In archaeology and anthropology a mortuary house is any purpose-built structure, often resembling a normal dwelling in many ways, in which a dead body is buried.
While choice of burial location and treatment of the corpse usually depend on beliefs and ritual standards within a specific cultural context, they are as well of a strategic nature.
[1] Following the laying to rest of the deceased, who is often surrounded with grave goods, an earthwork called a kurgan in Russian or barrow in English is raised over the house and the structure left sealed.
[2] Philip Lieberman suggests that burial and mortuary housing may signify a "concern for the dead that transcends daily life.
Evidence suggests that the Neanderthals were the first human species to practice burial behavior and intentionally bury their dead, doing so in shallow graves along with stone tools and animal bones.