Funerary archaeology (or burial archaeology) is a branch of
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
that studies the treatment and commemoration of the dead. It includes the
study of human remains, their burial
contexts
''Contexts'': ''Understanding People in their Social Worlds'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal and an official publication of the American Sociological Association. It is designed to be a more accessible source of sociological ideas ...
, and from single
grave goods through to monumental
landscapes. Funerary archaeology might be considered a sub-set of the study of religion and belief. A wide range of expert areas contribute to funerary archaeology, including
epigraphy,
material culture studies
Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects creat ...
,
thanatology
Thanatology is the scientific study of death and the losses brought about as a result. It investigates the mechanisms and forensic aspects of death, such as bodily changes that accompany death and the postmortem period, as well as wider psychol ...
,
human osteology,
zooarchaeology
Zooarchaeology (sometimes called archaeozoology), also known as faunal analysis, is a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. These include bon ...
and
stable isotope analysis.
Bibliography
*
Parker Pearson, M. (1999) ''
The Archaeology of Death and Burial''. Stroud: Sutton.
* Tarlow, S. and Nilsson Stutz, L. eds. (2013). ''The Oxford Handbook of Death and Burial''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
References
{{Archaeology
Archaeological sub-disciplines