anthro death

social/cultural body

social/cultural body

Cultural views and understandings projected onto human body
How we describe biological processes, organ systems, reproduction, etc.
Reflected in how the body is presented in art

fordist body

Industrialisation/economic metaphors applied to body
Female reproductive system as a machine:
Production with end goal (children)
Eggs as finite, precious, expensive.
Male reproductive system:
Sperm are cheaply made and disposable

public body

Linked with collectivism
Community building, erasing individuality
school uniform, military uniform, sports teams

private body

Linked with individualism
Distinction from the rest of the community
Individual expression

healthy body

coincides with concepts of beauty, changes overtime due to cultural standards

medical anthropology

the specialty of anthropology that concerns itself with human health- the factors that contribute to disease or illness and the ways that human populations deal with disease or illness. cross between cultural and biological anthro

disease

Pathological process or deviation from biological norm
Universal
Injury or error that impairs function of biological systems

illness

Subjective experience of poor health/disease
Shaped by cultural expectations/norms

sickness

Role someone who is ill has in society
Includes societally recognised expectations of role
May be stigmatised, disbelieved, or dismissed

western biomedicine

Body as a machine
"Repair" body
Emphasis on microorganisms
Treatment=kill microorganism to eliminate disease

culture specific syndromes

collections of signs and symptoms that are restricted to a particular culture or a limited number of cultures; also called "folk illness."

death rituals

In many cultures, death is "unclean"
Rituals to transition the deceased to afterlife (cremation, burial, etc.)
Rituals to reintegrate survivors back into community, help grieving

sky burial

Practiced in tibet, mongolia, regions of china and india
Body placed on mountaintop
Decomposes while exposed to elements and scavengers

okadi adekai

The Ga
Custom built, figurative coffins
Represent life, achievements and dreams of deceased
Status or gender specific models

body farm

Research facility devoted to human decomposition
Started by Bill BAss in 1987 U Tennessee
Seven in the USA, one in Australia, one in Canada (Quebec)
Tracking decomposition, what scavengers come, impact on the skeleton
Information for crime scene investigations

vampire burials

precautions taken to stop people from rising in their graves, perpetuated by vampire folklore

vampire risk factors

Unnatural death
Deviant behaviour
Young death
Coincidental odd occurrences soon after death

forensic anthropology

branch of physical anthropology in which anthropological data, criteria, and techniques are used to determine the sex, age, genetic population, or parentage of skeletal or biological materials in questions of civil or criminal law

forensic anthropology applications

Crime scene investigations
Recovery of lost personnel (war dead, war prisoners, soldiers MIA)
Historical interest cases
Genocides and human rights cases

forensic anthropology steps

main 4: is it bone, is it human, is it recent, is it one person or more
further ID: sex, age, ancestry, height, who was this, what happened

concept of race

Socially constructed based on centuries of Eurocentric/colonialist views
Not supported by biology or science

nasal aperture

Reflects evolutionary adaptations to climates
Short and wide = efficient at cooling air, good for warm climates
Tall and narrow = efficient at warming air, good for cold climates

morphological analysis

Method of ancestry estimation
Outdated, tradition method of ancestry estimation
Focus on cranial features and degree of expression or presence/absence

metric analysis

Method of ancestry estimation
Craniometrics: standardised measurements of the cranium
Based on measurements of individuals of known ancestry
Just because it's metric doesn't mean it's perfect

dental traits

Occasionally used but not definitive for testing ancestry
Some traits closely correspond to ancestral groups

shovel-shaped incisors

a dental trait, commonly found among native americans and asians, in which the incisors' posterior aspect has varying degrees of concavity.

carabelli's cusp

small cusp on the side of a molar, common in european ancestry

problems with ancestry estimation

Traditional, established methods are based on outdated concepts of human diversity (race)
Little to no critical evaluation
Assumption of few discrete groups
No consideration for non-adults
No mention of mixed race/ancestry people
Public perceptions of race and ancestry still intertwined

missing white woman syndrome

obsessive coverage of murdered or missing white females, disregard of similar cases in other racial groups