The Protohistoric ‘Quicklime Burials’ from the Balearic Islands: Cremation or Inhumation

Traditionally, the Balearic so‐called ‘quicklime burials’ of the Iron Age have been considered to be inhumations in quicklime. The general appearance of the bones, however, resembles more closely that of cremated bones. Laboratory tests reveal that the observed features of the bones from these burials, including cracks, thumbnail fractures and warping, cannot be explained by an inhumation in quicklime. The δ ¹³C value, Fourier transform infrared spectra, SF values and the low carbon content of the apatite moreover indicate a thermal manipulation of the bones. The ¹⁴C content is depleted with regard to the accepted archaeological age of the sample, which can best be explained by carbon exchange between bio‐apatite and fossil CO₂ released during the heating of limestone. This implies that the Balearic ‘quicklime burials’ must be interpreted as an elaborate cremation practice in presence of limestone. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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。     

Birds and burials at Ajvide (Gotland,Sweden) and Zvejnieki (Latvia) about 8000–3900 BP

Animal bones in human burials may reveal aspects of the relationship between animals and humans. This article describes the roles of birds in mortuary practices and in the ideology of Stone Age northern Europe. Bird bones from two large burial sites, Middle Neolithic Ajvide (Gotland, Sweden) and Mesolithic and Neolithic Zvejnieki (Latvia) are investigated with osteological methods. Beads and pendants were fashioned from the wing bones of waterbirds, and used in the decoration of the body or the burial dress. The jay was found in three Neolithic burials at Zvejnieki, and it may have been a totem animal for the Middle Neolithic people at Zvejnieki, and its wings or feathers were presumably attached to dresses and costumes for the dead. Bird remains in burials at Ajvide, Zvejnieki and some other Stone Age cemeteries may indicate similar features in the way of perceiving birds, especially the possible symbolic roles of waterbirds and wings. The findings are discussed from the perspective of the cosmology of historical hunter–gatherer (and herding) groups in modern Russia.     

Fish Bones in Odino Ritual Complexes at Preobrazhenka-6, Western Siberia

Fish bones from pits near Odino-type human burials at Preobrazhenka-6, the Baraba forest-steppe, are described with regard to methodological issues involved in the analysis of ichthyofauna from archaeological excavations. The bones are diagnosed in terms of age, species, number, and season of ?shing. Artifacts found in pits together with ?sh bones and the arrangement of pits suggest that ? sh were part of ritual practices of the Odino people.     

周原庄李西周铸铜遗址2003与2004年春季发掘报告

由中国社会科学院考古研究所、陕西省考古研究所、北京大学考古文博学院联合组成的周原考古队自1999年9月对周原遗址齐家村东北西周遗址发掘以来,先后发掘了云塘、齐镇大型夯土建筑基址、王家嘴先周、西周遗址和齐家村西北玉石作坊遗址等,基本解     

Taphonomy of Burnt Burials: Spatial Analysis of Bone Fragments in Their Secondary Deposition

Examining recently excavated burnt burials, we explore the potential of spatial analysis to contribute to the understanding of changes that human body goes through during burning and relocation to the place of secondary deposition. Artificial heat decomposition of a body is a complex process that consists of several stages of intentional manipulation with the body. Each stage can be biased by several accidental factors which then significantly change the final archaeological record. We focussed on the post‐burning stage, especially the pathways of bone fragments to secondary deposition. We investigated spatial distribution and weight of bones in urns and pits and asked whether it is possible to observe their intentional arrangement. The trend of bone arrangement could be distinguished in most cases. Bones of peripheral parts of body were typically situated at the bottom; skull bones were usually concentrated in the upper part. However, the weight underrepresentation of all investigated burials was apparent. Deposition of selected burnt bones suggests their careful collection from the pyre and complex post‐mortem manipulation. Our detailed analysis aims to reconstruct particular steps executed during funeral rites of past populations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The domestic chicken in the Tylos burials of Bahrain

Four out of fifteen burials from the Tylos period ( c .200 BC – AD 200), presented by Toft Jensen in this number of AAE , contained bones of the domestic chicken ( Gallus gallus ) and represent the earliest remains of that species found on the island of Bahrain.     

Arsenic accumulation on the bones in the Early Bronze Age İkiztepe Population,Turkey

In this study, arsenic, copper and lead content of a group of human and animal bones recovered from the Early Bronze Age ?kiztepe site have been analyzed using ICP-MS method. Average arsenic value of 90 femur bones of a human was found to be 15.0 ± 5.79 ppm which was varied among age and sex groups, and among species. Origin of arsenic accumulation in bones was diagenetic because overall the groups were highly variable. The distribution of metallic items among the burials had a big affect on the arsenic uptake of the bones. Copper and lead values supported the diagenetic arsenic accumulation in the bones as well. Their values on the bones were not as high as those for the individuals involved in metal working activities in the ancient world. Judging from these data, it is concluded that ?kiztepe people did not produce the manufactured metallic items using arsenical copper but might have been imported from the other sites.     

Abundant Gifts of Stone and Bone

An abundance of points, flakes, bones, shells, and bodies is considered sufficient to raise the hypothesis that these offerings and their places constitute a type of fertility shrine. This paper documents several possible lithic and bone-offering places in eastern North America, among them Allumettes Island, Quebec; Tick Creek Cave, Missouri; James Creek, West Virginia; and Pen Point, South Carolina. Perhaps the most significant Late Archaic shrine marked by an abundance of points, deer bones, and human burials is Indian Knoll, Kentucky. The proposed fertility or increase rite practiced was that for a hunt god.     

Archaeological Bones – The Anatomy of an Abandoned Churchyard

Scattered human bones from disturbed graves in medieval and post‐medieval churchyards have generally been considered to be of minor interest in archaeological analyses. However, the material has a large information potential provided that it is carefully documented and analysed. By treating scattered bones in the same way as other archaeological finds the material is found to have great value as source material in the interpretation of cemeteries and churchyards as well as in paleodemographic analyses. This is demonstrated by analysing the dispersed bones found in the medieval/post‐medieval cemetery layers of the abandoned churchyard at Sola in Rogaland, south‐western Norway. By analysing bones from disturbed graves and incorporating both archaeological and osteological data in the analyses, it was demonstrated that it is possible to provide answers to questions about the original number of burials and the number of individuals in the churchyard, the relative chronology of grave constructions and a more accurate demographic profile of the buried population.     

The death and burial of sunghir 1

The Mid Upper Paleolithic Sunghir 1 burial of an older adult male is one of the most elaborate burials known, with red ochre, thousands of mammoth ivory beads, and other body ornaments. Reanalysis and cleaning of the skeletal remains revealed a perimortem incision in the ventral–lateral first thoracic vertebra (T1) body, most likely from a sharp blade or point and the probable cause of death. Context indicates that the trauma was most likely from a hunting accident or social altercation. The unusual cause of death may be correlated with the exceptional burial elaboration of Sunghir 1, adding to the high frequency of unusual individuals in the ‘red ochre’ burials of the Mid Upper Paleolithic. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

山东地区几个周代墓葬随葬动物分析

近些年来,山东地区周代考古成果显著,笔者拣取其中几个重要墓地,对出土的随葬动物尝试进行一下简单分析。这几个墓地包括有长清仙人台[1],滕州前掌大[2],东江小邾国[3]和新泰周家庄[4]。     

Variation in human bone bioerosion during the Late Eneolithic/Bronze Age in Moravia (Czech Republic): A novel approach to BSE-SEM image quality and quantity assessment

Human bones from Late Eneolithic graves and Bronze Age settlement pits in Moravia (Czech Republic) were studied to reconstruct their post-mortem histories based on the distribution of their microbial destruction. Backscattered electrons in a scanning electron microscope (BSE-SEM) were used for visual assessment of bioerosion. Visual data from the histological analysis were transformed into quantitative data using the Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) toolkit. The results show that the presence of bioerosion is different between the two groups of samples. The bones from settlement pits display extensive bioerosion whereas the bones from graves display no or arrested bioerosion. The absence of bioerosion in graves is most probably linked with tomb burials of Corded Ware Culture. Given the tombs are frequently not preserved archaeologically, the state of bone bioerosion may serve as an indicator of their existence.     

内蒙古林西县刘家大院辽墓发掘简报

1991年5月,内蒙古自治区文物考古研究所抢救发掘了刘家大院墓地,共清理墓葬11座。墓葬形制有竖穴土坑墓、土洞墓、石室墓、石室木椁墓、土坑木椁墓、土坑木棺墓六种形制。随葬品不多,有瓷器、陶器、骨器、铁器等,其中黄釉鸡冠壶上饰迦陵频伽图案,图案精美,是辽代釉陶精品。墓地延续时间较长,从辽代早期到辽代晚期。     

Damaged Burials or <Emphasis Type="Italic">Reliquiae Cogotenses?</Emphasis> On the Accompanying Human Bones in Burial Pits Belonging to the Iberian Bronze Age

Social Sciences and Humanities are increasingly interested in the relationship between society and material culture, and archaeology can provide, among other contributions, its chronological depth and the variability and certain regularities in mortuary rituals. In this respect, archaeological literature frequently cites cases of a few human bones redeposited at mortuary sites, often burials of adults accompanied by some bones of an infant, but without a clear pattern being discernable. In contrast, research on the Bronze Age Cogotas I archaeological culture in the Iberian Peninsula (MBA and LBA, ca. 1800–1100 cal BC) has identified what seems to be an emerging pattern: primary burials of very young children accompanied by the bone of an adult, possibly female, who had died before, even long before, as the statistical analysis of the radiocarbon dates of the individuals involved appears to corroborate. This may therefore be a ritualised mortuary practice that included bone relics, but its explanation is not simple, due to the polysemic nature of such relics. The creation and maintenance of real or fictitious kinship ties, a special protection for dead infants, possible gender aspects, ideas about fertility and renewal, strengthening interpersonal relationships, legitimisation of emerging inequality, etc., are some of the possible components of this social practice which was until now unknown in the Iberian prehistory, but also little known in other areas in European prehistory.     

The value of sieving of grave soil in the recovery of human remains: an experimental study of poorly preserved archaeological inhumations

The aim of this work is to assess the effects of sieving basal grave fills, following lifting of visible skeletal remains on the recovery of human bones and loose teeth in poorly preserved inhumation burials. The experiment was carried out during excavations at the 7th–9th century AD cemetery site at Whitby, England. Burials generally consisted of degraded bone fragments and/or soil stains. In each grave (N = 70 adult burials), all visible human remains were hand-collected on site; following this, the soil remaining in the grave was recovered and sieved successively through 8 mm, 4 mm and 2 mm meshes. No bone or dental fragments in the 2–4 mm fraction were identifiable to skeletal element. Approximately one third of the total weight of bone, and one third of the total numbers of teeth were recovered in the 4–8 mm and >8 mm sieved fractions. It is concluded that sieving down to 4 mm is adequate for recovery of adult skeletal remains at the study site. It would be useful to conduct similar sieving experiments at other archaeological cemetery sites to provide data on recovery when bone survival is good, and in subadult burials.     

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.     

An unusual cluster of meningiomas?

Three cases of meningioma are described from a single site in Hertfordshire yielding a total of 83 male and 84 female burials. The lesions were present in the parietal and frontal bones, and were bilateral in one case. All presented as a defect in the inner table of the skull and were supplied by a large aberrant artery; in two instances the lesion had eroded completely through the skull but no hyperostosis was present. The unusually high prevalence of this tumour is discussed in the light of other palaeopathological findings. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE IRON AGE URNFIELD TRADITION OF SOUTHWESTERN JUTLAND,DENMARK

This study examines two urnfields, their development, burial rituals, grave goods and the cremated remains in a renewed analysis of the Danish Urnfield Tradition. The osteological investigation reveals a very high proportion of children's graves in these communal burial sites. Individual expression and demonstration of status are muted in burial rituals adhering to strict norms, although differences between age categories show through variations in the size of a burial monument. The use of CT scans and a detailed analysis of all artefacts provide evidence of the ritualized breaking of urns and the retrieval of bones from graves. Such retrieval of bones together with the layout and development of urnfields demonstrate the importance placed on the ancestors in the Early Pre-Roman Iron Age. The inconspicuous burials, together with the incorporation of all age categories, suggest that the focus of these burial communities is on a relational rather than individual identity.     

Identification of dermestid pupal chambers on Southern Levant human bones: inference for reconstruction of Middle Bronze Age mortuary practices

Unique bone damage identified on Middle Bronze Age human skeletal material from the Southern Levant provided important information about the processes of modification and the possible funerary practices resulting in such damage. By comparing archaeological remains with recent skeletal material and by using computed tomography (CT) scans and 3D imaging techniques, the damage is interpreted as pupal chambers created by dermestid beetles. Using skeletal remains from two Middle Bronze Age sites, Jericho Tomb E1 and Munhata Tomb 641, we then discuss how the bores and tunnels left by dermestid beetles on human bones might constitute an interpretative key to the funerary practices of Middle Bronze Age collective burials.