Sabina Cveček Study Explains Global Decline of Home Burials

Archaeologists led by Sabina Cveček of Chicago's Field Museum published a study in American Antiquity that documents the disappearance of the practice of burying relatives inside homes. Analyzing 49 archaeological sites and ethnographic data from 60 societies, the researchers found residential burials fell from about one‑third of ancient communities to roughly one‑tenth of more recent ones.

The study attributes the shift primarily to cultural changes driven by the spread of major religions such as Christianity and Hinduism, as well as colonial influences, rather than the previously hypothesized link to land‑ownership claims. Examples cited include child burials alongside walls at the Serbian site Lepenski Vir and subterranean funeral chambers accessed from a patio at the Mexican residence El Palmijo.