Members of the Igorot tribe of Mountain Province in northern Philippines have long practiced the tradition of burying their dead in hanging coffins, nailed to the sides of cliff faces high above the ground. Comfortably predating the arrival of the Spanish, the procedure can probably be traced back more than two millennia. To this day, […]
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Le Cimetière des Chiens — the Dog Cemetery in Asnières-sur-Seine
While the cemetery is commonly referred to as simply “Le Cimetière des Chiens,” you’ll see a few places where the longer name of “Le Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques” (the cemetery of dogs and other pets) is given, including an inscription in stone on a monument near the entrance. So the cemetery has […]
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Green Burials
Green burial, also called a natural burial, is an environmentally friendly burial that aims to have as little impact on the earth as possible. In order for a burial to be “green,” the body should have as little impact upon the earth as possible. The main areas of consideration in a green burial are: The […]
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Cremation
Cremation, the practice of reducing a corpse to its essential elements by burning. The practice of cremation on open fires was introduced to the Western world by the Greeks as early as 1000 bce. They seem to have adopted cremation from some northern people as an imperative of war, to ensure soldiers slain in alien […]
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2,000 Year Old Pet Cemetery in Egypt
The ancient Egyptians had complicated relationships with animals. They kept a wide range of pets, from cats and dogs to hippos and falcons, and many household pets were mummified and buried with their owners. Animals were also mummified at an “industrial scale,” sold to pilgrims who offered the mummies to the gods. One catacomb at […]
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