Bizzarre Burials

Just figured I should throw up a new post here since I haven't really touched this thing since I made it. In response to Erin's question: I couldn't really find any peculiar burial practices within Canada, although I didn't really dig as deeply as I probably should have. I mostly just wanted to comment on the "Mushroom burial suit" Ted Talk. As wacked out as it is, what a cool idea! The Green movement has definitely been building and gaining support as humanity pushes itself closer and closer to the brink; western funeral practices are a big impact that contribute to environmental damage that most people probably don't even give a second thought to (I know I didn't until now). If this catches on it could really do a lot of good...which brings me to my next thought.
  Why is it that people are so caught up with what happens to their bodies after death? (Before you hit the reply button, take that comment with a grain of salt). I know how ignorant that sounds, and how many people have religion as their reasoning, but c'mmon... it's the 21st century. I think by now many people realize the route to "heaven"isn't as strict as it once was, and choosing a practice other than burial won't hinder your chances to cross through the pearly gates all that much. I respect the fact that most people don't want others poking and prodding at their corpse for science or other reasons, but what's wrong with choosing a simple "green" burial, or even a cremation?  As long as your body is respected, kept away from any unwanted public displays, is it really so bad to choose to be eaten by mushrooms rather than plague the ground with more toxic chemicals and a big ol', super non-biodegradable coffin? 

Mortuary Archaeology intro.

Can't say I've ever 'blogged' before, so here it goes.
So I guess I'll start with the basics: I'm Devin, a third year anthro student. This is my first year at UVic. I completed my first two years at VIU and NIC, participating in two international study programs along the way (one of which was actually an month long dig in the summer of 2010).

 I'm pretty stoked about this course, but a little overwhelmed with the different approach of learning. I'm not really huge into group projects and this blogging stuff, but we'll see how it goes.

To be completely honest, the main reason I signed up for this course is cause' I thought it involved some sort of pirate archaeology (Dead men DO tell tales.... sounds pretty 'piratey', don't ya think?). Anyways, as I said, Mortuary archaeology sounds pretty cool too.