This article combines recent approximations that question the homology between death and biological demise from an anthropological perspective with the tradition of studies that review the death rituals in the Andean geographical area. In particular, it examines how in El Cajón, Catamarca, Northeast Argentina the dead are incorporated in the cosmologic scheme, and how death, being the initial step for this to occur, is not merely a biological event but also a highly dynamic social process. Based on ethnographical field work and using multiple-session open interviews and participant observation as methodological tools, it presents an analytical proposal that seeks to transcend the homology between death and biological demise, suggesting a notion that includes not only the organic dimension but also the social dimension: the process of death.
Process of death; Absence of vital signs; The coffin
