Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. Usually, this is accomplished by digging a pit or trench, placing the person or object in it, and refilling it with the soil that was dug out of it.Objects are sometimes buried in order to hide them against removal or tampering. For cables and pipelines, burial provides protection and allows the convenience of walking or driving over them.
People are often buried after they die, for a variety of reasons. The rest of this article discusses human burial.
To maintain hygiene, corpses must not be in open air around the living. Decomposing bodies are laden with bacteria. These bacteria aid in the decomposition process, but many of them are harmful to the living.
Rotting corpses emit unpleasant odors (due to gasses released by decomposing bacteria) and look gruesome. Burial prevents the living from having to see and smell the corpses.
Many cultures insist on respect for the dead. This has several facets to it:
In many human cultures throughout history, human corpses were usually buried in soil. Burial grounds have been uncovered all over the world. Mounds of earth, temples, and underground caverns were used to store the dead bodies of ancestors. In modern times, the custom of burying dead people below ground with a stone marker to mark the place is used in almost every culture.
Different cultures bury their dead in different ways. Some of these practices are heavily ritualized; others are simply practical.
Embalming is the practice of preserving a body against decay, and is used in many cultures. Mummification is a form of embalming that is often more extensive, further retarding the decay process.
Bodies are often buried wrapped in a shroud or placed in a coffin or larger container (such as a ship). These containers slow the decomposition process by (partially) physically blocking decomposing bacteria and other organisms from accessing the corpse. An additional benefit of coffins and shrouds is that if the soil covering the corpse is washed away by a flood or some other natural process, the corpse will still not be exposed to open air. This is a great help to maintaining hygiene.
The body may be dressed in fancy and/or ceremonial clothes. Personal objects, such as a favorite piece of jewelery or photograph, of the deceased may be included with the body. This practice serves several purposes:
Most modern cultures mark the location of the body with a headstone. This serves two purposes. First, the grave 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.
Some couples or groups of people want to be buried together, for example, a husband and wife. Since (in many cases) people die at different times, the exhumation of the first to die is often necessary.
Mass burial is the practice of burying dozens, hundreds, or thousands of individuals in one massive pit, much like a landfill for human remains. Most cultures view mass burial as a way of objectifying corpses, and is often viewed as a form of gross disrespect to the individuals being buried. Civilizations attempting genocide often employ mass burial for the people they kill in the genocide, as it coincides neatly with their goals of dehumanizing and destroying a segment of the population.
Live burial sometimes occurs, in which individuals are buried while still alive. Having no way of escaping interment, they die in place, typically by asphyxiation, dehydration,starvation, or (in cold climates) exposure. People may come to be buried alive in a number of different ways:
In addition to burying human remains, many human cultures also regularly bury animal remains, especially pets. The Ancient Egyptians are known to have mummified and buried cats, which they considered deities.
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Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. Chimpanzees are known to throw branches over fallen members of their family groups.
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The digging up of a buried body is called exhumation, and is considered sacrilege by most cultures that bury their dead. However, there is often a number of circumstances in which exhumation is tolerated:
Not all cultures bury their dead, and many of those that do bury their dead do not do so in all cases. Alternatives include:
Reasons for human burial
Burial practices
Prevention of decay
Inclusion of clothing and personal effects
Marking the location of the burial
Multiple bodies per grave
Live burial
Burial of animals
By humans
By other animals
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 stricter culture. For example, United States construction companies have run into conflict with Native American groups that wanted to preserve their ancient burial grounds from any form of modern construction.Alternatives to burial
In most cases, these alternatives still maintain respect for the dead. In fact, some of the more elaborate alternatives are employed by some cultures to show increased respect for the deceased. Gibbeting is a notable exception, showing a complete lack of respect.See also
External links