LAST ORDERS: CHOOSING POTTERY FOR FUNERALS IN ROMAN ESSEX

Summary.   This paper examines ceramic vessels from Roman-period funerary contexts in Essex. Using correspondence analysis, it charts changes in the choice of funerary pottery and isolates the elements in pottery assemblages that unite or differentiate sites. The paper finds that the status of sites can be distinguished on ceramic grounds, reflecting cultural differences in life. Jars and beakers are characteristic of settlement cemeteries, while cups are more typical of high-status burials. Flagons and samian ware are common between them. Underlying funerary traditions are rooted in continuity from the Late Iron Age, rather than post-conquest change. The study also suggests that funerary pottery was selected out of the supply intended for domestic use.     

Multiple identities in the Beaker period: interpreting inhumations out of the Beaker spotlight in southern England

ABSTRACT

The Beaker period in southern England is associated with the appearance of a highly visible set of material culture in the archaeological record, primarily associated with inhumation burials. This Beaker material culture has a long history of archaeological research and has resulted in this period being named after a style of pottery, the Beaker. However, the funerary record for this period is one that exhibits substantial variability. This paper considers how the archaeological narrative of the Beaker period has been constructed and presents a set of examples that exclude Beaker pottery and Beaker artefacts from the grave assemblage, located in southern England. Herein, it is questioned what these burials represent and whether they can be considered Beaker burials or represent other identities co-existing with Beaker using societies. Whilst the Beaker period does not represent an unchanging, fixed set of traditions over time or space, the examples employed demonstrate non-Beaker related burials to have been present from early in the Beaker period. We aim to highlight this important aspect of the archaeological record as requiring more research and synthesis, and promote discussion of non-Beaker identities during this dynamic period of prehistory.     

Iron Age Burial in Wales: Patterns,Practices and Problems

Until the latter part of the twentieth century, Iron Age burial in Britain was thought to be largely archaeologically invisible. However, over the last 40 years the recovery of large assemblages of human remains, often from pits and ditches rather than beneath monumental structures, has changed our understanding of Iron Age funerary practices. The problem, though, is that the majority of this material derives from core areas of study, particularly southern England and Yorkshire. Our knowledge of burial in the more peripheral areas of Britain, such as Wales, is much more poorly understood. The perceived paucity of burials from such regions is often still interpreted as resulting from the practice of archaeologically invisible disposal methods such as excarnation or the scattering of cremated remains. This paper presents a comprehensive review and analysis of Iron Age human remains in Wales. Although the resource for study is relatively small, a variety of practices, disposal methods and treatments of bodies can be recognized which challenge our current narratives. The scarcity of burials when compared to other parts of Britain, such as Wessex, is suggested to be a result of both poor preservation and bias in archaeological research strategies, rather than the dominance of an ‘invisible’ burial rite.     

黄河中下游地区史前二层台墓研究

黄河中下游地区40余处遗址的400多座二层台墓资料显示,生土二层台墓的数量在仰韶中晚期以前较熟土台墓多,龙山时代式微。该变化的背后是棺椁的逐渐成熟,生土台墓中小部分带有盖板或原始棺椁,同时熟土台并非判断墓葬带有棺椁的充要条件。通过生土台高度和墓葬深度的二元变量分析,墓葬开挖时预留生土台并未考虑稳固墓室,而应该与构建殓尸空间(或椁室)、进行一系列丧葬活动有关,在台面上放置随葬品的情况存在一定的时空差异。二层台墓的分布具有集中埋葬的倾向,采用二层台墓的群体并无明显的性别和死亡年龄指向,从仰韶中期以来,其所代表的社会群体占据着更为优越的社会财富。     

WEALTH AND POWER IN THE BRONZE AGE OF THE SOUTH-EAST OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA: THE FUNERARY RECORD OF CERRO DE LA ENCINA

Summary.   As a result of recent fieldwork undertaken at the archaeological site of Cerro de la Encina, our knowledge of the funerary ritual has increased considerably. The funerary record shows a significant concentration of wealth in burials corresponding to the family groups of the highest social status. Dramatic social differences can also be found in the internal organization of the settlement. The locations of burials within the settlement area, under the floors of dwellings, allow us to establish that the settlement space was closely related to the social identity of the families. The high number of burials with double and triple inhumations, in contrast to other Argaric necropolis, also stands out as an important feature of Cerro de la Encina, suggesting that familial relationships seem to be more marked here than at other Argaric sites. All these data are discussed in relation to the funerary ritual of the Argaric Culture.     

性别考古视角中的王因墓地分析

通过统计学分析、定量分析等方法的运用,以性别考古为研究视角,从墓葬结构、死亡年龄、随葬品、合葬墓及二次葬等方面揭示了王因墓地所反映的两性差异。王因墓地两性在墓葬结构、墓室面积、死亡年龄上并未有明显的差别,而在生产工具、装饰品、随葬猪骨、合葬墓及二次葬等方面差异明显。具体表现为:石锛、石铲、石斧等主要为男性所使用,纺轮、石球主要为女性所使用;女性以腕臂环饰为主,男性则以发饰为主;男性以随葬猪下颌骨为主,女性则多随葬猪肢骨;合葬墓中,随葬品多摆放在男性一侧;二次葬多发生于男性墓葬。王因墓地的社会性质推测为母系氏族社会,婚姻形态或处于偶婚制阶段。     

Kana Tamata or Feasts of Men: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Cannibalism in Prehistoric Fiji

By integrating osteological, taphonomic, archaeological and stable isotopic data, we test for cannibalism in the Lau Group, Fiji and discuss the potential underlying cause(s) and context(s) of this behaviour. First, we compare taphonomic and element representations of human skeletal material from two contexts in Fiji, examining human bone fragments from archaeological sites, including middens and burials in the Lau Island Group. Fourteen sites produced human remains. Only two of those sites included distinct human burial contexts, but in the remaining 12 sites, the human bone was recovered from middens or contexts where midden was mixed with possible secondary burials. A total of 262 number of identified specimens per species, representing an estimated 15 minimum number of individuals make up the Lau human assemblage. Second, we analysed bones contained in 20 individual human burials from four different sites that are housed at the Fiji Museum for comparative purposes. Third, we examine previously published stable isotopic (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) analysis of bone collagen to gauge protein consumption of likely cannibalised humans in midden contexts and potential cannibals from primary burials. We model a cannibalistic diet category within the context of isotopically measured Pacific Islands food groups and apply an isotopic mixing model to gauge plausible dietary contributions from six sources including human flesh. Isotopic mixing models of the Lauan samples illustrate a high diversity in reconstructed diets. The percent contribution of human flesh is low for all individual Lauans. We conclude that mortuary rituals evidenced by sharp‐force trauma may suggest non‐nutritive and non‐violent practices that may have included the consumption of small amounts of human flesh. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

赣江流域宋代葬俗的考古学观察

赣江流域宋代墓葬随葬品以瓷器为主,堆塑瓶是其中最有特点的器物。墓葬形制以砖室墓居多。这一葬俗的形成,主要是受儒、释、道三教的影响,是宗教信仰因素、地理位置因素和文化交流因素结合的产物。     

On yellow and red pigmented bones found in Mayan burials of Jaina

In the island of Jaina, Campeche, red and yellow pigmented bones have been found. The study of the yellow and red colors in these burials is important for their possible interpretation, either religious, intentional coloring, or to understand taphonomic processes such as reactions of the original pigments with other compounds. Yellow color on bones is unusual in prehispanic burials.     

Túnel: A Case Study of Avian Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy

Although not often considered, there are many osteological characters unique to the avian skeleton that influence the taphonomy of bird bones. These characters are reviewed and their archaeological significance discussed herein. The presence of marrow in many avian long bones is important to interpretation of avian remains from archaeological sites because the presence of marrow affects bone density and, in turn, preservation. Other structural properties that affect avian bone preservation include cortical wall thickness, length and pneumatic state. Based on an analysis of approximately 10,000 bird bones from the archaeological site of Túnel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, I found that specific breakage patterns resulted from natural taphonomic processes acting as a result of the unique avian bone characteristics. This information may allow researchers to distinguish breakage patterns in avian bones resulting from natural taphonomic processes from breakage patterns that are culturally induced.     

Traces of History and Ethnology in the Local Names of Gloucestershire

Aspects of burial custom in Roman Britain which seem to be influenced by Roman ideas include burials found accompanied by coins, eggs, charcoal, phials, which once contained perfume, and ritual objects, such as jugs and pateras. The implications of these customs are considered together with the significance of symbolism displayed on tombstones. Discussion of funerary ritual, as it might have been practised in Roman Britain, includes the portrayal of the funerary banquets on tombstones. It is concluded, on the evidence available, that burial custom, like religious thought, was a matter of personal choice, partly because the Romans did not attempt to prescribe funerary practice, except in the law relating to the positioning of cemeteries, and partly because of the strong influence of Celtic religious belief surviving in Roman Britain.     

An Ancient and Common Tradition: Funerary Rituals and Society in Equatorial Guinea (First–Twelfth Centuries ad)

In this article, we present the results of the 2011 field season at the Iron Age burial site of Nandá, on the Island of Corisco, located between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The excavations followed a survey conducted in 2009, which evinced the extraordinary interest of the site and suggested its funerary nature. The excavations documented three levels of occupation belonging to two different phases, which are known in the region as Oveng (ad 1–600) and Group II (ad 600–1100). The first phase was characterized by secondary burials with rich metallic offerings, which were sealed by a settlement at the end of the period; the second phase witnessed the establishment of a large burial site with primary interments. Similar burials are known from Cameroon and Gabon, but the number of features identified at Nandá and the funerary sequence are quite unique in the region. Here, the evidence will be interpreted in light of Jan Vansina’s theories, where he postulates a common political tradition in Equatorial Africa from which later developments stem.     

Identifying the geochemical taphonomy of the osteological material from Katsambas rockshelter

We report analytical work undertaken in order to identify the geochemical taphonomy of the osteological collection (human and animal bones) recovered from a 1950s excavation at Katsambas, a small cavity in the marly limestone on the west bank of Kairatos River, Crete. The site had funerary use and yielded material of Neolithic and Minoan age with poor stratigraphical association. Disintegration of provenance labels from bags has introduced further uncertainty about the contexts of recovery. Samples of human and animal bones that macroscopically appear to belong to three taphonomic categories were studied by means of FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM microscopy and REE analysis to explore the taphonomical processes the bones have undergone. Although not novel in palaeontological research the use of REE opens a new path to investigating poorly provenanced osteological collections from old excavations. Such geochemical work offers a proxy to their relative dating through the evaluation of the time span bones have remained in the sediments and their respective taphonomic histories.     

Food Rituals and Their Social Significance in the Mid‐Second Millennium BC in the Southern Levant: A View From Megiddo

Ceremonies involving intentional burial of animals with humans are acknowledged to bear religious, social and political connotations, and we explored both the ritual activity and the social trajectory of these activities. To date, these ceremonies have rarely been examined within the context of nearby daily activities. We studied faunal remains associated with intramural burials in comparison with contemporaneous daily life in the midsecond millennium bc at Tel Megiddo, as well as comparison with concomitant extramural burials and locations of public feasts. Our study highlights the human interaction with animals that are not often treated as bearing social meaning or having interrelationships with human, the livestock animals. We demonstrate that livestock animals in the second millennium bc had a significant social role as well as economic value. The choice of animals consumed and sacrificed in these rituals is strongly related to the animal's symbolic potency and is based on the desired social message that the population aims to convey. Finally, the form of luxury food that is found in the Megiddo funerary rituals supports the hypothesis regarding the intramural burials' role in creating and enhancing social family bonds. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New discoveries in a Nabataean tomb. Burial practices and ‘plant jewellery’ in ancient Hegra (Madâ’in Sâlih,Saudi Arabia)

The excavation of tomb IGN 117 in Madâ’in Sâlih, ancient Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, produced a large amount of bones, objects and materials (leather, fabric, fruit, wood, amorphous organic substances) of the Nabataean‐Roman period (first to early fourth century AD). Two pieces of fabric and leather are of particular interest because they contained pierced dates (Phoenix dactylifera) strung together using date‐palm leaflets. These exceptional discoveries are poorly attested in Near Eastern funerary contexts. Together with other data from Madâ’in Sâlih, the southern Near East and Egypt, this interdisciplinary analysis leads to the reconstruction of part of the funerary practices related to the preservation and preparation of the body that occurred in tomb IGN 117. Finally, the analysis allows the questioning of the symbolic role of plant jewellery and the date palm in a funerary context.     

Comments on some developments in North European prehistory

The burials of the Nubian A‐Group recorded between the First and the Second Cataracts of the Nile and dated ca. 3200–2900 BC have yielded an important source material of rich and varied funerary offerings. This paper presents a case study aiming to establish a qualitative and quantitative ranking of the burials and to investigate relationships and patterns as regards age, gender and social organization, and also to study chronological implications. The results show that the A‐Group culture displayed a rather elaborate and mature social structure, perhaps organized around a female core with strong matrilineal traditions, and where the men occupied a different social sphere with their own symbolic expressions. One finds a shift from an earlier, uniformly stratified society towards a more complex structure with clear social inequality developed in Lower Nubia simultaneously‐with the emergence of the Firs t Dynasty in Egypt ca. 3000 BC.