Death, Decay, and Ritual Reconstruction: Archaeological Evidence of Cadaveric Spasm

Summary. Archaeologists often joke that patterning which cannot be explained in socio‐economic terms is likely to be of ritual significance. This view has contributed to both reticence about and a rather impressionistic approach to potential ritual patterning in the archaeological record. The application of interpretations derived from the forensic sciences to such contexts may help to exclude natural or taphonomic processes that can mimic these patterns and elucidate aspects of ritual behaviour. In this contribution, we review some recent advances made in the application of such understanding to human remains and provide two examples of another — cadaveric spasm — a condition that has, at times, been interpreted as relating to ‘live’ burial. From these examples, it is clear that the relationship between well‐analysed human remains and their context is the key to differentiating natural from ritual processes associated with interment.