Body Disposition

Body disposition is the act of dealing with a human body after death. Worldwide, people have found various ways to dispose of human corpses. Death confronts people with a corpse that unavoidably needs to be subjected to some sort of treatment. Humanity has treated dead bodies in accordance to culture, religion, family needs of the deceased, and the deceased's wishes. It seems to be impossible to accomplish the disposal of a corpse without ritual.

The emotions aroused by death are frequently used to explain the subsequent body disposition. One of these emotions is people's fear of a corpse. Throughout the world, attitudes to the decomposition of corpses vary greatly. Hertz gives three explanations for this variation in attitudes. The [Page 108]first he mentions is the fear for bodily decay and the hygienic consequences. Some people think that corpses have to be disposed of as soon as possible to minimize health risk. In fact, most dead bodies do not form a real health hazard with the exception of cases of infectious diseases, like plague. The second reason for the variation of attitudes is the social status of the deceased. The intensity of emotions differs depending on the life a person has led and his or her social status. The third explanation is the connection of the dead body to the soul. Hertz explains that people fear the soul, because it is considered to remain with the living until the bodily decay is completed.

Despite the variety in body disposition, two universal ways to dispose of a human corpse are burial and cremation. Within burial and cremation practices, there is also a great diversity. For example, there is burial under ground, burial at sea, the exposure of a body to the open air, cremation on a pyre, and cremation through extreme heat. Whatever choice of body disposition, the process is dynamic. The chosen method of disposition does not need to be a final act. Someone can be exhumed after burial, and the remains can then be cremated. Furthermore, the ashes can be used in different ways too.

Besides cremation and burial, there are several alternative ways of body disposition, such as preservation of a body by embalming and mummification, the donation of a body to science, plastination (a preservation technique used for the exposition of human corpses), cryonics (the preservation of a body by deep freezing), and, very seldom, mortuary cannibalization.

Burial

The disposition of a human body by putting it into the ground, called inhumation, dates back to the dawn of human history. It is still the most practiced form of body disposition. Archaeological evidence from prehistoric times points to this oldest form of burial by covering the body with soil and stones, or by placing the body in a cave. In the first decade of the 21st century, inhumation is still a common way to dispose of the dead. People can use a coffin (a box to bury the dead in) and place a stone on the grave as a marker, a point of identification and memorial. Other people, like Muslims, use clean, white cloths in which to wrap the deceased before burial.

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