please help me with this question! i need to make it in other words. its for my anthropology paper

Changing Burial Styles: Cultural Shifts in Death and Ecology

Introduction In the 21st century, burial practices are undergoing significant transformation. The traditional Western funeral industrycharacterized by embalming, caskets, and concrete vaultsis being questioned for its environmental impact, spiritual disconnect, and commercialization. Green burial alternatives have emerged as responses to these concerns, offering ecologically sustainable and personally meaningful ways to commemorate death. This paper examines how changing burial styles reflect shifting cultural attitudes toward death, environmental consciousness, and individual agency. Drawing on a popular media article, a scholarly peer-reviewed article, and relevant course lectures and readings, this paper argues that modern burial preferences are not only about ecological responsibility but also about reclaiming death as a personal and cultural ritual.

Key Terms and Definitions

Green Burial: A method of burial that avoids embalming chemicals, metal caskets, and concrete vaults. Bodies are typically interred in biodegradable materials, allowing natural decomposition and ecological regeneration (Callender, Conway, & Littlewood, 2021).

Mortuary Rituals: Cultural practices and ceremonies surrounding the treatment, commemoration, and interment of the dead, often reflecting beliefs about the afterlife, kinship, and social values (Schultz & Lavenda, 2022).

Habitus: According to Pierre Bourdieu, habitus refers to the ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions that individuals acquire through cultural experience. These influence preferences and practices, including death rituals (Spence Morrow, 2025, Week 8, Lecture 2).

The Rise of Green Burials: Environmental and Cultural Drivers A popular media article published by Planet Detroit (2024) explores the growing popularity of green burials as an alternative to conventional funerals. The article highlights how traditional methods have a high environmental cost: embalming chemicals leach into the soil, and materials like hardwood, steel, and concrete contribute to pollution and land use issues. In contrast, green burials allow the body to return naturally to the earth, often within protected forested areas. Interviewees express the desire to minimize their ecological footprint and to "return to nature" in death. The article suggests that this trend is not just practical, but spiritual and ethicalrooted in a cultural shift that views death as a regenerative process rather than a clinical finality (Planet Detroit, 2024).

The scholarly article by Callender, Conway, and Littlewood (2021) echoes this sentiment from an academic standpoint. The authors frame green burials as a critique of the corporatization of death systems. They argue that modern burial preferences reflect a reorientation of death practices toward relational and ecological values. Rather than distancing the dead through embalming and visual presentation, green burials encourage closeness, decomposition, and reintegration with the land. This choice allows for personal agency and reflects broader cultural desires to find meaning in death beyond material displays.

Anthropological Context and Course Integration Mortuary rituals, as explored in Chapter 5 of Schultz and Lavenda (2022), are not static; they reflect dynamic cultural beliefs. In the past, Western burials focused on the preservation of the body and permanent memorialization. Green burials disrupt these traditions by emphasizing impermanence and transformation. Rather than sealing the body in metal and concrete, these burials acknowledge decay as part of the life cycle.

Bourdieu's concept of habitus (Spence Morrow, 2025, Week 8, Lecture 2) helps explain how these shifts occur. Habitus shapes our perceptions of what a "proper" burial should look like, based on social norms and personal experience. As environmental concerns become mainstream, the habitus surrounding funerary practices is renegotiated. Choosing a green burial becomes both a cultural and political statement, aligning personal values with ecological consciousness.

This trend also connects to social class and cultural capital. Those who opt for green burials often possess the educational and financial means to access these services and understand their environmental impact. As discussed in lecture, taste and preferences are culturally constructed and can reflect one's position in society. Thus, while green burials may appear egalitarian, they can also reinforce class distinctions.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Death Course material from Spence Morrow (2025, Week 10, Lecture 1) introduces several non-Western mortuary traditions that contrast with or even resemble green burial philosophies. The Toraja people of Indonesia treat death as a prolonged transition, keeping deceased family members in their homes for months or years and eventually burying them in natural cliffside tombs. This ritual affirms social bonds and spiritual transformation.

Similarly, the Huron/Wendat Feast of the Dead involved collective ossuary burials, where bones were disinterred and reburied in communal ceremonies. These practices reflect a view of death as socially integrative rather than individually isolating. Like green burials, these traditions frame death within cycles of nature and community rather than focusing on individual preservation and separation.

While green burials emerge from a contemporary Western context, they reflect values long present in Indigenous and non-Western mortuary customs. The emphasis on natural return, communal memory, and ritualized care aligns modern ecological burial practices with enduring anthropological patterns.

Critical Reflection: Death, Agency, and Inequality Although green burials offer a sustainable and symbolic alternative, they also expose tensions around access and inequality. As the scholarly article notes, the funeral industry has adapted by commodifying green burialsoffering them as premium services in certain cemeteries (Callender, Conway, & Littlewood, 2021). This risks reinforcing disparities in who can access environmentally conscious death rites.

From an anthropological perspective, this reveals how even countercultural practices can be absorbed into dominant economic systems. Cultural resistance, such as choosing green burial, may become another form of status signaling unless broader structural changes make such options universally accessible. Thus, while the practice promotes ecological ethics, it must also be examined through the lens of social justice.

Conclusion The transformation of burial practices in contemporary society reflects more than environmental concern; it signals a profound cultural rethinking of death itself. Green burials challenge traditional Western funerary norms by emphasizing decomposition, ecological harmony, and personal meaning. These practices align with anthropological concepts of ritual, habitus, and cultural change. While rooted in modern values, they echo long-standing Indigenous and non-Western beliefs that view death as a communal and natural transition. However, their accessibility remains shaped by class and social capital. Understanding these dynamics helps us see burial not just as a private choice but as a cultural expression of our collective relationship with death, the body, and the earth.

References Cited

Callender, J., Conway, H., & Littlewood, R. (2021). Beyond the corporatization of death systems: Towards green death? Illness, Crisis & Loss, 29(2), 175-191. https://doi.org/10.1177/10541373211006882

Planet Detroit. (2024, July 24). Green burials grow in popularity as alternatives to traditional funerals. Planet Detroit. https://planetdetroit.org/2024/07/green-burials-grow-in-popularity-as-alternatives-to-traditional-funerals/

Schultz, E., & Lavenda, R. (2022). Chapter 5. In Introduction to Anthropology: Sex, Food and Death (McMaster University Custom Edition, pp. 89-112). Oxford University Press.

Spence Morrow, G. (2025). Pierre Bourdieu and Cultural Taste [Week 8, Lecture 2]. Retrieved from http://avenue.mcmaster.ca

Spence Morrow, G. (2025). Death and Dying: Cross-Cultural Perspectives [Week 10, Lecture 1]. Retrieved from http://avenue.mcmaster.ca