Book contents
- Death and the Body in Bronze Age Europe
- Death and the Body in Bronze Age Europe
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction
- Two A Brief History of Urns, Urnfields, and Burial in the Urnfield Culture
- Three Theoretical Framework
- Four The Bronze Age
- Five The Changing Bronze Age Body
- Six The Treatment of the Body
- Seven The Construction of Graves
- Eight After the Burial
- Nine Conclusions
- References
- Index
Four - The Bronze Age
Setting the Scene
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2022
- Death and the Body in Bronze Age Europe
- Death and the Body in Bronze Age Europe
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction
- Two A Brief History of Urns, Urnfields, and Burial in the Urnfield Culture
- Three Theoretical Framework
- Four The Bronze Age
- Five The Changing Bronze Age Body
- Six The Treatment of the Body
- Seven The Construction of Graves
- Eight After the Burial
- Nine Conclusions
- References
- Index
Summary
In this chapter we set out to provide a sense of the societies in which the change from inhumation to cremation took place; how they were they organised and how people lived. What were the primary characteristics of peoples’ understanding of their worlds, how did they organise relationships amongst themselves and engage with the outside – both other communities and the supernatural? What characterised their interactions with material things, new ideas, and people? Can we discern their attitudes towards their bodies, how it was presented and performed through manipulation and dressing, and how this might have influenced their understanding of the body in death? Most importantly, as burial practices are our focus, what were the characteristics of the already existing burial practices and rituals?
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Death and the Body in Bronze Age EuropeFrom Inhumation to Cremation, pp. 54 - 85Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023