Social bonds with the dead: how funerals transformed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
Katsumi Shimane

Abstract

Evolutionary thanatology includes the study of necrophoresis-the removal of dead individuals by the living among social insects. In human societies, 'necrophoresis' is performed via the funeral ceremony. In pre-modern societies, relatives and local community members helped to conduct funerals. In this way, holding a funeral was a form of mutual help, a social exchange of duty and responsibility essential to individuals. These societies developed systems to ensure the survival of humans as social animals based on mutual trust built over long periods of time within the same community. Contemporary societies are undermining these systems. Compared to funerals in pre-modern societies, holding a funeral in a modern society is a complicated process that requires professionals with specialized knowledge and skills. If people feel they can face mortality without support from relatives or the local community, and that they cannot necessarily expect a future return on the effort invested in community-based social relationships, they may begin to disengage from such relationships. In the context of modernization, the clearest changes in collective funerary behaviours include decreased funeral attendance and the above-mentioned outsourcing...Continue Reading

References

Jul 13, 2016·Current Biology : CB·James R Anderson

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Citations

Jul 18, 2018·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·James R AndersonPaul Pettitt

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