The Archaeology of Cremation: Burned Human Remains in Funerary Studies

Tim Thompson

Mar 2015 · Oxbow Books

About this ebook

Human societies have disposed of their dead in a variety of ways. However, while considerable attention has been paid to bodies that were buried, comparatively little work has been devoted to understanding the nature of cremated remains, despite their visibility through time. It has been argued that this is the result of decades of misunderstanding regarding the potential information that this material holds, combined with properties that make burned bone inherently difficult to analyse. As such, there is a considerable body of knowledge on the concepts and practices of inhumation yet our understanding of cremation ritual and practice is by comparison, woefully inadequate.
This timely volume therefore draws together the inventive methodology that has been developed for this material and combines it with a fuller interpretation of the archaeological funerary context. It demonstrates how an innovative methodology, when applied to a challenging material, can produce new and exciting interpretations of archaeological sites and funerary contexts.

The reader is introduced to the nature of burned human remains and the destructive effect that fire can have on the body. Subsequent chapters describe important cremation practices and sites from around the world and from the Neolithic period to the modern day. By emphasising the need for a robust methodology combined with a nuanced interpretation, it is possible to begin to appreciate the significance and wide-spread adoption of this practice of dealing with the dead.

About the author

Tim Thompson is a Professor of Applied Biological Anthropology in the School of Science & Engineering, Teesside University. Before coming to Teesside, he studied for his PhD at the University of Sheffield (Departments of Archaeology and Forensic Pathology) and was a Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee. Tim's main areas of research focus on the human body and how it changes, particularly in the modern context. Here, most of his research examines the effects of burning on the skeleton and the development of new analytical tools to examine this challenging biomaterial. He is also interested in the relationship between the biological and social body (again particularly in the modern context), and the role of forensic anthropology/ists in the world at large. He has recently published the book 'Human Identity and Identification' with Dr Rebecca Gowland (Durham University) and was previously senior editor for the book 'Forensic Human Identification'. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal ‘Science & Justice’. In 2014, Tim was awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy for excellence in teaching and support for learning in higher education. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences and the Royal Anthropological Institute, and is a practising forensic anthropologist who has worked at home and abroad in a variety of forensic contexts.