ABSTRACT
Death has always been a problem for the living. But the circumstances of death influence how primates respond. The display of affectional behavior before eventually abandoning dead relations is so widespread that primatologists see in it something that we, homo sapiens, have clearly inherited. Burial of the dead, and placing objects with them, pointed to a belief in an existence beyond the present: the goods would be useful to the deceased in the future. The Neolithic period featured a vast increase in the number and complexity of burials. The emergence of writing some 6,000 years ago gives us altogether more sophisticated insights. No ancient culture has left us a richer legacy about death and the afterlife than the Egyptians. Not only could they write well; they were also obsessed with preparation for death and dying. What the Greeks did, the Romans generally copied. The Roman pantheon was almost identical to the classical Greek one, though with Latin names.
