The Living Dead Anthropology

Several well-known historical films such as The Mummy, Disney’s Pocahontas, Gladiator, Marie Antoinette and Shakespeare in Love are often portrayed based on stereotypes where historical people and events are altered for the sole purpose of entertainment. Take for example the film, The Mummy (1999), which was set in ancient Egypt. The mysterious and yet thrilling element of mummies associated with the belief of curses, along with the Egyptian culture, beliefs and architecture enthrall people to this specific genre. Although The Mummy (1999) teems with suspense and anticipation, it is embellished with false facts and distorts the ancient Egyptian culture to captivate the viewers. Not only did the film manipulate several ancient Egyptian facts

The article “Dead man still walking: Explaining the zombie renaissance” by Kyle Bishop is about the revitalization of the zombie genre. The article talks about the inception in the late 1960’s, the category of zombie films has had its roller coaster ride of ups and downs, starting with its decline in the early 1980’s with the release of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. Furthermore, during 1990’s, due to the shift in the cultural consciousness that came with the Clinton Administration and the countries isolation from global tragedies, the popularity of these films continued to decline. Cultural consciousness refers to the understanding and awareness a shift in feelings, sensations, thoughts, of not only our own culture, but adjoining cultures.

The cultural topic for my research project will be The Day of the Dead. This old Mexican tradition is celebrated to remember and honor all of the dead and loved ones. Celebrated mostly in Latin America this old tradition was created in the 16th century between Mesoamerica and Europe, and has been celebrated since then. The tradition consists of two days. The celebration begins in the first day of November, but the Day of the Dead is on November 2nd. I find this topic interesting because it goes way back into Aztec history. It was the first contact between Mesoamerica and Europe.

Excavations throughout Egypt occurred with many artifacts been removed and taken to Germany. Many of which were speculated to have been moved by deceiving the Egyptian Department of Antiquities. Through the years, Egypt’s most sacred tombs and pyramids have been raided by looters and historical archeologists leaving many of the once buried treasures and bodies removed and or damaged. The obsession of Egyptian artifacts often referred to as Egyptomania has other military leaders like as Napoleon. This type of research also gives a background into human

Recent radar scans in Luxor show evidence of two previously unknown chambers that connect to the tomb of Tutankhamun. The scans suggest this with 90% certainty, and they also suggest that the chambers contain organic matter and metal. While the prospect of fresh tombs that have been untouched for millennia already arouses excitement among anthropologists, archeologists, and many more, there is speculation that Queen Nefertiti's remains may be found in one of the chambers. While Dr. Mamdouh Eldamaty, Egypt’s antiquities minister, suggests that the remains could also be of the young pharaoh’s mother or sister, he says that this could still be the discovery of the century, much like Tutankhamun’s tomb was in the 1900s. Still, there is debate

Zombies, as we know them today, have mortified movie viewers for the last forty six years. Modern zombies first appeared in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968. These zombies were the slow moving, staggering ghouls that one has seen in countless films, but in 1985, Return of the Living Dead featured a new kind of zombie, the first fast moving and talking ghoul. Both Night of the Living dead 1968 and Return of the Living Dead 1985 feature the zombie as its villain, but Return of the living dead’s fast moving, talking zombies are a more modern take on the movie monster.

The tomb was then sealed so that no one could get into the tomb to steal the body. The last fact of the matter is that there were guards guarding the tomb to make sure no one came to remove the body. There was an earthquake scaring the guards of the tomb and they left to report it. Once the guards came back they realized

First let’s take a look at the parallels mentioned in the movies with our current culture. The very first zombie

Tutankhamun’s tomb is the only royal tomb in Egypt to have escaped the discovery of looters and was discovered by archeologist Howard Carter. The death of Tutankhamun was a sudden tragedy that til this day has yet to be solved. The cause of the famous teenage king’s death has been a long drawn out mystery with a range of theories as to how he met his end. There are no historical records explaining the cause or circumstances of his death, nor is there no positive evidence to suggest how he died. However, there are several theories and many of which have changed over the years.

Is it possible to kill an idea when it is undead? Classic movie monsters tend to fade in and out of popularity as audiences grow bored and move on to fresher concepts. But there is one that has risen up and does not seem to slow down: zombies. Zombies have gone from being a small subgenre of horror film to a staple of popular culture across various media. This paper will explore the rise of zombies in popular culture and why it continues to remain relevant.

Personality change, clumsiness, unconsciousness, and the urge to bite. Can all be associated with characteristics of a zombie. This popular phenomenon has been a popular topic in the past decade in films such as “I am Legend” (2007), “Zombieland” (2009), and “World War Z” (2013). And the theme has also even made it into American television such as “The Walking Dead” (2010). Which has caused discussions of can zombies physically exist? Is the idea so farfetched? However, philosophers do not associate zombies with the animated representation of “rotting, flesh-eating, rising from the dead” like they are presented in films and television. In The Stone Reader philosophers have defined zombies as “physically identical to you or me but utterly lacking in internal subjective experience” (Catapano., Peter, & Critchley., Simon, 2016, p.296). Which brings us back to the opening sentence, all these characteristics that we associate with zombies are symptoms of sleeping sickness, sleep walking and rabies along with many more diseases that have the characteristics of a zombie. Similarly, how philosophers have defined what a zombie is, philosophical arguments such as dualism, materialism, and epiphenomenalism can prove that it is possible that zombies can physically exist in our world.

The tombs were used to rest the dead body in peace and then the temples would serve a ceremony to the deceased to prepare the spirit for the eternal life. All these ceremonies and rituals, as a result, were symbolic to the Egyptians and the religious ancients. With their interest in finding a place for the dead body we are now informed of the importance in resting a dead body, and somehow, we may continuously follow their tradition to honor the deceased. Moreover, Mariette Auguste was the one who discovered the Egyptian New Kingdom and the King Sety

Zombies appear to be evolving not only physically, but mentally as well. Due to their adaptations to feelings of sadness, love, and isolation, zombies have been rising in popularity. Their emotional adaptations have extended as far as zombies having romantic relationships, allowing the new genre of film, zombie romance, to peak the horizon and contribute to their prominence throughout history. In addition, the effects of their popularity on society include studies that have shown children obtaining violent and abusive behavior as a result of their exposure to zombies. Critics and cultural writers assert that the physical characteristics of zombies, including their tendency to appear more like humans, change overtime. For example, according to Daniel W. Drezner, “a zombie is defined as a reanimate being occupying a human corpse, with a strong desire to eat human flesh” (Drezner). In addition, other cultural writers such as Todd K. Platts claim that zombies are “corpses raised from the dead and imbued with a ravenous instinct to devour the living” (Platts 1). Although these descriptions reveal that zombies prey on humans and are known to appear like corpses, their feelings of sadness, love, and isolation remain unmentioned. Though I concede the physical traits evolve overtime, I believe critics and cultural writers often overlook the emotional changes in zombies throughout history. Depicted in primary sources such as William B. Seabook’s The Magic Island, Mary Shelley’s

In Ancient Egypt, mummies had to be buried in Egypt in order to have an afterlife. Ancient Egyptians had these three laws that they followed, which were; Ma’at, don’t kill or hurt another Egyptian, and must be buried in Egypt. If an Egyptian didn’t obey the last two laws then they wont be given an afterlife. The place where king

“Our Zombies, Ourselves: Why we can’t get the undead off our brains” is an article written by James Parker in The Atlantic in 2011. He stated that “we might reasonably have expected the first modern zombies to start showing up around 1919” (_______________). It means that zombies came in the 19th century. In this article, Parker discusses the historical background of zombies. Also, he raises remarkably captivating point on the infamy of zombies, and a short timeline on zombies. In addition, he talks about the different sorts of popular cultures which include zombies and are utilized, for example, the movies like Night of the Living Dead, White Zombie, the books like Zombie Haiku, The Zen of Zombie, and the television series like The Walking Dead. Indeed, by using these references, the author helps demonstrate to people about how zombies appear to incessantly lure their interest. Also, the author explained in his article about how the zombies arose, and which prominent movies began to truly make the zombie what it is in these days. In addition, he discusses the role and development of zombies. Also, he stated that people did not reached the peak point of zombies.