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Ancient History > Treatment and Display of Human Remains > Flashcards

Treatment and Display of Human Remains Flashcards

1
Q

Condition of human remains

Lindow Man condition

Body, Skin, Arm, Head and Shoulders, Neck and Torso

A
  • Body: upper survived with all features remaining; lower body missing parts, slightly curled up on right side
  • Skin: tanned and leathery, ginger beard on face
  • Arm: elbow slightly damaged, wrists + hands in poor condition; fingernails intact
  • Head and shoulders: disfigured due to weight of peat bog, ginger
  • Neck and torso: naked, bearing stab wounds + fox fur armband
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2
Q

Discovery of human remains

Lindow Man discovery

A
  • 1984: Found in Lindow Moss peat bog (Cheshire, England)
  • Foot found in machinery by 2 workmen cutting peat, who then called police
  • Archaeologist Rick Turner was sent for, identified foot as part of ancient bog body
  • 1988: Skin of buttocks, part of left leg, right thigh, and femur were found
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3
Q

Removal of human remains from discovery site

Lindow Man removal

A
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4
Q

Scientific analysis

Lindow Man visual investigation

Age, Build, Height, Weight, Nature of Environment

A

Revealed that:
- Age: 25-30 yrs old
- Build: muscular, peak of physical condition
- Height: 1.65cm
- Weight: 60-65kg
- Wearing fox fur armband

Naked except for armband: unusual circumstances of death, as climate would have been too cold to go around naked

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5
Q

Modern preservation methods

Lindow Man preservation

Method, Result, Display

A

Freeze-drying:
- Soaked in polyethylene glycol to prevent distortion
- Body frozen, then vaporised to remove the ice

Results:
- Minimal shrinkage on body

Display:
- Placed in purpose-built display case with controlled environment in British Museum

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6
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man EM results

Electron microscopy

Social status (occupation)

A
  • Fingernail: smooth, buffed - he was not used to heavy work. Possibly involved in textiles manufacturing due to buffed quality of nails
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7
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man SEM results

Scanning electron microscopy

Health, diet

A
  • Hair strand: a “step” in the hair where blades may have met - he may have used scissors to cut his beard
  • Roundworm + whipworm eggs in stomach - intestinal parasites, not severe enough to affect health. Possibly a common affliction in Iron Age society
  • Stomach contents: mistletoe pollen - mistletoe pollen comonly used in Druidic rituals → possible link to Druidic tradition
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8
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man ESR spectroscopy

Electron spin resonance spectroscopy

Diet

A
  • Stomach contents: bran and charcoal fragments - burnt griddlecake eaten before death → griddlecake was part of Iron Age diet in Britain

ESR - examines changes in molecular structure to determine heat exposure

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9
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man atomic abosrption spectrometry

Beliefs and practices

A
  • Higher copper content on torso skin than other parts of body → copper pigments may have been applied as body paint, suggesting ritual element of death

Atomic absorption spectrometry - determines composition of elements in a sample, e.g. copper content

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10
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man radiocarbon dating

Carbon-14

Age, nature of environment

A
  • Died between 2 BC - 119 AD → lived in Iron Age, maybe even lived during Roman invasion of Britain
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11
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man xeroradiography

Death

A
  • Fracture of skull driven into brain → impact caused by blunt instrument, possibly an axe
  • Swelling around splinter wound in brain → Lindow Man may have survived in an unconscious state hours after the blow

Xeroradiography - form of X-ray, image of body recorded on paper instead of on film

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12
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man fibre optic endoscopy

Death

A
  • Neck was garrotted, cutting jugular and larynx
  • Stab wound in throat → combination of garroting, stabbing, head trauma suggests triple death theory
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13
Q

Scientific investigation

Lindow Man CT scan

Computed tomography scan

Health, death

A
  • Schmorl’s nodes found → Lindow Man had mild osteoarthritis
  • Swelling and bruising of brain → support xeroradiograph theory that he was alive a few hours after sustaining head injury

CT scan: X-rays and digital computer technology used to create detailed images of inside of body

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14
Q

Moral questions

Lindow Man ethicality

A
  • Did not consent to being dug up and probed into
  • Invasive methods of scientific investigation (e.g. fibre optic endoscopy, SEM), may be religiously/culturally disrespectful to dignity of human body
  • Physically investigating body may go against original and ceremonial beliefs e.g. Beltain
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15
Q

Written sources

Written sources on Celtic beliefs/customs

A
  • Most are from Roman or Greek sources
  • E.g. Strabo, Diodorus, Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Julius Caesar, Suetonius
  • Celtic people were literate but transmitted knowledge orally instead
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16
Q

Written sources

Limitations of Celtic beliefs/practices written sources

A
  • Biased because Romans saw Celtic practices as barbaric
17
Q

Written sources

Mistletoe and oak groves associated with Druids

A

Pliny the Elder

18
Q

Anyone suffering serious disease or going into battle would offer a human sacrifice to be carried out by Druids

A

Julius Caesar

19
Q

Druids would sacrifice a human victim to the gods to predict the future

A

Diodorus

20
Q

The area where a victim has been sacrificed becomes sacred

A

Tacitus

21
Q

Celtic tradition

Signficance of bogs

A
  • Sacred wells significant to Teutates, the Celtic god of the tribe
22
Q

Celtic death ritual

Human sacrifice to three gods (Triple Death)

Anne Ross

A
  • Instead of offering three different sacrifices, sometimes only one was offered to please 3 gods
  • Taranis (god of thunder): POWs burnt alive in giant wicker cages
  • Esus (god of the underworld): victims hanged from trees, stabbed to death, or both
  • Teutates (god of the tribe): victims taken to sacred pools (bog)
23
Q

Celtic rituals

Beltane

A
  • Held by Celtic tribes on 1st of May (spring in Northern Hemisphere)
  • Held in times of great difficulty e.g. attack by Romans or crop failure
  • Intended to gain help from sun god Belenos by offering human sacrifice
  • Portion of special bread deliberately burned and handed out. Whoever received burnt part was a “devoted one”, would be sacrificed
24
Q

Evidence that Lindow Man may have been a ritual sacrifice victim

A
  • Burnt griddle cake in stomach
  • Botanical evidence in peat bog + cereal grains → may have died in winter or early spring
  • Three methods of death → triplism
  • Mistletoe pollen in stomach unlikely to have been ingested accidentally as it is poisonous, but ritually significant to Druids
  • Possible body paint
  • Rick Turner said: “The most likely epxlanation … is that they represent ritual sacrifices, probably for religious reasons”
25
Q

Formation of bogs

A
  • Poor drainage + waterlog from melting ice → water basins form in low elevation areas
  • Increased plant growth + decay → growth of sphagnum moss over surface of water → peat-filled bog containing minerals, acids, and little-to-no oxygen
26
Q

Natural preservation of bog bodies

A
  • A body is buried in a bog with less than 10 degrees annual temperature during winter/early spring when water is less than 4 degrees cold
  • Low temp, oxidation and pH levels delay immediate bacterial action
  • Sphagnum mosses turns cell surfaces acidic
  • Buildup of dead cells + sphagnum mosses creates anaerobic environment, preventing bacteria growth
  • Flesh dehydrates and body becomes embalmed
27
Q

Primary theories for bog bodies

A
  • Criminal punishment: Tacitus - ritual drowning in lake was a punishment, sacrifice to goddess Nerthus
  • Religious offering: winter sacrifices bring bountiful spring
  • Kingship rituals: Irish scholars associated bog bodies with kingship rituals or marking of borders
  • Weiderganger theory: Draugr (undead creature in Norse mythology) placed in bogs to keep from returning to terrorise the living

Ancient History (6 decks)

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