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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The architecture of death: a conceptual consideration of the disposal of the dead in archaeology
Author:Gundu, Zacharys Anger
Year:1988
Periodical:West African Journal of Archaeology
Volume:18
Pages:81-93
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:death
prehistoric graves
Abstract:This paper discusses the underlying philosophical basis of the architecture of earth burials and the variations in design, location and construction they show over space and time in order to articulate a conceptual framework to account for the forms and variations in the disposal of the dead known in Nigerian archaeology. It is written in two parts. The first part describes variations in the architecture of death through time and space and relates these to underlying conceptual explanations. Most examples in this part are drawn from Africa. The second part is a discussion of the archaeological examples of earth burials in Nigeria discovered at the sites of Iwo-Eleru, Rop, the Lake Chad region, Igbo-Ukwu, and Benin. It is argued that in spite of the relative simplicity of these burial traditions, they indicate fundamental variations that can be understood in the context of the philosophies of death of the societies in question. Bibliogr., sum.
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