SuitabookOssuaries and charnel houses
Greg Roza
- Reading
- Read it together or browse the photographs before discussing the explanations. Pause at unfamiliar terms and ask what each image communicates; allow the reader to skip an unsettling image and return later.
- Themes
- Death and burial traditions: The book explains ossuaries and charnel houses and describes traditions involving the preservation of ancestors’ bones. It appears to present death practices as subjects for explanation and comparison, rather than as a story with a single moral position.
- Cultural variation: The book states that death and burial practices vary between cultures and presents several unusual traditions. The stated angle is comparative and informational, though wording about unusual traditions may make some practices seem unfamiliar or startling.
- Visual encounter with human remains: Photographs show charnel houses and ossuaries, including the Paris catacombs and the decorated Sedlec Ossuary. The images are clearly a major part of the presentation, but their emotional or ethical framing cannot be determined.
- Worth knowing
- The death-focused subject, references to ancestors’ bones and photographs of ossuaries may feel unsettling. Consider looking through the images first, especially if your child is sensitive to bones, burial or ‘creepy’ visual material.