One of the greatest mysteries of humanity is death: it happens to everyone, and no one knows what comes afterwards.
The fear of dying, but also the hope of finding a new, possibly better life after death, are important components in the beliefs of all cultures.
Because the way people deal with their dead reveals a lot about their ideas about the afterlife and also about how the living interact with each other, graves are particularly revealing for archaeology.
Were the dead buried in a large stone grave, a simple earth grave, or under a mound? Were they burnt on a funeral pyre? Were they given grave goods intended for the afterlife?
Burial customs changed again and again over the course of time; for example, when people changed their ideas about gods or the afterlife.