Animal Sacrifice

The sacrifice of animals for the deceased is a practice that is very common throughout the world.  For if you died and were going to the afterlife would you not want to make sure that the animals you had in this world join you in the next?  From the ancient Egyptians who sacrificed and mummified animals who were the sacred animals of their gods, or their beloved pets to the Celts and Norse who buried their horses with them.  Animal sacrifice was seen as a necessity for these animals were needed in the afterlife just like they were in the present world. 
  
As well the type of animal in the burial may also infer to us about the individual it is buried with.  For in many societies to have a horse sacrificed and buried with you means that you and/or your family are wealthy and prestigious, as horses were considered to be high status animals.  So animal sacrifices not made it so that you had animals with you in the after life but it also served the purpose for the family to show their importance and wealth.
   

Horse sacrifice in Turkmenistan

Sometimes it may be hard in the archaeological record to distinguish between the natural death of an animal or the sacrificial death.  One way that this may be done is by examining the throat area, for the slitting of the throat is a common way to kill the animal, though certainly the only way.
   

Although I personally would not want any of my animals to be sacrificed when I die, I recognize the importance of it in other cultures and periods. Even though PETA and the SPCA are against the use of animal sacrifice and are trying to ban it, one thing that is important to keep in mind is that many times (though not always) the animal is killed quite quickly and humanely.

The History Files 2011 http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsFarEast/AsiaIndoEuropeans.htm Accessed April 1, 2011.