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Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objects in it, and covering it over. A funeral is a
ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...
that accompanies the final disposition. Humans have been burying their dead since shortly after the origin of the species. Burial is often seen as indicating respect for the dead. It has been used to prevent the odor of decay, to give family members closure and prevent them from witnessing the decomposition of their loved ones, and in many cultures it has been seen as a necessary step for the deceased to enter the
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving e ...
or to give back to the cycle of life. Methods of burial may be heavily ritualized and can include
natural burial Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to other contemporary Western burial methods and funerary ...
(sometimes called "green burial");
embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
or mummification; and the use of containers for the dead, such as shrouds,
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
s, grave liners, and
burial vaults A burial vault (also known as a burial liner, grave vault, and grave liner) is a container, formerly made of wood or brick but more often today made of metal or concrete, that encloses a coffin to help prevent a grave from sinking. Wooden coffin ...
, all of which can retard decomposition of the body. Sometimes objects or grave goods are buried with the body, which may be dressed in fancy or ceremonial garb. Depending on the culture, the way the body is positioned may have great significance. The location of the burial may be determined by taking into account concerns surrounding health and sanitation, religious concerns, and cultural practices. Some cultures keep the dead close to provide guidance to the living, while others "banish" them by locating burial grounds at a distance from inhabited areas. Some religions
consecrate Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
special ground to bury the dead, and some families build private family
cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
. Most modern cultures document the location of graves with
headstones A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...
, which may be inscribed with information and tributes to the deceased. However, some people are buried in anonymous or secret graves for various reasons. Sometimes multiple bodies are buried in a single grave either by choice (as in the case of married couples), due to space concerns, or in the case of
mass graves A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
as a way to deal with many bodies at once. Alternatives to burial include cremation (and subsequent interment),
burial at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different location ...
and
cryopreservation Cryo-preservation or cryo-conservation is a process where organisms, organelles, cells, tissues, extracellular matrix, organs, or any other biological constructs susceptible to damage caused by unregulated chemical kinetics are preserved by co ...
. Some human cultures may bury the remains of beloved animals. Humans are not the only species to bury their dead; the practice has been observed in
chimpanzees The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative the ...
, elephants, and possibly
dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...
.


History

Intentional burial, particularly with grave goods, may be one of the earliest detectable forms of religious practice since, as
Philip Lieberman Philip Lieberman (October 25, 1934 – July 12, 2022) was a cognitive scientist at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Originally trained in phonetics, he wrote a dissertation on intonation. His career focused on topi ...
suggests, it may signify a "concern for the dead that transcends daily life." Evidence suggests that the
Neanderthals Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While ...
were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones. Exemplary sites include
Shanidar Shanidar Cave ( ku, Zewî Çemî Şaneder ,ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر, ) is an archaeological site located on Bradost Mountain, within the Zagros Mountains, in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. It is known for th ...
in Iraq,
Kebara Cave Kebara Cave ( he, מערת כבארה, Me'arat Kebbara, ar, مغارة الكبارة, Mugharat al-Kabara) is a limestone cave locality in Wadi Kebara, situated at above sea level on the western escarpment of the Carmel Range, in the Ramat H ...
in Israel and Krapina in Croatia. Some scholars, however, argue that these bodies may have been disposed of for secular reasons. Though there is ongoing debate regarding the reliability of the dating method, some scholars believe the earliest human burial dates back 100,000 years. Human skeletal remains stained with
red ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
were discovered in the Skhul cave at
Qafzeh Mount Precipice ( he, הר הקפיצה, "''Har HaKfitsa''"; ar, جبل القفزة, "''Jebel al-Qafzeh''", "Mount of the Leap"), also known as Mount of Precipitation, Mount of the Leap of the Lord and Mount Kedumim is located just outside the ...
, Israel. A variety of grave goods were present at the site, including the mandible of a wild boar in the arms of one of the skeletons. In ancient Egypt, customs developed during the
Predynastic period Prehistoric Egypt and Predynastic Egypt span the period from the earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period around 3100 BC, starting with the first Pharaoh, Narmer for some Egyptologists, Hor-Aha for others, with th ...
. Round graves with one pot were used in the Badarian Period (4400-3800 B.C.E.), continuing the tradition of Omari and Maadi cultures. Prehistoric
cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
are referred to by the more neutral term
grave field A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers. Types Grave fields can ...
. They are one of the chief sources of information on prehistoric cultures, and numerous
archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between these ...
s are defined by their burial customs, such as the
Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
of the European Bronze Age. During the Early Middle Ages, the reopening of graves and manipulation of the corpses or artifacts contained within them was a widespread phenomenon and a common part of the life course of early medieval cemeteries across
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ar ...
. The reopening of furnished or recent burials occurred over the broad zone of European row-grave-style furnished inhumation burial, especially from the 5th to the 8th centuries CE, which comprised the regions of Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
, Germany, the Low Countries, France, and South-eastern England.


Reasons for human burial

After death, a body will decay. Burial is not necessarily a public health requirement. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the WHO advises that only corpses carrying an infectious disease strictly require burial. Human burial practices are the manifestation of the human desire to demonstrate "respect for the dead". Cultures vary in their mode of respect. Some reasons follow: * Respect for the physical remains. If left lying on top of the ground, scavengers may eat the corpse, considered disrespectful to the deceased in many (but not all) cultures. In Tibet,
sky burial Sky burial (, "bird-scattered") is a funeral practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to decompose while exposed to the elements or to be eaten by scavenging animals, especially carrion birds. It is a specific type of the g ...
s deliberately encourage scavenging of human remains in the interest of returning them to nature, just as within Zoroastrianism, where burial and cremation were often seen as impure (as human remains are polluted, while the earth and fire are sacred). * Burial can be seen as an attempt to bring closure to the deceased's family and friends. Psychologists in some Western Judeo-Christian quarters, as well as the US funeral industry, claim that by interring a body away from plain view the pain of losing a loved one can be lessened. * Many cultures believe in an
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving e ...
. Burial is sometimes believed to be a necessary step for an individual to reach the afterlife. * Many religions prescribe a particular way to live, which includes customs relating to disposal of the dead. * A decomposing body releases unpleasant gases related to decomposition. As such, burial is seen as a means of preventing smells from expanding into open air.


Burial methods

In many cultures, human corpses were usually buried in soil. The roots of burial as a practice reach back into the Middle Palaeolithic and coincide with the appearance of ''
Homo neanderthalensis Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
'' and '' Homo sapiens'', in Europe and Africa respectively. As a result, burial grounds are found throughout the world. Through time, mounds of earth, temples, and caverns were used to store the dead bodies of
ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
s. In modern times, the
custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...
of burying dead people below ground, with a stone marker to indicate the burial place, is used in most
cultures Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylor ...
; although other means such as cremation are becoming more popular in the West (cremation is the norm in India and mandatory in big metropolitan areas of Japan). Some burial practices are heavily ritualized; others are simply practical.


Burial depth

It is a common misconception that graves must be dug to a depth of six feet (1.8 metres). This is reflected in the common euphemism for death of ''six feet under''.James K. Crissman, ''Death and Dying in Central Appalachia: Changing Attitudes and Practices'', University of Illinois Press, 1994, pp. 1, 62. . In fact, graves are rarely dug to this depth except when it is intended to later bury a further coffin or coffins on top of the first one. In such cases, more than six feet may be dug, to provide the required depth of soil above the top coffin.Mary LaCoste, ''Death Embraced: New Orleans Tombs and Burial Customs'', Lulu, 2015, pp. 56, . In the United States, there is no nationwide regulation of burial depth. Each local authority is free to determine its own rules. Requirements for depth can vary according to soil type and by method of burial. California, for instance, requires only 19 inches of soil above the top of the coffin, but more commonly 30 to 36 inches are required in other places. In some areas, such as central
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...
, graves were indeed once dug to a depth of six feet to prevent the body being disturbed by burrowing animals. However, this was unnecessary once metal caskets and concrete vaults started to be used. In the United Kingdom, soil is required to be to a depth of three feet above the highest point of the coffin, unless the burial authority consider the soil to be suitable for a depth of only two feet. The earliest known reference to a requirement for a six-foot burial occurred in 1665 during the Great Plague of London. John Lawrence, the Lord Mayor of London, ordered that the bodies of plague victims "...shall be at least six foot deep." The city officials apparently believed this would inhibit the spread of the disease, not realising that the true vector was fleas living on rats in the streets. In the event, there were so many victims that very few were buried in individual graves. Most were placed in massive
plague pit A plague pit is the informal term used to refer to mass graves in which victims of the Black Death were buried. The term is most often used to describe pits located in Great Britain, but can be applied to any place where bubonic plague victims were ...
s so it is unlikely that this event alone gave rise to the "six feet" tradition.


Natural burial

Natural burial Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to other contemporary Western burial methods and funerary ...
—also called "green burial"—is the process by which a body is returned to the earth to decompose naturally in soil, and in some cases even protect native and endangered wildlife. Natural burial became popularized in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s by Ken West, a professional cremator operator for the
city of Carlisle The City of Carlisle ( , ) is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the town ...
, responding to the U.K's call for changes in government that aligned with the United Nations' Environmental Program Local Agenda 21. In addition, there are multiple green burial sites in the United States. Green burials are developing in Canada (Victoria, BC, and Cobourg, Ontario), as well as in Australia and Ireland. The increase in popularity of alternative burials can be seen as a direct choice of the individual's want to distance themselves from religious practices and spiritual locations as well as an opportunity to exercise their act of choice. The desire to live through nature as well as concern for the environment have been the backbone of the green burial movement. The use of
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
s made from alternative materials such as wicker and
biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradat ...
materials as well as trees and other flora are being used in place of headstones. Both practices provide sustainable alternatives to traditional burial practices. Natural burials have been attracting people for reasons outside of environmental and sustainability factors as well. With the expansion of urban centres, ecological corridors gradually disappear. Cemeteries for burial plots preclude alternative uses of the land for a long time. By combining these two aspects (need for connectivity and land take imposed by cemeteries), two positive results can be achieved: protecting memories of the past and connecting ecosystems with multiple-use corridors. Green burials appeal to people for economic reasons. Traditional burial practices can be a financial burden causing some to turn to green burials as a cheaper alternative. Some people view green burials as more meaningful, especially for those who have a connection to a piece of land, such as current residence or other places that hold meaning for them.


Types of natural burial


=Conservation burial

= Conservation burial is a type of burial where burial fees fund the acquisition and management of new land to benefit native habitat, ecosystems and species. This usually involves a legal document such as a
conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...
. Such burials go beyond other forms of natural burial, which aim to prevent environmental damage caused by conventional burial techniques, by actually increasing benefits for the environment. The idea is for the burial process to be a net positive for the earth rather than just neutral. Scientists have argued that such burials could potentially generate enough funds to save every endangered species on the planet. The Green Burial Council certifies natural and conservation burial grounds in the United States and Canada.


=Memorial reef

= The memorial reef is a natural, alternative approach to burial. The cremated remains of a person are mixed in with concrete and then placed into a mold to make the memorial reef or eternal reef. After the concrete sets, family members are allowed to customize the reef with writing, hand prints and chalk drawings. After this, the eco-friendly reefs are placed into the ocean among other coral reefs where they help to repair damage to the reefs while also providing new habitats for fish and other sea communities. It has become a new way to memorialize the passing person while also protecting the marine environment. The high cost of the memorial reefs has caused this alternative form of burial to remain minimal and uncommon. This kind of natural burial is practiced in permitted oceans in the United States specifically in locations around Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.


=Alkaline hydrolysis

=
Alkaline hydrolysis Alkaline hydrolysis, in organic chemistry, usually refers to types of nucleophilic substitution reactions in which the attacking nucleophile is a hydroxide ion. Example In the alkaline hydrolysis of esters and amides the hydroxide ion nucleophi ...
, also referred to as resomation, is another approach to natural burial. It uses high temperature water mixed with potassium hydroxide to dissolve human remains. During this process, the body is put into an enclosed, stainless steel chamber. The chamber fills with the chemical and water solution and is then lightly circulated. After a couple of hours, the body is worn down and bone is the only thing that remains. The bones are then pressed down into a powder and returned to the associated family. The outcome is comparable to cremation but results in an environmentally friendly process that does not release chemical emissions and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, as was confirmed after a review by the Health Council of the Netherlands. After this process, the water used goes to a regular water treatment facility where it is filtered and cleaned and returned to the water cycle. At this time, resomation is permitted for commercial use in areas throughout the United States. However, several other countries, including the United Kingdom are considering using this technology within their medical schools and universities.


=Mushroom burial

= Mushroom burial has been developed by
Jae Rhim Lee Jae Rhim Lee (born 1975 in Gwangju, South Korea) is an artist and TED Fellow working at the intersection of art, science, and culture. Lee aims to promote "acceptance of and a personal engagement with death and decomposition" by breeding a uniqu ...
and her colleagues to address the impact traditional burial approaches have on the environment. It is an eco-friendly process which consists of dressing the cadaver in a bodysuit with mushroom spores woven into it, nicknamed the Infinity Burial Suit. Rhim developed her own mushrooms by feeding them her hair, skin, and nails to create a mushroom variety that will best decompose human remains. As the mushrooms grow, they consume the remains within the suit as well as the toxins that are being released by the body. Rhim and her colleagues created this suit as a symbol of a new way for people to think about the relationship between their body after death and the environment.


= Tree pod burials

= Another method of natural burial is being developed to plant the human body in
fetal position Fetal position (British English: also foetal) is the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops. In this position, the back is curved, the head is bowed, and the limbs are bent and drawn up to the torso. A compact position is ...
inside an egg shaped pod. The pod containing the body will form a
biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradat ...
capsule that will not harm the surrounding earth. The biodegradable capsule doubles as a seed which can be customized to grow into either a
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
,
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
, or eucalyptus tree. The goal of this method is to create parks full of trees that loved ones can walk through and mourn, as opposed to a graveyard full of tombstones. This method aims to return the body to the earth in the most environmentally friendly way possible. The tree pod method originated in the United Kingdom but is now becoming a more popular method of burial. The definition of natural burial grounds suggests that people are being buried without any kind of formaldehyde-based embalming fluid or synthetic ingredients, and that the bodies that are being returned to the earth will also be returning nutrients to the environment, in a way that is less expensive than other available burial methods. Not only are tree pods a more cost effective and environmentally friendly way to memorialize loved ones, this method also offers emotional support. The memories of loved ones will be immortalized through the concept of a deceased person having a medium (trees) that will continue to live and grow.


Prevention of decay

Embalming Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
is the practice of preserving a body against decay and is used in many cultures. Mummification is a more extensive method of embalming, further delaying the decay process. Bodies are often buried wrapped in a shroud or placed in a
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
(or in some cases, a casket). A larger container may be used, such as a ship. In the United States, coffins are usually covered by a grave liner or a burial vault, which prevents the coffin from collapsing under the weight of the earth or floating away during a flood. These containers slow the decomposition process by (partially) physically blocking decomposing bacteria and other organisms from accessing the corpse. An additional benefit of using containers to hold the body is that if the soil covering the corpse is washed away by a flood or some other natural process then the corpse will still not be exposed to open air.


Inclusion of clothing and personal effects

The body may be dressed in fancy and/or ceremonial clothes. Personal objects of the deceased, such as a favorite piece of jewelry or photograph, may be included with the body. This practice, also known as the inclusion of grave goods, serves several purposes: * In funeral services, the body is often put on display. Many cultures feel that the deceased should be presented looking his or her finest. Others dress the deceased in burial shrouds, which range from very simple to elaborate depending on the culture. * The inclusion of ceremonial garb and sacred objects is sometimes viewed as necessary for reaching the
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving e ...
. * The inclusion of personal effects may be motivated by the beliefs that in the afterlife people will wish to have with them what was important to them on earth. Alternatively, in some cultures, it is felt that, when a person dies, their possessions (and sometimes people connected to them such as
wives A wife ( : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, a wife is referred to as ...
) should go with them out of loyalty or ownership. * Although not generally a motivation for the inclusion of grave goods with a corpse, it is worth considering that future
archaeologists 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 landscapes ...
may find the remains (compare time capsule). Artifacts such as clothing and objects provide insight into how the individual lived. This provides a form of immortality for the deceased. In general, however, clothing buried with a body decays more rapidly than the same buried alone.


Traditions


Body positioning

Burials may be placed in a number of different positions. Bodies with the arms crossed date back to ancient cultures such as
Chaldea Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...
in the 10th century BC, where the "X" symbolized their sky god. Later ancient
Egyptian gods Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural fo ...
and royalty, from approximately 3500 B.C. are shown with crossed arms, such as the god Osiris, the Lord of the Dead, or mummified royalty with crossed arms in high and low body positions, depending upon the dynasty. The burial of bodies in the extended position, i.e., lying flat with arms and legs straight, or with the arms folded upon the chest, and with the eyes and mouth closed. Extended burials may be supine (lying on the back) or prone (lying on the front). However, in some cultures, being buried face down shows marked disrespect like in the case of the Sioux. Other ritual practices place the body in a flexed position with the legs bent or crouched with the legs folded up to the chest. Warriors in some ancient societies were buried in an upright position. In Islam, the body is placed in supine position, hands along the sides and the head is turned to its right with the face towards the Qibla. Many cultures treat placement of dead people in an appropriate position to be a sign of respect even when burial is impossible. In nonstandard burial practices, such as
mass burial A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
, the body may be positioned arbitrarily. This can be a sign of disrespect to the deceased, or at least nonchalance on the part of the inhumer, or due to considerations of time and space.


Orientation

Most often, a burial will be oriented to a specific direction for religious purposes, as are the case for persons of the
Abrahamic faiths The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...
. Standard Jewish burials are made supine east-west, with the head at the western end of the grave, in order to face Jerusalem. In other cases, the body may be buried on a north-south axis, or, simply facing towards the exit of the cemetery or burial grounds. This is done in order to facilitate the return to Israel foretold of all those who are resurrected at the end of time following the coming of the Messiah. Historically, Christian burials followed similar principles, where the body was placed east-west, to mirror the layout of Christian churches, which were themselves oriented as such for much the same reason; to view the coming of Christ on Judgment day ( Eschaton). In many Christian traditions, ordained clergy are traditionally buried in the opposite orientation, and their coffins carried likewise, so that at the General Resurrection they may rise facing, and ready to minister to, their people. In an
Islamic funeral Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam ( ar, جنازة, Janazah) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial ...
, the grave should be aligned perpendicular to the Qibla (the direction to the Kaaba in Mecca) with the face turned to the right along the Qibla.


Inverted burial

For humans, maintaining an upside down position, with the head vertically below the feet, is highly uncomfortable for any extended period of time, and consequently burial in that attitude (as opposed to attitudes of rest or watchfulness, as above) is highly unusual and generally symbolic. Occasionally suicides and assassins were buried upside down, as a post-mortem punishment and (as with burial at cross-roads) to inhibit the activities of the resulting undead. In '' Gulliver's Travels'', the Lilliputians buried their dead upside down: Swift's notion of inverted burial might seem the highest flight of fancy, but it appears that among English millenarians the idea that the world would be "turned upside down" at the Apocalypse enjoyed some currency. There is at least one attested case of a person being buried upside down by instruction; a Major Peter Labilliere of Dorking (d. 4 June 1800) lies thus upon the summit of Box Hill. Similar stories have attached themselves to other noted eccentrics, particularly in southern England, but not always with a foundation in truth.


Burial traditions throughout the world


South Korea

South Korea's funeral arrangements have drastically changed in the course of only two decades according to Chang-Won Park. Park states that around the 1980s at home funeral ceremonies were the general norm, straying away from anywhere that was not a family home. Dying close to home, with friends and family, was considered a 'good death', while dying away from home was considered a 'bad death'. This gradually changed as the upper and middle class started holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. This posed an issue for hospitals because of the rapid increase in funerals being held and maxing occupancy. This resolved when a law was passed to allow the civilian population to hold funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. The lower class then followed suit, copying the newly set traditions of the upper classes. With this change, the practice of cremation became viewed more as an alternative to traditional burials. Cremation was first introduced by
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, but was banned in 1470. It wasn't until the Japanese colonization period that cremation was re-introduced in 1945 and later lifted the ban. It took until 1998 for cremation to rapidly grow in popularity.


Tana Toraja

A Ted Talk done by Kelli Swazey discusses how
Tana Toraja Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 census and 28 ...
, a Sulawesi province in Eastern Indonesia, experiences death as a process, rather than an event. The culture of Tana Toraja views funerals as the most important event in a person's life. Because of this importance placed on death, Tana Toraja landscape is covered in the rituals and events transpired after death. The hierarchy of an individual's life is based on the sacrifices of animals made after their death. Funerals tend to be celebrated by Tana Toraja people, typically lasting days to even weeks long. Death is seen as a transformation, rather than a private loss. A Torajan is not considered 'dead' until their family members are able to collect the resources necessary to hold a funeral that expresses the status of the deceased. Until these funerals are upheld the deceased are held in Tongkonan, built to house corpses that are not considered 'dead'. The deceased can be held in Tongkonan for years, waiting for their families to collect the necessary resources to hold a funeral. The Tongkonan represents both the identity of the family and the process of birth and death. The process of birth and death is shown by having the houses that individuals are born in be the same structure as the Tongkonan, houses that individuals die in. Up until the funeral the deceased being housed in the Tongkonan are symbolically treated as members of the family, still being cared for by family members.


Australian Aboriginals (Northern Territory)

Northern Territory
Australian Aboriginals Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Island ...
have unique traditions associated with a loved one's death. The death of a loved one sparks a series of events such as smoking out the spirit, a feast, and leaving out the body to decompose. Immediately after death, a smoking ceremony is held in the deceased's home. The smoking ceremonies purpose is to expel the spirit of the deceased from their living quarters. A feast is held where mourners are covered in
ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
, an earthy pigment associated with clay, while they eat and dance. The traditional corpse disposal of the Aboriginals includes covering the corpse in leaves on a platform. The corpse is then left to decompose.


Burial among African-American slaves

In the African-American slave community, slaves quickly familiarized themselves with funeral procedures and the location of gravesites of family and friends. Specific slaves were assigned to prepare dead bodies, build coffins, dig graves, and construct headstones. Slave funerals were typically at night when the workday was over, with the master present to view all the ceremonial procedures. Slaves from nearby plantations were regularly in attendance. At death, a slave's body was wrapped in cloth. The hands were placed across the chest, and a metal plate was placed on top of their hands. The reasoning for the plate was to hinder their return home by suppressing any spirits in the coffin. Often, personal property was buried with slaves to appease spirits. The coffins were nailed shut once the body was inside, and carried by hand or wagon, depending on the property designated for slave burial site. Slaves were buried oriented East to West, with feet at the Eastern end (head at the Western end, thus raising facing East). According to Christian doctrine, this orientation permitted rising to face the return of Christ without having to turn around upon the call of Gabriel's trumpet. Gabriel's trumpet would be blown near the Eastern sunrise.


Burial in the Baháʼí Faith

In the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
, burial law prescribes both the location of burial and burial practices and precludes cremation of the dead. It is forbidden to carry the body for more than one hour's journey from the place of death. Before interment the body should be wrapped in a shroud of silk or cotton, and a ring should be placed on its finger bearing the inscription "''I came forth from God, and return unto Him, detached from all save Him, holding fast to His Name, the Merciful, the Compassionate''". The coffin should be of crystal, stone or hard fine wood. Also, before interment, a specific Prayer for the Dead is ordained. The body should be placed with the feet facing the Qiblih. The formal prayer and the ring are meant to be used for those who have reached fifteen years of age.


Locations


Where to bury

Apart from sanitary and other practical considerations, the site of burial can be determined by religious and socio-cultural considerations. Thus in some traditions, especially with an animistic logic, the remains of the dead are "banished" for fear their spirits would harm the living if too close; others keep remains close to help surviving generations. Religious rules may prescribe a specific zone, e.g. some Christian traditions hold that Christians must be buried in consecrated ground, usually a
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
; an earlier practice, burial in or very near the church (hence the word churchyard), was generally abandoned with individual exceptions as a high posthumous honour; also many existing funeral monuments and crypts remain in use. Royalty and high nobility often have one or more "traditional" sites of burial, generally monumental, often in a palatial chapel or cathedral. In North America, private family cemeteries were common among wealthy landowners during the 18th and 19th centuries. Many prominent people were buried in private cemeteries on their respective properties, sometimes in lead-lined coffins. Many of these family cemeteries were not documented and were therefore lost to time and abandon; their grave markers having long since been pilfered by vandals or covered by forest growth. Their locations are occasionally discovered during construction projects.


Marking the location of the burial

Most modern cultures mark the location of the body with a headstone. This serves two purposes. First, the
grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...
will not accidentally be exhumed. Second, headstones often contain information or tributes to deceased. This is a form of remembrance for loved ones; it can also be viewed as a form of immortality, especially in cases of famous people's graves. Such monumental inscriptions may subsequently be useful to genealogists and family historians. In many cultures graves will be grouped, so the monuments make up a necropolis, a "city of the dead" paralleling the community of the living.


Unmarked grave

In many cultures graves are
marked In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant defau ...
with durable markers, or monuments, intended to help remind people of the buried person. An
unmarked grave An unmarked grave is one that lacks a marker, headstone, or nameplate indicating that a body is buried there. However, in cultures that mark burial sites, the phrase unmarked grave has taken on a metaphorical meaning. Metaphorical meaning As a f ...
is a
grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...
with no such memorial marker.


Anonymous burial

Another sort of unmarked grave is a burial site with an anonymous marker, such as a simple
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
; boots, rifle and helmet; a sword and shield; a cairn of stones; or even a monument. This may occur when identification of the deceased is impossible. Although many unidentified deceased are buried in potter's fields, some are memorialized, especially in smaller communities or in the case of deaths publicized by local media. Anonymous burials also happen in poorer or disadvantaged populations' communities in countries such as South Africa, where in the past the Non-white population was simply too poor to afford headstones. At the cemetery in a small rural town of Harding, KwaZulu-Natal, many grave sites have no identification, and just have a border of stones which mark out the dimensions of the grave site itself. Many countries have buried an unidentified soldier (or other member of the military) in a prominent location as a form of respect for all unidentified war dead. The United Kingdom's Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is in Westminster Abbey, France's is buried underneath the
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
, Italy's is buried in the Monumento al Milite Ignoto in Rome, Canada's is buried at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Australia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located at the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving p ...
in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ...
, New Zealand's Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
is in
Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for betwee ...
in Moscow and the United States' Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
. Many cultures practice anonymous burial as a norm, not an exception. For instance, in 2002 a survey for the Federal Guild of German Stonemasons found that, depending on the location within Germany, from 0% to 43% of burials were anonymous. According to ''
Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews b ...
'' magazine, the perspective of the Roman Catholic Church is that anonymous burials reflect a dwindling belief in God. Others claim that this trend is mainly driven by secularism and the high costs of traditional burials.


Secret burial

In rare cases, a known person may be buried without identification, perhaps to avoid
desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...
of the corpse,
grave robbing Grave robbery, tomb robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a grave, tomb or crypt to steal commodities. It is usually perpetrated to take and profit from valuable artefacts or personal property. A related act is body snatching, a term ...
, or vandalism of the burial site. This may be particularly the case with infamous or notorious figures. In other cases, it may be to prevent the grave from becoming a
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
attraction or a destination of pilgrimage. Survivors may cause the deceased to be buried in a secret location or other unpublished place, or in a grave with a false name (or no name at all) on the marker. When Walt Disney was cremated his ashes were buried in a secret location in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, California. Some burial sites at Forest Lawn, such as those of
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...
, Mary Pickford and
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
, are secluded in private gated gardens or mausoleums with no public access. A number of tombs are also kept from the public eye. Forest Lawn's Court of Honor indicates that some of its crypts have plots which are reserved for individuals who may be "voted in" as "Immortals"; no amount of money can purchase a place. Photographs taken at Forest Lawn are not permitted to be published, and their information office usually refuses to reveal exactly where the remains of famous people are buried.


Multiple bodies per grave

Some couples or groups of people (such as a married couple or other family members) may wish to be buried in the same plot. In some cases, the coffins (or urns) may simply be buried side by side. In others, one casket may be interred above another. If this is planned for in advance, the first casket may be buried more deeply than is the usual practice so that the second casket may be placed over it without disturbing the first. In many states in Australia all graves are designated two or three depth (depending of the water table) for multiple burials, at the discretion of the burial rights holder, with each new interment atop the previous coffin separated by a thin layer of earth. As such all graves are dug to greater depth for the initial burial than the traditional six feet to facilitate this practice.
Mass burial A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
is the practice of burying multiple bodies in one location. Civilizations attempting genocide often employ mass burial for victims. However, mass burial may in many cases be the only practical means of dealing with an overwhelming number of human remains, such as those resulting from a natural disaster, an act of terrorism, an
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...
, or an
accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
. This practice has become less common in the developed world with the advent of
genetic testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
, but even in the 21st century remains which are unidentifiable by current methods may be buried in a mass grave. Individuals who are buried at the expense of the local authorities and buried in potter's fields may be buried in mass graves. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was once believed to have been buried in such a manner, but today it is known that such burials were never allowed in Mozart's Vienna whose Magistrate refused to agree to the burial regulations decreed by
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
. In some cases, the remains of unidentified individuals may be buried in mass graves in potter's fields, making exhumation and future identification troublesome for law enforcement. Naval ships sunk in combat are also considered mass graves by many countries. For example,
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
policy declares such wrecks a mass grave (such as the USS Arizona Memorial) and forbids the recovery of remains. In lieu of recovery, divers or submersibles may leave a plaque dedicated to the memory of the ship or boat and its crew, and family members are invited to attend the ceremony. Sites of large former battlefields may also contain one or more mass graves. Douaumont ossuary is one such mass grave, and it contains the remains of 130,000 soldiers from both sides of the
Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and ...
.
Catacombs Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred ...
also constitute a form of mass grave. Some catacombs, for example those in Rome, were designated as a communal burial place. Some, such as the
catacombs of Paris The Catacombs of Paris (french: Catacombes de Paris, ) are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris's ancient stone quarries. ...
, only became a mass grave when individual burials were relocated from cemeteries marked for demolition. Judaism does not generally allow multiple bodies in a grave. An exception to this is a grave in the military cemetery in Jerusalem, where there is a ''kever achim'' (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, "grave of brothers") where two soldiers were killed together in a tank and are buried in one grave. As the bodies were so fused together with the metal of the tank that they could not be separately identified, they were buried in one grave (along with parts of the tank).


Cremation

There are several common alternatives to burial. In cremation the body of the deceased is burned in a special
oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...
. Most of the body is burnt during the cremation process, leaving only a few pounds of bone fragments. Bodies of small
child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...
ren and infants often produce very little in the way of "ashes", as ashes are composed of bone, and young people have softer bones, largely
cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...
. Often these fragments are processed (ground) into a fine powder, which has led to cremated remains being called ''ashes''. In recent times, cremation has become a popular option in the western world. There is far greater flexibility in dealing with the remains in cremation as opposed to the traditional burial. Some of the options include scattering the ashes at a place that was loved by the deceased or keeping the ashes at home. Ashes can also be buried underground or in a
columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colum ...
niche. A method with similar benefits is freeze-drying the corpse.


Live burial

Sometimes people are buried alive. Having no way of escaping interment, they die in place, typically by
asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...
tion, dehydration,
starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, ...
, or
exposure Exposure or Exposures may refer to: People * The Exposures, a pseudonym for German electronic musician Jan Jeline Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Exposure'' (film), a 1932 American film * ''Exposure'', another name for the 1991 movie ...
to climate. People may come to be buried alive in a number of different ways; * ''Intentional'': buried alive as a method of execution or murder, called '' immurement'' when the person is entombed within walls. In ancient Rome,
Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
s who broke their vows were punished in this way. * ''Accidental'': A person or group of people in a cave, mine, or other underground area may be sealed underground by an earthquake,
cave in Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of '' Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalco ...
,
avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and eart ...
or other natural disaster or accident. * ''Inadvertent'': People have been buried alive because they were mistakenly pronounced dead by a
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...
or other official. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a number of stories and poems about premature burial, including a story called "The Premature Burial". These works inspired a widespread popular fear of this appalling but unlikely event. Various expedients have been devised to prevent it, including burying telephones or sensors in graves.


Burial at cross-roads

Historically, burial at cross-roads was the method of disposing of executed
criminals In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
and suicides. In Great Britain this tradition was altered by the
Burial of Suicide Act 1823 Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
, which abolished the legal requirements of burying suicides and other people at crossroads. Cross-roads form a crude cross shape and this may have given rise to the belief that these spots were selected as the next best burying-places to consecrated ground. Another possible explanation is that the ancient Teutonic (Germanic) ethnic groups often built their altars at the cross-roads, and since human sacrifices, especially of criminals, formed part of the ritual, these spots came to be regarded as execution grounds. Hence after the introduction of Christianity, criminals and suicides were buried at the cross-roads during the night, to assimilate as far as possible their funeral to that of the
pagans Pagans may refer to: * Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire * Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices * Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series * Pagan's M ...
. An example of a cross-road execution-ground was the famous
Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and sout ...
in London, which stood on the spot where the Roman road to Edgware and beyond met the Roman road heading west out of London. Superstition also played a part in the selection of crossroads in the burial of suicides. Folk belief often held such individuals could rise as some form of undead (such as a vampire) and burying them at crossroads would inhibit their ability to find and wreak havoc on their living relations and former associates.


Burial of animals


By humans

In addition to burying human remains, many human cultures also regularly bury
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
remains.
Pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...
s and other animals of emotional significance are often ceremonially buried. Most families bury deceased pets on their own properties, mainly in a yard, with a shoe box or any other type of container served as a
coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewe ...
. The ancient Egyptians are known to have
mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
and buried
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
s, which they considered deities.


By other animals

Humans are not always the only species to bury their dead.
Chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative the ...
s and
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae a ...
s are known to throw leaves and branches over fallen members of their family groups. In a particularly odd case, an elephant which trampled a human mother and child buried its victims under a pile of leaves before disappearing into the bushes. In 2013, a
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander H ...
caught a
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. ...
burying a dead puppy by pushing sand with its own nose. It is presumed, however, that since dogs retain the instinct to bury food, this is what is being depicted in the video. In social insects, ants and termites also bury their dead nestmates depending on the properties of the corpse and the social context.


Exhumation

Exhumation, or disinterment, is the act of digging up, especially a corpse. This is most often done to relocate a body to a different burial spot. Families may make this decision to locate the deceased in a more pertinent or convenient place. In shared family burial sites (e.g. a married couple), if the previously deceased person has been buried for an insufficient period of time the second body may be buried elsewhere until it is safe to relocate it to the requested grave. In most jurisdictions a legal exhumation usually requires a court order or permission by the next of kin of the deceased. Also in many countries permits are required by some governing agency to legally conduct a disinterment. Exhumation of human remains occur for a number of reasons unrelated to the burial location, including identification of the deceased or as part of a criminal investigation. If an individual dies in suspicious circumstances, the police may request exhumation to determine the cause of death. Exhumations may also occur as part of
grave robbing Grave robbery, tomb robbing, or tomb raiding is the act of uncovering a grave, tomb or crypt to steal commodities. It is usually perpetrated to take and profit from valuable artefacts or personal property. A related act is body snatching, a term ...
, or as an act of
desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...
to show disrespect. In rare, historical cases (e.g. Pope Formosus or Oliver Cromwell), a body may be exhumed for posthumous execution, dissection, or gibbeting. Notable individuals may be exhumed to answer historical questions. Many
Ancient Egyptian mummies The ancient Egyptians had an elaborate set of funerary practices that they believed were necessary to ensure their immortality after death. These rituals included mummifying the body, casting magic spells, and burials with specific grave goods ...
have been removed for study and public display. Exhumation enables
archaeologists 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 landscapes ...
to search the remains to better understand human culture. In folklore and mythology, exhumation has also been frequently associated with the performance of rites to banish undead manifestations. An example is the Mercy Brown Vampire Incident of Rhode Island, which occurred in 1892.


Changing burial location

Remains may be exhumed for reinterment at a more appropriate location for various reasons. * The passing of time may mean political situations change and a burial can take place in different circumstances. Roger Casement was executed at
Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury are ...
in London on 3 August 1916 and buried in the prison grounds but his body was exhumed and given a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
in Dublin on 1 March 1965. * Deceased individuals who were either not identified or misidentified at the time of burial may be reburied if survivors so wish. For example, when the remains of MIA soldiers are discovered, or the case of Nicholas II of Russia and his family, who were exhumed from
unmarked grave An unmarked grave is one that lacks a marker, headstone, or nameplate indicating that a body is buried there. However, in cultures that mark burial sites, the phrase unmarked grave has taken on a metaphorical meaning. Metaphorical meaning As a f ...
s near Yekaterinburg to be reinterred in the Peter and Paul Fortress in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. *
Cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
sometimes have a limited number of plots in which to bury the dead. Once all plots are full, older remains may be moved to an
ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
to accommodate more bodies, in accordance with burial contracts, religious and local burial laws. In Hong Kong where real estate is at a premium, burials in government-run cemeteries are disinterred after six years under exhumation order. Remains are either collected privately for cremation or reburied in an urn or niche. Unclaimed burials are exhumed and cremated by the government. Permanent burial in privately run cemeteries is allowed. * Remains may be exhumed and reburied en masse when a cemetery is relocated, once local planning and religious requirements are met. It also enables construction agencies to clear the way for new constructions. One example of this is cemeteries in Chicago next to O'Hare International Airport to expand the
runways According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...
. The remains of the
Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cath ...
or the Blessed are sometimes exhumed to ensure their bodies lie in their correctly marked graves, as their gravesites usually become places for devotees to gather, and also to collect relics. The bodies may also be transferred to a more dignified place. It also serves the purpose to see if they are supernaturally
Incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of thei ...
. An incorrupt corpse is no longer considered miraculous, but it is a characteristic of several known saints. Exhumation is no longer a requirement in the
beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their na ...
process, but still may be carried out. * For ethical and cultural reasons,
repatriation and reburial of human remains The repatriation and reburial of human remains is a current issue in archaeology and museum management, centering on ethical issues and cultural sensitivities regarding human remains of long-deceased ancestors which have ended up in museums and ot ...
may be carried out when museums and academic institutions return remains to their place of origin.


Cultural aspects of exhumation

Frequently, cultures have different sets of exhumation taboos. Occasionally these differences result in conflict, especially in cases where a culture with more lenient exhumation rules wishes to operate on the territory of a different culture. For example, United States construction companies have run into conflict with Native American groups that have wanted to preserve their burial grounds from disturbance. In
Southern Chinese South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not ...
culture, graves are opened after a period of years. The bones are removed, cleaned, dried, and placed in a ceramic pot for reburial (in Taiwan), or in a smaller coffin and to be reburied in another location (in Vietnam). The practice is called ''jiǎngǔ''(撿骨) in Taiwan, or ''Bốc mộ''(卜墓) in Vietnam "digging up bones" and is an important ritual in the posthumous "care" of children for their deceased parents and ancestors. Jewish law forbids the exhumation of a corpse. In England and Wales once the top of a coffin has been lowered below ground level in a burial if it is raised again, say for example the grave sides are protruding and need further work, this is considered an exhumation and the Home Office are required to be notified and a full investigation undertaken. Therefore, grave diggers in England and Wales are particularly careful to ensure that grave sites are dug with plenty of room for the coffin to pass.


Reinterment

Reinterment refers to the reburial of a corpse.


Secondary burial

Secondary burial is a burial, cremation, or inhumation that is dug into a pre-existing barrow or grave any time after its initial construction. It is often associated with the belief that there is a liminal phase between the time that a person dies and finally decays.


Alternatives to burial

Alternatives to burial variously show respect for the dead, accelerate decomposition and disposal, or prolong display of the remains. *
Burial at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different location ...
is the practice of depositing the body or scattering its ashes in an ocean or other large body of water instead of soil. The body may be disposed in a coffin, or without one. * Funerary cannibalism is the practice of eating the remains. This may be done for many reasons: for example to partake of their strength, to spiritually "close the circle" by reabsorbing their life into the family or clan, to annihilate an enemy, or due to pathological mental conditions. The
Yanomami The Yanomami, also spelled Yąnomamö or Yanomama, are a group of approximately 35,000 indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a ...
have the practice of cremating the remains and then eating the ashes with
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
paste. * Cremation is the incineration of the remains. This practice is common amongst Hindus and is becoming increasingly common in other cultures as well. If a family member wishes, the ashes can now be turned into a gem, similar to creating synthetic diamonds. * Whether cryonics constitutes a method of interment, rather than a form of medical treatment, remains under debate. See also information-theoretic death and
clinical death Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two criteria necessary to sustain the lives of human beings and of many other organisms. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a conditio ...
. *
Excarnation In archaeology and anthropology, the term excarnation (also known as defleshing) refers to the practice of removing the flesh and organs of the dead before burial. Excarnation may be achieved through natural means, such as leaving a dead body expo ...
is the practice of removing the flesh from the corpse without interment. The Zoroastrians have traditionally left their dead on Towers of Silence, where the flesh of the corpses is left to be devoured by vultures and other carrion-eating birds. Alternatively, it can also mean butchering the corpse by hand to remove the flesh (also referred to as "defleshing"). * Gibbeting was the semi-ancient practice of publicly displaying remains of criminals. *
Hanging coffins Hanging coffins are coffins which have been placed on cliffs. They are practiced by various cultures in China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. China Hanging coffins in China are known in Mandarin as ''xuanguan'' () which also means "hanging co ...
are coffins placed on cliffs, found in various locations, including China and the Philippines. *
Ossuaries An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
were used for interring human skeletal remains by Second Temple Jews and early Christians. *
Promession Promession is an idea of how to dispose human remains by way of freeze drying. The concept of promession was developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, who derived the name from the Italian word for "promise" (''promessa''). She f ...
is a method of freeze drying human remains before burial to increase the rate of decomposition. *
Resomation Alkaline hydrolysis (also called biocremation, resomation, flameless cremation, aquamation or water cremation) is a process for the disposal of human and pet remains using lye and heat, and is an alternative to burial or cremation. Process The p ...
accelerates disposal through the process of alkaline hydrolysis. *
Sky burial Sky burial (, "bird-scattered") is a funeral practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to decompose while exposed to the elements or to be eaten by scavenging animals, especially carrion birds. It is a specific type of the g ...
places the body on a mountaintop, where it decomposes in the elements or is scavenged by carrion eaters, particularly vultures.


Adapting traditions


Burial

As the human population progresses, cultures and traditions change with it. Evolution is generally slow, sometimes more rapid. South Korea's funeral arrangements have drastically changed in the course of only two decades according to Chang-Won Park. Around the 1980s at home funeral ceremonies were the general norm, straying away from anywhere that was not a family home. Dying close to home, with friends and family, was considered a ‘good death’, while dying away from home was considered a ‘bad death’. This gradually changed as the upper and middle class started holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. This posed an issue for hospitals because of the rapid increase in funerals being held and maxing occupancy. This quickly resolved when a law was passed to allow the civilian population holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. The lower class quickly followed suit, copying the newly set traditions of the upper classes. With this change, cremation also practice more as an alternative to traditional burials. Cremation was first introduced by Buddhism, and was quickly banned in 1470. It wasn't until the Japanese colonization period that cremation was re-introduced in 1945 and later on lifted the ban. It took until 1998 for cremation to rapidly grow in popularity.


Funeral ceremonies

According to Margaret Holloway, funerals are believed to be driven by the consumer's choice, personalisation, secularization, and stories that place individual traditional meta-narratives. It has been studied that funeral homes in the United Kingdom are most concerned with comforting the grieving, rather than focusing on the departed. This study found that modern day funerals focus on the psycho-social-spiritual event. Modern day funerals also help the transition of the recently passed transitioning to the social status of 'the deceased'. The article found that funeral homes do not adhere to traditional religious beliefs, but do follow religious traditions.


See also

*
Bed burial A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...
*
Burial Act 1857 The Burial Act 1857 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Burial Acts 1852 to 1885. Its purpose is to regulate burial grounds. It regulates where and how deceased people may be buried, and provides for the exhumati ...
(A United Kingdom law about exhumation) *
Burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
* Cremation * Corpse road * Funeral *
Green burial Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to other contemporary Western burial methods and funerary ...
*
Health risks from dead bodies The health risks of dead bodies are dangers related to the improper preparation and disposal of cadavers. While normal circumstances allow cadavers to be quickly embalmed, cremated, or buried; natural and man-made disasters can quickly overwhelm a ...
*
Museum of Funeral Customs The Museum of Funeral Customs was located at 1440 Monument Ave. in Springfield, Illinois, US. It featured exhibits dealing with American funerary and mourning customs. The museum was near Oak Ridge Cemetery, the site of Abraham Lincoln's tomb. ...
*
State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
*
Superburial A superburial is similar to a mass grave, but is a term typically used by archaeologists to denote an area of dense burial activity without the negative connotations often associated with mass graves. A superburial may also span a much longer tim ...
*
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 ...
*
Tower of Silence A ''dakhma'' ( fa, دخمه), also known as a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation (that is, the exposure of human corpses to the elements for decomposition), in order to avert contaminat ...
*
Sky burial Sky burial (, "bird-scattered") is a funeral practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to decompose while exposed to the elements or to be eaten by scavenging animals, especially carrion birds. It is a specific type of the g ...
*
Premature burial Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of t ...
* Immurement


Notes and references


External links


Video depicting the exhumation of missing German soldiers killed in 1944 from a mass grave
{{Authority control Death customs Archaeological features th:งานศพ