Mortal Rituals

Mortal Rituals PDF Author: Matt J. Rossano
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231535465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
A psychology professor examines what the survivors of the airplane crash hailed “The Miracle of the Andes” can show us about human evolution. On December 21, 1972, sixteen young survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 were rescued after spending ten weeks stranded at the crash site of their plane, high in the remote Andes Mountains. The incident made international headlines and spawned several best-selling books, fueled partly by the fact that the young men had resorted to cannibalism to survive. Matt Rossano examines this story from an evolutionary perspective, weaving together findings and ideas from anthropology, psychology, religion, and cognitive science. During their ordeal, these young men broke “civilized” taboos to fend off starvation and abandoned “civilized” modes of thinking to maintain social unity and individual sanity. Through the power of ritual, the survivors were able to endure severe emotional and physical hardship. Rossano ties their story to our story, seeing in the mortal rituals of this struggle for survival a reflection of what it means to be human. “[Rossano’s] narrative describes a “microcosm of human evolution,” and I think this book will grab the interest of many readers―students as well as the general public―as it teaches essential facts about the way Homo sapiens evolved.”—David Hicks, Stony Brook University and Clare College, Cambridge University “[Rossano] masterfully weaves a moving contemporary drama with a compelling account of the evolutionary history of ritual and religion. An impressive accomplishment and a truly captivating read from start to finish.”—Richard Sosis, University of Connecticut, cofounder and coeditor of Religion, Brain, & Behavior

Mortal Rituals

Mortal Rituals PDF Author: Matt J. Rossano
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231535465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book Here

Book Description
A psychology professor examines what the survivors of the airplane crash hailed “The Miracle of the Andes” can show us about human evolution. On December 21, 1972, sixteen young survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 were rescued after spending ten weeks stranded at the crash site of their plane, high in the remote Andes Mountains. The incident made international headlines and spawned several best-selling books, fueled partly by the fact that the young men had resorted to cannibalism to survive. Matt Rossano examines this story from an evolutionary perspective, weaving together findings and ideas from anthropology, psychology, religion, and cognitive science. During their ordeal, these young men broke “civilized” taboos to fend off starvation and abandoned “civilized” modes of thinking to maintain social unity and individual sanity. Through the power of ritual, the survivors were able to endure severe emotional and physical hardship. Rossano ties their story to our story, seeing in the mortal rituals of this struggle for survival a reflection of what it means to be human. “[Rossano’s] narrative describes a “microcosm of human evolution,” and I think this book will grab the interest of many readers―students as well as the general public―as it teaches essential facts about the way Homo sapiens evolved.”—David Hicks, Stony Brook University and Clare College, Cambridge University “[Rossano] masterfully weaves a moving contemporary drama with a compelling account of the evolutionary history of ritual and religion. An impressive accomplishment and a truly captivating read from start to finish.”—Richard Sosis, University of Connecticut, cofounder and coeditor of Religion, Brain, & Behavior

Mortal Rituals

Mortal Rituals PDF Author: Matt Rossano
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231165005
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
On December 21, 1972, sixteen young survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 were rescued after spending ten weeks stranded at the crash site of their plane, high in the remote Andes Mountains. The incident made international headlines and spawned several best-selling books, fueled partly by the fact that the young men had resorted to cannibalism to survive. Matt Rossano examines this story from an evolutionary perspective, weaving together findings and ideas from anthropology, psychology, religion, and cognitive science. During their ordeal, these young men broke "civilized" taboos to fend off starvation and abandoned "civilized" modes of thinking to maintain social unity and individual sanity. Through the power of ritual, the survivors were able to endure severe emotional and physical hardship. Rossano ties their story to our story, seeing in the mortal rituals of this struggle for survival a reflection of what it means to be human.

Death and Changing Rituals

Death and Changing Rituals PDF Author: J. Rasmus Brandt
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 178297640X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
The forms by which a deceased person may be brought to rest are as many as there are causes of death. In most societies the disposal of the corpse is accompanied by some form of celebration or ritual which may range from a simple act of deportment in solitude to the engagement of large masses of people in laborious and creative festivities. In a funerary context the term ritual may be taken to represent a process that incorporates all the actions performed and thoughts expressed in connection with a dying and dead person, from the preparatory pre-death stages to the final deposition of the corpse and the post-mortem stages of grief and commemoration. The contributions presented here are focused not on the examination of different funerary practices, their function and meaning, but on the changes of such rituals – how and when they occurred and how they may be explained. Based on case studies from a range of geographical regions and from different prehistoric and historical periods, a range of key themes are examined concerning belief and ritual, body and deposition, place, performance and commemoration, exploring a complex web of practices.

Death and Changing Rituals

Death and Changing Rituals PDF Author: J. Rasmus Brandt
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782976396
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
The forms by which a deceased person may be brought to rest are as many as there are causes of death. In most societies the disposal of the corpse is accompanied by some form of celebration or ritual which may range from a simple act of deportment in solitude to the engagement of large masses of people in laborious and creative festivities. In a funerary context the term ritual may be taken to represent a process that incorporates all the actions performed and thoughts expressed in connection with a dying and dead person, from the preparatory pre-death stages to the final deposition of the corpse and the post-mortem stages of grief and commemoration. The contributions presented here are focused not on the examination of different funerary practices, their function and meaning, but on the changes of such rituals _ how and when they occurred and how they may be explained. Based on case studies from a range of geographical regions and from different prehistoric and historical periods, a range of key themes are examined concerning belief and ritual, body and deposition, place, performance and commemoration, exploring a complex web of practices.

Death Rituals and Social Order in the Ancient World

Death Rituals and Social Order in the Ancient World PDF Author: Colin Renfrew
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107082730
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
This volume, with essays by leading archaeologists and prehistorians, considers how prehistoric humans attempted to recognise, understand and conceptualise death.

Understanding Death

Understanding Death PDF Author: Angela Sumegi
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1394185146
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
What is death? How can we respond to death? Why must we die? Where do we go from here? Do we go anywhere? Understanding Death offers a thorough introduction to the views and practices of various religions regarding death and life after death. Drawing on examples from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic traditions, this student-oriented textbook explores how different conceptions of the “self” or soul inform the way humans interpret life and assign meaning to the phenomenon of death. Incorporating contributions from members of each faith, Understanding Death provides readers with a comparative overview of how death is expressed and constructed in religious texts and canonical interpretations. Accessible chapters discuss how major religions address the nature of death itself while illustrating how history, philosophy, and ritual reflect what is important in understanding the meaning of death in that religion. Now in its second edition, Understanding Death is revised and updated throughout, featuring three entirely new chapters on Sikhism, Jainism, as well as changing attitudes and new technologies related to death and dying in the twenty-first century. Understanding Death: Ideas of Self and the Afterlife in Religions of the World, Second Edition, is an ideal textbook for undergraduate students and lecturers in Religious Studies programs, and an excellent resource for non-specialist readers interested in the subject.

Death, Trust, & Society

Death, Trust, & Society PDF Author: Lionel Rothkrug
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781556435515
Category : Death
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
"A cross-cultural study of how religious practices--particular attitudes toward the dead seen in funerary rites, mortuary practices, and pilgrimage patterns-- have influenced the formation of cultural identity and social structures throughout world history"--Provided by the publisher.

Death, Ritual and Belief

Death, Ritual and Belief PDF Author: Douglas Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474250971
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Death, Ritual and Belief, now in its third edition, explores many important issues related to death and dying, from a religious studies perspective, including anthropology and sociology. Using the motif of 'words against death' it depicts human responses to grief by surveying the many ways in which people have not let death have the last word, not simply in terms of funeral rites but also in memorials, graves, and in ideas of ancestors, souls, gods, reincarnation and resurrection, whether in the great religious traditions of the world or in more local customs. He also examines bereavement and grief, experiences of the presence of dead, near-death experiences, pet-death and the symbolic death played out in religious rites. Updated chapters have taken into account new research and include additional topics in this new edition, notably assisted dying, terrorism, green burial, material culture, death online, and the emergence of Death Studies as a distinctive field. Case studies range from Anders Breivik in Norway, to the Princess of Wales, and to the Rapture in the USA. A new perspective is also brought to his account of grief theories. Providing an introduction to key authors and authorities on death beliefs, bereavement, grief and ritual-symbolism, Death, Ritual and Belief is an authoritative guide to the perspectives of major religious and secular worldviews.

Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt

Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt PDF Author: Margaret Bunson
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438109970
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
An A-Z reference providing concise and accessible information on Ancient Egypt from its predynastic cultures to the suicide of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony in the face of the Roman conquest. Annotation. Bunson (an author of reference works) has revised her 1991 reference (which is appropriate for high school and public libraries) to span Egypt's history from the predynastic period to the Roman conquest. The encyclopedia includes entries for people, sites, events, and concepts as well as featuring lengthy entries or inset boxes on major topics such as deities, animals, and the military. A plan and photograph are included for each of the major architectural sites.

Death Rites and Rights

Death Rites and Rights PDF Author: Belinda Brooks-Gordon
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1847313914
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Death has diverse religious, social, legal, and medical aspects and is one of the main areas in which medicine and the law intersect. In this volume, we ask: What is the meaning of death in contemporary Britain, and in other cultures, and how has it changed over time? The essays in this collection tackle the diverse ways in which death is now experienced in modern society, in the process answering a wide variety of questions: How is death defined by law? Do the dead have legal rights? What is one allowed to have and not have done to one's body after death? What are the rights of next of kin in this respect? What compensation exists for death and how is death valued? What is happening to the law on euthanasia and suicide? Is there a human right to die? What is the principle of sanctity of life? What of criminal offences against the dead? How are the traditions of death still played out in religion? How have customs and traditions of the disposal of bodies and funerals changed? What happens to donated bodies in the biomedical setting where anatomical education is permitted? What processes are employed by police when investigating suspicious deaths? What of representations of death? These and other questions are the subject of this challenging and diverse set of essays.