• As early as 35,000 B.C., Cro-Magnon man practiced ritual funerals.
  
  
• The Egyptian pyramids are the largest tombs in the world. Because of the Egyptians' strong belief in the afterlife, their tombs were elaborately outfitted with everything the deceased might need after death including food, tools, eating utensils, jewelry, etc.

• Ancient Greeks believed that improper burial procedures and failing to provide adequate offerings for the gods would lead to torment in the afterlife. The Greeks made sure that their dead were buried with a coin for Charon, the boatman who ferried souls across the river Styx and a honey cake for Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the gate of Hades.

• The Greeks buried their dead until about 1000 B.C. when cremation became the preferred method for disposition of the body. Cremation was first used as a practical solution to death on the battlefield. Urns filled with the ashes of fallen soldiers were easier to return to grieving relatives. Ash filled urns also allowed for state funerals weeks or even months after a hero's death.

• The Romans developed columbariums which contained niches for storing urns containing ashes. They also used a vessel called a lachrymatory to catch and store the tears of mourners.

• The need for a funeral director evolved with the growth of the mortuary industry in ancient Rome which centered on cremation and elaborate rituals.

• During the Middle Ages and up to the end of Colonial Times in America, funerals tended to be simple affairs conducted in homes according to local customs and religious practices.

• The modern practice of embalming was developed by Thomas Holmes, who was born in New York City in 1817. He practiced during the Civil War upon officers who were killed in battle, and whose families wanted their bodies returned home for burial. Business slowed down after the war, so Holmes returned to Brooklyn and practiced as a doctor and druggist as well as an embalmer.

• The first crematorium in America was built in 1884 at the Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

• By 1900, undertakers directed most aspects of funerals.

• Today's funeral directors must complete a rigorous educational and licensing procedure before they begin helping families to deal with the death of a loved one. In addition to funeral services, many funeral directors serve as volunteer members of disaster response teams in their local communities.

(Sources: R.I.P. the Complete Book of Death and Dying, Constance Jones; Death in Early America, Margaret M. Coffin)

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