{"id":7566,"date":"2015-11-01T13:26:25","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T20:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=7566"},"modified":"2015-11-01T13:41:57","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T20:41:57","slug":"7566","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=7566","title":{"rendered":"Three Items about the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whose Bones Are Those?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Halloween news rush brought item about a new unit established at an Oxford college to perform cross-disciplinary investigations of religious relics<\/a><\/p>\n

In what is thought to be the first research body of its type in the world, the unit, based in Keble College, will bring together experts in radiocarbon dating, genetics, osteology \u2014the study of bones \u2014 chemistry, geography and archaeology with leading authorities in ancient Greek and Hebrew, Byzantine studies, ecclesiastical history and theology.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am not sure what tone to take with this \u2014 not my <\/em>saints after all \u2014 and it really does not matter to me if the skull of St. Cuthbert or whatever turns out to be someone else. One on level, this is interesting archaeology. On another, it feels like a re-run of the 16th century \u2014 the “stripping of the altars<\/a>” and all that \u2014 but with “functional” science (instead of Protestantism) taking on “superstitious” religion (instead of Catholicism).<\/p>\n

So why now? Is there a culture war motive, with “leading authorities in . . . . theology” participating in the disenchantment of the world? On the other hand, they hint that they may<\/em> have found John the Baptist.<\/p>\n

Four Scary Places<\/h3>\n

Still thinking about the dead? So are the editors at Indian Country Today<\/em>, which ran this piece titled ” Get Spooked! 4 Scary Places to Visit This \u2013 or Any \u2013 Halloween<\/a>,” on Friday last.<\/p>\n

Halloween is the holiday when we face fear and get right in the face of the supernatural. Children wear costumes and adults seek out opportunities to confront the unknown or, some would say, the misunderstood. In that spirit, we offer four places you can go to laugh at your deepest anxieties. Or scream.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But why would you scream? Read it and find out.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Beads of copal (Wikimedia Commons).<\/p><\/div>\n

Paganism at the Public Library<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If I had time to drive over to Pueblo, Colo., today, I could view the winners of the public library’s D\u00eda de los muertos<\/em> altar contest. Unfortunately, they were supposed to be set up at 1 p.m., so set-up is in progress as I write, with winners announced at 3:30 p.m.\u2014and everything dismantled by 4:30.<\/p>\n

The entry form states,”Altars judged on overall appearance, originality, and creativity reference [sic<\/em>] to traditions of D\u00eda de los Muertos.” Battery-operated candles only, please.<\/p>\n

The instruction sheet goes on to tell you that you may commemorate “ancestors past, celebritys [sic<\/em>] or beloved pets.” So maybe Vlad the Impaler could count as a celebrity, as he did at the university on the mesa in 2007<\/a>?<\/p>\n

As I wrote in 2011, I am sensing some tension between people who want the altars to be done only in some correct Mexican-ish manner, and those wanting to take the tradition in new directions.<\/a><\/p>\n

The instructions are quite specific as to how you are supposed to represent Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, and of course copal incense<\/a> (not burning, though) is recommended. (I like copal too.)<\/p>\n

So I regret that I cannot see these altars, but I appreciate that the library is teaching an effectively Pagan tradition. My gardening priestess, however, wants me to haul a big round of bale of spoiled hay from a neighbor’s ranch for winter mulch this afternoon, however. That’s another Samhain ritual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whose Bones Are Those? The Halloween news rush brought item about a new unit established at an Oxford college to perform cross-disciplinary investigations of religious relics In what is thought to be the first research body of its type in the world, the unit, based in Keble College, will bring together experts in radiocarbon dating, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[20,23,66,208,41,69],"class_list":["post-7566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-archaeology","tag-colorado","tag-halloween","tag-indian-tribes","tag-mexico","tag-samhain"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6xQTg-7566","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6110,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=6110","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":0},"title":"Excavating Witches","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"November 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It was the obligatory Halloween content over at Bones Don't Lie, but I had too much else on my plate to link to it then. The question is, how can you tell if a buried ancient skeleton was that of a witch (in the anthropological sense)? Does the mouth full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":815,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=815","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":1},"title":"Pagans Want Some Bones Back","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Borrowing the rhetorical tools developed in North America, British Pagans are becoming increasingly vocal on the issue of \"ancestral remains.\"British pagan groups are increasingly asking for human remains and grave goods from pre-Christian burials to be returned to them as well. The presence of what they see as their ancestors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3210,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=3210","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":2},"title":"Mother Goddess Temple or Brothel?","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"August 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"From the fascinating\"mortuary archaeology\" blog Bones Don't Lie, diverse explanations for the collection of babies' skeletons in a ruin from Roman Britain. Dr. [Jill] Eyers continues to argues for the brothel hypothesis, finding that further research and the combination of the human remains with archaeological evidence only further supports her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4312,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4312","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":3},"title":"Experiential Archaeology Fail","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"May 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It must be humiliating to copy a 3,500-year-old rowboat design, only to have yours sink.","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1115,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1115","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":4},"title":"Gallimaufry with Old Bones","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"January 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00b6 Some British Pagans want to rebury a 4,000-year-old skeleton. It seems to me that they are just parroting NAGRPA language without realizing that (to borrow from another blogger) that the Archbishop of Canterbury has as much \"blood\" claim to the bones as they do.\u00b6 George Plimpton was an American\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5921,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5921","url_meta":{"origin":7566,"position":5},"title":"A Medical Origin for Norse Monsters?","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"August 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is what happens when a parasitologist\/archaeologist muses on the origin of mythology. It gets interesting at about the 6:30-minute point. And this is a very famous turd in English archaeology.","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7566"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7579,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7566\/revisions\/7579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}