{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.burial-tree","code":"thing-q4998809","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q4998809/","name":"burial tree","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.5","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A tree or simple raised structure used to support the dead in tree or scaffold burial, forms of above-ground funerary deposition practised in some cultures, such as among some Indigenous peoples of North America, Siberia and parts of Asia and Oceania; distinct from Tibetan sky burial.","purpose":"Let an agent describe burial trees and related practices respectfully and with ethnographic and archaeological sources.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Exposure of the body above ground, unlike inhumation.","Practices and meanings differ greatly between cultures.","Related to burial scaffolds and sky burial."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"practice","name":"Practice","description":"Which tradition.","layers":[{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"People and region.","findings":[{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"People and region.","questions":[{"text":"Which people and region?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"In which period?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"form","name":"Form","description":"Tree or platform.","findings":[{"id":"form","name":"Form","description":"Structure, preparation of the body, and whether a final resting place or a stage before secondary deposition.","questions":[{"text":"What form did it take?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How was the body prepared?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"meaning","name":"Meaning","description":"Beliefs.","layers":[{"id":"beliefs","name":"Beliefs","description":"Religious 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evidence","description":"Site.","questions":[{"text":"What archaeological evidence exists?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Where?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"today","name":"Today","description":"Heritage and rights.","layers":[{"id":"repatriation","name":"Repatriation","description":"Remains in collections.","findings":[{"id":"repatriation","name":"Repatriation","description":"Status.","questions":[{"text":"Are remains held in collections?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Have they been returned?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"continuity","name":"Continuity","description":"Current practice.","findings":[{"id":"continuity","name":"Continuity","description":"Status.","questions":[{"text":"Is the practice continued today?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Under what rules?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["describe practices respectfully with sources"],"mustNot":["share images or locations of remains without consent","sensationalise funerary practices"],"requiresHuman":["questions of cultural practice, which belong to the communities"]},"ethics":{"considerations":["respect for the dead","Indigenous rights"],"affectedParties":["descendant communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"the community whose practice it is","roles":[],"masterSystems":["ethnographic and archaeological archives"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q12131650","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q2065736","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q6023295","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"funerary structure","type":"related","note":"burial"},{"target":"tree or scaffold burial","type":"related","note":"practice"},{"target":"hanging coffins","type":"related","note":"practice"},{"target":"sky burial","type":"related","note":"Tibetan practice"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.burial-tree","Wikidata: Q4998809 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4998809)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Remains or coffins placed in trees or on raised platforms","Trees or platforms with wrapped bodies or remains placed in branches or on raised supports."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe practices by culture and period","describe related structures (burial scaffolds, platforms)","point to ethnographic sources","explain heritage and repatriation concerns"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Disrespectful treatment or display of remains"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Laws on treatment of human remains and repatriation, such as NAGPRA in the United States"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Funerary practice.","trees used as funerary supports","purpose-built burial scaffolds or platforms"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Q4998809","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4998809","note":"identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks"},{"title":"Scaffold burial","url":"https://americanindian.si.edu/collections-search/edan-record/ead_component%3Asova-nmai-ac-108-ref764","note":"Documented Apsaalooke scaffold burial and culturally sensitive restrictions on archival material."},{"title":"Burial - coffins and caskets","url":"https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/death-the-last-taboo/burial-coffins-and-caskets/","note":"North American tree and scaffold burial using wrapped bodies, coffins, baskets or supported canoes."},{"title":"Disposing of the dead - Exposure","url":"https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/death-the-last-taboo/disposing-of-the-dead-exposure/","note":"Differences between funerary exposure traditions, Solomon Islands examples and Tibetan practices."},{"title":"Chapter 8: Community-initiated repatriation: locating and provenancing Ancestral Remains","url":"https://www.nma.gov.au/about/publications/repatriation-handbook/chapter-8","note":"Secondary deposition following exposure and the importance of community knowledge and provenance."},{"title":"Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nagpra/index.htm","note":"Protection and return of Native American human remains and funerary objects within NAGPRA's scope."}],"openQuestions":[],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q4998809/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q4998809/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-10-22T10:21:25Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-22T11:56:49+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 5 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Structures vary; dimensions belong to each case."},"score":1.0}}