Morris Ian. Death-Ritual and Social Structure in Classical Antiquity

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992. — 284 p. — ISBN10: 0521376114; ISBN13: 978-0521376112 — (Key Themes in Ancient History)The chief purpose of this book is to show how burials may be used as a uniquely informative source for Greek and Roman social history. Burials permit a far wider range of inference and insight than the literary texts produced by and for a narrow social elite, and by studying them in-depth Dr. Morris is able to offer new interpretations of social change in Graeco-Roman antiquity. The major interdisciplinary importance of the book lies in its attempt to break down barriers between archaeologists and historians of different societies and cultures.AbbreviationsThe anthropology of a dead world
'Mos Romanus': cremation and inhumation in the Roman Empire
'Dem bones': skeletal remains
Taking it with you: grave goods and Athenian democracy
Monuments to the dead: display and wealth in classical Greece
Famous last words: the inscribed tombstone
At the bottom of the graves: an example of analysisBibliographical essay

Index