Field anthropology: application to burial contexts in prehistoric Southeast Asia

The context of burials in archaeological sites, that is whether the body was inhumed, wrapped, or in a coffin, is an aspect of mortuary ritual that has been missing from English-language publications on the subject. This is despite the development and use in France over at least the last two decades of methods of determining the context under the rubric ‘l'Anthropologie de Terrain’, or Field Anthropology. This paper briefly reviews the methods and applies them to prehistoric burial samples from two sites in Southeast Asia. This shows that burials at the Bronze Age site of Ban Lum Khao were either in coffins or wrapped. The practice of coffin burial appears to have been abandoned later, as all burials at the nearby Iron Age site of Noen U-Loke were wrapped.     

重庆巫山县神女路秦汉墓葬发掘简报

神女路墓地位于重庆市巫山县巫峡镇高塘村,现为巫山县新城区,西北部为大巴山脉,东南面距长江1.5公里,是一处时代为秦、两汉时期的中小型墓地。为配合三峡工程和迁建的巫山新城区建设,2000年9月,武汉市文物考古研究所联合重庆市文物考古研究所、巫山县文物管理所,在此进行了抢救性考古发掘。共清理发掘墓葬15座,主要为竖穴土坑墓,竖穴砖室墓和土洞砖室墓三种形制。根据墓葬形制及随葬器物组合,这批墓葬可分为三期六段,是研究峡江地区秦、两汉时期丧葬制度及习俗等重要的考古资料。     

Dia Shoma (Mali), a medieval cemetery in the inner Niger delta

The aim of this paper is to compare burial typology from Dia Shoma medieval cemetery (Mali) with previously documented funerary practices of the inner Niger delta in order to expand our knowledge of the mortuary rituals once practised in this region. Considering archaeological resources from an anthropological viewpoint provides us with new information about human migration, settlement, cultural affiliation and way of life. From this point of view, especially for the period between 800 and 1000 AD, Dia Shoma offers much insight into the history of this cultural melting pot. Dia Shoma is of particular interest in regards to migration in the Western Sahara region. The burials of Dia Shoma have been characterized by morphometrical features as well as associated funeral practices. The different types of burials that coexist at Dia Shoma indicate a region of cultural diversity. Along with the existence of different kinds of tombs, an increase in various archaeological remains lends evidence towards a community co‐occupied by herders, fishermen and farmers. The change in the association of funerary practices around 1000 AD could be interpreted as an indirect disturbance to the former socio‐economic trade and cultural exchange, possibly triggered by the fall of the Empire of Ghana under the influence of the Almoravides. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical Resistivity Tomography with Angular Separation for Characterization of Burial Mounds in Southern China

The study aims at providing the spatial distribution and potential structure of the burial mounds at the Sifangling site, Hepu Han Tombs, in southern China. We implemented an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique to obtain high‐resolution imaging of archaeological targets, considering the challenging environment and the depth of the burials. Three ERT profiles were tested above a small ancient mound previously detected by exhaustive archaeological drillings, following which 18 ERT profiles with angular separation were performed on the largest mound at the test site, without any a priori archaeological evidence below the surface. Then, a series of two‐dimensional (2D) profiles were combined as a ‘pseudo‐3D’ volume, which allowed a detailed characterization of the burial mound, and iso‐resistivity surfaces were also calculated to emphasize the location and spatial extent of the target. The results gave an effective identification of the funeral chamber and its structural details, and allowed detailed pre‐excavation planning.     

“The Place of Solemne Prayer”: Intrasettlement Post-and-Trench Mortuary-Ritual Structures in the Precontact Era of Northern Ohio

ABSTRACT

Most traditional archaeological interpretations of life within late precontact period village sites in the Eastern Woodlands focus primarily on the domestic sphere or ritual activities associated solely with burial features. Yet, ethnohistorical studies reveal that both the domestic and ritual-ceremonial realms were tightly entangled in the lives of indigenous actors during the contact period. A recent reanalysis of a small enclosure and burial precinct at the White Fort site in northern Ohio presents new evidence of ceremonial use and reuse within a large habitation site during the late precontact period (ca. AD 1250–1400). Excavation data reveal how human interment, artifact caching, and layering of colored soils were incorporated in six pit burials arranged around a C-shaped post-and-ditch enclosure. The sequencing of interments and enclosure construction that composed this distinct area show that it served as a hub for burial and ritual behavior over multiple generations of seasonal village occupation.     

Mortuary patterns in burial caves on Mangaia,Cook Islands

The behavioural, cultural, and political implications of archaeological human remains in non‐mortuary, possibly culinary, contexts requires that we understand the range of mortuary practices in a particular region. Although several rockshelter sites on Mangaia, Cook Islands have yielded burned, fragmentary human bones in earth ovens that seem to support archaeological models and ethnohistoric accounts of ritual sacrifice and cannibalism, the absence of data on the range of Mangaian mortuary patterns obscures these interpretations. We describe burial patterns based on 40 above‐ground interments representing at least 92 individuals in caves of Mangaia, Cook Islands, in order to begin to develop an island‐wide perspective on mortuary patterns. Sampling both pre‐ and post‐European contact sites we found that multiple interments dominate probable pre‐contact burials (73%, 19 of 26) and single interments dominate post‐contact contexts (80%, eight of ten burials), probably reflecting the influence of Christianity on mortuary ritual. Subadults were more frequent in all post‐contact contexts suggesting alternative burial places, probably church cemeteries, for adults. Burial cave remains are broadly consistent with ethnohistoric accounts of interment in caves, however, they also illustrate additional burial practices and differences between time periods, such as primary body position and the role of multiple‐individual interments, which are not discussed ethnohistorically. The mortuary practices in Mangaian burial caves differ from burials associated with marae and seem completely unrelated to the presence of highly fragmentary and burnt human remains in pre‐contact rockshelter middens elsewhere on the island. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Persistent Place for Hunter-Gatherers During the Late Holocene: The Case of Burials in Pit on the Coast of Lángara Bay,Argentine Patagonia

In Argentine Patagonia, the type of archaeological burial “in pit” has been only identified on the coast of Lángara Bay. This modality is characterized by the presence of single and multiple primary burials. Studies on five human burials in pits are presented in this article. The aim is to compare the contexts of burials in pit at the site level and the spatial characteristics of their distribution in the Lángara Bay locality from a diachronic perspective. The approach focuses on mortuary practices and social relations of hunter-gatherer groups during the Late Holocene. A characterization of the burials, their chronologies, bioarchaeological determinations, stable isotope studies, and their spatial distribution are included. The results allow us to chronologically place the contexts between ca. 3000 and 2000 cal BP. A spatial pattern in the distribution of burials in the coastal landscape was identified. Finally, it is proposed that this part of the Patagonian coast was a persistent place of burials in pit.     

湖北麻城吊尖遗址发掘简报

吊尖遗址包含新石器时代和西周两个时期的文化遗存,新石器时代发现了一批屈家岭文化和石家河文化的墓葬和瓮棺葬,这批墓葬出土器物如盆形鼎、大口罐、豆、杯等具有鲜明的地方文化特色。西周时期遗迹多为灰坑、灰沟,从鬲、罐等器物组合分析,大致相当于西周中晚期。     

Death in the sun: the bioarchaeology of an early post-medieval hospital in Gibraltar

SUMMARY: In 2014, during construction work at the ex-Civil Hospital in Gibraltar, excavations led by the Gibraltar Museum revealed a major, previously unknown burial ground containing more than 200 skeletons. We present the historical, archaeological and radiometric dating evidence from the site alongside the results of initial osteological analyses. The data indicate that the burials pertain to an earlier 16th-century Spanish hospice, and therefore stand to offer new insights into the functioning of this early modern hospital and the health and movements of people at a time of incipient globalization.     

A Bobcat Burial and Other Reported Intentional Animal Burials from Illinois Hopewell Mounds

Abstract

The Elizabeth site is a bluff-top mortuary mound group constructed and primarily used during Hopewellian (Middle Woodland) times. Recent reanalysis of nonhuman skeletal remains from the site reveals that an intentional burial previously identified as a dog (Canis familiaris) is actually an immature bobcat (Lynx rufus). As a result of this discovery, we reevaluated eight other purported animal burials from Illinois Middle Woodland mounds, including seven dogs and a roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). The dogs all appear to be intrusive or unrelated burial events, but both the bobcat and the roseate spoonbill were definite Hopewellian mortuary interments. The roseate spoonbill was decapitated and placed beside a double human burial. But the bobcat was a separate, human-like interment wearing a necklace of shell beads and effigy bear canine teeth (Figures and ). To our knowledge, this is the only decorated wild cat burial in the archaeological record. It provides compelling evidence for a complex relationship between felids and humans in the prehistoric Americas, including possible taming.     

The Relationship Between Linear Enamel Hypoplasia and Social Status in 18th to 19th Century Edo,Japan

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) has been utilised in human bioarchaeology as an indicator of growth disturbance during childhood. However, only a few studies have compared populations of different socio‐economic status in the same time period. This study examines the association between the LEH occurrence pattern and social status in the 18th to 19th century populations in Japan. Detailed archaeological studies on burials from the Edo period (1603–1867) excavated in Tokyo have facilitated estimating an individual's social status by its burial type. In this study, 112 individuals from the Sugenji‐Shokenji site were divided into three burial structure groups (ceramic jar coffins for middle‐class warriors, wooden square coffins for low‐class warriors and townspeople and wooden circular coffins for townspeople) and examined for the general prevalence of LEH, number of LEH and the chronological distribution of LEH. A high general prevalence of LEH was observed in every group, especially in lower canine (79.3–100.0%). However, individuals in the jar coffin group showed a lower prevalence and smaller number of LEH per tooth, suggesting that individuals of higher social status experienced better living environments in their childhood. There was no significant difference in the chronological distribution of LEH formation between coffin groups. Such data are essential for understanding the association between socio‐economic status and living conditions in specific societies in the past. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Eslington Sword and the Kingdom of Northumbria

NEW DISCOVERIES may indicate the location of a previously unknown early medieval burial ground in central Northumberland. Objects discovered during the course of metal-detecting include an assemblage with a folded, pattern-welded sword and zoomorphic shield mount. Excavation indicated near total destruction of deposits as a result of post-medieval land-use and only Bronze-Age burials inserted into bedrock remained intact. Three putative early medieval burials are identified here, with the largest assemblage associated with a high-status male. The sword and shield mount from this assemblage are comparable with finds from high-status burials in southern and eastern England. Together with the landscape context of the site, the assemblage provides evidence for the burial practices of an emerging Northumbrian elite in the late 6th century ad.     

Notices of Certain Bronze Relics,of a Peculiar Type Assigned to the Late Celtic Period

The excavation of four hundred complete and partial in situ burials from the Hospital of St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge, represented one of the largest medieval hospital osteoarchaeological assemblages from the British Isles. The significance of the group is enhanced by the detailed investigation of a carefully maintained network of pathways associated with the cemetery, the archaeological sequence that pre- and post-dated its use and a number of contemporary properties that were situated immediately outside its bounds. This evidence allows the cemetery to be placed within its urban context in a way that is rarely possible. The overwhelming majority of the burials were extended west-east aligned supine inhumations without grave-goods. Atypical burials included examples aligned east-west and south-north, a double burial, a prone burial and individuals buried with a jet crucifix and a brooch. Other significant finds included a nearby pit with four bodies in it, an anthropomorphic bone handle and a reused cruciform horse harness pendant. The proportion of males and females in the burial population is similar, whilst individuals who died under the age of sixteen are relatively uncommon and individuals aged under five are completely absent.     

Original DocumentsDivination in the Fifteenth Century by Aid of a Magical Crystal

It is rare to find infant or neo-natal burials in the cemeteries of Roman Britain before the fourth century. There is evidence to suggest that it was as a result of the influence of Christianity that these small bodies came to be buried informal or designated cemeteries, rather than merely being disposed of in convenient pits or ditches, or under the floors or just outside the houses in settlements and towns. It would seem that the presence of neo-natal burials given the same burial rites as adults in a west—east cemetery carefully laid out to avoid intersection of graves or disturbance of other burials is a pointer to identification of the cemetery as Christian.     

Partial mummification and extraordinary context observed in perinate burials: a complex osteoarcheological study applying ICP-AES, μXRF,and macromorphological methods

Very small, green colored, partially mummified remains of a perinate individual were found buried in a ceramic pot with a copper coin in the Late Medieval cemetery of Nyárl?rinc-Hangár út (“Nyárl?rinc 3. lel?hely”) in southern Hungary. The remains must date back to the second half of the nineteenth century AD. In this paper; we present data gathered in a series of multidisciplinary investigations targeted to the partially mummified remains (ind. no. 14426) and two other non-mummified perinates (ind. no. 10662 and no. 14336) possibly buried under similar circumstances in the cemetery. Besides standard macromorphological and stereomicroscopic examinations, we compared Cu concentrations in the remains using ICP-AES and mapped Cu concentration changes using μXRF. The partially mummified perinate showed the highest Cu concentrations, while the individual buried without a possible Cu source showed the lowest. Body parts in the closer proximity of the copper coins always showed higher concentration. The mummified individual showed 497 times higher Cu values than average, and even the perinate buried without copper coin measured higher than the otherwise normal Cu content of the soil. Extremely high Cu values may be related to the corrosion of the coins included in the burials. Mummification must have been facilitated by copper deriving from the coins. Uneven Cu concentrations and only partial mummification of one of the individuals refer to the importance of other environmental factors involved in a possible quasi-natural mummification process. However, the Nyárl?rinc perinate burial no. 14426 may be the first solely copper-driven mummification case ever reported, and hopefully, more cases are to appear in the future.     

Tooth Ablation in Prehistoric Southeast Asia

A sample of skeletons excavated from an undisturbed prehistoric (4000–3500 years BP) burial site in Thailand included a high proportion of individuals with anterior teeth missing in distinctive, mostly symmetrical, patterns. The patterns, types and numbers of teeth missing have been compared between males and females, with age at death, with depth of burial and among spatially distinct groups within the cemetery. The patterns of missing teeth changed over time. In early burials, lateral maxillary incisors were most commonly missing. Two-thirds of the adults had missing teeth. There were no significant differences between the sexes or with age. In later burials, central maxillary incisors and mandibular incisors were most commonly missing. All adults and some children as young as 11 years had missing teeth. There were no significant changes with age but females had more missing teeth than males. Loss as a result of extreme wear inflicted through the use of teeth as tools, congenital absence and ritual ablation are discussed as explanations for the absence of the teeth. The evidence suggests that ritual ablation is the most likely explanation, although the loss of mandibular incisors in some early burials may be as a result of industrial use of the teeth. The ablation of maxillary lateral incisors, found in the early burials, has been recorded at another prehistoric site in the west of Thailand and at sites in southern China.     

Bone Modifications in an Early Holocene Cremation Burial from Palawan,Philippines

Fragments of a single human skeleton recovered from a discrete archaeological context and dating to the Early Holocene from Ille Site, Palawan, Philippines, provided a unique opportunity to utilise anthropogenic bone modifications to reconstruct the postmortem history of a body prior to its deposition. Aside from being burnt, the remains were found to exhibit a combination of cutmarks, scrape marks, and impact scars indicative of disarticulation, defleshing, and hammerstone percussion. The results clearly demonstrate a complex ritualistic treatment of the body prior to interment that, so far, has not been recorded in Southeast Asia. This thus adds to the growing data of varying burial traditions during the early Holocene across the region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hunter-gatherer burials and the creation of persistent places in southeastern Australia

One of the difficulties in interpreting hunter-gatherer mortuary practices is that many mortuary theories are derived from sedentary societies and rely upon an excavated record. This paper is an analysis of both historical and archaeological evidence of Aboriginal burial practices in the Murray River region of southeastern Australia. The archaeological data relies primarily upon analysis of burials exposed through erosion rather than systematic excavations which limits the range of burial characteristics that may be recorded and interpreted. The mortuary practices identified are highly patterned but regionally and locally variable. It is argued that the evidence demonstrates the persistence of place for Aboriginal people. The existence of persistent places is further related to a potentially fluid but structured connection between people and land.     

Determination of warfare and interpersonal conflict in the protohistoric period: a case study from Mississippi

Analysis of a bundle burial of a young male recovered from 22OK905, a late prehistoric/protohistoric site located near Starkville, Mississippi, is discussed. AMS dating of the burial places it between AD 1640 and AD 1814, a time when Native American and European conflicts are well documented. One interesting finding is the presence of cut marks on the frontal bone of this individual. These marks were determined to be the result of scalping rather than defleshing marks associated with secondary burial treatment. Comparisons of bone element frequency among several bundle burials suggest that this individual died away from his village and the body was later collected for burial. A second study indicates that a stone tool may have been used to scalp the victim. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ISSUES RELATED TO DETERMINING BURIAL CHRONOLOGY BY FLUORIDE ANALYSIS OF BONE FROM THE MAYA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CHAU HIIX,BELIZE*

Fluoride percentage of bone is often used to determine relative dates of burials in archaeological contexts. An analysis of prehistoric Maya burials at Chau Hiix, Belize, identifies taphonomic factors, including soil composition, grave depth, soil disturbance, age at death and cortical bone thickness, that cause variations in the rate of fluoride absorption by altering the access of water to bone. This example demonstrates that fluoride dating is unlikely to be useful at most prehistoric Maya sites because of the inconsistent taphonomy due to typically diverse mortuary practices, and it also serves as a cautionary tale for applications of this methodology in other contexts.