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Introduction: The Preserved Dead Introduction: The Preserved Dead
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Death and Decay Death and Decay
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Physical and Social Transformation Physical and Social Transformation
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Wet Environments Wet Environments
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Cold Environments Cold Environments
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Hot Environments Hot Environments
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Other Preservation and Embalming Methods Other Preservation and Embalming Methods
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Discussion Discussion
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Conclusion: The Affecting Dead—Coming Face-to-Face with the Past Conclusion: The Affecting Dead—Coming Face-to-Face with the Past
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Acknowledgements Acknowledgements
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Suggested Further Reading Suggested Further Reading
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Additional References Additional References
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Filmed Sources Filmed Sources
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26 Preserving the Body
Get accessMelanie Giles is a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Manchester (School of Arts, Histories and Cultures). She specialises in the Iron Age of northern Europe, particularly funerary archaeology, landscape and material culture studies. She is also interested in the role of the ancient dead in the present day, and the ethical issues surrounding their excavation, analysis, display and interpretation.
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Published:01 August 2013
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Abstract
This chapter evaluates the phenomenon of well-preserved bodies, analysing both the natural conditions and artificial methods through which decomposition can be inhibited. It moves between forensic accounts of the processes of preservation and social interpretations of these bodies, using three main case studies: the bog bodies of northern Europe, the ice burials of Pazyryk, and the mummies of Egypt. In each case, it discusses whether their remarkable preservation was an intentional aim of depositional practice or mortuary rites, and it explores the range of different ideological motives which might underpin them. It briefly reviews other techniques of preservation, before considering the particular power of these human remains in the present. The chapter concludes by evaluating the tensions surrounding their public display, and their key role in stimulating the archaeological and public imagination.
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