Human bodies are not always buried, and many cultures may not bury their dead in every case. Alternatives to burial include the following. In most cases these alternatives are still intended to maintain respect for the dead, but some are intended to prolong the display of remains.

Burial at sea is the practice of depositing the body in an ocean or other large body of water instead of soil. It may be disposed in a coffin, or without one.

Funerary Cannibalism is the practice of eating the remains. This may be for many reasons: for example to partake of their strength, to spiritually "close the circle" by reabsorbing their life into the family or clan, to annihilate an enemy, or due to pathological mental conditions.

Cremation is the incineration of the remains.

Cryonics is the cold storage of the remains.

A few people, such as the economist Jeremy Bentham, have had their dead bodies stuffed. This is a very rare practice.

Excarnation is the practice of removing the flesh from the corpse without interment. The Zoroastrians have traditionally left their dead on Towers of Silence, where the flesh of the corpses is let to be devoured by vultures and other carrion-eating birds.

Gibbeting was the ancient practice of publicly displaying remains of criminals.

Hanging coffins are coffins which have been placed on cliffs. They can be found in various locations, including China and the Philippines.

Sky burial involves placing the body on a mountaintop.

Space burial is the practice of firing the coffin into space. The coffin may be placed into orbit, sent off into interstellar space, or incinerated in the sun. Space burial is still largely in the realm of science fiction as the cost of getting a body up into space is currently prohibitively large, although several prominent figures have had their ashes launched into space after cremation.

Some of the more elaborate alternatives are employed by some cultures to show increased respect for the deceased. Gibbeting is a notable exception, either showing complete lack of respect for the individual deceased, or to enforce or instill public obedience