Lodovico Brunetti, the Unknown Father of Modern Crematorium.

The cremation has been documented since prehistoric times and it was a common funerary custom until the advent of Catholicism. Falling into disuse, during XVII-XVIII centuries there were new movements to bring it back according to modern criteria, mainly due to hygienic reasons and cemeteries overcrowding. This also led to the prototyping of new crematory ovens to improve the ancient open-air pyre. Lodovico Brunetti was the first to carry out a crematory experimental research in the modern countries. Since Brunetti's studies were based on the study of ancient cremations, a comparison with a modern experience of reconstruction of archaeological cremation is presented to evaluate the validity of his crematorium oven. Furthermore, the social and religious aspects related to Brunetti's inventions and the revitalization of cremation shows how tools and technologies and also the cultural environment have evolved over the years, effectively accepting the cremation practice as an alternative to inhumation.

Estimating age-at-death in burnt adult human remains using the Falys-Prangle method.

OBJECTIVES: The Falys-Prangle-method assesses age-related morphological changes to the sternal clavicle end (SCE), enabling the observation of mature adults from the 5th decade onwards in unburnt human skeletal remains. The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of the Falys-Prangle-method on burnt human remains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two SCE of 40 cremated individuals (out of 86) from the William M. Bass collection of the Forensic Anthropology Center (Knoxville, Tennessee) of known age-at-death and sex are available for assessment. Surface topography, porosity, and osteophyte formation are evaluated, after which the calculated composite score is associated with the corresponding age range as described by Falys and Prangle. The method is also applied on an archaeological case study from Oudenburg, Belgium, dating to the Roman period. RESULTS: The assessed age ranges strongly agree with the true age ranges (α = 0.828), suggesting the Falys-Prangle-method to be applicable on burnt human remains. The case study from Oudenburg yields markedly improved age-at-death estimates, significantly enhancing our understanding of the age distribution within this community. DISCUSSION: Information on age-at-death is key in the construction of biological profiles of past individuals. The mature adult is often invisible in the archaeological record since most macroscopic age estimation methods do not distinguish beyond 46+ years old. Our study stresses the usefulness of a large-scale application of the Falys-Prangle-method, which will increase the visibility of mature adults, especially in archaeological burnt human skeletal collections, where such information is, at present, extremely difficult to obtain.

Why Europe has never been united (not even in the afterworld): The fall and rise of cremation in cities (1876-1939).

An intriguing paradox emerges in the history of disposal of the dead in Europe: the countries (Italy, Germany, England, and Scotland) where, in the last quarter of the 19th century, cremation was introduced first, were the last ones to see the diffusion of cremation as a mass phenomenon. The contrary was true where-for instance, in Switzerland and in Denmark-the start of cremation was initially delayed. Here the growth was very fast. To explain this puzzling enigma, I propose to abandon the usual nation-level approach and take cities as appropriate units of analysis. So, a database on presence or absence of crematoria and on trends in "annual cremation by death ratios" in the European cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants before 1939 was completed for an analysis of patterns of the early emergence of cremation and change of cremation rate at a local level.

Mobility during the neolithic and bronze age in northern ireland explored using strontium isotope analysis of cremated human bone.

OBJECTIVES: As many individuals were cremated in Neolithic and Bronze Age Ireland, they have not featured in investigations of individual mobility using strontium isotope analysis. Here, we build on recent experiments demonstrating excellent preservation of biogenic (87) Sr/(86) Sr in calcined bone to explore mobility in prehistoric Northern Ireland. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A novel method of strontium isotope analysis is applied to calcined bone alongside measurements on tooth enamel to human remains from five Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Northern Ireland. We systematically sampled modern vegetation around each site to characterize biologically available strontium, and from this calculated expected values for humans consuming foods taken from within 1, 5, 10 and 20 Km catchments. This provides a more nuanced way of assessing human use of the landscape and mobility than the 'local' vs. 'non-local' dichotomy that is often employed. RESULTS: The results of this study 1) provide further support for the reliability of strontium isotope analysis on calcined bone, and 2) demonstrate that it is possible to identify isotopic differences between individuals buried at the same site, with some consuming food grown locally (within 1-5 Km) while others clearly consumed food from up to 50 Km away from their burial place. DISCUSSION: Hints of patterning emerge in spite of small sample numbers. At Ballynahatty, for instance, those represented by unburnt remains appear to have consumed food growing locally, while those represented by cremated remains did not. Furthermore, it appears that some individuals from Ballynahatty, Annaghmare and Clontygora either moved in the last few years of their life or their cremated remains were brought to the site. These results offer new insights into the choice behind coterminous cremation and inhumation rites in the Neolithic. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:397-413, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fire and bones: Bronze Age III in the North-Eastern Iberian Peninsula.

Between the third millennium BP and the fifth century AD, there are numerous necropolises that house urns in the Iberian Peninsula. One example is the "Pi de la Lliura" (Vidreres, Girona). However, there is a dearth of research concerning these structures. The "Pi de la Lliura" housed 43 structures, which contained a total of 47 vessels with human remains. Of these 43 structures, 22 were totally or partially excavated at the laboratory. The evidence from the fragments indicates cremation at a temperature of 650-700 degrees C. Part of the cremated corpse was then deposited in an urn. One of the most unique characteristics of the necropolis is the high frequency of individuals younger than 20 years old. The mortality of sub-adults is high in any prehistoric necropolis, but it is even higher in a cremation necropolis. "Pi de la Lliura" is a very small necropolis, where corpses were treated similarly over a short period.

Who was buried with Nestor's Cup? Macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the cremated remains from Tomb 168 (second half of the 8th century BCE, Pithekoussai, Ischia Island, Italy).

Cremation 168 from the second half of the 8th century BCE (Pithekoussai's necropolis, Ischia Island, Italy), better known as the Tomb of Nestor's Cup, is widely considered as one of the most intriguing discoveries in the Mediterranean Pre-Classic archaeology. A drinking cup, from which the Tomb's name derives, bears one of the earliest surviving examples of written Greek, representing the oldest Homeric poetry ever recovered. According to previous osteological analyses, the Cup is associated with the cremated remains of a juvenile, aged approximately 10-14 years at death. Since then, a vast body of literature has attempted to explain the unique association between the exceptionality of the grave good complex, the symposiac and erotic evocation of the Nestor's Cup inscription with the young age of the individual buried with it. This paper reconsiders previous assessments of the remains by combining gross morphology with qualitative histology and histomorphometric analyses of the burnt bone fragments. This work reveals the commingled nature of the bone assemblage, identifying for the first time, more than one human individual mixed with faunal remains. These outcomes dramatically change previous reconstructions of the cremation deposit, rewriting the answer to the question: who was buried with Nestor's Cup?.

Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a pyre-pit burial.

Renewed excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) has resulted in the discovery of the earliest occurrence of an intentional cremation in the Near East directly dated to 7031-6700 cal BC (Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, also known as Final PPNB, which spans ca. 7100-6400 cal BC). The funerary treatment involved in situ cremation within a pyre-pit of a young adult individual who previously survived from a flint projectile injury. In this study we have used a multidisciplinary approach that integrates archaeothanatology, spatial analysis, bioanthropology, zooarchaeology, soil micromorphological analysis, and phytolith identification in order to reconstruct the different stages and techniques involved in this ritual: cremation pit construction, selection of fuel, possible initial position of the corpse, potential associated items and funerary containers, fire management, post-cremation gesture and structure abandonment. The origins and development of cremation practices in the region are explored as well as their significance in terms of Northern-Southern Levantine connections during the transition between the 8th and 7th millennia BC.

Towards a new osteometric method for sexing ancient cremated human remains. Analysis of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age samples from Italy with gendered grave goods.

Sex estimation of human remains is one of the most important research steps for physical anthropologists and archaeologists dealing with funerary contexts and trying to reconstruct the demographic structure of ancient societies. However, it is well known that in the case of cremations sex assessment might be complicated by the destructive/transformative effect of the fire on bones. Osteometric standards built on unburned human remains and contemporary cremated series are often inadequate for the analysis of ancient cremations, and frequently result in a significant number of misclassifications. This work is an attempt to overcome the scarcity of methods that could be applied to pre-proto-historic Italy and serve as methodological comparison for other European contexts. A set of 24 anatomical traits were measured on 124 Bronze Age and Iron Age cremated individuals with clearly engendered grave goods. Assuming gender largely correlated to sex, male and female distributions of each individual trait measured were compared to evaluate sexual dimorphism through inferential statistics and Chaktaborty and Majumder's index. The discriminatory power of each variable was evaluated by cross-validation tests. Eight variables yielded an accuracy equal to or greater than 80%. Four of these variables also show a similar degree of precision for both sexes. The most diagnostic measurements are from radius, patella, mandible, talus, femur, first metatarsal, lunate and humerus. Overall, the degree of sexual dimorphism and the reliability of estimates obtained from our series are similar to those of a modern cremated sample recorded by Gonçalves and collaborators. Nevertheless, mean values of the male and female distributions in our case study are lower, and the application of the cut-off point calculated from the modern sample to our ancient individuals produces a considerable number of misclassifications. This result confirms the need to build population-specific methods for sexing the cremated remains of ancient individuals.

A case of semi-combusted pregnant female in the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia, Italy).

We present a case of a pregnant woman with the fetus skeletal remains in situ, belonging to the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Monte Sirai (Sardinia, Italy). The burial dates back to the late 6th to early 5th century BCE. Of the unborn fetal cases documented in the literature this is amongst the oldest four and it represents the first documented case of a pregnant woman in the Phoenician and Punic necropolis literature. A physico-chemical investigation of bones combining X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy suggests that the female skeleton and fetus were subjected to an incomplete heat treatment according to a funerary practice, perhaps limited to the period of early 5th century BCE, that appears to be peculiar to this site.

Collective secondary cremation in a pit grave: a unique funerary context in Portuguese Chalcolithic burial practices.

Perdigões is a large site with a set of ditched enclosures located at Reguengos de Monsaraz, Alentejo, South Portugal. Recently at the central area of this site burnt human remains were found in a pit (#16). This structure had inside human remains, animal bones (namely pig, sheep or goat, cattle, dog, deer and rabbit), shards, ivory idols and arrowheads. All have been subjected to fire and later deposited in that pit, resulting in a secondary disposal of human bones. The recovered fragmented human bones (4845.18 g) correspond to a minimal number of 9 individuals: 6 adults and 3 sub-adults. The aim of this work is to document and interpret this funerary context based on the study of the recovered human remains. For that purpose, observations of all alterations due to fire, such as colour change and type of bone distortion, as well as anthropological data were collected. The data obtained suggest that these human remains were probably intentionally cremated, carefully collected and finally deposited in this pit. The cremation was conducted on probably complete corpses, some of them still fairly fresh and fleshed, as some bones presented thumbnail fractures. The collective cremation of the pit 16 represents an unprecedented funerary context for Portuguese, and Iberian Peninsula, Chalcolithic burial practices. Moreover, it is an example of the increasing diversity of mortuary practices of Chalcolithic human populations described in present Portuguese territory, as well as, in the Iberian Peninsula.

[FUNERARY RITUAL OF CREMATION]. / IL RITUALE FUNERARIO DELLA CREMAZIONE.

In the area of Rome object of study, the cremations account for 10% of total burials (522 cremation burials of 4758), unlike the contemporary cemeteries of French and Cispadane areas where they are well over 30%. Detailed analysis of the cemeteries, confirms that the indirect cremations (urns and graves) represent over 85% of the sample, while direct cremations (busta sepulcra) are under-represented. For a selected sample of 69 cremations, demographic analysis was performed and it shows a discrete prevalence of women and an almost equal distribution of males and subadults. Quantitative analysis of burned bones was conducted on cremations found perfectly intact during excavation, it indicates that cremations are generally completed and that they have all the anatomical regions represented.

Crooked Timber: The life of Calvin Wells (1908-1978).

Calvin Wells was the leading palaeopathologist in the UK between the later 1950s and the early 1970s. He studied medicine at University College London but failed in anatomy and qualified in 1933 with the Conjoint Diploma (MRCS, LRCP). After qualification he began to study obstetrics and after war service in the RAMC he settled in Norfolk (UK), established a small general practice and took up palaeopathology. Although he was usually conservative in diagnosis he tended to over-interpret signs in the skeleton, often publishing descriptions that were more fiction than science. He held firm views on the way in which palaeopathology should be undertaken and in particular he resented the entry into the field of anthropologists without medical training. His major contributions to palaeopathology were related to the study of cremations and the introduction of the notion of pseudopathology, and his writings on these subjects have scarcely been improved upon since. He was extremely well read, warm and encouraging to those with archaeological or medical qualifications, but vituperative about those he disliked. His bone reports, which are a major proportion of his published output, generally were highly regarded but his writing is often marred by sexual innuendo and vulgarity which does his memory little credit.

No place, new places: death and its rituals in urban Asia.

In many land-scarce Asian cities, planning agencies have sought to reduce space for the dead to release land for the living, encouraging conversion from burial to cremation over several decades. This has caused secular principles privileging efficient land use to conflict with symbolic values invested in burial spaces. Over time, not only has cremation become more accepted, even columbaria have become overcrowded, and new forms of burials (sea and woodland burials) have emerged. As burial methods change, so too do commemorative rituals, including new on-line and mobile phone rituals. This paper traces the ways in which physical spaces for the dead in several east Asian cities have diminished and changed over time, the growth of virtual space for them, the accompanying discourses that influence these dynamics and the new rituals that emerge concomitantly with the contraction of land space.

A terminal Pleistocene child cremation and residential structure from eastern Beringia.

The dearth of human remains and residential sites has constrained inquiry into Beringian lifeways at the transition of the late Pleistocene-early Holocene. We report on human skeletal remains and a residential structure from central Alaska dated to ~11,500 calendar years ago. The remains are from a ~3-year-old child who was cremated in a pit within a semisubterranean house. The burial-cremation and house have exceptional integrity and preservation and exhibit similarities and differences to both Siberian Upper Paleolithic and North American Paleoindian features.

Cremation practices coexisting at the S'Illot des Porros Necropolis during the Second Iron Age in the Balearic Islands (Spain).

The necropolis of S'Illot des Porros, one of the most important prehistoric funerary sites of the Balearic Islands (Spain), was in use from the VIth and Vth century BCE until the Ist century CE. Located in a funerary area which contains two cementeries and one sanctuary, this site is constituted by three funerary chambers named A, B and C, respectively. Investigations on all the human burnt bone remains of the chambers, carried out mainly by the X-ray diffraction and supplemented in some cases by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy pointed to the simultaneous use of inhumation and cremation funerary rites, probably due to existing social differences. In particular, it was argued that the chambers were differentiated, i.e., B was dedicated to inhumations and A to cremations, the cremations found in chamber B very likely being a result of a cleaning-purification of the burial area. Moreover, chamber C, which is the most ancient (IVth century BCE) and with the largest number of inhumed remains, contains the smallest number of remains that were exposed to fire and just in one case it seems possible to attribute a genuine high-temperature cremation.

La cremación / Cremation

Cada año mueren millones de personas en todo el mundo. Los dos principales ritos funerarios adoptados por la mayoría son el entierro y la cremación. La cremación es la destrucción por medio del calor, en un horno crematorio, de cadáveres, restos humanos y restos cadavéricos hasta su reducción a cenizas. Cualquier cadáver puede ser incinerado con independencia de la causa de la muerte, salvo los contaminados por radiaciones o productos radiactivos.1 La palabra crematorio tiene su origen en el latín crematio, cremationem o cremationis que significa quemar, incinerar.2 A pesar de la popularidad de esta práctica en los últimos tiempos, la cremación data de la antigüedad...

Sarcophilia, cremation and Sir Henry Thompson (1820-1904).

Sarcophilia, a neologism for an attachment to human remains, is set in a review of the history of the disposal of the dead. The ancient practice of cremation was relaunched late in the 19th century by the urological surgeon cum social reformer Sir Henry Thompson. He was stimulated by Edwin Chadwick and Charles Dickens, and by Charles Darwin's observations on the earthworm. Sarcophilia is the reason for the controversial Human Tissue Act of 2004.