Department of Anthropology

People have buried the deceased below house floors and within residential areas throughout the course of human history. This volume is the first comprehensive study to try to make sense of this practice, looking at residential burials found in a variety of geographic, temporal, and social contexts. Chapters explore the many social meanings associated with the practice of burying the dead in residential contexts and highlight the themes of social memory, social reproduction, landscapes, identity, and power. Emphasis throughout these essays is on the important connections that people have with their deceased forbears and how these connections can be identified archaeologically.