Examining the multiplicity of burial practices within Neolithic stone cist graves in the Western Alpine Region

The first cemeteries of the western alpine region are detec- table around 4800 BC. These consist of cist graves made of stone (or in some cases wood) slabs and become relative- ly widespread during the following millennium. Over this greater geographical area and long time period (until ca. 3800 BC) these graves remain relatively uniform. However, a wide range of burial practices and funerary rituals can be observed in the context of Neolithic stone cist graves; sing- le- and collective graves with multiple usage phases occur simultaneously and side by side, as do primary and secondary inhumations with cremations and manipulations of human remains. I will present different examples from selected sites in Switzerland, France and Italy analyzed in the context of my PhD project. The aim is to highlight the evolution and multiplicity of burial practices within stone cist graves using anthropological- and new radiocarbon data