The bodies of the dead have traditionally been disposed of in two ways: burial or cremation, or burning of the body. Burial has been customary in most societies since prehistoric time. The ritual burial of the dead probably stems from an instinctive refusal on the part of people to accept death as the complete end of an individual?s existence. This notion of the end of existence first appeared in Buddhist thought in India during the 6th century BC.

The belief that humans somehow survive death in some form occurs in nearly all religions. Prehistoric and ancient funeral rituals and burial customs testify to the conviction that the person somehow survives; hence burial with supplies of food, ornaments, and tools. This was true for Paleolithic people as it was for the Egyptians, who at a much later date built elaborate tombs and pyramids. Proper preparation of the body and burial were regarded as necessary if the dead individual was to depart to the place where he belonged.

Some religions have held that the dead must cross some barrier that separated their new existence from the land of the living. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the dead were ferried across a river, the Acheron or the Styx, by a demonic boatman called Charon. To pay his fee, a coin was placed in the mouth of the body before burial.

Preparation of the body for burial has traditionally included washing the body and dressing it in special garments. The most elaborate preparation took place in Egypt. The body was embalmed, a procedure of using preservatives either externally or internally to keep the body intact for as long as possible. The body was then carefully wrapped in cloth and buried beyond the reach of the Nile River to preserve the corpse. Other ancient societies also used embalming, among them prehistoric Indian tribes of Peru and Ecuador and the aborigines of the Canary Islands. In Tibet bodies are still often embalmed according to ancient formulas.

The modern embalming practice of injecting fluids into the arteries to preserve the body began in the 18th century in England, following techniques developed by William Harvey to study the circulation of blood. Embalming came into wide acceptance in the United States as a result of the American Civil War, when casualties were very high and some means had to be used to preserve the bodies to be sent home for burial.

In modern embalming procedures, the blood is drained from the body and replaced by a solution of formaldehyde in water, called Formalin. Cavity fluid is removed and replaced with a preservative of Formalin mixed with alcohols, emulsifiers, and other substances. Such embalming does not permanently preserve the body; its use is to give the corpse a lifelike appearance during the time it is viewed by mourners. To enhance the effect, cosmetics and other substances are customarily used on visible portions of the body.

Cremation has been practiced in Western societies since about 1000 BC, when it was first used by the Greeks. It is also an ancient practice among the Hindus of India. Such cremations were always performed in the open, as they are in India today. In modern Western cremations the body is placed into what amounts to an oven, where intense heat transforms it into a few pounds of powdery ash. The ash may be kept in an urn, buried, or scattered in some favored place. Cremation has been looked upon with disfavor by members of many religious groups.

Bodies have been buried under the earth, on top of the ground under a mound of earth or rocks, in caves, in large above-ground burial sites called mausoleums, and in water. Communal burial places, called cemeteries, mark some of the oldest locations of human settlement. about 1000 BC, when it was first used by the Greeks. It is also an ancient practice among the Hindus of India. Such cremations were always performed in the open, as they are in India today. In modern Western cremations the body is placed into what amounts to an oven, where intense heat transforms it into a few pounds of powdery ash. The ash may be kept in an urn, buried, or scattered in some favored place. Cremation has been looked upon with disfavor by members of many religious groups.

Bodies have been buried under the earth, on top of the ground under a mound of earth or rocks, in caves, in large above-ground burial sites called mausoleums, and in water. Communal burial places, called cemeteries, mark some of the oldest locations of human settlement.

Water burial was a custom in many ancient cultures. Often the bodies of heroes were cast adrift in boats. In the South Pacific it was customary to place the body in a canoe and to launch it on the water. In Western society water burial is commonly used when a person dies at sea.