Research on urn cremations from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (c. 1350-500 BC) found in Northwestern continental Europe has been scarce over the last decades. Especially in terms of what...Show moreResearch on urn cremations from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (c. 1350-500 BC) found in Northwestern continental Europe has been scarce over the last decades. Especially in terms of what urn cremations contain, and if these contents are positioned in a certain way. This has resulted in the notion that Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age burials are simple graves, with simple funerary practices. However, this research reveals a variety of choices was made throughout the funerary process, which makes these funerary practices increasingly more complex than assumed. To study these past funerary practices, this research examined the choices made in terms of what Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age urn cremations contain, and the position of these contents. This was achieved through a literature study of sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany, and by conducting a case study on a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age urn cremation from Venlo-Zaarderheiken (Limburg, the Netherlands). The latter allowed the examination of the contents and their position inside this urn cremation in detail. As a result, a variety of choices and actions concerning the contents and their position inside these urn cremations became visible through this dataset. This indicated funerary practices were more elaborate than thought; cremated human remains were carefully collected from the pyre remains, after which they were occasionally positioned inside the urn. Pyre remains were generally not added, in contrast to grave goods which often accompanied the dead on the pyre during cremation as well. Before the final deposition, the cremated human remains were covered with ceramics or stone slabs to prevent contamination with soil or to protect them from (accidental) digging activities. Thus, this research yielded a lot of new information on Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age funerary practices in Northwestern continental Europe, which proves these practices were more elaborate than initially thought.Show less
Providing for deceased ancestors in the afterlife through offerings is a millennia-old custom in China. In recent years have the elaborate paper effigies of worldly goods that are burned for this...Show moreProviding for deceased ancestors in the afterlife through offerings is a millennia-old custom in China. In recent years have the elaborate paper effigies of worldly goods that are burned for this purpose however received heavy criticism in Chinese and international media as the inclusion of modern luxury and brand items into the repertory of paper offering goods is seen as a deviation from long-standing traditions. The comparative study conducted in this thesis puts side by side ancient burial goods, the predecessors of the current paper offerings, and contemporary paper effigies in an attempt to answer the question whether luxury and brand items in the ancestral offering context constitute as claimed a break with tradition. The study has shown that throughout history, luxury items have been a constant feature of ancestral offerings. The expensive goods are not only a sign of the wealth and status of the bereaved family members in the hereafter, but also help the deceased to gain prestige and a high position in the social hierarchy of the afterlife. While in earlier times, the value of an offering was primarily determined by the value of the material it was made from, symbolism became the main indicator of value as offerings began to be commonly made from cheap materials like clay and nowadays paper. The replicas of contemporary luxury and brand items with their associated value are a modern take on the ancient practice of assigning value to otherwise valueless offerings through symbolic power.Show less
