Why Do Deviant Bells Occur As A Result Of Superstitions?

Deviant burials are widespread in the archaeological record, both from the present day and from centuries past. Examples can range from pone burials, burials with unusual orientation of the body, decapitations, stones or coins placed in the mouth of the deceased, and more (Gardeta & Kajkowski, 2013). Deviant burials occur for several reasons. For instance, one possible goal may be to extend punishment on the deceased as a result of a crime committed, or a personality flaw seen by society. It is even possible for deviant burials to happen as a result of human sacrifice. One popular reason for deviant burials, however, is to prevent the dead from leaving the grave (Guilliano, 2013). Every culture on earth has its own unique set of beliefs and superstitions about the dead, and it’s not unusual for these ideas to play a large role in burial customs. One of the most popular superstitions surrounding the dead is vampirism. Archaeologists today are finding more and more examples of deviant burials that seem to have resulted from the vampire superstition. Superstitions arise because it is a society’s only way of understanding ominous, peril situations, but today many of these superstitions, such as vampirism; can be
In fact, many of the ideas concerning vampirism come from misunderstandings about the process and how a corpse is supposed to look after death (Nuzzolese and Borrini, 2010). One example is believing that someone is a vampire because their hair and nails seem to continue growing after they have died. However, this is actually due to the fact that our skin is shrinking back as a result of decomposition. Another popular belief that comes into play is that of “staking” or weighing down a vampire so that it cannot rise out of the grave