Composted Bodies

[pinefamily]

And I don't see composting of bodies as being too much of a hurdle for future researchers; there is bound to be some records kept.
The biggest hurdle I see is the anonymous donation of eggs and sperm for childless couples. Let future researchers work through that. 

[Viktoria]

Ooh don’t get me started on THAT.
There is the distinct possibility as far as I can see ,that close relatives could have children together without knowing that they are related.
Think of the sad possibilities.
Viktoria.

[pinefamily]

Kissing cousins? 

[John915]

Good afternoon,

I've always understood that any bones left unburnt were ground up. These were then added to the ashes which are the bones anyway. As far as I know the soft tissue doesn't leave any ash, but I may be wrong.

John915

Added, surely any burial in a wooden casket, or similar,  composts over the years anyway. This why only bones are found when Time Team are digging up graves.

[myluck!]

My sister-in-law has expressed a wish to be placed in a brown bin when she dies - definite laws against this!

However I know some cemeteries that are close to underground water supplies insist on particular types of coffins to prevent the spread of disease. 

[John915]

Back again,

Just done a little research. The human body is primarily water, carbon and . Stupid me, forgotten that bit already. During cremation, due to the temperature, all organic matter is vapourised, the water evaporates anyway and the bones burn. After a cooling period the ash is raked out, it all goes through a crusher followed by a magnetic chamber to remove any metal parts. It is then sifted by hand and placed in a container ready for  disposal. The typical male body leaves about 6lb of ash.

John915

[Erato]

In the end, burial, composting and cremation all have the same result.  The body is decomposed. Complex organic molecules are broken down into CO₂ and water which return to the atmosphere.  The mineral elements remain and are returned to the soil from whence they came.  It can be done quickly or slowly; it can be done by fire or by decomposer organisms, but the end products are the same.

[lydiaann]

I believe that land is for the living and intend to be the first cremation in my family when I eventually go (aged 103 sounds good to me, gives me almost 30 years to do the things I want to do).  However, strangely, I am comforted by visits to the graves of my parents, and my 2 beloved brothers as well as that of my grandparents; I tell them what I have been doing and how much I miss them all.  I even had to apologise to one brother, as the only flowers I could get were pink...not really his colour at all but, as I said to him, they went well with the grey marble of his headstone!

[Viktoria]

Lydian,I mis read the last sentence of your post,an idea came to me.
What if the ashes of someone were incorporated in their headstone which would take up,very little room .
It would have to be a composite material but they would be in there ,,almost like added sand,their name,date etc carved as usual.
In the crematorium wher my F in L’s ashes are there seems to be a new kind  of ashes,actually they look like , oh I am sorry but cat litter.
My Dad’s  which we scattered in Belgium were a fine dust.
New process I suppose.
Viktoria.