Curated category
Death customs
- CemeteryThe Taforalt cave in Morocco holds the resting place of at least 34 Iberomaurusian individuals. These remains date back to between 15,100 and 14,000 years…
- CremationThe Willandra Lakes in Australia hold the oldest known evidence of cremation, dating back 17,000 years. Archaeologists found the remains of a partly burned…
- EmbalmingThe Chinchorro culture in the Atacama desert of present-day Chile and Peru performed artificial mummification as early as 5000 to 6000 BCE.
- UrnAn urn is a vase, often with a cover, featuring a narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn" generally…
- Transfer of meritSometimes transferring merit is symbolized by pouring water into a vessel. This act represents the core of pattānumodanā, a standard part of Buddhist…
- Heart-burialIn the early twelfth century, a new burial custom emerged among European nobility. The heart of a deceased noble was sometimes separated from the body before…
- Buddhist devotionSri Lankan scholar Indumathie Karunaratna defines devotion in Buddhism as the fact or quality of being devoted to religious observances.