Abstract:
Investigation of mortuary practices provides vital information regarding the lifeways of past peoples. Examining multiple burials from the Pickwick Basin, this thesis assesses if these burials were the product of some particular circumstance or situation, and determines how this changed geographically, temporally, and with burial size. Osteological examination and techniques from forensic photographic analysis were used to determine the reasons behind these multiple burials as well as determine any influential factors that may have been at play. While it was determined that geographic and temporal components did influence burial practices, burial size played a much larger role. Further, violence and ritual were found to impact burial practices in the Pickwick Basin.
