Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections

The sourcing of cadavers for North American skeletal reference collections occurred immediately after death and targeted the poor and marginalised. In Europe, collections sourced bodies that were buried and unclaimed after some time in cemeteries with no perpetual care mandate, and may have also tar...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Greer Vanderbyl, John Albanese, Hugo F. V. Cardoso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Manchester University Press 2020-10-01
Series:Human Remains and Violence
Subjects:
_version_ 1818211091636813824
author Greer Vanderbyl
John Albanese
Hugo F. V. Cardoso
author_facet Greer Vanderbyl
John Albanese
Hugo F. V. Cardoso
author_sort Greer Vanderbyl
collection DOAJ
description The sourcing of cadavers for North American skeletal reference collections occurred immediately after death and targeted the poor and marginalised. In Europe, collections sourced bodies that were buried and unclaimed after some time in cemeteries with no perpetual care mandate, and may have also targeted the underprivileged. The relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and abandonment was examined in a sample of unclaimed remains (603 adults and 98 children) collected from cemeteries in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, that were incorporated in a collection. Results demonstrate that low SES individuals are not more likely to be abandoned nor to be incorporated in the collection than higher SES individuals. Furthermore, historical data indicate that the poorest were not incorporated into the collection, because of burial practices. Although the accumulation of collections in North America was facilitated by structural violence that targeted the poor and marginalised, this phenomenon seems largely absent in the Lisbon collection.
first_indexed 2024-12-12T05:26:59Z
format Article
id doaj.art-bff6b4c703154f67bb6d8ec48e7552c1
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2054-2240
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-12T05:26:59Z
publishDate 2020-10-01
publisher Manchester University Press
record_format Article
series Human Remains and Violence
spelling doaj.art-bff6b4c703154f67bb6d8ec48e7552c12022-12-22T00:36:26ZengManchester University PressHuman Remains and Violence2054-22402020-10-01628110310.7227/HRV.6.2.6Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collectionsGreer Vanderbyl0John Albanese1Hugo F. V. Cardoso2Simon Fraser University, BC, CanadaUniversity of Windsor, ON, CanadaSimon Fraser University, BC, CanadaThe sourcing of cadavers for North American skeletal reference collections occurred immediately after death and targeted the poor and marginalised. In Europe, collections sourced bodies that were buried and unclaimed after some time in cemeteries with no perpetual care mandate, and may have also targeted the underprivileged. The relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and abandonment was examined in a sample of unclaimed remains (603 adults and 98 children) collected from cemeteries in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, that were incorporated in a collection. Results demonstrate that low SES individuals are not more likely to be abandoned nor to be incorporated in the collection than higher SES individuals. Furthermore, historical data indicate that the poorest were not incorporated into the collection, because of burial practices. Although the accumulation of collections in North America was facilitated by structural violence that targeted the poor and marginalised, this phenomenon seems largely absent in the Lisbon collection.povertyossuaryunclaimed remainstemporary graves
spellingShingle Greer Vanderbyl
John Albanese
Hugo F. V. Cardoso
Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
Human Remains and Violence
poverty
ossuary
unclaimed remains
temporary graves
title Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
title_full Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
title_fullStr Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
title_full_unstemmed Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
title_short Structural violence and the nature of cemetery-based skeletal reference collections
title_sort structural violence and the nature of cemetery based skeletal reference collections
topic poverty
ossuary
unclaimed remains
temporary graves
work_keys_str_mv AT greervanderbyl structuralviolenceandthenatureofcemeterybasedskeletalreferencecollections
AT johnalbanese structuralviolenceandthenatureofcemeterybasedskeletalreferencecollections
AT hugofvcardoso structuralviolenceandthenatureofcemeterybasedskeletalreferencecollections