COFFINS, WOOD AND THE STATUS OF THE PEOPLE BURIED

Human burials from archaeological contexts have often been analysed an d described. Few of these analyses have dealt with the style of the gr ave and the identification of the wood utilised in the ''coffin'' cons truction. This paper describes such an analysis, the primary object of which is to develop a better understanding of the circumstances surro unding the people buried in a cemetery outside the town of Vredendal i n South Africa. An absence of regular coffins for adults, the use of f ruit bares, a drawer and barrel staves and the use of pine in coffin c onstruction indicate that these people were probably farm labourers li ving in poor circumstances at the turn of the century. (C) 1996 Academ ic Press Limited