These Were People Once - The Online Trade in Human Remains and Why It Matters

People buy and sell human remains online. Most of this trade these days is over social media. In a study of this 'bone trade', how it works, and why it matters, the authors review and use a variety of methods drawn from the digital humanities to analyze the sheer volume of social media posts in search of answers to questions regarding this online bone trade. The answers speak to how the 21st century understands and constructs 'heritage' more generally: each person their own expert, yet seeking community and validation, and like the major encyclopedic museums, built on a kind of digital neocolonialist othering of the dead.

About the author

Damien Huffer is an osteoarchaeologist and interdisciplinary illicit trafficking researcher. He was most recently Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is one of the cofounders of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online.

Shawn Graham is a digital archaeologist. He is Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of History at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. He is also a cofounder of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online.

Product details

• Authors: Shawn Graham, Graham Shawn, Damien Huffer, Damien Graham Huffer
• Publisher: BERGHAHN BOOKS, INC
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.09.2023
• EAN: 9781805390862
• ISBN: 978-1-80539-086-2
• No. of pages: 236
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Physical, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Archaeology, Social and cultural anthropology, Museology & heritage studies, Museology and heritage studies