The casket has come a long way in its illustrious history. From the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus to modern casket, there has been much advancement in the field of burial receptacles. A thorough knowledge is essential to anyone interested in the funeral industry. This report will give a brief history; discuss the different materials used, the manufacturing process, and the expected direction of the industry. Since the time of the Pharaohs early forms of burial receptacles were anthropoidial and generally custom made. They were wide in the shoulder and became narrow at the feet. The first coffin makers in America were carpenters and cabinet makers by trade. The more expensive coffins were made of a hardwood that would be indigenous to the area. They were then polished, stained, and in some cases lined with metal. The less expensive were made of pine painted with a mixture of lampblack and glue water. There are some accounts of stone or metal coffins being used, but these were rare before the mid-1800s. In 19th century America, the design changed to rectangular. The new design made the coffins easier to mass produce. With the change in design the funeral director changed the name as well. The term casket became main stream; derived from the French word meaning “a box for precious things.” The funeral director hoped the term would soften the sting of death. Today the terms are interchangeable. In 1848, the Fisk Metal Burial Case made its appearance on the market (Habenstein and Lamers). An exception to the rectangular wood casket that dominated the industry, it was far from aesthetically pleasing, but was effective in the prevention of putrefaction. The case was made of raised metal, and had a glass plate that allowed the face to ... ... middle of paper ... ...ess, and the expected direction of the industry to be a success. They now offer the consumer many choices in material, design, and price. The industry truly offers something for everyone. Works Cited "The Casket Industry." Cfsaa.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . "Casket - Science of Death." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . Habenstein, Robert Wesley, and William M. Lamers. The History of American Funeral Directing. 7th ed. Milwaukee, W.I.: Bulfin Printers, 2010. Print. Davis, Kevin. "Management Skills - Introduction - Instructor's Statement to Participants." Fsu.edu. Florida State University, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. "How Hardwood Caskets Are Made." Funeralplan.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. .
Each person has their own reason why the work in the funeral industry. Some people find it a “calling”. Others see it as a job only they can do. I do it because I enjoy helping people during a dark time and I don’t feel squeamish or sick when I handle remains. This is an occupation that is needed. People do not like to be reminded of their mortality, and when they experience death, it is shocking. We are here so that we can help them move past that shock and understand and accept their loss. We’re here to care for the deceased with the respect and dignity that everyone deserves in death.
In the past four decades the cost of a funeral service has risen 1,328% (Boring) and that’s not just because Morticians wanted to out of pure greed. One must take into account that modern mortuaries are much more of a business than before. Prior to 1970, the majority of funeral homes were were independent, family run. Today about 14% of funeral homes are run by a publicly traded corporation (Boring) meaning there’s a plethora of capital involved in these businesses now. The homes are built better and by professionals rather than by individuals with some tools, the home’s are extremely more sanitary since there’s more than likely no one living in these funeral homes unlike before, and the quality of the products these services are providing is greater than before.
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
Through the means of commemorating and remembering those of prestige and importance, tombs and sarcophagi are produced of these individuals. This funerary manner and distinctive burial practice was initiated Etruscan culture and it developed through the means of cremation and inhumation in earns. The concept of placing the remains of individuals in elaborate, thought out spaces was a valuable attribute of these people. The Etruscan objective of creating the best possible outcome in the afterlife dictated the way in which individuals ornamented and became portrayed in their tombs. Presen...
During the Middle and Upper Paleolithic era, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis started to create works of art such as cave paintings, rock art and jewelry as well as religious behavior through burial rights and rituals. These burials are important since it signifies a "concern for the dead that transcends daily life,” (Lieberman). These burial rights and rituals can be dated back to the Middle Paleolithic era, overlapping with the first appearance of Homo neanderthalensis. While it may be disputed, evidence suggests that the Homo neanderthalensis were the first to intentionally bury the dead in shallow graves along with what is assumed to be their possessions (Wikipedia).
...d in rural communities and whites lived in the cities. The first African American funeral directors had the challenge of driving long distances, over dirt bumpy country roads in horse-drawn carriages, to care for the white dead at the family home. The dead were laid on a “cooling board” at the family home for the purpose of slowing the deterioration of the body. The funeral director had to provide the ice for the cooling board. In the1920s, blacks started moving into the major industrial cities to obtain good manufacturing jobs. Many were urged to attend mortuary school and start businesses to help bury the increasing urban African American community.
The time period for Egyptian mummification is from their Predynastic Period (4650-3050 BC) until after the New Kingdom (1069 BC-395 AD). The Egyptians believed in Polytheism, which the religion of worshiping more than one god. Since they believed in more than one god, they believed in Osiris, the earthbound god of the dead, and Re, the sun god. These two gods were critical to the Egyptians, because they counted on those two gods to lead people into the afterlife. In order to achieve the afterlife, a proper burial had to take place for the dead. The Table of Sinuhe, a twelfth dynasty text, described the preparation for a funeral for someone who is elite in Egypt, which included: constructing the grave on an elite location, with both a public chapel and a private burial chamber. The Egyptians did this to preserve the name of the deceased, and their objects that were given to the deceased to help guide them to the afterlife. The family of the deceased then needed to choose which of the three embalming processes was right for them. There were three types of mummification processes: there was the most expensive and most elaborate process; the second way contained some of the steps from the first way to embalm a person, but was very limited; and the last way would be the cheapest and least elaborate way to embalm someone. The embalmer was astute man, who was respected and had the same privileges as the priests did. Nevertheless, this belief in life after death affected the population of Egypt and their art, architecture, technology, and their legal practices, which would be that no one could do any damage to a dead body. Historians find all this information from two writers, who wrote different pieces of text on mummification.
In modern day America, we unknowingly take countless things for granted on a daily basis. For example, we blatantly assume that privileges such as clean hospital rooms, trash services, and preservation have always been provided. In reality, at the time of the civil war, medical and hygienic methods were primitive compared to today’s technology in medicine. A significant difference was the process after death. Modern day embalming was created, as an innovative way to preserve the bodies of fallen soldiers, but has developed into a customary practice that accompanies contemporary mortality.
In the essay “On the Fear of Death” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross focuses on dying and the effects it has on children as well as those who are dying, while in Jessica Mitford’s “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” focuses more on the after fact when the deceased is being prepared of their last appearance. Both authors, point out that the current attitude toward death is to simply cover it up. A successful funeral is when the deceased looks “Lyf Lyk” in Mitford’s Essay, but in Kubler-Ross’ it is dying at a peace with oneself, no IVs attached. Both authors feel that the current views of death is dehumanizing. Mitford points this out with the allusion that the funeral parlors are a theatrical play, while Kubler-Ross comments “I think there are many reasons
parts and put them together and used a special technique to bring the corpse to
Imagine yourself as a mortician, certified as an embalmer, retort operator, funeral director, and a funeral cosmetologist. You get a call late at night, there’s been a terrible accident and someone has died. You arrive at the hospital and are directed to a small room where the body of the deceased is being held. There’s blood all over the sheets as the doctor and coronary assistant zip up the body bag and inform you the body was badly mangled in a car accident, which is going to make reconstructing the deceased very difficult. Your assistant puts the body on the stretcher and loads it into the hearse while you talk to the wife of the deceased man. She tells you they plan to have a funeral so you give her your card and a reassuring word before leaving the hospital and driving back to the funeral home. Now your job begins, not only will you have to reconstruct this man’s disfigured body, but you must meet with the family, discuss funeral arrangements, and deal with the family’s emotional trauma that comes with losing a loved one. Although working in the funeral business can be emotionally draining, it’s a satisfying feeling to see mourning families able to say goodbye to their loved ones. Despite the fact that working so closely with the deceased can be chilling, Mortuary science can be a thrilling field to work in.
In As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, the coffin is an important inanimate object. After the death of Addie Bundren, the Bundren family embarks on a 40-mile journey to Jefferson to respect her wish to be buried there. Cash Bundren builds the coffin while Addie is dying, the coffin goes through many obstacles with the Bundrens during the journey, and the overall objective of the journey is to bury the coffin. Although the coffin literally serves as a box that contains the corpse of Addie, the coffin also serves as the central symbol of the family's love and gratitude towards her as well as their instability.
The elements that will be focused on are the multiple functions of the tomb and rituals, specifically the mummification of bodies. Ancient Egyptian tombs had many functions; the main function being to hold the bodies of the dead. Tombs were typically built during a person’s lifetime and were ready by their time of death (Olson, 2009). Before bodies were put in the tombs, they underwent a process called mummification to help preserve the body and keep it intact. The tomb was also a place where family members could come and visit the deceased. In the early years, tomb structures were very simple; they consisted only of one chamber (Grajetzki, 2003: 3-4). Later on, façade tombs were built— which consisted of two parts; an “underground chamber for the dead and the superstructure built above the ground, over the shaft and the burial chamber” (Grajetzki, 2003: 8). Next, the Egyptian tombs and ...
Most of the cemeteries found in the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age IV are composed of shaft tombs. The details differ from site to sites and sometimes within the same site (e.g. Jericho). At some of the sites, such as those nea...
PRIMIS MNO 6202: Managing Organizations. 2007. The 'Secondary' of the ' Reprint of the book. McGraw-Hill Education, 2013.