Life was wild in the Bronze Age. Civilizations rose and fell and were never seen again. People lived from the land, hunters following animals, nomads herding sheep, goats and cattle. Aurochs still roamed the plains and the ferocious brown bear ruled the northern forests. In some places sedentary tribes developed the agriculture of a new age.
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For many, life was grim. The average lifespan was thirty years. People were middle-aged at fifteen. Disease, hunger, battle, childbirth all took their toll. If a clan member died, how did families grieve? Death was a matter-of-fact occurrence in the unpredictable Bronze Age, but people are emotional animals.
Interment usually took place in a burial mound. Toward the end of the Bronze Age post-death body disposal was more often done by cremation. The tumuli (sing. tumulus) are also known broadly as barrows, burial mounds, kurgans or cairns. Burial mounds such as these were not specific to one people but found throughout the world.
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The standard tumulus varies in shape. A tumulus built to hold many bodies is usually rectangular, also called a passage tumulus. Some are built stacked atop each other and seem perfectly round. The inhumation takes form in various ways.
It may involve a dolmen, or portal tomb, a Megalithic structure of stones; or a cist or kist, a type of stone coffin. It could be a mortuary enclosure, or area surrounded by a wood, stone or earth barrier, in which dead bodies are placed either for storage or burial; a mortuary house, or chamber tomb, more lavish dwelling places of the dead.
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Items of value to the dead person, such as clothing, weapons, jewelry, combs and personal items, were placed within the tomb. After the burial, in the case of a high-ranking corpse, funeral games such as riding, fighting and sports were held.
While many pagan cultures didn't believe in an afterlife per se, items buried with the dead indicate people may have at least entertained the possibility. Another reason is the theoretical curse attached to the belongings of a dead person, which would have some effect on the early Bronze Age psyche.
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The practice of including weapons, sometimes food or gold, decorated pottery and special items makes the tumulus today an invaluable piece of archaeological history. For example an ancient Greek mask was found in a tumulus in South Africa, a sign of travel and trade.
In the Nile area there's evidence family members brought ritual items and snacks for the corpse. Some of the tumuli, over time, assumed significant spiritual power.
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Perhaps the spirits of the dead still live within. Perhaps they're a gateway to the spirit dimension, or they hold the secrets of divinity. The monuments also gained influence in places following a tradition of ancestor worship. Accorded reverence as sacred places, they could be built up and highly decorated.
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