DolmenatAuvernierneartheLakeofNeuchatel。
Wehaveseenthatmenbeganbyplacingthebodiesoftheirdeadincaves，andonlylatertooktoburyingthemundergroundwhencaveswerenottobehad。Veryoftenthecorpsewasplacedbetweenlargeunhewnstonestokeepofffromittheweightofthetumulusabove。Suchwerethelastresting-placesalikeofthemenofSolutreandofthoseofMerovingiantimes。InthenecropolisofVilanova，whichissupposedtodatefromtimespriortothefoundationofRome，thetombsenclosedachest，thewallsofwhichconsistedofslabsofsandstonesetonedgeandconnectedbyaconglomerateofsmallstones。AtMarzabotto，thechestsaremadeofbricks，andplacedbeneathaheapofpebbles。WereproduceachestdiscoveredneartheLakeDwellingsofAuvernierinSwitzerlandFig。106[300]andanotherFig。107broughttolightbyMM。SiretinthesouthofSpain。Thesedrawingswillhelpusbetterthanlongdescriptionstoformanideaofthismodeofburial。
Astonechestusedasasepulchre。
Inothercasesthedeadbodywasenclosedinearthenwarejars。AtBiskrainAlgeria，twoofthesejarswerefoundtogether；theonecontainingthehead，theotherthefeetofthedeparted。Insomeinstancesthejarwasreplacedbyalargeclumsyearthenwarebasin，somesixandahalffeetlongbythreefeetwide。SuchbasinsarementionedashavingbeenfoundnearAthens，butthereisnothingtohelpustodeterminetheirdate。TheancientIberiansusedonelargejaronlyFig。108inwhichthedeadwasplacedinacrouchingposition，stillwearinghisfavoriteornaments。Thevasewasclosedwithastonecoverandplacedinthetomb。Wemeetwiththepracticeofasimilarmodeofintermentinhistorictimes。TheChaldeansplacedtheirdeadinearthenwarevases；twojarsconnectedattheneckservingasacoffin。ExcavationsinNebuchadnezzar’spalacebroughttolightbodiesbentnearlydoubleandenclosedinurnsnotmorethanthreefeetinheightbyabouttwofeetinwidth。OnthewesterncoastofMalabar，asfarasCapeComorin，wefindnearmegalithictombslargejarsfourfeethighbythreefeetindiameterfilledwithhumanbones。ThismodeofsepulturewaspractisedatSfax，intheChersonesusofThracia，andatthefootofthehillonwhichTroywasbuilt。ThetumulusofHanai-Tepehcoveredoverahugeamphorainwhichcrouchedaskeleton，andthewealthyJapaneselovedtoknowtheywouldrestinhugeartisticallydecoratedvases，masterpiecesofnativepottery。IfwecrosstheAtlantic，wemeetwiththesamecustominPeru，Mexico，andontheshoresoftheMississippi。AtTeotihuacan，thebodiesofchildrenwereplacedheaddownwardsinfuneralurns，[301]andexcavationsinthealluvialdepositsoftheMississippiyielded，amongimmensequantitiesofpottery，twohugerectangularbasinsgluedtogetherwithclayandcontainingthebodyofayoungchild。Itisindeedinterestingtomeetwiththesamepracticeinsomanydifferentplacesandtofindthegeniusofmanyracesexpressingitselfinthesamewayinsomanydiverseinventions，producedattimessowidelyseparated。
Exampleofburialinajar。