues of using human remains worldwide will also be addressed. This course will help train and stimulate academic enquiry into ancient and modern societal treatment of death around the globe. The time covered in this course ranges from the Lower Palaeolithic to the contemporary world.