Bodily circulation and the measure of a life: Forensic identification and valuation after the Titanic disaster

This article analyzes the process of body recovery that took place after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Focusing on how identification was intertwined with valuation, I show how notions of economic class informed decisions about which human bodies were fit for preservation as human bodies. The RMS Titanic steamship was a microcosm of social circulation in the early 20th-century Atlantic, and life on board was systematically stratified according to economic class. During the recovery that following the sinking, 114 bodies, or one-third of the total recovered, were buried at sea, most of them crewmembers or immigrant passengers who had held third-class tickets. Sea burial exposed the bodies to rapid and inaccessible decomposition, thereby selectively excluding those bodies from the archival and forensic record even as those victims’ names and personal artefacts were recorded for posterity. The recovery process thus demonstrates that the material existence of those passengers’ remains was not a given, but instead emerged in varied ways through identification and recovery practices. Such practices drew on notions of economic value and identifiability to shape bodily materials, which were selectively preserved, transformed, and/or put out of reach. As such, I argue that identification and valuation are thoroughly enmeshed with what I call instantiation, or determinations of how and whether something exists.

Key Points

Recovery Process:

The RMS Titanic disaster resulted in over 1,500 deaths, with more than 1,000 bodies never found.
The recovery ship Mackay-Bennett retrieved 337 bodies, but due to limited resources, 114 bodies were buried at sea, mostly those of third-class passengers and crew.

Economic Class and Identification:

Bodies were preserved based on perceived economic value and identifiability.
First and second-class passengers’ bodies were more likely to be embalmed and brought to shore, while third-class passengers and crew were often buried at sea.

Materiality and Decomposition:

Burial at sea led to rapid decomposition, effectively removing these bodies from the archival and forensic record.
The decision to bury bodies at sea was influenced by practical considerations, such as limited embalming fluid, and social biases regarding economic class.

Valuation and Life Insurance:

Life insurance policies often required an identifiable body for claims to be processed.
The burial at sea of third-class passengers disproportionately affected their families’ ability to claim life insurance, reinforcing economic inequalities.

Historical Context:

The Titanic recovery process reflected broader societal attitudes towards economic class and the valuation of human life.
The practices developed during the Titanic recovery influenced future forensic identification methods.

Implications and Legacy:

The article highlights the entanglement of identification, valuation, and material practices in shaping the existence and recognition of bodies.
It calls for more reflexive and socially situated methods of identification to address biases in forensic practices.

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Citation:
Jess Bier Bodily circulation and the measure of a life: Forensic identification and valuation after the Titanic disaster, Social Studies of Science, Vol. 48, No. 5

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