Burial Form

Primary burial is the most common form of burial in the central Murray region while evidence for secondary burial is difficult to identify (Littleton). One example of a visible sign of secondary burial processing is the burning of bodily remains and purposefully breaking them into smaller fragments, bundling them with ochre, an earth pigment containing ferric oxide (dictionary) and burying the bundles. Evidence for this practice has been found in the Murray Region (2 cases) and the Hay Plain (1 case). A small proportion of individuals were cremated. The type of cremation and bodily treatment practices varied, some were burned in situ and left uncovered or only lightly covered.

Typical burials in the central Murray region have the majority of heads pointing towards west south west with a small number pointed towards north north east (Pardoe 1993). Littleton has suggested (2007) places with more than one burial tend to copy the orientation and position of the other burials (this especially pertains to neighboring burials). This would be a very simple explanation for the orientation of deceased bodies, but as Littleton noted (2007): “Knowledge of orientation, in particular, is shared only within a small group.”

         
This can explain the variety of body orientation throughout aborigine burials. Yet this does not explain the continuity of children's burial forms, which can be found in the archaeological record.