The Facebook walls of the dearly departed often function as digital gravesites where friends and family can share photos, speak to the deceased, and mourn. Who, if anyone, has access to your online tombstone and the data it contains? Opening access to the dead’s accounts has the potential for thoughtful curation, but that comes with... Continue Reading →
When thinking of prehistoric technological innovations, inventions like stone tools and permanent houses usually come to mind. But the cemetery is an invention, a place specifically used for the ritual burial of the dead. Ancient hunter-gatherers buried their dead beside their houses and left them behind when they moved. Since they were semi-nomadic, they did... Continue Reading →
Death is one of the few universal problems that all cultures must confront. The way a culture solves the problem of death is deeply rooted in their values about the meaning of life and their beliefs in what will happen after death. When a death occurs in an Islamic community, funeral rituals affirm the dignity and... Continue Reading →
Playing Marbles for Keeps 