a-concise-history-of-the-funeral

As long as there have been people, there have been funerals. The truth is there is no right or wrong way to walk through the process of funeral rites. The time honored traditions of your own family are likely based on ancient practices, today we are going to list some of the most important points in the evolution of modern funeral services.

  • 60,000 BC: Neanderthals are known to have decorated their dead with flowers, antlers and stones.
  • 22,000 BC: Likely interment of William Buckley’s “Red Lady of Paviland”. The Red Lady was dyed with ochre, covered in seashell necklaces and surrounded by common ritual artifacts of the area made from bone, ivory and antlers.
  • 5000 BC: Dolmens, or portal graves, begin to appear
  • 4000 BC: Embalming begins in ancient Egypt and burial mounds, or Tumuli, appear in various areas around the globe
  • 3400 BC: Mummification becomes standard procedure for the dead in Egypt
  • 3300 BC: Mummies are prepared with varying sophistication based on the class of the decedent
  • 3100 BC: “Beaker” burials occur, where people are buried in a crouched position and accompanied by a variety of burial goods ranging from food and drinking vessels to body ornaments and fine jewelry. Richer people were interred with more sophisticated grave goods, ranging from swords to gold sheet work that adorned their clothing
  • 1500 BC: Ancestor Worship begins during China’s Shang Dynasty
  • 1000 BC: Funerary urns become more common, made from a wide variety of materials in any given local area
  • 800 BC: Ancient Greece starts using funeral pyres as the preferred method for disposal of human remains
  • 410 BC: Catacombs become a popular option for burial
  • 353 BC: The tomb of Carian ruler Mausolus was constructed, giving us the first true mausoleum, the site is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
  • 230 BC: The oldest known burial chamber in Japan, the Hokenoyama tomb, was constructed
  • 210 BC: The terracotta warriors are interred with Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang
  • 100: The Romans construct columbariums to house funerary urns
  • 300: Japan begins to construct keyhole burial mounds for important leaders
  • 400: The practice of Hindu widows burning themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre, or Suttee, is first documented
  • 600: The crypt of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome is constructed
  • 900: Elaborate Viking funerals are detailed in historic records from this period
  • 1500: Legendary Aztec celebrations of “Day of the Dead” begin around this time, as does documentation of the Hawaiian ritual of lighting a fire over a fresh grave that must be maintained for 10 days
  • 1632: the Taj Mahal was constructed – it remains one of the world’s most famous mausoleums
  • 1800: the practice of draping the coffin of a fallen warrior with the national colors begins during he Napoleonic wars
  • 1830s: Chinese dead are interred into the sides of mountains
  • 1860s: Embalming begins in the USA
  • 1864: Arlington is consecrated as a US national cemetery
  • 1884: Cremation becomes legal in Great Britain
  • 1909: The first motorized hearse is built by Crane & Breed
  • 1963: Cremation is accepted by the Catholic church
  • 1993: Green burials begin in the UK
  • 1997: Cremains are first launched into space

One of the only real certainties in life is that you will one day die. The rich history of burial rite around the world can be both intimidating and inspiring to those looking to get their affairs in order before it is too late. One thing that remains consistent across all world cultures throughout time, is that the handling of a deceased person’s earthly remains is both an honor and a sacred duty.