Join us as we welcome Olivia Navarro-Farr, Siavash Samei, and Sara Brink on the Science of Burials: What our treatment of remains tells us and don’t tell us about ourselves. The analysis of remains and their associated contexts is one of the most comprehensive sources of information on the lives of ancient individuals and societies in general. This talk considers several aspects of burials in an attempt to help shed some light on how and why things happen the way they do once a human body is interred, or once the physical remnants of daily human activities are discarded. We will consider the historical information we can surmise from the science of ancient human life through their remains and what they intentionally or inadvertently leave behind, while considering the ethical implications of such research. Also, we will gain insights into animal remains and how these are processed through the lens of cultural context. Lastly, we will explore the growing movement to develop more sustainable end-of-life options, while learning about the use of natural burial as a tool for land conservation.

Olivia C. Navarro-Farr is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Chair of the Program in Archaeology at the College of Wooster. She teaches courses in archaeology, anthropology, and ancient Mesoamerica. Her interests include the archaeology of ritual, monumental architecture, site abandonment processes, and the role of royal women in Classic Maya statecraft.

Siavash Samei is an anthropologist and a zooarchaeologist specializing in Middle Eastern prehistory. He studies the social and environmental foundations of pastoral economies, and the impact of these economies on long-term trajectories of cultural development and environmental change across the Middle East. Siavash is a visiting Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology, and Middle Eastern & North African Studies at College of Wooster.

Sara Brink is the Director of the Foxfield Preserve conservation burial ground. She is also a founding member of the Conservation Burial Alliance, and was named as one of the “Pioneering Women of Natural Death Care” in American Cemetery & Cremation magazine in 2015.