A funeral is something we perform for the dead, certainly. But perhaps it is also something we do with them. We accompany them.

Across cultures, death is more than a biological event. From Maya cave burials and Balinese cremation to Chinchorro mummification, Zoroastrian exposure, Berawan secondary burial, and apotropaic graves in Poland, funeral practices reveal how humans understand the body, personhood, and the dead. What happens after the body dies—and when does a person finish dying? Explore the anthropology of mortuary and funerary practices around the world.

April missive about why we bury the dead.