Ritualizing the Death Journey

If I took my car to a mechanic because it had low power, he (or she) would probably use a computer to diagnose it.  In the old days, pre-computer diagnostics, the old school mechanic would put his hand up against the exhaust pipe to determine how much air was being exhausted, at what pressure and also its smell.  A doctor of civilization, diagnosing a powerless culture would certainly look at its relationship with death, the exhaust point of human life on Earth.