Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-55).

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Within the field of archaeology, cremation studies have the potential to provide important information regarding regional demography, pyre technology, burial rituals, and social rites. The development of recognized value and study of cremated remains has been stimulated by the establishment of proper methods of analysis and the increased awareness of the varying characteristics the bones exhibit after having been exposed to firing. During the Late Bronze Age, cremation was the principal method of disposing of deceased individuals throughout central and southern Europe. Three Urnfield Culture sites which had the most preserved material were selected for this study; from these sites, 169 individuals were selected for osteoarchaeological research. In addition to a standard osteological examination, cremation-related changes to the skeleton were studied such as temperature of firing, fracture patterns, element survival, and overall fragmentation and preservation. Demographics such as age and sex were established for each individual when possible and any animal bones present were acknowledged. This research is important because it is the first major osteological study done on cremated remains from Urnfield Culture sites in Slovenia. It is bringing to light new information on population demographics, the effectiveness of the cremation process during the time of the Urnfield Culture, and will supplement current research on the Late Bronze Age in Slovenia.

Long ago the stories common to men were clearly present in their architecture. Sculpture, mosaics, paintings, stained-glass windows, all blatantly told the beginning, the morals, the epics, and future of humanity. Today these elements have all but disappeared along with the stories that they told. One story still common to humanity is the act of death, transcending culture, nationality, or creed. The pages to follow disclose an architecture for the emotional state of mourning. The seven spaces of this architecture exist in three dimensions: the narrative, the emotive, and sacred. / Master of Architecture

Abstract This thesis primarily deals with rituals and the specific objects related to the rituals. The rituals in question are the once in a life time event of the Hindu cremation ceremony, and perpendicular to that, the everyday rituals which constitutes daily life. Through an existential and ontological theoretical exploration the bridge, doorway, step and Lota (vernacular Indian pottery) become the signified objects which are arranged to form the existential theatre. Which presents a reincarnation of architecture: a hybrid pedestrian bridge with cremation infrastructure. Furthermore parallel theories of rationality and irrationality, solid and void, boundaries, the structure of time and nothingness, are explored to theoretically contextualize the semiotics of the architecture. The siting of the existential theatre is at the beginning of the Ganges River, formed by various head rivers, in Rishikesh, India. Rishikesh is at center of intersections of religious mythology, commercialism, touristism, a holy pilgrimage site, popular culture and a growing local community. It is only within this context can the existential theatre can exist, as the multiplicity of cultural intersections allows for a composite arrangement of various significations. Spatial, cultural and ritual typologies are revealed when using Learning from Las Vegas as a ruler to measure Rishikesh. These typologies are then employed into the scheme. The Hindu ritual of cremation is an age old tradition with the sole purpose of liberating the soul from its physical form. So it may then be reincarnated into another form. This process is governed by the law of Karma. An in-depth analysis is done of each stage of the ritual to highlight spaces within which architecture can facilitate, efficiently and sustainably, but not alter the process. The meaning behind each stage is used to sequentially signify components of the scheme. The first informal form of the existential theatre is witnessed due to natural occurrences and proximities of the once in a life time ritual of cremation along with everyday pedestrian rituals; this thesis is a formalization of these naturally occurring elements. The charrette process proved to be praxis of the existential and ontological theoretical inquiry; as well as a metaphor for the ritual of cremation. This was done through the abstraction of an everyday object, the incense stick. The charrette process produced the architectural tools with which to design the scheme with. The resulting architecture of the existential theatre is informed by the ceremonial cremation procession and is paralleled with every day rituals. The ultimate aim of my project is to facilitate the Hindu Cremation Ritual, in a respectful and sustainable manner while asking and suggesting answers to existential questions. / MN (2016)

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Tracing the treatment of the body before, during and after cremation, this thesis aims to reconstruct and theorise the mortuary rituals associated with urned cremation burial in Bronze Age Scotland. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between theoretical perspectives from funerary archaeology and up-to-date methods for understanding heat-related changes to bone from osteoarchaeology and forensic anthropology. As with other types of mortuary treatment, the physical aspects of cremation detected by osteological analysis are interconnected with the meaning and symbolism of the ritual. The research involved the osteological analysis of a sample of urned cremation burials from the collections of The National Museums of Scotland. The analysis aimed to estimate not only the age at death and sex of the remains, but also to investigate factors such as the number of individuals in an urn, the effectiveness of the cremation process, whether the bodies had been cremated as fresh corpses or dry bones, the position of the body on the pyre, the range of pyre goods and the selection of remains included in the urns. In total, 75 urned cremation burials from 50 sites were analysed, a significant addition to the corpus of osteologically analysed Bronze Age urned burials from the Scottish Mainland. The results suggested a significant discrepancy between how fleshed bodies and bodies which had been through the pyre were perceived. Whereas fresh corpses were not modified, the burnt remains could be extensively manipulated until their final deposition within the urn.