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→Later Use
Cremation was at times practices in Europe, but usually it was done as a form of punishment. For instance, during the Protestant Reformation period in the 16th century and later, Protestants were sometimes burned or their bodies were ritually burned as a way to prevent them from entering the afterlife. This, in a way, was similar to being burned at the stake, where this punishment was intended to prevent an afterlife as well as act as punishment.
On the other hand, cremation spread in east Asia as Buddhism influenced Han Chinese and Japan. Thus, while cremation began to disappear from Europe and the Middle East, it now spread in East Asia to areas where it was previously prohibited, such as in China(Figure 2). [[File:Cremation of buddha and worship of relics 03.JPG|thumbnail|Cremation shown from Gandhara from the 2nd century CE.]]
==Cremation Today==
