Digging worthy news!!

Burial cairn circles and settlement discovered in India!


This news was released two days ago and had me thrilled! Being in several anthropology classes, you hear about a lot of different case studies and sites but I've never heard anything about burial or funerary in India. So this news is terribly exciting and eye-opening for me. 


According to the article that I found on the Archaeologica News website was very intriguing. They released that the area of discovery was located in the Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, in Southeastern India.

The site is supposedly the remains of the Iron Age and Satavahana era, which ranges from 230 BCE - 220 CE. AP Archaeology and Museums Department Director P Chenna Reddy, who was working on the site at the time of breakthrough, said that the burials are encircled by 14 to 20 huge boulders, in which, the actual cist burials are topped by a huge capstone that are datable to 1000 BCE. Along with this find, the team and their explorations came across a huge Satavahana site in an extent of 100 acres, littered with bricks, brick bats, red polished ware, shell bangle pieces, iron slogs and stone millers, datable to 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE on the north-east corner of the village. An earthen rampart with a moat was also found, confirming the hypothesis that this site was a Satavahana fortified settlement. 

Not only is this find extremely exciting for all the Anthropology enthusiasts, like myself, but even for anyone in terms of the historic data. This discovery was very valuable as it adds to the little publicized knowledge and  material culture of the Satavahanas.

If you'd like to look further into the article, here's where it can be found. http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/004719.html


The map was found and used from this website. http://web.me.com/greenfieldhillchurch/FOCI_Web_Site/Where_We_Work.html

A New Take on Funerary Practices

        After researching the funerary practices, I happened to come across some unique and interesting new trends, some of which are cheaper than the North American norms, and others which are more environmentally friendly. 

1. Promession:
A cleaner alternative to cremation! Instead of burning a body, you freeze dry it. The body is put in a casket in a bath of liquid nitrogen at -196°C. The casket is then pulled out and shaken, being extremely brittle, then turns to shards. The shards are then sorted and all metals and water vapour removed. The remains are then but into a biodegradable box and put in a cemetary plot. The remains then turn to compost within 6-8 months and are the nutrients for the tree or plants planted on the plot.



2. Resomation:
A pretty gross process, but in the end is much cheaper than the normal cremation. The practice entails a specific alkaline hydrolysis process which disposes of the remains. Essentially, the body is turned into a pile of smelly goop because of the harsh chemicals. In more detail, the body is usally put in a silk bag, which is then put into a metal cage. The body is then heated to 160°C and doesn't actually boil, but turns the body into goop within 3 hours. After the process the bones are extremely brittle and can be crushed by hand, although they have a machine that does that. This new practice has been offered in the U.S. now since 2007 and is a cheaper alternative to promession.


After having a think about these new funerary practices, I think I would choose to go through the promession process. I am very fond of the idea that the process isn't too harsh on the environment, unlike cremation, which has an immense negative impact on the environment. I also really like the idea that your remains will biodegrade into the environment and can be food for a tree or whatever you choose to put on top. So now, all I have to do is get on that will of mine and make it official with a cherry blossom tree on top!


If you want to read up on these in more detail, here are the links to the webpages I found them on.
Promession & Resomation:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/breaking-news/news-freeze-dried-and-boiled-brown-goop-latest-burial-practices

Promession picture link:
http://www.marcelgreen.com/article/lire/1040


Resomation picture link:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/dislike_burial_and_cremation_try_resomation_12312

A Few Essentials

        Acquaintances might call me Jessica, but my friends call me Jess. The place I like to call home is not too far off, just separated by a body of water and about an hour drive from the dock. When it comes to music, I am obsessed. I've done pretty much everything you can think of that pertains to music: perform it, avidly attend shows of it,  run shows of it, record it, teach it, grade it, judge it, and make it. I also have an immense love for animals, especially dogs. This love for dogs turned into owning 2 dogs, training them, and showing them professionally.

As for this anthropology class, I chose it because:
1) Anthropology is my major.
2) I thought the course sounded extremely interesting. The way in which cultures and communities have such radical different perceptions of death and funerals absolutely fascinates me.