Next-of-kin often feel pressured to make hasty funeral arrangements. Most contact a funeral director and tee up a conventional service plus burial or cremation. But what are the other options?
Tina Chronopoulos, Binghamton University, State University of New York
In ancient Rome, male followers of the goddess Cybele, known as Galli, some of whom surgically removed their testicles, were often considered feminine.
A recent study by Indian scientists outlined cases of elephant burials.
worradirek/Shutterstock
Mineralogical analysis of 5,000-year-old stone beads from Turkana, Kenya suggest a novel mortuary tradition by early pastoralists.
LifeGem is a company that extracts carbon from cremated human remains and transforms it into diamonds to remember loved ones.
Handout/LifeGem via Getty Images
Burial land is running low in certain parts of the world. It’s about time we started to consider the environmental cost of our final resting place.
A man identified only as Viktor shows his neighbor’s grave in Bucha, Ukraine. It was too dangerous to go to the cemetery.
Jana Cavojska/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Death is a part of life: but environmentally harmful burial practices, overcrowded cemeteries and unaffordable funerals are denying many the right to a good death.
A community drive-thru distribution centre in Vallejo, California in June 2020.
John G. Mabanglo/EPA
Gemma Ware, The Conversation and Daniel Merino, The Conversation
This is a transcript of episode 16 of The Conversation Weekly podcast The racial hunger gap in American cities and what do about it. In this episode, we look at some of the reasons behind racial disparities…
Virtual ideal reconstruction of Mtoto’s position in the burial pit.
Jorge González/Elena Santos
City cemeteries are fast running out of space, so researchers surveyed Australians and found many were quite open to the alternatives to traditional burials.
No lengthy viewing of the body, but no quick burial either.
Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images
The former justice received a Jewish funeral at the Supreme Court. But in other ways, Ginsburg’s burial is breaking with traditional Jewish death rituals.
When a life ends, those who remain deal with the body.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
PODCAST: An audio version of an in depth article on what newly discovered documents reveal about the burial of Charles Dickens, 150 years after his death.
Dickens After Death, John Everett Millais, June 10 1870.
Charles Dickens Museum
Composting burial could revolutionise bodily disposal in Australia. The need for a sustainable and affordable alternative to traditional burial practices is becoming increasingly urgent.
CENIEH Director, Atapuerca Research Team and author of "Homo imperfectus" (Ed. Destino), Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)