Morbid yes...but SO interesting!!

Erin, I can't understand how this didn't catch on as an internet meme on facebook!! Hearing everyone's responses to the question "What would you bury with me to tell future archaeologists who I was?" has been fascinating. I think it's much more interesting than knowing what song was number one on the day you were born, or what your porn star name is...

I decided to conduct a thoroughly scientific survey to answer this week's blog prompt topic :) 

thanks getchatched.com!

(Due to the scientific nature of my research, I felt a scientific paper layout was appropriate :D)

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the discrepancies between self-selected mortuary artifacts and those selected by the deceased's kin. 

Materials and Methods:

I wrote a list of things I'd include in my own burial (although I am actually more likely to donate my organs if viable, and then leave my skeleton to a school! Woohoo!) to let the archaeologists know who I was. After I wrote all that down, I sent out a Facebook message to a bunch of relatives (see I told you it was super scientific)and explained why and what I was asking for. Then I compared the two lists!

Discussion:

My list is fairly simple, there are only a few things that I think I would want to be buried with to symbolize who I was in life. 

These items are:

- CD of photos of my family and friends (originally I wrote down photographs of my fam. then I realized that would disintegrate and a CD might survive, plus I could include waaaay more pictures this way!) 

- Saint George Medal (on my Dad's side the name St. George is passed down with the girls, and my Mom got me a necklace with the medal on it for Christmas one year)

- Celtic Cross (this necklace was given to me by my Grandma, and symbolizes my Irish heritage)

- a Book. (I just don't know which one. Choosing just one would be The. Hardest. Decision. Ever.)

This is my dream library!!
Thanks storybookloveaffair.blogspot.com

So that's pretty much all I feel would be necessary to tell the future world that I loved my family and friends and was a bit of a bibliophile!! Which really, in the long run, is all that I think matters.

But you guys, if I let my family go ahead with their plans, there would be a Luke and Uncle Louie coffin situation a la Gilmore Girls on our hands!! My coffin just wouldn't close. I would need the coffin of a giant. Maybe even of Andre The Giant. Eventually they would have to start just throwing stuff in the pit. And I'm pretty sure that would not go over well with the cemetery groundskeepers. Not to mention the poor Grad student who had to document the discovery of my grave!

If I were to die today, my family would bury me with the following:

- the complete Harry Potter set
- the complete Robert Jordan set
- the book I've read over and over (probably Pride and Prejudice!)
- Pat the Bunny
- Madeline
- a bed of books (presumably including the above series, but my brother didn't specify. Besides I'm 5'7.5" so I would need a lot more books than that to make a bed...)
- Tears for Fears CD 
- copy of Ever After (my most favourite movie EVER!!!)
- my current passport and expired passport
- a passport renewal application form 
- a list of palindromes (you know, like "racecar" and "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama" and "blalb")
- paper with the conjugation of the latin verb "amo"

- tokens of some sort from all of my friends and family
- bath oils
- candles
- comfy/whimsical sweater and socks (incase I get a chill)

- a batch of chocolate cookies with my Grandma's recipe

- my favourite childhood stuffed animals (Sweater Bear and Platypus!) 

- currency from all the countries I've traveled to  

- coins to pay the ferry man

- a cheque for $100,000 that my Mom says I can spend any way I want!

- some quality winter ale

- large case of Strongbow

- "replica of a gray cat who has survived abandonment and the ravages of a rare disease" (/fur clippings from my family's many cats!)

- oh and I'll be wearing my pajamas plus my favourite boots...

Phew!! Just writing all that down was exhausting! I can't imagine how tiring actually getting all that into my coffin would be :p 

I imagine a situation like this might unfold!

 Thanks bloomsandbaskets.com!

So despite their best intentions to send me off in style and comfort and with lots of love, basically the message my family and friends would be inadvertently sending into the future goes something like this:

Meredith really liked books. Like a lot. Maybe to a crazy degree? Also she may have been running some sort of passport scam and/or trying to flee the country (the cheque, the coins, the many currencies). But that's okay because she might also have been too drunk to pull it off, or too preoccupied with all the fur. The whole relaxation/spa aspect (pajamas, candles, bath oils) will continue to perplex archaeologists.


Or they might just assume I was a hoarder!!!

thanks survivorsucks.com!

On a serious note:
I was really touched with all of the things my family and friends said they would include. It really did make me realize how burials are far more a reflection of the people who did the burying than of the dead person themselves. It makes me wonder how often in anthropology we learn more about the buriers than the buried without realizing it. This is a very simplified version of what their replies entailed- everything came with an explanation what each item meant to them and what they intended it to say about me. Thinking about not being around anymore made me go all weird and get an awful tight-chest-panicy feeling, but I still found this to be an incredibly rewarding exercise :)


I always find the aspect of food and drinks in ancient burials really fascinating. The idea of sending someone on to the next life with nourishment and sustenance feels like a very special thing to do. It is interesting that the incorporation of food in some form or another is a fairly common feature in burial practices; even more interesting is that anthropologists have the technology to discover what types of food and drink were included! Looks like my family was on the right track with their cookies and cider!!