Learning Center Welcome to the MasterTouch Cremation Learning Center. After learning more about the history of cremation, trends around the world and in the U.S., and the reasons why more and more families are selecting this form of funeral memorial, feel free to look through our Overview section by clicking here.
	History of Cremation Cremation traces its earliest roots to around 3,000 B.C. and finds its origins in what are now eastern Europe and the Middle East. There is evidence that late in the Stone Age cremation began a long migration westward across Europe all the way to Portugal and to the British Isles, with cemeteries for cremation evident in Hungary, Italy, northern Europe, and Ireland. Cremation was actually the dominant mode of funeral disposition for the Greeks around Homer’s time (800 B.C., and was prevalent for the Romans after 600 B.C. Though cremation was widely practiced during the height of the Roman Empire (through 395 A.D.) Christians and Jewish peoples preferred traditional entombment or earth burials. Following Constantine’s Christianization of the Empire in 400 A.D., earth burial had completely replaced cremation and would become the accepted and preferred method of disposition throughout Europe for the next 1,500 years. The “modern age” of cremation – or what could more accurately be called a “revival” of cremation – began in the late 19th century through two key events, Brunetti’s development of a more dependable cremation chamber in Italy and Sir Henry’s founding of the Cremation Society of England in 1874, following concern over a number of prevailing health hazards in the British Isles at the time. Around the same time, crematories began to be built both in Europe and North America, and by the early 1900’s there were over 50 crematories operating in North America, providing over 10,000 cremations. Interest in cremations continued to grow through the century, accounting for the development of almost 1,500 crematories providing close to 600,000 cremations by 1999.
	Cremation Trends The trend for cremation has been accelerating over the last 30 years. While there were approximately 10,000 annual cremations in the early 1900’s in the U.S., that figured had jumped to over 150,000 by the mid-1970’s and to over 700,000 today. Currently, there are over 1,700 crematories providing cremation today, with the annual cremations expected to top 1 million by the decades end.
	Why Cremation? Research continues to show myriad reasons why consumers in North America and around the globe continue to demonstrate a preference for cremation at the time of death. Among the most cited reasons for choosing cremation are the following: That it can be less expensive· It offers the ability to release ashes back into the earth through a scattering ceremony It uses less land and is environmentally friendly Cremation ceremonies often retain many of the aspects of traditional funerals There are special keepsake and remembrance aspects to a cremation ceremony Cremation has broad ethical and religious acceptance Cremation draws on a long and respected history, especially in the Near East, Europe, and North America, but also in Asia. Whatever your reasons may be for considering cremation, MasterTouch is here to make your planning as simple, organized, and stress-free as possible.