“Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common funerary practice in Tibet wherein a human corpse is cut in specific locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey. The location of the sky burial preparation and place of execution are understood in the Vajrayana traditions as charnel grounds. In Tibet the practice is known as jhator, which literally means, «giving alms to the birds»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A burial master chops bones of a body to feed vultures during a celestial burial ceremony on April 19, 2006 in Dari County of Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province, northwest China. Celestial burial is a traditional funeral of Tibetan people, which began in the 7th century. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Dried and shrivelled corpses, some fully clothed and some in coffins, line the wall of a vault of the Pantheon Cemetery on the summit of Cerro del Trozado in Mexico. They were removed from the crypts because of non-payment of cemetery fees. The hot dry air stopped the bodies from rotting. Most of them were placed here between the turn of the century and WW I. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images). Circa 1955

Chincoteague Ponies swim across Assateague Channel in a heavy downpour on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 during the 88th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim. A portion of the herd will be auctioned on Thursday. (Photo by Jay Diem/Eastern Shore News)

Drummers perform during rehearsals at the Bird's Nest National Stadium ahead of the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Beijing on August 20, 2015. The Athletics World Championships will be held at the stadium from August 22 to 30. (Photo by Greg Baker/AFP Photo)

Fighters from Germany take up position before competing in the Medieval Combat World Championship at Malbork Castle, northern Poland, April 30, 2015. Medieval combat is a full contact sport that revives the foot based tournament fighting of medieval Europe. Countries fight in refereed matches where the objective is to get the opposing team to the floor. There are also duels with polearms, swords and shields where the number of hits landed are scored. The fighters, both male and female, wear heavy armours and weapons, mostly replicas of authentic pieces, and fight following the knights code of conduct. According to organizers, 25 nations from 6 continents are taking part in the Championships, which started on April 30 and will go on until May 3. (Photo by Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Animal rights activists covered with fake blood sit on the floor during a protest against the use of animals in research to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories in central Madrid April 24, 2014. The sign reads, “How many rabbits do your shampoo kill?”. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)

A performer presents a creation from the Haute Coiffure Fall-Winter 2014/15 collection by French designer Charlie Le Mindu during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, July 7, 2014. The presentation of the Haute Couture collections runs from 06 to 10 July. (Photo by Etienne Laurent/EPA)

Women wearing traditional dresses with pins of pictures of former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il welcome foreign reporters on a government organised visit to the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang textile mill in Pyongyang, North Korea May 9, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)