Formal disposal of the dead is widely practiced today, but this has not always been the case; among prehistoric societies so few burials are encountered that it appears to have been the exception rather than the rule. When did ‘formal’ burial and cremation become generalized? What significance did this have for the development of religious belief and human self-awareness?
This blog will keep followers up to date on research being carried out by the John Templeton Foundation funded research project, ‘The ‘Invisible Dead’ and the Development of Early Human Beliefs about the Body (Durham University). The project focuses on archaeological evidence from the Neolithic through to the Roman period in two regions, the Levant and Britain. We will post information about exciting new discoveries being made by the project and events taking place during 2013-14. More importantly, we hope that you, our followers, will contribute to this blog by telling us what you think about our discoveries.
