# What is this a picture of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231 "2010-08-24T00:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/21 "2010-08-24T03:29:26Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Compare to the picture of the boneyard in Havana from a 1909 issue of Popular Mechanics [here](http://books.google.com/books?id=qCbZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=%22human+boneyard%22+Havana&source=bl&ots=qGVjA0ExrZ&sig=hBMM6WpibPmuFFKfvwqQVP03dBs&hl=en&ei=4DlzTN6uHIH88AbcuuDkDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22human%20boneyard%22%20Havana&f=false). They’re the cleaned bones of people whose families didn’t keep up with rental payment on their burial plots. Hey, pretty good find. > [@Fubaya](#): > > I can’t view that photo for some reason but [this](http://drfong.blogspot.com/2009/01/macabre-havana-bone-yard.html) looks like a dead ringer for the OPs photo. It could be the same photo (or drawing I guess) as the Popular Mechanics, sorry if it is. They’re different images, but it looks to be the same place. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/22 "2010-08-24T03:33:23Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Compare to the picture of the boneyard in Havana from a 1909 issue of Popular Mechanics [here](http://books.google.com/books?id=qCbZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=%22human+boneyard%22+Havana&source=bl&ots=qGVjA0ExrZ&sig=hBMM6WpibPmuFFKfvwqQVP03dBs&hl=en&ei=4DlzTN6uHIH88AbcuuDkDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22human%20boneyard%22%20Havana&f=false). They’re the cleaned bones of people whose families didn’t keep up with rental payment on their burial plots. That link didn’t work for me; can someone try [this one](http://books.google.com/books?id=Ed4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA27&lpg=RA1-PA27&dq=%22human+boneyard%22+Havana&source=bl&ots=9nJsTU2f6p&sig=l6yBfkw-pTUZLAFrlO8fRVHmPWQ&hl=en&ei=Fz1zTIiuLMiTOLDqlIUP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22human%20boneyard%22%20Havana&f=false)? But yeah, that looks like it. ETA: If it doesn’t show the correct section, the picture is on page 27 of the link. ETA2: According to the text, the bones are placed in quicklime to take off the flesh and thrown in the mound, if the rent isn’t kept up to date. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/23 "2010-08-24T03:33:59Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I can’t view that photo for some reason but [this](http://drfong.blogspot.com/2009/01/macabre-havana-bone-yard.html) looks like a dead ringer for the OPs photo. It could be the same photo (or drawing I guess) as the Popular Mechanics, sorry if it is. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/24 "2010-08-24T09:56:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Tin Eye can’t find any matches for it, so it’s not anywhere else on the Web. No it just means Tin Eye hasnt indexed it yet. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/25 "2010-08-24T10:02:33Z")
The Dope wins again. Awesome thread. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/26 "2010-08-24T11:22:33Z")
I haven’t been to Doctor Fong’s site for a couple years. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/27 "2010-08-24T11:28:07Z")
Cool. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/28 "2010-08-24T12:01:01Z")
Apparently those guys are American soldiers of the Spanish-American War era: [more pics](http://creatingpicturesinmymind.blogspot.com/2009/05/havana-bone-yard-some-grisly-souvenirs.html) I know what’s about to be added to my Cthulhu By Gaslight module. I’ve already got the \*Maine \*being done in by Deep Ones, but this? Ghoulishly good. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/29 "2010-08-24T17:46:47Z")
Thanks for your help, everybody. My friend is delighted with your detective skills. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/30 "2010-08-24T17:51:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Apparently those guys are American soldiers of the Spanish-American War era: > [more pics](http://creatingpicturesinmymind.blogspot.com/2009/05/havana-bone-yard-some-grisly-souvenirs.html) > > I know what’s about to be added to my Cthulhu By Gaslight module. I’ve already got the \*Maine \*being done in by Deep Ones, but this? Ghoulishly good. I have to ask how you found that out. Any particular keywords or webpages or calls to Havana or…? I’m glad to learn that while they were human it’s not a massacre but just a boneyard. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/31 "2010-08-24T17:54:26Z")
I googled “colon cemetery boneyard” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231/32 "2010-08-24T18:00:02Z")
That must have really brought out the Metamucil and bran flakes ads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-a-picture-of/551231.md?page=1)