Practicalities of Grief and Commemoration

Accounting for Variation in Cremation Practices in Africa Proconsularis

Bibliographic Data

ID19340706
AuthorsJennifer P Moore, Lea M Stirling, Lea Stirling (0000-0001-6505-709X)
Year2021
Volume57
Pages93-116
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquités africaines (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-4871 • E-ISSN: 2117-539X
PublisherOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/antafr.3747
OpenAlexW4205257739
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited28

As the practice of cremation spread throughout Africa Proconsularis, several localities developed distinctive mortuary customs. Examining three commonly-recognized stages of ritual interaction at these graves (the cremation, the burial, and post-funerary visitations) and proposing a fourth (deposits made during construction), this study seeks to identify and explain regional and sub-regional variations. Factors included the community’s cultural background, the extent of its integration into trade networks and other external influences, and the nature of local industry and crafts that could contribute to equipping the rites and graves. The size of the population that used the cemetery was also significant, since high-use necropoleis might demonstrate more habituated behaviours than cemeteries used less frequently. Cremation burials from cemeteries in Africa Proconsularis display fluency in the “global” funerary vocabulary and practices of the Mediterranean, yet also demonstrate the individualizing impact of specific socio-economic environments

Ancient history · Archaeology · Bronze Age · Ethnology · Fluency · Geography · Grief · Population · Residence · Sociology · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Demography · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Psychology

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