Which societal development is believed to have occurred after the establishment of funeral customs?

The chosen answer highlights the idea that the establishment of funeral customs is fundamentally linked to the emergence of religions. As societies began to create rituals surrounding death and burial practices, these customs often reflected their beliefs about the afterlife, the sacredness of the human spirit, and the need to honor deceased individuals. This connection suggests that as people sought ways to understand and cope with mortality, they began to form structured religious beliefs and practices, which often included specific rituals related to death and mourning.

Funeral customs typically involve a community’s understanding of death and the afterlife, which are deeply rooted in spiritual and religious thought. The rituals serve not only to honor the deceased but also to provide comfort to the living, indicating a societal evolution towards organized belief systems that revolve around significant life events, like death.

In contrast, the other options represent significant developments that may or may not have been directly linked to the establishment of funeral customs. While the construction of dwellings, development of art, and establishment of political systems are all crucial to societal progress, they do not exhibit the same direct correlation with the collective spiritual practices and beliefs formed around death and dying that funeral customs do.