Ecological burial involves freeze-drying, composting the corpse
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - 14:01
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ever since the 12th century, the most common way to bury the dead has been to lay the corpse in a casket and then bury the casket several feet underground. Since then, we have learned that casket burials cause environmental and health problems due to the fact that the corpses do not receive enough oxygen to quickly decompose into compost. Instead, the corpses undergo a slow rotting process by bacteria that feed on sulfur, and remaining products can harm the nearby drinking water.