ZOMBIES:An Introduction to the Undead

OBJECTIVE:By the end of the fourth quarter, using zombies

as a teaching medium, students will complete an interdisciplinary study and be able to describe key aspects of: Folklore & literature Structure and spreading of disease Development of public health Anatomy of the human body Immune system responses Emergency responses and emergency kits Basic and advanced survival techniques Political responses Psychological and social responses

I. WHAT IS A ZOMBIE?

EPIC OF GILGAMESH“I will knock on the gates of the Netherworld,I will smash the door posts, and leave the

doors flat down,And will let the dead go up to eat the living,And the dead will outnumber the living.”

- Written before 1300 B.C.

ZOMBIE – WORKING DEFINITION The reanimated corpse of an organism that

feeds on the flesh and organs of living organisms

Both “historically” and fictionally based createures

II. EVOLUTION OF A ZOMBIE

FOLKLORE Introduction of “zombies” most likely came

from folklore Folklore – legends, music, oral history,

proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, customs, rituals, etc., that make up the traditions of a culture

HAITI Term “zombi” used in Haitian culture to

describe a corpse reanimated by voodoo or witchcraft

NON-MYSTICAL MEANS Havard Ethnobiologist Dr. Wade Davis

hypothesized that two specific powders could create a zombie-like effect

Supposedly developed from hallucinogenic plants and tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin derived from pufferfish

PROCESS: Powder would induce a death like suspended

animation (most likely low life functions, paralysis, or a coma) which would be mistaken for death

Person would awake (sometimes after being buried) and has a psychotic or hallucinogenic epidsode

WEST AFRICA Told that a dead person could be revived and

controlled (since they would have no soul to guide them) by a sorcerer

Sorcerer could take a portion of the soul and keep it (to be sold to others)

Believed if you gave a zombie salt they would return to the grave

SOUTH AFRICA Dead person could be turned into a zombie

by a small child Witches could kill and possess the dead body

III. HISTORICAL EVIDENCE (MAYBE?)

ECUADORIAN RAIN FORESTDATE UNKNOWN Shrunken head making

culture Claim they have to continue

the practice or risk tribal extinction from a demonic menace from thousands of years ago

Eyes and mouth sewn shut, possibly as a result of coming across a plague in which decapitated heads continued to look around and gasp for breath

YORK ENGLAND1ST CENTURY A.D. 80 decapitated skeletons found in a mass

grave site Potentially a gladiator gravesite though

evidence of an arena has not been found Potentially solders, but decapitation was not

commonly seen

ANCIENT ROME3RD CENTURY A.D. Recently discovered

metal slab, folded over a corpse (like a burrito)

Debated whether it was an honor or to keep the corpse in

Romans rarely used coffins to bury, and were always made out of wood

CAHOKIE MOUNDS, ILLINOIS8TH CENTURY A.D. 120 different burial

mounds One of the mounds

had 250 full and partial skeletons that showed signs of a violent execution

Many skeletons missing hands and skulls

Further evidence suggest many were buried alive

MAYAN CIVILIZATION10TH CENTURY A.D. Dominant and advanced civilization began to

dramatically drop in population with numerous unburied remains found

Evidence of widespread cannibalism at the end (arms ripped out of sockets, bones chewed on, children eating parents, entire villages wiped out in short periods of time)

CHACO CANYON, NEW MEXICO13TH CENTURY A.D. Massive population that mysteriously

disappeared 1997, large quantity of remains exhibiting

violent and cannibalistic deaths found

ROANOKE COLONY, NC1590 A.D. Colony of 115 set up and left to develop When ships returned 3 years later, no one or

their remains could be found Havard archaeologist unearthed evidence of

mass cannibalism

THE MARY CELESTE (SHIP)1872 A.D. Ship found adrift with no crew members and

fully stocked supplies No bad weather was in the area for the

month they were at sea Only one lifeboat was missing Crew was very experienced

IV. DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN ZOMBIE

3 DEFINITIONAL ELEMENTS OF A ZOMBIE Reanimated human corpse Unendingly aggressive Biologically infected and infectious

1921 – HERBERT WEST - REANIMATOR Novel that had revived human corpses that

were uncontrollable, mute, and extremely violent

1929 – THE MAGIC ISLAND Novel that most likely introduced the word

“zombi” into North America Touched on Haitian voodoo

1938 – “THINGS TO COME” Viral infection causes infected to wander

slowly and without senses, infecting those who they come in contact with

1968 – “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD” Directed by George Romero Used zombies as a metaphor for government

ineptitude, slavery, and greed Reanimated corpses by radiation from a

satellite returned from Venus Portrayed as slow moving, plodding single

minded creatures Not referred to as zombies, but rather as

ghouls, that didn’t come until in the script for the sequel but not actually in the movie

1968 – “NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD”

2000’S – VARIOUS MOVIES Movies such as the “Resident Evil” series, “I

Am Legend”, “Zombieland”, and “28 Days Later” (though not technically zombies) redefined the expectations of zombies as fast moving

V. VARIOUS UNDEAD CREATURES(NOT TECHNICALLY ZOMBIES)

VAMPIRES: Dead and reanimated, possibly by biological

means However, mental capacity remains if not

heightened as well as physical capacity Diet is strictly based on blood Infection only happens when host vampire

decides

DRAUGR – NORSE MYTHOLOGY Spirit that inhabits and reanimates corpses

FRANKENSTEIN Scientifically created and pieced together

GHOUL Traditionally a

demon that eats flesh and inhabits grave yards

GOLEM A Jewish folklore

being created from inanimate matter

JIANG SHI Chinese Hopping

Vampire Cross between a

vampire and zombie

MUMMIES Reanimated corpse, but not by means of a

biological infection Revived to serve a sole purpose, usually

protection Not infectious

VI. TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A ZOMBIE

ZOMBIE – WORKING DEFINITION (REVISITED) The reanimated corpse of an organism that

feeds on the flesh and organs of living organisms

Both “historically” and fictionally based createures

3 DEFINITIONAL ELEMENTS OF A ZOMBIE (REVISITED) Reanimated human corpse Unendingly aggressive Biologically infected and infectious

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS Typically they eat the

flesh, sometimes only the brains of living things

Initially lumbering creatures though recently they have become faster and more aggressive

Impervious to pain Invulnerable to injury

except to decapitation or damage to brain

VII. ANALYZING AND PREPARING FOR A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE The breakdown of society and civilization due

to an outbreak/infection of zombies Exponentially growing process in which

government and societal norms disintegrate Governmental responses are slow or

inadequate Small groups of humans are forced to fend

for themselves in hopes of outliving the zombies

OBJECTIVE: (revisited)By the end of the fourth quarter, using zombies

as a teaching medium, students will complete an interdisciplinary study and be able to describe key aspects of: Folklore & literature Structure and spreading of disease Development of public health Anatomy of the human body Immune system responses Emergency responses and emergency kits Basic and advanced survival techniques Political responses Psychological and social responses

Assumptions:We will be working within the following

parameters about zombies: Zombies were/are created by some sort of

highly contagious infection passed on through a bite, scratch from an infected zombie

Zombies mobility will at their initial “turning” be equal to that of the “host” that is revived, and steadily decline at the same rate of muscle decomposition

Turning from humans to zombies (reanimation) will occur within minutes of their death

Zombies can be killed by brain trauma and severing the spinal cord

Questions We Will Be Exploring: How might have the idea of zombies (or any unexplainable

phenomena) have been created? How are diseases spread and how can the infection rate become

pandemic and thus lead to a zombie apocalypse? How has public health advancements led to a better society and the

upsetting of the natural order? How are zombie body systems functioning? What would be vital body systems in a zombie? How might the deterioration of other body systems limit the

zombies over time? Why are zombies eating flesh and brains? How would immune system battle the initial infection? How would society respond to an emergency on a large scale when

confronting a zombie apocalypse? How would individuals respond to an emergency such as a zombie

apocalypse? What survival skills would be necessary in the breakdown of society

as we know it? How would people respond to both encountering zombies, killing a

“zombie” love one, general terror, and the breakdown of social norms?

How might remaining society set itself up politically when governments fold?

Primary Objective:By the end of the semester, a higher

percentage of students in this class will survive a zombie apocalypse when compared with the general population.