Timothy Taylor. The Buried Soul.

Timothy Taylor. The Buried Soul. 353 pages, numerous figures and diagrams. 2002. London: FourthEstate. 1-85702-696-9. Hardback [pounds sterling] 20. The subtitle of this book is `How humans invented death'. Theassumption being that humans are unique in being conscious of theconcept of death: one to be anticipated and feared; to be propitiated inlife or the procedures that have to be observed when a death hasoccurred. It is not only the finality of death that is feared, but theidea that it is not the end: that the dead person may still exist in aform that may be threatening. Taylor's account is very personal, even partlyautobiographical. It is about the human response to death. It usesmaterial and observations from a wide variety of contexts, over amillion years, down to the present day. The disciplines explored include(explicitly and implicitly) archaeology, history and ethnography. Thereader would not realise the essentially academic character of the bookfrom the racy chapter titles, which include 'Welcome toweird-land'. `Vexed ghosts' and `An unexpected vampire'. In spite of such off-putting headings, there is plenty of interesthere for archaeologists and social historians. However, much detail isset out, gratuitously gruesome and ghoulish ghoul?n.1. One who delights in the revolting, morbid, or loathsome.2. A grave robber.3. An evil spirit or demon in Muslim folklore believed to plunder graves and feed on corpses. , perhaps even prurient pru��ri��ent?adj.1. Inordinately interested in matters of sex; lascivious.2. a. Characterized by an inordinate interest in sex: prurient thoughts.b. . Thisbook is not for the squeamish squea��mish?adj.1. a. Easily nauseated or sickened.b. Nauseated.2. Easily shocked or disgusted.3. Excessively fastidious or scrupulous. , or for students expecting an objectivecoverage of the subject. The text does, however, highlight the relevant`material culture of death' encountered in archaeological mortuarycontexts. It also discusses archaeologists' own personal perceptionof death in former and modern societies, and even their own attitudesand reaction to death itself. This leads on to the consideration of thesocial and political relevance of the study of death to society. Thesematters sound heavygoing, but readers' reactions may be moresympathetic to the book than the uncomfortable and embarrassed responseexperienced by an octogenarian oc��to��ge��nar��i��anadj.Being between 80 and 90 years of age.n.A person between 80 and 90 years of age. reviewer whose study window looks out toa disused graveyard! To come down to more specific problems addressed by Taylor, thereis discussion as to when and how humans became conscious of death; andhow their mortuary rituals reflect their responses to it; whether forinstance, much of the origins of such responses are related to thedevelopment of speech in early humans. Much of the text of the book is drawn from archaeological casestudies: the `Ice Man'; the Rus funeral described by Ibn Fadlan (atsome length); the Scythian Ice Age; bog bodies and Dolni Vestonice. These are brought down to recent non-archaeological studies: thecorpse and embalming of Lenin, Kennewick Man and his political affray A criminal offense generally defined as the fighting of two or more persons in a public place that disturbs others.The offense originated under the Common Law and in some jurisdictions has become a statutory crime. ;Irish child burial; the torso recently found in the Thames; and finallythe death and ritual relating to Ben Steed, a friend of the author,whose death occurred prematurely in 2000. More generally there are extended pieces on the evolution of caringabout or for the dead; out-of-body experiences; vampires andcannibalism cannibalism(kăn`ĭbəlĭzəm)[Span. caníbal, referring to the Carib], eating of human flesh by other humans. , ancient and modern. As archaeologists we are enjoined to the conscious of (or displayin publication) one's personal reaction to our evidence, andrelating it to human experience, rather than interpret in the light ofgenetic and environmental factors. While we do attempt to be readableand socially relevant, this book may be seen to be extreme in itspersonal involvement with death, past and present, and leave one with anenhanced distaste for the subject matter.PHILIP RAHTZDepartment of ArchaeologyUniversity of York