Spade & the Grave

death and burial through an archaeological lens


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Winter Corpses: What to do with Dead Bodies in colonial Canada

Dead_House__from_North_East_Nain_Labrador

Dead house in Nain, Labrador (Jarvis 1995. From the Memorial University of Newfoundland-Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory

Welcome back, dear readers, to another installment of a blog about burial practices and archaeology! Today I’d like to talk about something that is close to by heart (as the result of arguing about it during my thesis): What did people do with their dead bodies during the winter, in colonial Canada?! Well, there are a few options to discuss but the short answer is…

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