India, Aug. 1 -- Bodies buried close together, above bare rock. Elders interred upright in tree trunks. Families occupying entire "cities of the dead" erected in caves. the history of how we have honoured our dead, through the millennia, is vast, varied and fascinating. Take a look.

* Africa, c 3000 BCE

A massive, elaborate cemetery has been found in Kenya's Lothagam valley, dating to 5,000 years ago.

At what is known as the Lothagam North Pillar Site, shallow 3-ft-deep pits packed closely together in a wide circle have been used to bury the dead. The site is thought to have been built by a late-Neolithic herding community.

The 98-ft-wide space is the largest and oldest known burial site in East Africa. Plenty of thought went into it....