Body Farms, Archaeology, Death and Ethics!

A little while ago I was talking with a classmate about death, burials... the usual... and the topic of body farms was brought up.  Body farms are facilities people donate their bodies to where decomposition can be observed, studied, and used in the understanding forensic anthropology.

Stemming from this slightly morbid conversation, I began thinking about concepts related to this class; concepts of consent and ethics related to the investigations and diggings of artifacts and human remains in archaeology. In the case of the body farms, people consent to their bodies being used for science, however, the bodies examined in archaeology is not necessarily a consensual thing.

Excavations can arise from the unexpected.  For example when people start building a house find bones in the ground, a quick archaeological excavation most-likely would occur.  Also, archaeologists may go out hoping to uncover remains and artifacts in various terrains, such as the high-altitude burial sites of the Inca child sacrifices (for more information on this, check out our project).  But, should these remains be uncovered and examined?  How should they be used? What is appropriate treatment of the remains?

As the class is drawing to an end, and before I submit my blog, I'm left feeling a bit torn about the ethics surrounding archaeology.  Ethics, like Erin said today, are culturally based.  If they are culturally based, how can there be a overall acceptance in what is appropriate archaeology (i.e. how sites should be excavated and what do do with remains).  

So going back to body farms... the bodies found in these farms have consented to the acts that occur.  Remains, both artifacts and bodies, found across the world did not consent to the examinations that are occurring in archaeological digs.  So what can one do?... Are case-by-case investigations useful? Is it appropriate to create a committee that has a say on what should happen with remains? Should remains be left alone? If remains are left alone, where does archaeology lie?  I'm left with a million questions, which I think is a good thing, and I wonder how other people in this class feel about the ethics surrounding archaeology as well...

I think that archaeology is useful, you can gain a lot of information about societies both past and present, but I must admit that studying archaeology has often brought up concerns for me regarding the ethics that surround the discipline.  As I've progressed through this degree, the one thing I think is important for me to remember when examining the past is to try and keep an open mind and to be critical about all information. I need to remember that not everyone has the same beliefs and values as I do.