The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State: A History of Montana's Cemeteries

The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State is a groundbreaking history of death in Montana that explores the evolution of customs and burial grounds from primitive beginnings to park-like, architecturally planned burial grounds. It discusses cultural identity, changing methods of interment, and the evolution of cemeteries as the "last great necessity" in organized communities.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2021
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State is a groundbreaking exploration of death in Montana, offering a unique, reflective, and sensitive perspective on the evolution of customs and burial grounds. Beginning with the state's first known burial site, Ellen Baumler delves into the archaeological records of early interments in various locations, including rock ledges, under cairns, in trees, and on open-air scaffolds.

Contact with Europeans at trading posts and missions introduced new burial practices, leading to the development of crude "boot hills" and pioneer graveyards. Over time, these graveyards evolved into orderly cemeteries, becoming a hallmark of civilization and a measure of an educated community. Baumler's book explores this untold history of Montana, tracing the pathway from primitive beginnings to park-like, architecturally planned burial grounds where people could recreate, educate their children, and honor the dead.

While The Life of the Afterlife in the Big Sky State does not provide a comprehensive listing of all the hundreds of cemeteries across Montana, it does delve into cultural identity through burial practices, changing methods of interment, and the evolution of cemeteries as the "last great necessity" in organized communities. Through examples and anecdotes, the book examines how we remember those who have passed on.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496214805