Archaeology of Death and Mortuary Practices

The course investigates how and why people have, throughout most of human history, buried their dead. We will examine the origins of burial more than 20,000 years ago and discuss the social and ideological reasons for different treatments of the dead prior to, and during burial. We will explore topics such as gender, ancestor worship and sacrifice, and investigate how modern scientific techniques are also enabling archaeologists to identify patterns of human migration and interaction.