THANATOGRAPHY Meaning and
Definition
-
Thanatography is a term derived from the combination of two Greek words, "thanatos" meaning death and "grapho" meaning to write or record. It refers to the practice and study of documenting or recording various aspects related to death and dying. Thanatography may encompass a broad range of activities and documents, such as written accounts, photographs, films, or artistic representations, aimed at chronicling and understanding the significance of death in different contexts.
In the field of anthropology, thanatography involves the exploration of burial practices, funeral rituals, and memorialization methods across cultures and time periods. It seeks to capture the ways in which societies perceive and cope with mortality, as well as the cultural expressions surrounding death. By analyzing these records, historians and researchers can gain insights into the evolution of beliefs about the afterlife, the role of death in shaping societies, and the rituals associated with mourning and remembrance.
Thanatography can also denote the study of postmortem examinations and the process of documenting autopsies. In this medical context, it focuses on capturing detailed descriptions of the deceased's physical condition, as well as any observations relevant to the cause of death and forensic analysis.
Overall, the multifaceted nature of thanatography encompasses the preservation of death-related artifacts, the study of cultural perspectives on mortality, and the documentation of postmortem examinations, enabling a comprehensive understanding of human attitudes and behaviors regarding death.
-
1. A description of one's symptoms and thoughts while dying. 2. A treatise on death.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for THANATOGRAPHY
Etymology of THANATOGRAPHY
The word thanatography is derived from two Greek terms: thanatos, meaning death, and grapho, meaning to write or record. Therefore, the literal meaning of the term is writing about death or the recording of death.
