Traditional cremation process involves reducing a body at very high temperatures until it is nothing but brittle, calcified bones. These are then processed into what we commonly call cremated remains. Returned to the family in a temporary urn (or a more personal urn selected by the family), these cremated remains can be kept, buried, or scattered. Some families even choose to place a loved one's cremated remains in a hand-crafted piece of cremation art.
First, the family or next of kin must authorize the body to be cremated. The crematorium operator prepares the body and removes any jewelry, medical devices (i.e. pacemakers), prostheses, and implants. The corpse is placed in a container made of wood or heavy cardboard. The container is then placed into the crematory chamber which is essentially a large furnace. The heat ignites the container and the body begins to dry out. The temperature in the chamber can rise to about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. It usually takes 2 to 3 hours to fully cremate a body. What’s left is a grey coarse material that feels like a fine gravel. On average, 3 to 9 pounds of ash is produced (Kim, 2018).