Which process reduces human remains to their natural element?

Cremation is the process that reduces human remains to their natural elements through the application of high temperatures. During cremation, the body is subjected to intense heat in a cremation chamber, which causes the organic materials to vaporize and the remaining bones to be reduced to ash. This transformative process effectively returns the physical body to its elemental state, primarily consisting of carbon, oxygen, and other elements that were originally present in life.

In contrast, embalming involves the preservation of a body using chemical substances to slow down decomposition, which does not lead to a reduction of the remains to their natural elements. Internment refers to the act of placing a body in a grave or tomb, while burial is the act of burying the body in the ground. Both of these processes involve the physical entombment of the remains, which does not reduce them to their natural elements as cremation does.