Davies, Chris, and Galloway, Kate (2011) Cultural heritage and the ritual of burial. Cambrian Law Review, 42. pp. 131-148.

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Abstract

Archaeological evidence for the ritual of burial goes back tens of thousands of years, making it one of the fundamentals of human culture. This therefore helps to explain why the issue of retaining human remains in museums around the world is such a sensitive issue. However, rather than being an issue confined to the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, the issue of human remains and their burial also arises within the discourse of law. The cultural importance of burial and the treatment of human remains is reflected in domestic laws dealing with the protection of burial sites, both for the general population as well as for Indigenous people. More recently, the law has had to determine what rights surviving family members should have in determining the burial rites of their kin, particularly when there is a conflict within the surviving family as to where the body should be buried, and what burial rituals should be performed. While the law is still grappling with rights of Indigenous people in relation to human remains of their ancestors, there is a very different and unambiguous approach to dealing with human remains of solders from the Western Front in France.

Item ID:	23115
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	0884-8328
Keywords:	human remains; indigenous peoples; burial rights
Date Deposited:	18 Sep 2012 01:35
FoR Codes:	18 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES > 1801 Law > 180101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law @ 50% 18 LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES > 1801 Law > 180119 Law and Society @ 50%
SEO Codes:	94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9499 Other Law, Politics and Community Services > 949999 Law, Politics and Community Services not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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