The social role of food in the Natufian cemetery of Raqefet Cave,Mount Carmel,Israel

The archaeology of mortuary practices and related foodways in the Late Natufian (LN; ca. 14,000/13,500–11,700 BP) sheds light on the communal activities of the last hunter–gatherers in the Mediterranean Levant. We present a detailed analysis of the fauna from the LN cemetery of Raqefet Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel). Taphonomic evidence indicates that the animal bones are butchery and consumption leftovers. While the patterns of animal exploitation are reminiscent of Natufian habitation sites, the remains do not reflect the typical recurring post-discard damage resulting from continuous or repeating habitations in those sites. Hence the fauna is interpreted as the leftovers of punctuated, short-term events, rather than ‘ordinary’ Natufian household trash. Taking into account the special depositional context and site characteristics, we interpret the fauna as the intentionally-gathered and buried remains of simple funerary feasts. Elaborate mortuary behavior and symbolic role of food refuse were recently suggested at the contemporaneous cave of Hilazon Tachtit (Israel). The new data from Raqefet Cave probably reflect a somewhat different type of communal meals, adding to the diversity and complexity of pre-agricultural life-ways in the Levant.     

NEW EVIDENCE FOR IRON AGE SECONDARY BURIAL PRACTICE AND BONE MODIFICATION FROM GUSSAGE ALL SAINTS AND MAIDEN CASTLE (DORSET, ENGLAND)

Summary.   The Middle and Late Iron Age samples of disarticulated human remains from the settlement site of Gussage All Saints and the hillfort of Maiden Castle (Dorset, England) were investigated for evidence of funerary rites. The samples were examined using osteological, forensic and archaeological methodologies for evidence of excarnation and secondary burial. The study found evidence for dry-fractures, animal gnawing and peri-mortem trauma, indicating that many individuals had received blunt-force cranial fractures and/or weapon injuries at the time of death. The taphonomic indicators showed that bodies were excarnated, received secondary burial treatment and then selected skull and long bones were incorporated into structured deposits. Osteological analysis also showed that the majority of individuals were adult males, which corresponded to patterns of trauma in the inhumated sample from Dorset. Two bones also provided unique evidence within Dorset for the cultural modification of human remains.     

Ochre,Ground Stone,and Wrapping the Dead in the Late Epipalaeolithic (Natufian) Levant: Revealing the Funerary Practices at Shubayqa 1, Jordan

The appearance of rich and diverse funerary practices is one of the hallmarks of the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian in the Levant. Numerous burials at a number of sites excavated mostly in the Mediterranean zone of the southern Levant have fed into the interpretation of the Natufian as a sedentary society of complex hunter-gatherers. Here, we report on the human remains recovered from Shubayqa 1, a well-dated early to late Natufian site in northeast Jordan. The majority of the minimum of 23 individuals that are represented are perinates and infants, which represents an atypical population profile. Ground stone artifacts and traces of colorants are associated with some of these individuals, providing a rare insight into funerary treatment of subadults in Natufian contexts. We interpret the Shubayqa 1 evidence in the light of current and ongoing debates concerning Natufian burial practices and the issue of social complexity.     

An atypical Ancient Egyptian pillow from Sedment el-Gebel: evidence for migrant worker trading and technology

Archaeological artefacts are irreplaceable information resources. Consequently analytical methods must be non-destructive or use the minimum of sample so that an artefact remains accessible and unchanged for future research. The significance and innovation of the current study is the application of micro- and non-destructive analytical methods to an ancient Egyptian pillow in order to gain new knowledge about funerary customs, population composition, trade routes, and technological expertise. In this study, the analytical results highlight the funerary customs of a migrant community within ancient Egypt with an ephemeral technological expertise.     

An investigation of the origins of cattle and aurochs deposited in the Early Bronze Age barrows at Gayhurst and Irthlingborough

The Early Bronze Age round barrows at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire and Gayhurst, Buckinghamshire contained remarkably large quantities of cattle (Bos taurus) remains. At Irthlingborough, at least 185 skulls with smaller numbers of mandibles, shoulder blades and pelves were found together with a small number of skeletal elements from aurochs (Bos primigenius). In contrast, the remains from Gayhurst are dominated by the limb bones from more than 300 animals. This study employed strontium isotope ratio analysis of cattle tooth enamel from 15 cattle and one aurochs to investigate the diversity of the animals' origins at both sites and provide insights into Early Bronze Age funerary practices. Although strontium results show that most of the cattle and the aurochs included in this study were consistent with local origins, one animal from each barrow was born remotely, most likely in western Britain. In addition, a second Gayhurst animal was consistent with origins in a region of chalk rather than the local Jurassic sediments.     

Ancestral memories and early medieval landscapes: the case of Sierra de Ávila (Spain)

This paper focuses on early medieval funerary practices from a landscape perspective in central Iberia. Rock‐dug graves constitute the most conspicuous remains in this region, but their informative potential has not yet been realized. The preliminary outcomes of an ongoing research project are presented here. This aims to contextualize such funerary cases by examining a mid‐altitude mountain study‐area. Through the use of intensive archaeological surveying and geographic information systems, the paper characterizes two basic funerary types: isolated graves and rural disordered cemeteries, which responded to two social strategies led by local households. By recalling ancestorship, they constituted effective mnemonic resources, contributing to claiming rights and forging identities among these dispersed and predominantly small‐scale herding communities.     

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.     

The Ins and Outs of Death in the Iron Age: Complex Funerary Treatments at Broxmouth Hillfort,East Lothian

Evidence for Iron Age funerary treatments remains sporadic across Britain and formal cemeteries are especially elusive. One important exception is Broxmouth hillfort, East Lothian, excavated during the late 1970s but not yet published. New analysis of the human remains from Broxmouth provides evidence for three distinct populations: a formal cemetery outside the hillfort, isolated graves within the ramparts, and a scatter of disarticulated fragments from a range of domestic and midden contexts. The latter group in particular provides significant evidence for violent trauma; isotopic evidence suggests that they may be the remains of outsiders. Together the human remains shed light on complex and changing attitudes to death and the human body in Iron Age Britain. The material from Broxmouth is considered in the light of emerging evidence for fluid and pluralistic treatments of the dead in the Iron Age of south‐east Scotland.     

An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone

A central problem in funerary archaeology is interpreting how the corpse was manipulated in the immediate post mortem period. The extent of bacterial bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure has been proposed as a means to infer the early post mortem history of a corpse, as it has been suggested that this form of bone diagenesis is produced by an organism's putrefactive gut bacteria. Under this model, different forms of funerary treatment would be expected to leave characteristic signatures of bioerosion in archaeological bone. Here, we tested the extent to which bacterial bioerosion of ancient human bones reflected funerary treatment, through histological analysis of 301 archaeological human bone thin sections from 25 European archaeological sites. We found that bioerosion was significantly influenced by whether a bone originated from a neonatal individual or an anoxic context. When these remains were excluded, bioerosion was controlled by archaeological phase in a manner consistent with known early post mortem treatment and forensic models of bodily decomposition. These findings suggest that microscopic analyses of bone have useful applications in reconstructions of funerary processes and provide some insight into factors that may control the persistence of organic biomolecules and fossilization.     

The Nature and Function of Astragalus Bones from Archaeological Contexts in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean

Worked and unworked astragalus bones from a variety of different animals have been excavated throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Near East in several different contexts. This paper examines the nature and function of astragali and their modifications, and concludes that they were most often used as gamepieces, but also served a ritual function in cultic and funerary contexts. The frequent use of astragali in ritual contexts is due to the manner in which animals were skinned, and as a result of cultural diffusion. The frequent occurrence of worked astragali in cultic and funerary contexts allows them to serve as potential indicators of ritual activity in archaeological excavations.     

THE DATE AND SEQUENCE OF USE OF NEOLITHIC FUNERARY MONUMENTS: NEW AMS DATING EVIDENCE FROM THE COTSWOLD-SEVERN REGION

Summary.   In this paper we discuss 26 new Neolithic AMS dates obtained from human and animal bone from four previously undated funerary monuments in the Cotswold-Severn region. By strategically targeting particular portions of these skeletal assemblages, a number of valuable inferences are made concerning the extent of variation in apparently co-existing burial practices both within and between monuments. Of particular interest is the observation that variations in the extent to which interments have become disarticulated cannot necessarily be equated with chronological relationships regarding their deposition. This project has also obtained dates from cremated bone, which establish that the range of funerary treatments in practice during the earlier Neolithic also included cremation. Additionally it is observed that whilst some, apparently primary, deposits may in fact be later insertions, other material in apparently secondary contexts may actually return earlier Neolithic dates.     

浙江嵊州市剡山汉墓

嵊州剡山汉墓时代跨度自西汉初年至东汉中期,随葬品器类丰富,为了解汉代浙东地区历史面貌提供了宝贵资料。     

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.     

Cremated Human Remains Deposited in Two Phases: Evidence from the Necropolis of the Tuileries Site (Lyon,France: 2nd Century AD)

A small 2nd century AD necropolis was discovered at site N°16–28 Tuileries Street, in the 9th district of Lyon. This funerary ensemble included two secondary funerary structures, one containing cremation residues and the other an ossuary. Together, the structures have spatial, stratigraphic and anthropological particularities, which can be used to establish the relative chronology of certain funerary gestures applied to a single individual. Here, we insist on the necessity of detailed anthropological analyses, which allowed us to reestimate the minimum number of individuals, reconsider the relationship between the two different structures and postulate a new interpretation of the funerary gestures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anthropological and physicochemical investigation of the burnt remains of Tomb IX in the ‘Sa Figu’ hypogeal necropolis (Sassari,Italy) – Early Bronze Age

Excavations carried out in Tomb IX of the hypogeic necropolis of ‘Sa Figu’, near the village of Ittiri (Sassari, Italy), supplied burnt human bone remains and pottery unambiguously referred to the Early Bronze Age (characterised by the local culture of ‘Bonnannaro’). Besides the anthropological study, we have investigated and evaluated the possibility of a funerary cremation practice in Sardinian pre‐history, a subject that has previously not been considered from a scientific point of view. Making use of a calibration procedure based on X‐ray diffraction (XRD) line‐broadening analysis, related to the microstructural properties, it was possible to estimate the combustion temperature to which the fragmented bones were subjected. It was found that the studied bones reached temperatures varying from 400°C up to a maximum of 850°C. This spread of values suggested inhomogeneous combustion of the bones, which seems compatible with funerary cremation practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

舞阳贾湖墓葬的统计学初步分析

本工作旨在了解贾湖单人墓随葬品数量与墓主人性别、年龄以及墓葬分期之间的关系。根据墓葬样本的实际情况,本工作使用t-检验、单因素和双因素方差分析的方法进行了初步的统计学分析。结果显示,贾湖墓葬随葬品总量与性别无关,但与墓主人的死亡年龄有关,壮年随葬品较丰富。同时,随葬品数量受到性别和死亡年龄的交互影响比较显著,女性少年儿童的随葬品数量最多,男性壮年的随葬品次之。从随葬品的种类上看,除少年儿童组最多外,女性壮年墓葬占有石制品最多;男性壮年墓葬占有骨、牙制品最多。本工作还发现陶器和骨、牙制品的数量在不同时期存在着较显著变化,第二期时骨、牙制品和陶制品的数量较多。本工作认为,女孩随葬品数量较多的情况可能与母系氏族社会重女习俗有关,不同性别的壮年侧重随葬不同质地的物品则可能暗示着贾湖先民们已经出现了一定程度的社会分工,陶和骨、牙制品在第二期时比较丰富的现象可能与这一时期渔猎采集活动较活跃有关。     

THE ‘TEMPLE HOUSE’ AT LATO RECONSIDERED

This paper reconsiders the ‘Temple House’, a building excavated in 1969–70 on the Temple terrace of the site of Lato in eastern Crete. While the building was dated to the Hellenistic (HL) period and identified as domestic space by the excavator, a restudy of the material from the excavation, combined with an examination of the excavation notebooks, and observations on site, reveal a more complex history of use, unusual architectural details, and a heterogeneous range of dates (from Late Minoan (LM) IIIC to HL) and functions, suggesting original funerary and post‐funerary cult contexts. It is possible to recognize the remains of a Subminoan (SM)/Protogeometric (PG) burial and evidence for an Early Iron Age (EIA) and HL tomb cult, allowing a reconsideration of the history of Lato and the process of city‐state formation in eastern Crete.     

长沙汉墓随葬动物形象的“器物观念”

本文探讨了长沙汉墓随葬品不同"动物"形象所蕴含的不同的人文观念,借用美术考古学家的"器物观念"概念,分析不同"动物"形象背后隐含的古人精神世界。笔者将"动物"形象分为现实动物形象、神话"动物"形象和"动物"组合形象三类,分析其所依次表现出的"事死如事生"的世俗观念、以龙凤为主的神话观念和"天地相协"的理想观念。     

The Social,Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman project: the mortuary landscape of Dhank

The Social, Spatial, and Bioarchaeological Histories of Ancient Oman (SoBO) project has conducted three seasons of survey and excavation in north‐western Oman. Focusing on third‐millennium BC archaeological features, this project is unique because of the combination of geospatial survey and bioarchaeological excavation of mortuary monuments in and around the town of Dhank. Here we report our initial findings, define our survey area and techniques and discuss excavated funerary structures and associated radiocarbon dates from both charcoal and human skeletal remains. This report presents preliminary results that introduce this new project on the prehistoric mortuary landscapes of Oman and highlight the techniques the SoBO team employs to examine Bronze Age communities in this rural location.