Project information
Moving toward a TRANSformaTive bioarchaeology of cremATION in Czech republic and beyond (transMUtation)

More than a research design, the transMUtation project is a plea for a transformative bioarchaeology of cremation in the Czech Republic and beyond. Resolutely groundbreaking, this project aims at pushing the boundaries of the study of burnt human remains in archaeological contexts using a new range of cutting-edge techniques (isotope, infrared, proteomic and computational analysis). The transMUtation project is built around five complementary pillars, all of which will eventually reveal cross-cultural attitudes toward death in ancient Czech bi-ritual deathscapes, that is where cremations and inhumations occurred side by side in the same cemeteries. The following outcomes are planned: i.e. an expanded toolbox for the study of past and modern burnt human remains, maps predicting isotope variations across the country for mobility studies, an open-source database made in MU for isotope bioarchaeology, and a yearly summer school dedicated to the anthropology of cremation.