Ancient Roman Sarcophagi in Ephesus, Turkey

eHRAF World Cultures includes data on the cultural attitude toward the dead; mortuary toilet; preservative techniques (e.g., embalming, desiccation, mummification); determination of time, place, and mode of burial; interval between death and; vigils and wakes; place of disposal of corpse (e.g., cemetery, ossuary); receptacles (e.g., coffin, canoe, urn, tomb); method of disposal (e.g., abandonment, inhumation, cremation, sea burial, cave burial, tree or scaffold burial); preparation of grave, pyre, or scaffold; disposition of corpse (e.g., posture, orientation); funerary mounds, monuments, and memorials; burial rites; mortuary sacrifices; disposition of grave goods; etc.

The ethnographic texts in eHRAF World Cultures are indexed with subjects (also called OCMs). Subjects, such as “burial practices and funerals” (OCM 764) can be used in Advanced Search to find relevant paragraphs and pages for this concept.