CONSIDERAŢII TEORETICO - METODOLOGICE PRIVIND STUDIUL PRACTICILOR FUNERARE (II): CONTRIBUŢIILE ARHEOLOGIEI
The theoretical and methodological considerations concerning the study of funerary practices (II): The contribution of the archaeology

Summary/Abstract: This article reviews major archaeological contributions to the development of a theory of mortuary practice. We briefly present the principle theoretical directions of archaeology (culture-historical archaeology, processual archaeology, post-processual archaeology). During the last 100 years, the theoretical focus has shifted from the interpretation of mortuary practice as aligned exclusively with religion, to multivariate associations of mortuary practice with social variables such as subsistence, kinship, residence, and political stratification, and then to symbolic interpretation. The increase in archaeological data during the last century alongside the refinements made by archaeologists in method and technique, offer the resources for the development of a new theory of mortuary practice.

• Details
• Contents