Fear, Death, and the Afterlife: A Psychological Reading of Prehistoric Burial Practices in India

Abstract

As individuals recognize the inevitability of mortality, it creates a profound sense of fear and existential anxiety. Prehistoric burial practices provide insight into the fact that these people didn’t treat death as a mere end of life – rather they tried to construct meaning around it. The current paper aimed to offers a psychological interpretation of prehistoric burial practices in India by examining evidence from four archaeological sites – Adichanallur, Brahmagiri, Burzahom, and Chirand – through the theoretical perspectives of Ernest Becker’s theory of the denial of death, Terror Management Theory, and Carl Jung’s concept of archetypes. At Adichanallur, urn burials symbolically represent the womb – tomb archetype of Jung and reflects the ideas of transformation and rebirth. At Brahmagiri, the construction of megalithic monuments and secondary burials can be interpreted as material expressions of the human desire to transcend mortality. Burzahom’s domestic burials indicate the continued integration of the dead within family and social life, while human–animal burials suggest companionship and guidance in the afterlife. At Chirand, grave goods and body orientation reflect continuity and cosmic renewal. Though, archaeological evidence cannot directly establish the psychological beliefs of prehistoric individuals, its psychological interpretation offers a valuable lens for understanding how burial practices were culturally connected with mortality, continuity and meaning of life.