The social landscape of death: a theoretical perspective on funerary practices in Post-Medieval Portugal

Abstract

Funerary practices and burial sites offer valuable insights into how societies conceptualise death and an enhanced perspective on communities' social, economic, and cultural contexts. The integration of archaeological data, historical records, iconographic and documentary sources, and socio-cultural anthropology strengthens the understanding of death-related discourses, symbolic representations, and changing attitudes over time. Key funerary indicators, such as graves and spatial distribution in the necropolis, inhumation type, body positioning and orientation, and grave goods, reveal the deceased's integration in their communities and socioeconomic status. This paper explores these indicators to promote a broader understanding of communities' cultural, social, and economic contexts, focusing on the Portuguese Post-Medieval period (1450-1835) while summarising key concepts. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for a comprehensive interpretation of funerary practices. A detailed contextual analysis of skeletal remains, burial features, and associated material culture is essential to ensure reliable interpretations of funerary practices and social dynamics. Nevertheless, this approach requires the expertise of professionals with extensive fieldwork experience and specialised knowledge in archaeology, biological anthropology, and bioarchaeology.