Anastasia Tsaliki, PhD

Abstract

This project investigates in depth and from a multi-disciplinary perspective the phenomenon of deviant burials and anomalous disposal of the dead with emphasis on necrophobia (fear of the dead; the term is introduced by the author for use in the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology). A list of criteria and a recording form for the identification of deviancy in burial contexts have been compiled and are suggested as a potential general methodology scheme. Theories of death, deviancy, and necrophobia are examined and are elaborated with case studies from Greece and cross-cultural comparison data. The project also evaluates whether the burial or disposal context and the physical condition & health status of the body are related, if their analysis reveals information on the individual's social status in life and death, and how necrophobia influences burial customs. An attempt has been made to: 1. Explain the deviant treatment of human remains considering and combining the burial customs, socio-religious factors including superstitious beliefs and social violence, burial context, and the palaeodemographical & palaeopathological data;2. Give emphasis to the concept of necrophobia and to its relation to cases of unusual burial treatment;3. Investigate temporal and spatial patterns of deviancy in the burial record;4. Emphasise the need for precise recording of burials and their context;5. Identify the limitations of the project. The project provides a novel multidisciplinary approach to the study of deviancy and necrophobia in the burial record; such a study has not, to the author’s knowledge, previously been conducted on as wide a scale against a detailed contextual background, and it is the first comprehensive study on Greek unusual burials. The research has potential for future development through the study of additional empirical data from different cultures & periods, and its theory and methodology may have forensic applications. Isotope analysis of the deviant individuals is also suggested as a method to provide information on diet and place of origin.

"Participation à ce documentaire sur les rites funéraires dans la Grèce Antique. Réalisation Dominique Adt. Production 8 et plus Productions – Paris Co-Production View Group (Grèce) Co-Production Kalimago Films - Perpignan * Prix des techniques appliquées à l’archéologie. AGON - 8e festival du Film d'archéologie d'Athènes 2010. "

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the historical, cultural, and contextual framework of this volume. Taking a critical view of how we define “non-normative” and “atypical” burials in archaeological research, this chapter highlights the long history and new approaches to burial practices that vary across distinct temporal and geographic landscapes. Championing a holistic approach beyond binary classifications, we argue there is an increasing need to avoid the use of limiting definitions and to recognize the continuum of variation that exists within these burial contexts. By focusing on the context of each burial and following an integrated biocultural approach, we are positioned to better interpret and understand their meaning(s). This chapter also introduces each study in the volume highlighting the significance of this collection through an array of comprehensive and critical analyses.

The present case investigates a burial in a kiln and its interpretations, including the probability of criminal punishment in Early Byzantine Attica. Human skeletal remains from the 4th century AD were found in a kiln at the site of Merenda, in Attica, Greece. The inhumation consisted of an individual that seemed to be cut in half and re-arranged in such a way that her upper and lower halves were deposited next to each other. Portions of a second individual, a male, were found in association. This burial can be called deviant in the sense that it is different from the usual manner of interment during Late Antiquity. Osteological and burial context analyses, together with historical sources, help to shed light on the cultural circumstances surrounding the burial.

The study of ancient human and animal skeletal remains offers valuable information and has become an indispensable part of modern excavation and research. The majority of ancient bones from Sifnos have been lost taking with them all the direct information on the ancient and older inhabitants of the island. Interest is therefore focused on the few human skeletal remains recovered so far from the recent excavations undertaken on the island by the National Archaeological Service. In addition, organised efforts are being made to gather and report memories and testimonies of inhabitants, especially of those who have participated in archaeological excavations in the past. Introduction: the value of ancient skeletal remains The study of skeletal remains forms today an impoltant part of the archaeological research. Although excavations usually lack ideal conditions (due to lack of funds and /or timg together with adverse weather conditions), the careful recovering, inventorying and storage ...

... Health and disease in Greece : past, present and future. Roberts, CA and Lagia, A. andTriantaphyllou, S. and Bourbou, C. and Tsaliki, A. (2005) 'Health and disease in Greece : past, present and future.', in Health in antiquity. London: Routledge, pp. 32-58. ...

IN: Proceedings of the XIII European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association, Chieti, Italy, 18-23 Sept. 2000. Ed. M. La Verghetta and L. Capasso. Teramo: Edigrafital S.p.A, 2001. 295-300.


The concept of necrophobia (i.e. fear of the dead returning to haunt the living. A Greek word deriving from ‘necros’ = dead + ‘phovos’ = fear) seems to have dominated the burial customs of the Greek world since the Neolithic period to date. It can also be observed to have had a world-wide impact. Vampirism is a form of necrophobia.

The nature of vampire and of its Greek species vrykolakas is examined, as they appear in folk beliefs, especially in Greece and the Balkan area. Theories of a possible realistic explanation of the vampire lore are put forward, deriving mainly from the disciplines of clinical and forensic pathology. Finally, cases of ‘vampiric’ fear in the archaeological record are described.

The project presented here is part of the author’s doctoral research entitled ‘An investigation of extraordinary human body disposals, with special reference to necrophobia’. This research is multidisciplinary, mainly based on the principles and methodology of Archaeology and Bioanthropology.

IN: Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record. Murphy E. (ed.) Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2008. 1-16.

‘Unusual’ or ‘deviant’ burials are cases where the individual has been buried in a different way than what is considered the norm for the period and/or the population under examination. Deformity and disease received a scholarly attention in antiquity but, at the same time, they have been the focus of social prejudice and superstition. Anthropological and ethnographical investigation has revealed that socially deviant and diseased individuals may receive different mortuary treatment. In some cases, unusual disposal is accompanied by evidence of practices, which indicate fear of the dead (necrophobia). These practices usually include methods of restriction of the dead in the grave by weighing down the body with large rocks, decapitation or use of nails, wedges and rivets. For example, vampirism can be seen as a notion based on necrophobia. Anthropology and folklore have studied superstitional social fear for long, but the Archaeology of Fear, based on the study and interpretation of evidence from the funerary archaeological record, is a relatively new concept. Although deviant individuals were not always treated differently in life or death, and not necessarily were seen as outcasts or misfits, it is important for anthropology and archaeology to combine social, biological and burial data, as these may improve our understanding of atypical burials in the past.

Participation à ce documentaire sur les rites funéraires dans la Grèce Antique.

Réalisation Dominique Adt. Production 8 et plus Productions – Paris Co-Production View Group (Grèce) Co-Production Kalimago Films - Perpignan

* Prix des techniques appliquées à l’archéologie. AGON - 8e festival du Film d'archéologie d'Athènes 2010.

Participation in this documentary directed by Gianni Minelli and produced by Zeeva Production in English and in Italian.

"On September 26th, 1997, a violent earthquake shook central Italy. The effects were devastating. Television stations from all over the world broadcasted images of the incomparable artistic heritage that risked being destroyed forever. In Monsanpolo del Tronto, a small town in the Marches, the earthquake damaged the beautiful church Maria Santissima Assunta. A few years later, during the restoration of the church, a sensational discovery was made: twenty perfectly preserved mummies from the middle of the sixteenth century wearing their original clothes. The bodies are a goldmine of information of inestimable scientific value. Our voyage begins in Monsanpolo. We enter into the narrow passage that signals the divide between life and death. We revisit the different phases of Man’s struggle against nature-- his attempt to overcome the decomposition of the flesh. Why has man tried to transform the natural face of death by preserving mortal remains? What are mummies in our culture? What are the differences between the mummy of a Pope and that of an ordinary citizen? From the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt to the alchemists and inquisitors of the Middle Ages, to the French Revolution and Napoleon, we will track down the scientific knowledge, the different worships and legends that are linked to those human bodies preserved intact after death. Those bodies that come back to us as messengers from the past."

Participation in this documentary directed by BAFTA awarded Julian Thomas and produced by Electric Sky for History Channel International.

"The legend of blood sucking vampires has captured peoples’ imagination for generations. Mysterious tales of the undead rising from their coffins to terrorise the living and drain their blood are the stuff of horror movies and novels. But a crack team of archaeologists and forensic scientists have uncovered hard evidence for the existence of the legend – a legend that continues to haunt communities in the present day…"

“Impressive in its geographical and temporal scope, this fascinating compendium of case studies sheds new light on atypical, or ‘deviant,’ burial. Each case study is a gem, replete with rich descriptions of unusual burials and the sociopolitical contexts that produced them.”—Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver, author of The Bioarchaeology of Classical Kamarina: Life and Death in Greek Sicily

“This ambitious and engaging volume presents a series of instructive case studies of unusual or otherwise ‘abnormal’ funerary contexts from throughout the ancient world—confronting head-on some of the most challenging theoretical issues in contemporary bioarchaeology and mortuary analysis.”—Haagen D. Klaus, coeditor of Bones of Complexity: Bioarchaeological Case Studies of Social Organization and Skeletal Biology 

Abnormal burial practices have long been a source of fascination and debate within the fields of mortuary archaeology and bioarchaeology. The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange investigates an unparalleled geographic and temporal range of burials that differ from the usual customs of their broader societies, emphasizing the importance of a holistic, context-driven approach to these intriguing cases. 

From an Andean burial dating to 3500 BC to mummified bodies interred in the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, during the twentieth century, the studies in this volume cross the globe and span millennia. The unusual cases explored here include Native American cemeteries in Illinois, “vampire” burials in medieval Poland, and a mass grave of decapitated soldiers in ancient China. Moving away from the simplistic assumption that these burials represent people who were considered deviant in society, contributors demonstrate the importance of an integrated biocultural approach in determining why an individual was buried in an unusual way. 

Drawing on historical, sociocultural, archaeological, and biological data, this volume critically evaluates the binary of “typical” versus “atypical” burials. It expands our understanding of the continuum of variation within mortuary practices, helping researchers better interpret burial evidence to learn about the people and cultures of the past. 

Tracy K. Betsinger is associate professor of anthropology at SUNY Oneonta. Amy B. Scott is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of New Brunswick. Betsinger and Scott are coeditors of The Anthropology of the Fetus: Biology, Culture, and Society. Anastasia Tsaliki is a forensic and cultural consultant based in London with an expertise in unusual body disposals and social exclusion. 

A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen

https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9781683401032

https://floridapress.blog/2020/01/07/the-odd-the-unusual-and-the-strange/

https://muse.jhu.edu/book/71636

https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvx06wvr?turn_away=true

https://www.amazon.com/Odd-Unusual-Strange-Bioarchaeological-Interpretations/dp/1683401034