Editing Burial (section)

==Alternatives to burial==
[[Image:AdashinoNembutsuji.jpg|thumb|[[Adashino Nembutsuji]] in [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]], stands on a site where [[Japanese person|Japanese]] people once abandoned the bodies of the dead without burial.]]

Alternatives to burial variously show respect for the dead, accelerate decomposition and disposal, or prolong display of the remains.
* [[Burial at sea]] is the practice of depositing the body or scattering its ashes in an [[ocean]] or other large body of water instead of soil. The body may be disposed in a coffin, or without one.
* [[Funerary cannibalism]] is the practice of eating the remains. This may be done for many reasons: for example to partake of their strength, to spiritually "close the circle" by reabsorbing their life into the family or clan, to annihilate an enemy, or due to pathological mental conditions. The [[Yanomami]] have the practice of cremating the remains and then eating the ashes with [[banana]] paste.
* [[Cremation]] is the incineration of the remains. This practice is common amongst [[Hindus]] and is becoming increasingly common in other cultures as well. If a family member wishes, the ashes can now be turned into a gem, similar to creating synthetic diamonds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/turning-the-dead-into-diamonds-meet-the-ghoul-jewelers_us_57ab1021e4b08c46f0e45afd|title=Turning The Dead into Diamonds: Meet The Ghoul Jewelers of Switzerland|first=Brian|last=Roberts|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=10 August 2016}}</ref>
* Whether [[cryonics]] constitutes a method of interment, rather than a form of medical treatment, remains under debate. See also [[information-theoretic death]] and [[clinical death]].
* [[Excarnation]] is the practice of removing the flesh from the corpse without interment. The [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] have traditionally left their dead on [[Tower of Silence|Towers of Silence]], where the flesh of the corpses is left to be devoured by vultures and other carrion-eating birds. Alternatively, it can also mean [[butcher]]ing the corpse by hand to remove the flesh (also referred to as "defleshing").
* [[Gibbet]]ing was the semi-ancient practice of publicly displaying remains of criminals.
* [[Hanging coffins]] are coffins placed on cliffs, found in various locations, including [[China]] and the [[Philippines]].
* [[Ossuary|Ossuaries]] were used for interring human skeletal remains by [[Second Temple Judaism|Second Temple Jews]] and early Christians.
* [[Promession]] is a method of freeze drying human remains before burial to increase the rate of [[decomposition]].
* [[Resomation]] accelerates disposal through the process of alkaline hydrolysis.
* [[Sky burial]] places the body on a mountaintop, where it decomposes in the elements or is scavenged by carrion eaters, particularly vultures.

=== Adapting traditions ===

==== Burial ====
As the human population progresses, cultures and traditions change with it. Evolution is generally slow, sometimes more rapid. South Korea's funeral arrangements have drastically changed in the course of only two decades according to Chang-Won Park.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Park|first=Chang-Won|title=Funerary transformations in contemporary South Korea|journal=Mortality|language=en|volume=15|issue=1|pages=18–37|doi=10.1080/13576270903537559|year=2010|s2cid=143440915}}</ref> Around the 1980s at home funeral ceremonies were the general norm, straying away from anywhere that was not a family home. Dying close to home, with friends and family, was considered a 'good death', while dying away from home was considered a 'bad death'. This gradually changed as the upper and middle class started holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. This posed an issue for hospitals because of the rapid increase in funerals being held and maxing occupancy. This quickly resolved when a law was passed to allow the civilian population holding funerals in the mortuaries of hospitals. The lower class quickly followed suit, copying the newly set traditions of the upper classes. With this change, cremation also practice more as an alternative to traditional burials. Cremation was first introduced by Buddhism, and was quickly banned in 1470. It was not until the Japanese colonization period that cremation was reintroduced in 1945 and later on lifted the ban. It took until 1998 for cremation to rapidly grow in popularity.

==== Funeral ceremonies ====
According to Margaret Holloway,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Holloway|first1=Margaret|last2=Adamson|first2=Susan|last3=Argyrou|first3=Vassos|last4=Draper|first4=Peter|last5=Mariau|first5=Daniel|title="Funerals aren't nice but it couldn't have been nicer". The makings of a good funeral|journal=Mortality|language=en|volume=18|issue=1|pages=30–53|doi=10.1080/13576275.2012.755505|year=2013|s2cid=55138577|url=https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/468952/1/Article.pdf}}</ref> funerals are believed to be driven by the consumer's choice, personalisation, secularization, and stories that place individual traditional meta-narratives. It has been studied that funeral homes in the UK are most concerned with comforting the grieving, rather than focusing on the departed. This study found that modern day funerals focus on the psycho-social-spiritual event. Modern day funerals also help the transition of the recently passed transitioning to the social status of 'the deceased'.{{clarify|date=November 2017}}  The article found that funeral homes do not adhere to traditional religious beliefs, but do follow religious traditions.