When some animals die, we can have then “stuffed” and mounted to be put on display. Why do they not do this with humans?
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Today people are embalmed which preforms a similar albeit functionally different purpose. Taxidermy removes most of the muscle and organ tissue and is replaced in a manner ment to replicate the appearance of the animal in life. Embalming keeps muscle tissue, organs, skin and structure intact while adding a preservative to keep the bodies appearance fresh until burial.
Carnival culture up threw the 1950’s was a hotbed of human remains trading. City dwellers lived for novelty and curiosities and nothing is more curious than death and the people who live in far off lands most would never see. Taxidermied human remains were a staple of carnivals and circuses who often displayed a ‘peoples of the world’ exhibit or crafted bodies into wild monstrosities such as fairies, mermaids, demons and other mythical beings. The movie theatre was cleaner, more convenient and enabled a production to run in every state simultaneously. When Disney opened his theme park the concept of a traveling circus became kitch while destination amusements became more common as America became dominated by car owners.
Moving backwards in time the commodification of human remains tends to begin post enlightenment (1800’s) as scientific curiosity into the origins and evolution of humans became a matter of intense debate. Universities, institutes and private researchers competed to assemble the most expansive collection of human remains and many museums opened featuring exhibits of taxidermied people from every race. As scientific methods were in their infancy the methods of collection were barbaric but justified in the name of science. This amoral and knowledge at all costs ideology escalated into the 20th century as the American Eugenics movement gained world wide renown for its level of detail and volume of research. This culminated and ended with the Nazi party of Germany (1932-1945) who had taken the American movement to its extreme conclusion to include study of live subjects. As the Holocaust became apparent and Nazi plans for a complete ‘extinct people of the world museum’ the idea of commodification of human remains was cemented as an evil of the Nazi world not to be emulated.
During the medieval, middle and Renaissance era the bodies of criminals would be preserved as a sort of eternal punishment, their sentence continuing after death by denying them burial. This was used to send a message to would be criminals or usurpers that punishment could be extended indefinitely while enabling the church to extract higher indulgences from families who had to buy their loved ones bodies and soul back. This era also began the collection of relics and ‘holy items’ from the crusades and many bodies were carried threw Europe being proclaimed the body of this saint or that hero with associated legends of healing powers or spiritual insights for those who touched the corpse, the Vatican of course collecting a healthy revenue.
During the antiquities era (600BC to 476) the bodies of conquered enemies where often taxidermied and used to celebrate great victories with the kings of vanquished empires being kept and posed as a sort of trophy humiliation either recreating legendary events or set as though enjoying a feast. The Japanese of the Edo era would collect the heads of their vanquished opponents and keep them in boxes while on campaign sometimes used to commune with the spirit of the foe to gain information or once again set in a mockery of a feast. Caesar wrote about the Celtic tradition of keeping the heads of foes who were said to whisper their secrets to the victorious warlord. Again, consumption based humiliation was written about with heads being set as though at least or watching over the feasting warlord. (The Northmen shows a phenomenal representation of how this practice would be understood to the people of the time)
Earlier than this the practice of keeping the skulls of loved ones and baking clay in a representation of the loved ones image to be kept as a memorial is seen as early as Ur, the first known megacity. In some retellings Abraham, who is father of all three monotheistic faiths, was son of an idol maker who crafted the ‘gods’ to be placed in temples threw the levant. It is watching these ‘dead gods’ crafted from stone, bone, iron and wood that convinced Abraham to seek a living mono god for whom all of the idols truly represented.
I am bad at conclusions, this is a bit much for a 5 year old but like… It’s a long subject. Thank you if you read this far!
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