Biopresence Trees

A search of 'alternatives to cremation and burial' led me to the website of Biopresence, an 'art venture' concept by U.K and Japanese artists/scientists Shiho Fukuhara and Georg Tremmel. Biopresence makes 'Human DNA Trees' as 'living memorials' or 'transgenic tombstones'. In short they "introduce human characteristics into a plant, without changing the genes of the resulting plant." My first thought was...

...however, after reading through the website it became clear that Human DNA Trees are so not that cool.

Basically through some sciencey mambo jumbo that can be best explained with: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, blah blah blah, crown-galls, yadda yadda yadda, DNA manifold, transhuman-plant gene, and so on and so forth, you get a tree that has some human stuff in it. The Biopresence website, which seems to be under construction and doesn't give any information about how you can go about procuring your transgenic tombstone or how much it will cost (a lot, I bet), explains the process with the following useful diagram:

 

Ooooookay it all makes  perfect sense to me now.

So what do you get when all is said and done? A tree that looks and acts exactly like every single other tree out there. What. A. Concept. The one question on my mind is: why? Whatever happened to being satisfied with planting a normal, Home Depot variety willow to memorialize your loved one symbolically?

I suppose there would be some value here to archaeologists in that maybe they could see whose families were the types to get them made into trees. Then perhaps you could date the approximate time of death based on the tree rings. You could also say something about areas where there are high numbers of these trees. I don't think you could make many other conclusions about an individual based on this type of memorial since there would be no body, coffin, grave goods, etc.

OMG, I just had a thought! What if you made your deceased into a fruit tree, would that be freaky or what? Then if you were a crazy lady you might start selling your late husband's apples at the farmer's market or something and nobody would know.

My Grave Goods

This is the assemblage that would be found in my grave if I had it my way.

1. Pig - A large ceramic pig that found me at Value Village.

2. Ukulele - So my Tutu (Hawaiian for grandma) can teach me to play it in the afterlife, which will presumably take place on a white sandy beach.

3. Pillow Case - Stolen from a club in a state of impaired judgment. Carries fond memories...and a kind of freaky stain.

4. Ancestral Beer Bottle - Yeah, I'm related to that guy on the beer bottle (William Naukana, first Hawaiian settler on Saltspring Island and rumored royal descendant).

5. Fancy Pants Tea Cup (and Twinings Lady Grey tea bag) - The cup is part of a collection from my Nana. Symbolic of my deep love of tea and dainty china.

6. Family Jewels - Inherited sparkly things so future people will think I'm more important than I am.

7. Set of Keys - Because I can't find their owner, and for some reason can't get rid of them.

8. Deck of Cards - I like card games, and also might want to pass the time with solitaire in the afterlife.

9. Tibetan Singing Bowl - Because it's neat and I like it.

10. Decorative Owls - (see #9)

11. Vintage Clock and Opal Necklace - I wear it a lot, and I like it a lot, and it shows that I was stylish and on time.

12. Croquet Mallet - Because I like a good croquet match.

13. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Like lots of my other grave goods, I wouldn't expect this to last many years underground, but it's beloved by me and was gifted to me by a friend.

14. Zinger Head Massager - THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER. The archaeologists who excavate my grave will really appreciate it.

Introduction

My name is Melia and this is my blog for UVic's Anthropology 392 class "Beyond the Grave: The Archaeology of Death." I am in my fourth year of my undergraduate degree and will graduate with my BA in Anthropology next December. After a break from school I hope to further my education with a social work degree, where I feel my anthropology background will be useful.

I am in this class because I enjoyed the last class I took with Erin, and also because I find interesting the ways peoples' attitudes toward the dead vary with time and location.