Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In this provocative book Éric Rebillard challenges many long-held assumptions about early Christian burial customs. For decades scholars of early Christianity have argued that the Church owned and operated burial grounds for Christians as early as the third century. Through a careful reading of primary sources including legal codes, theological works, epigraphical inscriptions, and sermons, Rebillard shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Christians occupied exclusive or isolated burial grounds in this early period. In fact, as late as the fourth and fifth centuries the Church did not impose on the faithful specific rituals for laying the dead to rest. In the preparation of Christians for burial, it was usually next of kin and not representatives of the Church who were responsible for what form of rite would be celebrated, and evidence from inscriptions and tombstones shows that for the most part Christians didn't separate themselves from non-Christians when burying their dead. According to Rebillard it would not be until the early Middle Ages that the Church gained control over burial practices and that "Christian cemeteries" became common. In this translation of Religion et Sépulture: L'église, les vivants et les morts dans l'Antiquité tardive, Rebillard fundamentally changes our understanding of early Christianity. The Care of the Dead in Late Antiquity will force scholars of the period to rethink their assumptions about early Christians as separate from their pagan contemporaries in daily life and ritual practice.

Death --- Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient --- Religious aspects --- Christianity. --- Religious aspects. --- Ancient funeral rites and ceremonies

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Modern archaeology has amassed considerable evidence for the disposal of the dead through burials, cemeteries and other monuments. Drawing on this body of evidence, this book offers fresh insight into how early human societies conceived of death and the afterlife. The twenty-seven essays in this volume consider the rituals and responses to death in prehistoric societies across the world, from eastern Asia through Europe to the Americas, and from the very earliest times before developed religious beliefs offered scriptural answers to these questions. Compiled and written by leading prehistorians and archaeologists, this volume traces the emergence of death as a concept in early times, as well as a contributing factor to the formation of communities and social hierarchies, and sometimes the creation of divinities.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient. --- Death --- Ancient funeral rites and ceremonies --- Social aspects.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The forms by which a deceased person may be brought to rest are as many as there are causes of death. In most societies the disposal of the corpse is accompanied by some form of celebration or ritual which may range from a simple act of deportment in solitude to the engagement of large masses of people in laborious and creative festivities. In a funerary context the term ritual may be taken to represent a process that incorporates all the actions performed and thoughts expressed in connection with a dying and dead person, from the preparatory pre-death stages to the final deposition of the corpse and the post-mortem stages of grief and commemoration. The contributions presented here are focused not on the examination of different funerary practices, their function and meaning, but on the changes of such rituals – how and when they occurred and how they may be explained. Based on case studies from a range of geographical regions and from different prehistoric and historical periods, a range of key themes are examined concerning belief and ritual, body and deposition, place, performance and commemoration, exploring a complex web of practices.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient. --- Ancient funeral rites and ceremonies --- Funérailles --- Rites et cérémonies --- Histoire --- Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. He analyses the varied burial rituals and examines the different notions of the afterlife. Among the areas covered are:* Osiris and Isis: the life theology of Ancient Egypt* burying the Jewish dead* Roman religion and Roman funerals* Early Christian burial* the nature of martyrdom.Jon Davies also draws on the sociological theory of Max Weber to present a comprehensive introduction

Death --- Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient. --- Future life --- Ancient funeral rites and ceremonies --- Dying --- End of life --- Life --- Terminal care --- Terminally ill --- Thanatology --- Religious aspects --- History of doctrines. --- Philosophy --- Middle East --- Rome --- Religion.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The Neolithic of the Near East is a period of human development which saw fundamental changes in the nature of human society. It is traditionally studied for its development of domestication, agriculture, and growing social complexity. In this book Karina Croucher takes a new approach, focusing on the human body and investigating mortuary practices - the treatment and burial of the dead - to discover what these can reveal about the people of the Neolithic Near East.The remarkable evidence relating to mortuary practices and ritual behaviour from the Near Eastern Neolithic provides some of the m

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient --- Neolithic period --- Thanatology. --- Death. --- Funérailles --- Néolithique --- Thanatologie --- Mort --- Rites et cérémonies --- Histoire --- Funérailles --- Néolithique --- Rites et cérémonies --- Middle East --- Antiquities. --- Death --- Death studies --- Ancient funeral rites and ceremonies --- Dying --- End of life --- Life --- Terminal care --- Terminally ill --- Thanatology --- Study and teaching --- Philosophy