Death and disposal of a body....post TEOTWAWKI....

[Rubbertree]

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My granddaddys wish was to be fed to his hogs. The coroner tried to talk my grandma out of it. We layed his crazy ass in there and they wouldn\'t touch him. Finally my cousin who was extremely close to pappy laughed and said \"I wouldn\'t eat your stinkin\' ass either\". We never told my grandma.

[johnnie l.]

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I have bears in the yard most days, they will eat about anything. Good to recycle. That is my first choice for my carcass.

Isn't that the way man eaters are started dead first then live ones You don't want to be responsoble for that.

[no1woodwizar]

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I don't really know much about body disposal but how about, dig a hole, start a large fire in it, add body, when done burning fill in hole. As far as digging a hole goes, I know that here in Tennessee in my yard it is pretty easy to dig a large deep hole after a good rain with just a shovel. You could always dig a large hole before it's needed as a just in case kind of thing and keep it covered with something. If you didn't want to do the burning thing you could always keep a bag of lye around to put on the body when you bury it. I believe lye will help in the decomposition of the body and also the smell of decay. Although these are not nice thoughts I have always believed the body is just a vessel for the soul, and once your soul leaves the body all that is left is an empty vessel. Just my thoughts.

[10eckid]

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Depends on who died and the situation we are in. If it was family/friend, I'm sure more care would be taken and we would do the most respectful way possible. In my part of Tennessee it is very rocky and lots of clay. Some spots would be ok for a burial but most would take quite a while to dig. I think rocks covering the body would probably be the way to go around here.

Others are buzzard bait.

[Rubbertree]

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I think spending thousands of $ on a funeral and a bunch of people standing around is insulting and shameful. My life is a celebration and my death will be too. My favorite dog in the whole world, got cut up and put into crab traps and we ate for days off his dead body. His skull cap is a bowl that I use for starting seeds, storing things and feeding his son and daughter. The rest of his bones went on string to harden and dry until we find uses for them. His tanned hide is hanging with the rest of the hides. His toe nails got made into glue, and his teeth are on a necklace. Nothing is wasted.

[ZAGran]

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There is a health issue involved in leaving dead bodies (human or animal) lying around. When it hits the fan for any reason there will be dead bodies and unless they are disposed of properly you may sicken and die from pathogens carried inside the corpse even if they died of 'lead poisoning'. If you have ever lived in the country and had a cow die within 2 miles of your home that was neither burned or buried you know the stench that can come from a rotting corpse. While the smell may not hurt you directly it can mask other odors you need to smell for survival. (wood smoke, unwashed people, snakes, etc.) It also attracts predators (both 2 and 4 legged)
The mention of predators needs to be considered as well. Once they find a food source in your area they will continue to return to the area in search of more food. And don't assume that there will be no predators. Abandoned pet dogs will quickly go feral (wild)and form packs that have no fear of man. The same applies to people as predators.
So look at your area now and select a place for disposal.
Some rules apply.
Consider your water source. Disposal should be down hill or down stream from that source and if you are part of a community group their water should be protected as well. This applies whether you burn or bury.
You may wish to have two areas, one for your community (be it 2 or 200) and one for strangers.
If you have more than one dead and you elect to bury, nothing against putting more than one body in a grave. The same applies to burning.
The standard 3' wide by 6' long 6' deep grave is designed for caskets. It is possible there will not be any caskets available. So consider burying the bodies in a fetal position. A 6', 200 lb man can then be buried in a 3' x4' grave. Usually 4 feet of soil on top of a body is enough to prevent the odor of decomp from attracting predators and/or varments so shoulder width plus 4' should be enough. That puts us back to about six feet deep for an adult. Digging that deep is difficult so expect to pile rocks on top.
The sooner you bury or burn the better. If there is no casket there will be no embalming. The 'before sundown' or 'within 24 hrs' rule of many societies is there for a reason. HEALTH of the living.
If you have the resources , use a sheet that has been dipped in a .05% solution of bleach (house bleach is 5%) to lower the body into the grave and then fold the sheet over the body. This will help prevent the spread of what ever germs are on or in the body.
Use common sense. Avoid direct contact with the body as much as possible. Use the above mentioned sheet to carry the body or devise some other low or non contact manner to move it. For goodness sake, don't use the well rope or any rope you plan to keep to move the body or lower it into the grave.
WASH your clothes and yourself as thoroughly as possible afterwards. 5 to 10 min in a pot of water at a ROLLING boil (start time at roll, not simmer or bubble) will disinfect clothes of ALMOST any germ. Scrubbing your hands with plenty of water for 10 to 15 min (even without soap) will kill a large percent of germs. It is the friction that does it.
Please think this through. All I have done is about 30 min of web search and have learned a lot. Don't the death of any person endanger or kill you or a member of your family.

[ZAGran]

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Maybe someone will research funeral pyre for burning and describe it.

[RICHFL]

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No opinion on this since I'm still alive! State laws says you have to be buried at lease 6 feet down in a concrete box. (Florida) Do not plan on buying an concrete box yet!

[Applejack]

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We have a cematery down the road from us. So that is where we would leave a body and hope that we won't have to did the hole that just maybe there will already be 1 or 2 holes already dug and we just have to bury the person. This is really something to think about. Not pleasent but since our soles are in heaven anyway and the body is just an empty shell after we die. then just remember when a loved one dies that he or she is in heaven and we will meet up with them again. It would make it easier to know that when we have to find a way to bury our loved ones. But I really hope that this is something none of us will have to face.
AJ

[Morgan101]

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ZaGran brings up excellent points on the sanitation issues. I had heard, but never confirmed the fact that the reason we bury poeple six feet under is that is the point where animals can no longer smell the body ergo they will not try to dig them up. Has anybody else heard of this?

It seems cruel and lazy to just burn all of them, but I certainly don't want to contaminate my water source. Burning would be much faster, especially, if there is a large quantity of them. Let's hope we are not faced with this.