Mass grave

Mass Grave

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Mass grave

A mass grave is a grave containing multiple, usually unidentified human corpses. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave.

Mass or communal burial was a common practice before the development of a dependable crematory chamber by an Italian named Brunetti

Brunetti

Brunetti is a surname may refer to:* Argentina Brunetti , actress and writer* August Brunetti-Pisano , Austrian composer* Enrico Adelelmo Brunetti , British musician and entomologist...
in 1873.

In Paris, the practice of mass burial, and in particular, the condition of the infamous cemetery Des Innocents, led Louis XVI to eliminate Parisian cemeteries.

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Brunetti

Catacombs

Catacombs are ancient, human-made underground passageways or subterranean cemeteries composed thereof. Many are under cities and have served during historic times as a refuge for safety during wars or as a meeting place for cults....
. Les Innocents alone had 6,000,000 dead to remove. Burial commenced outside of the city limits in what is now Père Lachaise cemetery.

Mass graves are usually created after a large number of people die or are killed, and there is a desire to bury the corpses quickly. In disaster

Disaster

File:Post-and-Grant-Avenue.-Look.jpgA disaster is the tragedy of a natural hazard or man-made hazard that negatively affects society or environment ....
s, mass graves are used for infection

Infection

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
and disease

Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
control.

The debate surrounding mass graves amongst epidemiologists includes whether or not, in a natural disaster, to leave corpses for individual traditional burials, or to bury corpses in mass graves: for example, if an epidemic occurs during winter, flies are less likely to infest corpses, reducing the risk of outbreaks of dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the feces. If untreated, Dysentery can be fatal....
, diarrhea

Diarrhea

In medicine, diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea , is characterized by frequent loose or liquid bowel movements. The spelling of "diarrhea" is an appropriation of the Greek "diarrhoia" meaning "a flowing through." ....
, diphtheria

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is an upper Respiration tract illness characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity....
, or tetanus

Tetanus

Tetanus, also called lockjaw, is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, Anaerobic organism Clostridium tetani....
, so the use of mass graves is less important. Recent research indicates that the health risks from dead bodies

Health risks from dead bodies

After disasters with extensive loss of life due to Physical trauma—earthquakes, storms, human conflict, etc.— many resources are often expended on burying the dead quickly, and applying disinfectant to bodies, to prevent disease....
in mass casualty events are very limited and that mass graves might cause more harm than good.

Although mass graves can be used during major conflicts, they are more usually seen after natural disasters such as a major famine

Famine

A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased death....
, epidemic

Epidemic

In epidemiology, an infection that is epidemic appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is "expected," based on recent experience ....
, or natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard which affects human activities. Human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or appropriate emergency management, leads to financial, environmental or human losses....
. In such cases, there is a breakdown of the social infrastructure that would enable disposal of bodies.

Mass grave mapping teams have located 125 Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge

File:CPKbanner.PNGThe Khmer Rouge was the communist ruling party of Cambodia — which it renamed Democratic Kampuchea — from 1975 to 1979....
prison facilities and corresponding gravesites to date in Cambodia

Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
while researching the Killing Fields. Many mass graves filled by communist insurgents with innocent civilian victims were discovered after the Massacre at Hu?

Massacre at Hu?

The Massacre at Hu? is the name given to describe the summary executions and mass killings conducted by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam during their capture, military occupation and later withdrawal from the city of Hu? during the Tet Offensive, considered one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War....
during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
.

Mass grave

See also

External links