thanatology
THAN-uh-tahl-uh-jee
Definition
The scientific study of death and the practices or behaviors associated with dying, specifically regarding how different species respond to the presence of a deceased individual.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek 'thanatos' meaning 'death' and the suffix '-logia' meaning 'study of,' the term was coined in the early 20th century to describe the medical and scientific examination of death.
In the news
The article uses 'comparative thanatology' to describe the emerging field of study that interprets how animals interact with their dead, highlighting the difficulty of distinguishing between physical behaviors and emotional responses like grief.
Elephants don't simply walk away when one of their own dies — they have been observed keeping vigil beside the body, touching it repeatedly with their trunks and returning days later, suggesting a surprisingly complex awareness of death
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com