roads.
Superstition also played its part in the selection of cross-roads as execution grounds. It was held in belief that people coming to such inglorious ends tend to rise as ghosts and haunt their living associates and relations. In a cross-road they would not be able to find their way, and the living would be spared of their unwelcome visitations.
Burials by other species of animals
Homo Sapiens apparently are not the only one to cover (bury) their dead. It is said that chimpanzees and elephants cover the bodies of the fallen members of their groups and herds with loose earth, branches and leaves.
Afterlife
A comfortable afterlife is the reason, but not the only reason, for burial in nearly all cultures. Afterlife is believed in a number of faiths : Baha’i, Buddhist (a variation known as rebirth / reincarnation), Christian (yet another variation known as resurrection), Hindu, Jain (reincarnation), Jewish, Islam, Pagans (reincarnation), Sikhs (reincarnation) and Parsees. It would be seen that afterlife per se is accepted by four faiths, while the rest believe it in some other form.
Generally, known as the fifth Veda (though, some bestow that distinction to the Ayurveda), the Bhagabat-Gita admitting the supremacy of the Vedas provides an unambiguous affirmation of the doctrine of karma (stated simply: as you sow, so you reap) and reincarnation. It is necessary to mention here that the Vedas do not attest that doctrine, but there are hints to an afterlife in the Upanishads in its sophisticated hypotheses tracing the origins of karma and reincarnation in the Vedic canon of sacrifices. Not exactly a belief system, Hinduism tells one how to
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