The Corpse: A History
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Throughout the centuries, different cultures have established a variety of procedures for handling and disposing of corpses. Often the methods are directly associated with the deceased's position in life, such as a pharaoh's mummification in Egypt or the cremation of a Buddhist. Treatment by the living of the dead over time and across cultures is the focus of study. Burial arrangements and preparations are detailed, including embalming, the funeral service, storage and transport of the body, and forms of burial. Autopsies and the investigative process of causes of deliberate death are fully covered. Preservation techniques such as cryonic suspension and mummification are discussed, as well as a look at the "recycling" of the corpse through organ donation, donation to medicine, animal scavengers, cannibalism, and, of course, natural decay and decomposition. Mistreatments of a corpse are also covered.
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Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America Shares death, nonfiction, death culture -
Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial Shares death, nonfiction, history -
The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses Shares death, nonfiction, history -
The Sacred Remains: American Attitudes Toward Death, 1799-1883 Shares death, death culture, nonfiction
