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Death is a painful reality that strikes and affects all human beings. Death knows no boundaries, race, age, gender, belief system or status. It affects the family; the social, political and economic networks of the deceased and the community at large. Death comes with different challenges that require coping mechanisms. While Africans from all walks of life use different approaches to help the bereaved deal with death and loss, the church has become the biggest role player in attending to this crisis. Although the church is a latecomer in the lives of African people in general, for the people of Collins Chabane Municipality in particular, it is given priority when death strikes. This article seeks to articulate how the church has become central to the death and burial rituals in that municipality. To that end, the researcher conducted a review of data collected through individual and focus group interviews carried out with traditional community leaders (local chiefs) in the municipality on the theme: The erosion of postcolonial African funeral traditions in rural South Africa (Limpopo). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An infant grave excavated in Lang, Styria, Austria, had a small axe as a grave gift in addition to a ceramic urn. Another grave from the cemetery of Dobova (Slovenia), where also a child was buried, contained small objects in the form of an axe and a spearhead as well as a set of four vessels. In addition to these two graves, there are more graves known in the southeastern Alps, where small objects were given as grave goods. These graves are discussed in terms of the function and symbolism of these small objects and compared in a broader context with the northeastern Austrian region and the graves from the Dürrnberg.

Death is a painful reality that strikes and affects all human beings. Death knows no boundaries, race, age, gender, belief system or status. It affects the family; the social, political and economic networks of the deceased and the community at large. Death comes with different challenges that require coping mechanisms. While Africans from all walks of life use different approaches to help the bereaved deal with death and loss, the church has become the biggest role player in attending to this crisis. Although the church is a latecomer in the lives of African people in general, for the people of Collins Chabane Municipality in particular, it is given priority when death strikes. This article seeks to articulate how the church has become central to the death and burial rituals in that municipality. To that end, the researcher conducted a review of data collected through individual and focus group interviews carried out with traditional community leaders (local chiefs) in the municipality on the theme: The erosion of postcolonial African funeral traditions in rural South Africa (Limpopo).

Copyright of Archaeologiai Értesítő is the property of Akademiai Kiado and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A cemetery section comprising 35 burials was excavated at the site of Tiszakürt-Zsilke-tanya. The burial rites suggest that the community who interred their dead here was of East European steppe origin, settled primarily east of the Tisza River. The graves were poorly furnished; the main chronological indicators are melon seed-shaped beads and two pairs of earrings with big bead pendants. Based on these, the cemetery section can be dated between the 640s and the 680s. The archaeological analysis is complemented by an anthropological, archaeozoological, and pottery analysis, as well as a study of metal and glass composition.

Extended, completed review of the theses of the PhD dissertation completed under the supervision of Tivadar Vida and submitted to the Archaeological Doctoral Programme, Doctoral School of History, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in 2023. The dissertation’s primary objective was to investigate the origins of the population that settled in the Trans-Tisza region in the 6th–7th centuries AD. According to prior studies, these populations, unlike the ‘Inner Asian Avars’, may have arrived in the Carpathian Basin from the Eastern European steppe. My research focused on burial practices, comparing the graves discovered in the two regions using quantitative and qualitative methods. The dissertation also includes a comprehensive presentation and analysis of the East European steppe material from the second half of the 5th to the middle third of the 7th century AD.

From 2017 to 2019, the Institute of Archaeology at the Nanjing Museum, in collaboration with the Yangzhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Yizheng Museum, conducted archaeological exploration and excavation of family cemeteries in Lianying site. A total of 121 tombs and 19 sacrificial pits of the Han dynasty were been excavated, and over2,300 cultural relics such as pottery, bronze, jade, and lacquer ware were unearthed. It has been preliminarily determined that this area was the family cemeteries of the Western Han Dynasty with the planned burial area, and continued from the early Western Han Dynasty to the late Western Han Dynasty. The plant materials analyzed were from M77 during the excavation process, dating back to the early and middle Western Han Dynasty, with an absolute time of around 130 BC. After sampling, extraction and identification, it is found that the major plant remains are rice, millet, broomcorn millet, hemp, legumes, etc., and most of the plant remains are still bright, which indicates that the burial crops in the tombs of the Han Dynasty met the highest standards of burial rites at that time. At the same time, eight different crops were used, namely broomcorn millet, millet, wheat, sorghum, rice, hemp, soybeans and adzuki beans, which provides valuable physical information for studying the types and methods of grain buried in Han tombs of Lianying site and understanding the concepts of funeral and social life in the Han Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An infant grave excavated in Lang, Styria, Austria, had a small axe as a grave gift in addition to a ceramic urn. Another grave from the cemetery of Dobova (Slovenia), where also a child was buried, contained small objects in the form of an axe and a spearhead as well as a set of four vessels. In addition to these two graves, there are more graves known in the southeastern Alps, where small objects were given as grave goods. These graves are discussed in terms of the function and symbolism of these small objects and compared in a broader context with the northeastern Austrian region and the graves from the Dürrnberg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of archaeological research into an Alt Käbelich-type grave discovered in Chodlik, Karczmiska county, Lublin province. The pit contained layer burials of five indi-viduals. The bone material included also horse remains. Other archaeological material contained frag-ments of clay utensils as well as pieces of metal and bone artefacts destroyed in fire. On the basis of 3D documentation, at attempt has been made to reconstruct the object by means of digital technology. The Chodlik discovery is a ontribution to the research into the occurrence of the Alt Käbelich type of graves and the concept of the so-called “house of the dead” in the Western Slavic Dominion

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Extended, completed review of the theses of the PhD dissertation completed under the supervision of Tivadar Vida and submitted to the Archaeological Doctoral Programme, Doctoral School of History, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in 2023. The dissertation's primary objective was to investigate the origins of the population that settled in the Trans-Tisza region in the 6th-7th centuries AD. According to prior studies, these populations, unlike the 'Inner Asian Avars', may have arrived in the Carpathian Basin from the Eastern European steppe. My research focused on burial practices, comparing the graves discovered in the two regions using quantitative and qualitative methods. The dissertation also includes a comprehensive presentation and analysis of the East European steppe material from the second half of the 5th to the middle third of the 7th century AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cemetery section comprising 35 burials was excavated at the site of Tiszakurt- Zsilke-tanya. The burial rites suggest that the community who interred their dead here was of East European steppe origin, settled primarily east of the Tisza River. The graves were poorly furnished; the main chronological indicators are melon seed-shaped beads and two pairs of earrings with big bead pendants. Based on these, the cemetery section can be dated between the 640s and the 680s. The archaeological analysis is complemented by an anthropological, archaeozoological, and pottery analysis, as well as a study of metal and glass composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permafrost layers under the stone kurgans at Berel Valley located at the southwestern slopes of Altai Mountains, was initially discovered by Wilhelm Radloff in 1865. It had been revealed that there was a deep pit with the burial chambers made of timbers at the center of a kurgan with permafrost layers. Burial chambers, where wooden sarcophagus carved from a single piece of log were placed, had also contained human remains and many horse burials. However, the human and horse burials could not be preserved due to the insufficient technological and methodological conditions in excavation and protection of the findings at that time. Berel Kurgans had not extensively excavated and studied for nearly 150 years until Prof. Zainolla Samashev leading East Kazakhstan Archeological Expedition, initiated large-scale excavations at Berel in 1998. As a result, permafrost layers were detected in the 10th and 11th kurgans. Organic artifacts along with the remains of human beings and horses that cannot be preserved in ordinary kurgans reached nowadays and provided an opportunity to examine them. The purpose of the current research is to examine the kurgans of the Scythian, Hsiung-nu, Xianbei and Turkic khaganate periods in the Berel within the context of burial rites and customs. Some similarities in burial rites determined as a result of anthropological evaluations presents evidence of cultural continuity from the Scythian to the Turkic khaganate periods.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Lietuvos Archeologija is the property of Lithuanian Institute of History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Burial rites are very common among many Africa communities. In the African context, burials are not the end of life but rather the beginning of another life in the land of the ancestors. In spite of the importance of the African funeral rites, the missional role of the church in mourning and the burial of the dead in the African communities, the COVID-19 pandemic led protocols and restrictions placed a huge challenge on the African religious and cultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of two brass lockets, rectangular in shape, discovered in a richly equipped grave no. 62 in an early-medieval grave field in Radom (the 4th quarter of the 11-12th centuries). As a result of the analysis, their cognitive value can be estimated in a comprehensive way against the background of other finds of the type excavated in graves. On the other hand, it has allowed to enrich the knowledge of burying the dead with objects of magical and religious nature. The lockets discovered in Radom were made locally, most probably as imitations of more sophisticated pendants. Most probably, they were used as containers for magical or healing amulets, possibly contact relics (brandeum, eulogiae) or perfumes. They were probably buried after mid-11th century, during the religious transformation taking place in the early Piast state, bearing material testimony to the intertwining pagan rites and the ceremonies of the new faith.

Burial rites are very common among many Africa communities. In the African context, burials are not the end of life but rather the beginning of another life in the land of the ancestors. In spite of the importance of the African funeral rites, the missional role of the church in mourning and the burial of the dead in the African communities, the COVID-19 pandemic led protocols and restrictions placed a huge challenge on the African religious and cultural practices. Contribution: In the light of the above-named challenges, the article discusses the religious-cultural effect of the pandemic with special focus on the African liturgical and missiological challenges in the context of the COVID-19 restrictions on funerals and burial rites.

Copyright of Folklor / Edebiyat is the property of Cyprus International University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study is primarily present the results of archaeobotanical analysis from a late bronze urn burial cemetery site Trenčianske Teplice-Kaňová. Despite the extensive finds of the urns from urn-field burials in the whole Carpathian Basin region, the application of the archeobotanical methods and research is still marginalized. In the light of these situation, we would like to point out the interpretation possibilities of archaeobotanical material as it is (was) common in the settlement sites. Thanks to the interdisciplinary approach on this site, we were able to examine the relationships between carbonized botanical material (including seeds from the cultivated crops, wild species and charcoals) and the burial practices in (certain) concrete time and in given (certain) burial ground. From the results of the detailed analyses, we were able to identify and demonstrate the specific features of the funeral rite that are associated with the occurrence of charred plant macro-remains from the graves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the Dating of barrow No. 31 of the burial ground Chineta II, which is situated in Krasnoshchekovskiy district of Altai Krai (North-Western Altai). During the excavation of Kurgan No. 31 of the burial ground Chineta II the definite features of the burial rite were fixed. These features detect the similarity with analogous characteristics with previously studied monuments of the Pazyryk culture in Chinetinskii archaeological district, and in other parts of the Altai. The dating of the object was based, firstly, on the results of the analysis of the accompanying inventory. At the same time, an important indicator was the wooden lacquer products from China. Secondly, the results of radiocarbon analysis of the horse bone sample produced by the Institute of monitoring of climatic and ecological systems of the Siberian branch of RAS (Tomsk) were taken into account. Based on the comparison of the results of archaeological and radiocarbon dating, it was found that the time of construction of the burial mound No. 31 was not earlier than IV century BC, perhaps during the IV – beginning of III centuries BC.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm. The rate of infection and prevalence of death struck fear in the hearts of many across the globe. The high likelihood of infection required continual testing whilst the trauma of bereavement left many distraught. For traditionalists, a principal concern was whether they would be permitted to exhaustively practise their burial rites in the course of mourning their loved ones. The importance of the custom, as it is believed, is to prevent unsettled feelings in family members. This article is aimed at stimulating consideration, reflection and understanding of the concerns experienced by traditional societies surrounding COVID-19 regulations and the non-performance of important burial rites. Surviving family members experience troubled thoughts as a result of the fear of repercussions, which may include the living-dead withholding their protection of the family which consequently will cause ailments and accidents. This article will utilise inductive thematic analysis to interpret the data collected .

The recent COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm. The rate of infection and prevalence of death struck fear in the hearts of many across the globe. The high likelihood of infection required continual testing whilst the trauma of bereavement left many distraught. For traditionalists, a principal concern was whether they would be permitted to exhaustively practise their burial rites in the course of mourning their loved ones. The importance of the custom, as it is believed, is to prevent unsettled feelings in family members. This article is aimed at stimulating consideration, reflection and understanding of the concerns experienced by traditional societies surrounding COVID-19 regulations and the non-performance of important burial rites. Surviving family members experience troubled thoughts as a result of the fear of repercussions, which may include the living-dead withholding their protection of the family which consequently will cause ailments and accidents. This article will utilise inductive thematic analysis to interpret the data collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologia Polski is the property of Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archeologia Polski is the property of Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The perforated stone battle-axes and axe-hammers of Early Bronze Age Britain have been used either to interpret the status of individuals they were buried with or have been overlooked; this is especially the case with axe-hammers. Previous understandings have assumed battle-axes were purely ceremonial, while the rougher axe-hammers were neither functional nor prestigious, being too large and too crude to be prestige items. Studies of the 20th century were focused on creating a typology and understanding the manufacture and petrological sources of the stone, concluding that haphazard exploitation of stone was used to create a variety of different shapes of both implements. This paper revisits the question of how these artefacts were used. It presents the results of the first large-scale application of use-wear analysis to British Early Bronze Age battle-axes and axe-hammers, from northern Britain and the Isle of Man. Combining the results of the wear analysis with experimental archaeology and contextual analysis, it is argued that these objects were functional tools, some of which saw prolonged use that might have spanned multiple users. The evidence shows that the few implements found in burial contexts were both functional and symbolic; their inclusion in burial contexts drawing upon relational links which developed through the itineraries of these objects. It is also apparent that use and treatment were similar across all types of battle-axe and axe-hammer, with some regional variation in the deposition of axe-hammers in south-west Scotland. It is concluded that battle-axes and axe-hammers had varied and multiple roles and significances and that it is possible to discover what each artefact was used for by deploying a use-wear analysis methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the predominating east-west orientation of Iron Age graves (5th century BC to the 13th century AD) and the reasons that could have caused the custom. Based on the data of Baltic mythology and their reflections in folklore, the authors argue that the mythological conception of grave orientation is closely related to the mythological path of the Sun and the image of souls leaving the world of the living. Given the astronomical opposition of the Sun and the Moon, the hypothesis is justified by the fact that, when the graves of men and of women in the Baltic burial grounds adhering to the east-west axis, were oriented in opposite directions, the burial customs could have been affected by the mythological images of the heavenly family: the Sun (wife) and the Moon (husband).

In the Algerian War of Independence, both the colony and metropolitan France were in the arena of conflict. Nearly four thousand Algerians died in France, victims of the civil war between the National Liberation Front (NFL) and the National Algerian Movement, (MNA), of French police brutality during demonstrations and violent arrests, and of judiciary repression. The issue of the 'war dead' became important during the hostilities and especially after independence, when their bodies were finally repatriated to Algeria. Drawing on new archival sources and interviews with former independence fighters, this article examines the posthumous trajectory of Algerian militants killed in France. It describes their eventful political and memorial afterlives from the anonymity of the French cemeteries where they were first buried, to their prominent incorporation into the Algerian national pantheon and subsequent significance in the construction of a transnational memorial space that includes museum projects, books and commemorations in both Algeria and France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Whole-body donation to science is generally perceived as scientifically necessary, guaranteeing the improvement of medical training. It is therefore defined by Anatomy Departments as an altruistic and social act and becomes selfless public assistance and community service. The motivations of the donors not only concern the practical needs to know the anatomy in situ, but they are also attracted by the free act, in the illusion of eternal preservation, and in recycling in the socio-ecological sense. They feel the body donation as another way of conceiving death. This study aims to focus on whole-body donation to science as a substitute for traditional burial rites, since it is experienced as a different funeral practice, and highlight the intention and planning involved in a donor's personal choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arheološki Vestnik is the property of Scientific Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences & Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article studies the results of the excavations of the Ablyazovo barrow (Kozlovka district, the Chuvash Republic) in 2011. The tilled mound covered a circular ditch, a fi replace, two deep graves with complex design and a ritual burial of a small cattle, which were carefully studied. The funerary rite and complexes of artefacts demonstrate a combination of the Balanovo and Atlykasy traditions and are dated by the fi nale of the Middle Bronze Age (late III Millennium BC). The syncretism of fi nds from the Ablyazovo barrow allows us to regard it as a transitional type: it has a mound, traces of fi re, funerary feast, specifi c ornament on vessels, yet at the same time it preserves the typical design of grave pits, crouched position and orientation of bones. Materials from this site enable us to take a new look at the problem of development of the Balanovo culture, and complement our general understanding of ethnocultural interaction in the Middle Volga region in the Bronze Age.

Abstract: This paper addresses the topic of Islamisation among the nomads of the Golden Horde in the Lower Volga Region in the 13-14th centuries. Due to ideological and methodological constraints, this topic has been neglected, and the lack of reliable written and emic/native sources have led to scholarly misunderstandings and an underestimation of this conversion process, which pervaded nomadic society far beyond its ruling elite. In order to gain a more holistic perspective on this issue, recent research on native conversion stories of the denizens of the Golden Horde can be fruitfully supplemented by evidence of native beliefs and actions from archaeological data. As an example, I introduce and analyse an Islamicate burial from the remote region of the steppe in modern day Kalmykia (Russian Federation) that was populated exclusively by nomads in the Middle Ages. By evaluating the details of this burial, such as its construction and the grave goods, against the norms prescribed in Muslim legal writings, I argue that this burial represents indigenous Islam. It demonstrates the concerns of the Islamicised nomads with kinship, ancestry, and status. My paper stresses how indigenous Islam, which was embraced and promulgated by the nomads’ agency, should not be seen as a superficial phenomenon, but as a crucial ingredient of nomadic ritual life, identity, and political power that served their society and the Golden Horde at large.

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Copyright of Godisnjak / Yearbook is the property of Academy of Sciences & Arts of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Center for Balkan Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)