Burials are one of the main sources of knowledge concerning the Early Bronze Age. The most common

The Mummy Case of Paankhenamun was composed of a substance known as cartonnage, which was usually made out of linen or papyrus strips bound together with a sticky substance in order to form a flexible shell. After mummification, the wrapped body was placed in the coffin-case through the back, which was then laced up and a footboard was added for support. Only then the case was ready to be painted. Such cartonnage cases as the case of Paankhenamun were normally placed inside one or more layered wooden coffins and were also decorated. The innermost coffin was always in the shape of the mummy and due to its utmost importance, it was the case with the richest decorations. The amazing detail is still a wonder to many historians and anthropologists (Stockstad 120-3).

The Process of Mummification The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the

Poorer citizens were not buried with a coffin and outer sarcophagi where as wealthier citizens were. Citizens of higher strata were also buried with precious stones and gold. Thus, the socioeconomic structures of specific groups can be analyzed and broken down as to who was a peasant and who was deemed of higher social strata by examining the way ancient Egyptians practiced burial.

The tombs had two main functions. The first function was a place that provided an eternal resting place in which the body could lay protected from thieves and scavengers. The second function of the tomb was a place where cults and ritual acts could be performed to ensure eternal life (Taylor, 2001:136). The body of the person was buried along with their belongings in the tomb to ensure the individual had all the proper materials needed for the afterlife. The Egyptians usually did this because “Tombs were constructed to mirror aspects of the afterlife” (Olson, 2009). These tombs were not only a place where bodies of a deceased lay; it was also a place where rituals would take place. One ritual that was done on the bodies was the ‘Opening of the Mouth’. This was a burial ritual that “accompanied the placement of funerary goods in a tomb- and was a necessary step in the deceased’s rebirth” (Olson, 2009). One very important service that had to be done was the mummification process in which the removal of organs

Third, a body may be placed in a deliberately excavated feature without the inclusion of grave goods. Fourth, a body may be placed in an excavated feature with the addition of grave goods or the marking of mortuary space. Fifth, re-excavation and removal of a buried body would indicate deliberate burial. Lastly, a body may be deliberately placed in an excavated feature with more formalized inclusion and placement of grave goods.”

“Cave burial was one of the most common ways to put a body to rest. Placement of the bodies were in lava tubes, rock shelters, or hitches that contained several bodies inside. Burying the deceased in sand dunes or in earth was another common but preferred method. Majority of the sand dunes in Hawaii have some kind of history with burial” (Kirch 240). Apart from buried in the earth, surface burials they had also conducted included cremation, which was performed by burning the corpse over a fire until the bones had charred into ash. “When referring to sea burials, bodies of fishermen would be wrapped in red cloth, then put in the ocean to be eaten by sharks. It was believed that the essence of the fisherman would inhabit the shark’s body” (Redmond 4).

The Egyptian during this time used the coffin to house the dead person’s body, as it was believed that only after

Deep shafts lined with stone were the burial grounds of the elite in the Mycenaean Greek society. These shaft graves were also filled with gold and jewelry, and this is because it was believed that the owners would need them in the afterlife.

This study is focus on the 11th Unnamed Cave in Tennessee. This cave was the first of its kind because this cave is the only one that was found to contain pictograph, petroglyph, and mud glyph all in one site. The article explain that the site is significant because there are evidence to showed that the site underwent a series of diverse but interrelated uses. The first out of all the cave sites to contain all three different form of rock art. Also, because the site was found in the eighteenth century which had some form of documentations on the uses of the cave. The authors believes that since the cave showed many different kind of activities, it is possible that the activities reflect a complex behaviors more elaborated and sacred than

Even though they believed in an afterlife, the thought of it was not pleasant. The people of Mesopotamia lived very difficult lives and when one was deceased it was more of a reminder of how hard life was. “Likewise, the dead could rise up and torment the living if not given a proper burial, so the bodies of enemies were buried in a manner such as to prevent this from happening.” (4) Unlike where we burry the deceased today, some of the Mesopotamian children were found buried in various places such as under the floors in houses and even in cooking

Us Etruscans are well known for our grand funerary practices, which involve creating enormous multi-chambered tombs, especially for us wealthy families, with some exceeding 130 feet in diameter and reaching nearly 50 feet in height . Banditaccia necropolis, the Greek word that translates to “the city of the dead”1, started becoming an orderly arrangement of subterranean tombs along a system of streets in the seventh century and now, in the fifth century, or the Archaic Period, our tombs are continuing to expand in great size, taking up more than 100 acres of land!

Typically they were buried around the area in which they keep their remains, or “garbage”. On the other hand, adolescents and middle-aged people were buried at the top of a steep hill or cliff, known as “bluff-top knolls”. From this information we can infer that the natives had specific burial practices based on the age of a person. It is possible that the oldest and youngest members of a community were considered weaker and could not contribute to society, and so they are treated as such by not receiving a place in the community cemetary. Whereas those who are strong and capable members of society, are buried in a nicer, more thought out location (Charles et al 2002:

Both Etruscan and Roman tomb sculpture function to memorialize the departed allowing them to move on from the world of the living and seeks to comfort those who have lost the ones they love. The two societies have differing practices in regards to death and therefore sculptures concerning the subject are somewhat different with a few identifiable similarities. While both societies seek to comfort the living and commemorate the dead this is achieved through different approaches. The Etruscan Sarcophagus with reclining couple from Cerveteri, Italy and the Mummy of Artemidorus from Roman Egypt are two examples of contrasting representations of the dead. When analyzing tomb sculpture one of the main questions is whether the work adapts a retrospective approach (presentation of the deceased as they were in life) or a prospective one (the viewpoint of looking forward to life beyond the grave). While the Etruscan sarcophagus gives a more retrospective memorialization through the depiction of the couple in a state of regularity the Roman Mummy of Artemidorus presents a more prospective approach concerning the deceased through the emphasis of funerary practices.

The Coffin of Iret-hor-irou fits in with the Ancient Egyptian culture for many reasons. One reason is that this work of art associates with the Egyptian’s ceremonial, burial practice. During the time of Ancient Egypt, people participated in a unique burial practice known as mummification. In mummification a body would be preserved using a solution known as natron, after the

The shrine of Tutankhamun uncovers the burial customs of the New Kingdom Egyptians. The Canopic Shrine positioned on the east wall of the Treasury holds Tutankhamun's embalmed internal organs. A gold chest held four Canopic jars containing the dead pharaoh's internal organs in each jar. Undoubtedly, through the process of mummification, the embalmers must have removed the internal organs and preserved them in the Canopic jars, perhaps to be taken with the pharaoh to the next world. The third and innermost of three coffins of Tutankhamun is made of solid gold and is inset with semiprecious stones and coloured glass. It is covered with carved decorations and inscriptions inside and outside. It bears the names and epitaph of the deceased king and also protective texts. From this we discover the significance of the importance of the decoration of the mummy was, and the power the coffin was believed to hold. Originally, mummification was so expensive that it was a privilege enjoyed only by the Pharaoh and few nobles. Everybody else was given a simple grave burial in one of the vast cemeteries or "necropolises" of the time. But the promise of eternal life was so appealing that it wasn't long before other classes of Egyptians began signing up for mummification, too.