Digging Up the Bones

I have made it a habit in my everyday routine to listen to a podcast as I get ready in the morning. I find it fascinating to learn about/listen to bits of people’s lives or stories about history that I can enjoy and get lost in while doing my everyday tasks. I had chosen to listen to The American Life podcast, “Digging Up the Bones”. It had caught my eye because I have strived to become a forensic anthropologist for a long while now, therefore, anything bones seems to catch my attention.

The podcast centered around a Greek family traveling back to Greece to dig up the girl’s grandma from her grave. In Greece there is so little space for graves that each person rents out a spot for a couple years and then is forced to dig back up the body and relocate it somewhere else. Her and her parents had to handle and clean the bones themselves, most of them bare handed. I had thought about myself in this situation, would I really want to see my parents bones? No way! However, I was surprised when the father had talked about it bringing him comfort to see his mom’s bones.

I’ve always been able to dissociate bones from people, a helpful mindset in the job I want, however, I don't think I would be able to dissociate my parents from the bones. But it does get me thinking, would it be different if I were there? The granddaughter telling the story had said it had been much less uncomfortable then she had thought. It seemed to bring everyone peace. Was it because this had seemed like you got to be with her one last time? Was it because you could see she was at peace with the earth? They spoke of burring the head facing the West so that they could see the sun set, like life coming to an end. Maybe it was these little practices that brought people the comfort they needed? I know that I do certain things that just bring me a little more peace, like making a wish at 11:11, or just going outside and listening to the birds. Maybe these are the little things that we should focus on more, the things that bring us just that little bit of more comfort. 

A link that talks more about burials in Greece: https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/02/the-greek-burial-crisis-with-land-a-valuable-resource-the-state-requires-the-recycling-of-cemetery-space.html