The Buried Soul: How Humans Invented Death

Description

From the author of 'The Prehistory of Sex' - a coruscating, insightful history of the human soul. Cannibals, burials, vampires, human sacrifice, bog people - throughout history our ancestors have responded to death in numerous ways. The past has left us numerous relics of these encounters between the dead and those they leave behind: accounts of sacrifices in early histories, rituals that have stood the test of time, bodies discovered in caves and bogs, remains revealed by archaeological digs. Through these insights into the past, Tim Taylor pieces together evidence of how our ancestors created their universe and asks how we have dealt with the idea of the end and slowly come to create not only a sense of the afterlife but also the soul. Tim Taylor's investigation from the earliest remains of burial to funeral rituals in 9th-century Steppes and the mummification of Lenin in Moscow, is a breathtaking combination of research, insight and scholarship that has profound resonance today. Combining history, archaeology, philosophy, cutting edge science and autobiography, 'The Buried Soul' is a radical and unique adventure into the sepulchral world. Constantly illuminating and insightful, it is not only a fascinating investigation into popular science but also a thought-provoking and discursive examination of ourselves.

Timothy Taylor is a lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Bradford and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA). His previous book THE PREHISTORY OF SEX was high acclaimed in the UK, Europe and US. He has worked on numerous television projects including CANNIBAL (Channel 4).

'Perceptive, radical and elegantly written. His quest for answers takes us on an extraordinary journey, like time travellers in the boneyards of history!All this is achieved with the style of a consummate storyteller.' Bel Mooney, The Times 'Like a thriller-writer he deploys cliff-hanging chapter endings. Like a good novelist he is unafraid of human emotion. As an archaeologist he knows how to sort and wash bones. As a thinker he restores dignity to these unnamed bodies by holding them compassionately with his words.' Michele Roberts, Independent on Sunday 'Sit back and revel in this riveting exploration of our collective ancestral psyche.' Sunday Herald 'Illuminating.' Scotsman "I never would have thought that archaeology would be so interesting, so relevant to how we think today ! and so disturbing. In "The Buried Soul", Timothy Taylor tells a provocative and often grisly tale. This is a fascinating book, grippingly written, of considerable scope and ambition." Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology, Yale University No archaeoogist who reads this book will ever be able to contemplate human remains with the same innocence as before, nor can any reader regard fellow humans with as much optimism. Taylor calls into question the adequacy of both the ecological rationalism and the cultural relativism that for decades have been the interpretational mainstays of archaeology!Taylor makes a major contribution to building a more comprehensive understanding of human beings. Bruce Trigger, Professor of Anthropology, McGill University