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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 26, 2004 A short history of death Part 1 of 7 In the beginning God gave Toad a clay jar. "Be careful," he said. "Inside is death." Toad walked down the road and met Frog. "Let me carry it," Frog pleaded. "I’ll be careful." Toad gave in, Frog hopped about, juggling the jar on one foot, then the other. Advertisement "Stop!" Toad cried. It was too late. The jar fell and shattered. Death flew out. Since then, all beings have had to meet death. — African legend Costco ... better known for bulk chicken and cases of soda, startedtest-marketing caskets alongside mattresses in two of its Chicago-area stores. — The Associated Press, Aug. 17, 2004 In a cave at Shandiar in Iraqi Kurdistan lie the bones of a man who died in the spring or early summer, along with evidence of the flowers his friends picked for his grave from the nearby hills. All peoples have had prescribed ways of dealing with death, guidelines on how to treat the dead, how to mourn. Funeral practices reflect a culture’s values, beliefs in gods or an afterlife, prevalent ideas of societies and, increasingly, individuals. The pollen in the Shandiar cave testifies not only to the hollyhocks, bachelor’s buttons and hyacinth that grew during the man’s life, but to the significance of his death to his family and friends — Neanderthals who lived and died some 60,000 years ago. Neanderthals buried their dead with care. They flexed the arms and pillowed the head on an arm. Grave goods included axes, scrapers, horns, red ocher and flowers, perhaps to symbolize rebirth. The Neanderthals’ successors, anatomically modern humans, often buried their dead in caves along with ornaments. Animal bones and skulls at such sites suggest funeral feasts. Today’s $13 billion American funeral industry can trace its roots back to such practices. Tomorrow: Ancient rites Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers