Here we'll explore the biological process of death and also clear up some basic questions about the science of it all. Find out how the mind reacts to death and how people try to cope with it. Death is treated very differently all around the world. Here we'll discuss the various religious and cultural differences. Discover the social implications of death and how death affects society. Discuss death related topics with other surfers.

Anthropology Death according to Frazer "If we analyse the principles of thought on which magic is based, they will probably be found to resolve themselves into two: first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed." -Sir J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, ch. 3 In The Golden Bough, a seminal work of anthropology, Frazer presented a lengthy argument that the customs of primitive cultures developed due to belief in the two principles of sympathetic magic. The laws of similarity (like produces like) and contagion (once in contact, always in contact) are hinted at in the above quote. Now, every culture was once a primitive culture. It follows that, if Frazer was right, remnants of those laws should exist in our cultural attitudes toward and customs concerning death. A brief examination will show that he was indeed right. Modern mankind, advanced as it may be, cannot escape its roots. Law of Contagion and the Sanctity of the Human Corpse Copyright 2001. Created by a Thinkquest team. Feel free to email us at C0122781@thinkquest.org.