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Corpses, pythons, sleep deprivation: Meditation rituals in Thailand can be intense

Julia Cassaniti
Julia Cassaniti

A decomposing body may not seem like an ideal meditation aid, but at some of Thailand’s tens of thousands of Buddhist temples, it is common to find monks reflecting while seated before a rotting corpse.

It is not only monks who meditate in ways that may seem extreme.

Julia Cassaniti, an anthropology professor at Washington State University, was walking in the woods of a Thai monastery when she heard screams coming from a hut. The laypeople inside were using meditation to interact with their past lives, a struggle that adherents describe as painful.

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MalayMail Online

The New York Times

Cooking the world’s oldest known curry

Why India is a nation of foodies

Had you been washed ashore four millennia ago on the banks of the now lost river of Saraswati and hitched a bullock cart ride to Farmana in the Ghaggar valley near modern-day Delhi, here’s what you might have eaten—a curry.

For in 2010, when advanced science met archaeology at an excavation site in Farmana—southeast of the largest Harappan city of Rakhigarhi—they made history, and it was edible.

Steven Webber
Steve Webber

Archaeologists Arunima Kashyap and Steve Webber, professor of anthropology at WSU Vancouver, used the method of starch analysis to trace the world’s first-known or “oldest” proto-curry of aubergine, ginger and turmeric from the pot shard of a bulbous handi (pot). » More …

Summer archaeology school will explore old riverfront site

New research on an old riverfront site will be a highlight of this summer’s Public Archaeology Field School at Fort Vancouver.

The annual sessions give college students hands-on experience in field research at archaeological sites. Results of the digs help fill in the archaeological record at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, where communities lived long before making contact with white explorers and traders. More recent occupants included the Hudson’s Bay Company and the U.S. Army. » More …

WSU Vancouver graduation ‘an emotional day’

Grads celebrate bonds with family, fellow students, face challenge to help ‘transform our world’

Nearly 1,000 WSU Vancouver students graduated Saturday.

Shortly before taking the stage at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, Debika Finucane, a 21-year-old psychology student, looked at Paula Achter, 62, who after eight years was receiving a certificate in human development. “We made it, Paula,” Finucane said.

“We did; we all made it,” Achter replied. » More …

Arts and Sciences honors outstanding achievement

Fourteen faculty, six staff and seven graduate students were honored for outstanding achievement at the fourth annual College of Arts and Sciences Appreciation and Recognition Social. » More …