Holy Bones

[Dan Chure <danchure@easilink.com>]

I just purchased two books that, while not paleontological in nature, 
might still be of interest to members of these lists.  After all, most 
followers of vrtpaleo and DML have spent a significant amount of their 
lives and careers looking at, measuring, analyzing, photographing, and 
writing about bones.  The books are

Paul Koudounaris 2011. The Empire of Death. A Cultural History of 
Ossuaries and Charnel Houses.  Thames and Hudson: 224 pages.

Paul Koudounaris 2013. Heavenly Bodies. Cult Treasures and Spectacular 
Saints from the Catacombs. Thames and Hudson: 190 pages

Theauthor has a PhD in art history from UCLA.  These books look at the 
origin and evolution in how human bones have been amassed in European 
churches and cities, sometimes by the millions, and usedmake statues and 
emblems to decorate churches across Europe. For example  8 foot 
widechandeliers, composed entirely of bones, hanging inchapels or a coat 
of arms composed entirely of human bones. This started in the late 16th 
century and continued until the latter part of the 19th century.  The 
text is extremely informative and the photos are quite stunning.

I won't waste time trying to describe these books. I would suggest 
visiting the authors' website Empire de la Morte at 
http://empiredelamort.com/  which has info and photos about the books 
and photos of many sites not in the books.

Enjoy!

Dan
<http://gawker.com/bejeweled-european-skeleton-gods-discovered-by-macabre-1284802483>