Natural burial
interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to recycle naturally
Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil or a body of water in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to burial methods and funerary customs.
The body may be prepared without chemical preservatives or disinfectants, such as embalming fluid, which are designed to inhibit the microbial decomposers that break the body down. It may be buried in a biodegradable coffin, casket, or shroud. The grave does not use a burial vault or outer burial container that would prevent the body's contact with soil. The grave should be shallow enough to allow microbial activity similar to that found in composting.
Natural burial grounds have been used throughout human history and are used in many countries.
History
Although natural burials present themselves as a relatively modern concept in Western societies, they have been practiced for many years in different cultures out of "religious obligation, necessity, or tradition". For example, many Muslims perform natural burial out of a duty to their religion. Others, like those in African countries, bury naturally because they cannot afford the cost of embalming.
The public source identifies “Natural burial” as interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to recycle naturally. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Natural, burial and interment.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Natural burial”, the useful work is to connect “interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to recycle naturally” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q884278. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Natural burial primary sources, Natural burial archive and Natural research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Natural burial” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.