The Archaeology of Death [Paperback]

This volume brings together studies on the disposal of the dead and the archaeological research potential of found remains.This volume, bringing together studies on the disposal of the dead, explores the frontiers and potential of research and presents critical appraisals of theory about social organisation and culture change.This volume, bringing together studies on the disposal of the dead, explores the frontiers and potential of research and presents critical appraisals of theory about social organisation and culture change.Evidence for the disposal of the dead is one of the most common classes of archaeological data; in both prehistoric and historic contexts, archaeologists have long used the remains of death and burial as a source for interpretations of society, culture and ethnic identity. This volume, bringing together studies on the disposal of the dead, explores the frontiers and potential of research and presents critical appraisals of theory about social organisation and culture change. It contains case studies from both North America and Europe and themes include the complex social factors behind burial in monuments and cemeteries, the relationship between status, diet, disease and mortality, the use of differential burial practices to define rank and the underlying reasons for major changes in burial patterns.List of contributors; Preface; 1. Approaches to the archaeology of death Robert Chapman and Klavs Randsborg; 2. The search for rank in prehistoric burials James A. Brown; 3. Social configurations and the archaeological study of mortuary practices: a case study John O'Shea; 4. One-dimensional archaeology and multi-dimensional people: spatial organisation and mortuary analysis Lynne Goldstein; 5. The emergence of formal disposal areas and the 'problem' of megalithic tombs in prehistoric Europe Robert Chapman; 6. Dialogues with death Ian Kinnes; 7. 'Various styles of urn' - cemeteries and settlement in southern England Richard Bradley; 8. Burial, succl#4