The Anthropology of Human Boundary Objects
Anthropology is known as the study of anthrôpos, the human being. But where should one locate this study ? In this paper I suggest exploring a particular type of entity that I call human boundary object : an object which is deemed both part of and not-part of the body ; both person and thing ; both self and not-self. Current biomedicine to a large extent depends upon the use of such objects for both research and treatment, and I suggest that they constitute productive sites for the study of classical themes such as personhood, categorization and liminality. I give examples of how such sites can facilitate examination of current negotiations of personhood in the making of new life (e.g. infertility treatment), in the reshaping of bodies (e.g. transplant technology), and upon death (e.g. cremation).