Mortuary Practices and Social Relationships at the Naqada III Cemetery of Tarkhan in Egypt

This thesis examines mortuary practices and social relationships at the northern Egyptian cemetery of Tarkhan. 968 graves were analysed dating from the pre-state period. This research has revealed that burying the dead was influenced by many factors including social relations, kinship, memory and ideology. It is clear that community-based mortuary practices were more complex than previous models of pre-state Egyptian society have suggested. This study contributes new knowledge to the cemetery of Tarkhan and to the processes involved in burial practices.