Why some bodies matter: defacement and narrative in historical forensics cases

Duncan, William N.; Stojanowski, Christopher M.

doi:10.1017/cbo9781107051409.013

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Identification and subsequent interment also creates opportunities for commemoration (e.g., Huggins, 2012), thanatourism (Stone, 2006(Stone, , 2012, and exposure to the memento trade (Penfold-Mounce, 2010)(see Rogers [2004] for an interesting take on the latter), while also positioning researchers to speak to the pastness or authenticity of a specimen (Holtorf, 2013;Holtorf and Schadla-Hall, 1999;Jones, 2010). In our work, the successful identification of the Fort King George skull as one of the Georgia Martyrs had the potential to create a relic of the Catholic Church, to sacralize the skull, and to unleash infinite possibilities of theft, worship, contest, and scorn (Duncan and Stojanowski, 2014).…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Engaging the subject as a coherent field permits us to connect the practical mechanics of forensics and bioarchaeology (developing biological profiles from human remains) to a corpus of literature that deserves greater consideration, and thus theorize an emerging area of emphasis to the benefit of the field. This is particularly worthwhile because it is an area in which our work by definition articulates with a broad, public audience (Duncan and Stojanowski, 2014).…”

Section: Defining and Delineating A Biohistorical Research Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Studies in Forensic Biohistory

Stojanowski¹,

Duncan

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The lives of kings, poets, authors, criminals and celebrities are a perpetual fascination in the media and popular culture, and for decades anthropologists and other scientists have participated in 'post-mortem dissections' of the lives of historical figures. In this field of biohistory, researchers have identified and analyzed these figures' bodies using technologies such as DNA fingerprinting, biochemical assays, and skeletal biology. This book brings together biohistorical case studies for the first time, and considers the role of the anthropologist in the writing of historical narratives surrounding the deceased. Contributors theorize biohistory with respect to the sociology of the body, examining the ethical implications of biohistorical work and the diversity of social theoretical perspectives that researchers' work may relate to. The volume defines scales of biohistorical engagement, providing readers with a critical sense of scale and the different paths to 'historical notoriety' that can emerge with respect to human remains.

show abstract