Introductory Post

The Death Takes a Field Trip blog is a project initiated as part of the Archaeology of Death course at the University of Victoria.  All posts will be by Craig Axford.  There will be at least one post each week. Posts will be inspired either by discussions taking place in class, readings, or research conducted for the course.

I believe the Archaeology of Death provides a window into culture that few other perspectives can.  Other than birth, death is really the only experience every single one of us ultimately shares, but paradoxically it is also an experience we can't really share except with the living.  The things we do to the dead, the objects we leave in their graves, and the funerary rituals we perform to mark someone's death are manifestations of the way our respective cultures view life as much or more than they are indications of the way we viewed the individual(s) who has died. 

About the author: I am in my final term at the University of Victoria finishing degrees in both anthropology and environmental studies.  My wife and I moved to Victoria from Salt Lake City, Utah in 2010. We hope to remain in British Columbia permanently following my graduation.  Prior to coming to Canada, I worked as program director for an environmental non-profit focused on US National Forest protection, and later as an organizer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).