#1278 Paul Pettitt: Human Mortuary Practices, and Other Animals' Awareness of Death
RECORDED ON MARCH 9th 2026.
Dr. Paul Pettitt is Professor of Palaeolithic Archaeology at Durham University. He specializes in Palaeolithic art and in the long-term development of the treatment of the dead. His survey of the biological and behavioral evolution of Homo sapiens was published by Thames and Hudson in 2022 (Homo Sapiens Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution Rewriting our Origins). He is currently researching aspects of the visual psychology that underpins the earliest cave art.
In this episode, we start by talking about the origins of paleoanthropology, and the development of evolutionary thanatology. We then discuss mortuary practices in human evolution and across human societies, and mortuary practices in mammal societies. We talk about how people react to death, and the social roles of funerals. We discuss whether other animals are aware of death. Finally, we talk about the evolution of symbolism, and what we can learn about human cognition from the study of paleolithic cave art.
Time Links:
Intro
The origins of paleoanthropology
Evolutionary thanatology
Mortuary practices in human evolution and across human societies
Mortuary practices in mammal societies
How people react to death
The social roles of funerals
Are other animals aware of death?
Symbolism and paleolithic cave art
Follow Dr. Pettitt’s work!
Follow Dr. Pettitt’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/3x4xpzyd
ResearchGate profile: https://tinyurl.com/bdhrjjyu