The Poetics of Processing: Memory formation, cosmology and the handling of the dead

Throughout time, the human body has acted as a canvas for survivors. Processing of the body varies in time and space and is contingent upon the relationship between the living and the dead. Body processing acts as a mechanism for the recreation of cosmological events and is important for memory creation. The creation of processed bodies has the capacity to transform space, ritually open and close spaces, and to reinforce relationships between the living and the dead. This session will focus on how the processing of the body, in any way that occurs, impacts and is impacted by the use of the body as a social tool.

By including both old and new world case studies, general patterns of human behavior can be compared and contrasted. Through a large-scale analysis, we can examine common threads of the use of the body as a social tool that builds a relationship between the living and the dead, memory creation, and the use of space for both the living and the dead.