Scythian Burial Mound of the 4th Century Bc at Kremenevka,Northeastern Azov Region

The article describes and analyses a burial complex dated to the 4th century BC and located near the village of Kremenevka (Donetsk Province, Ukraine) in the northeastern Azov region. Types of amphoras are identified and the burial complex is more accurately dated to the third quarter of the 4th century BC. A funeral rite unique to the steppes of the Northern Pontic region is reconstructed and described on the basis of stratigraphic data.     

Breaking Traditions: An Isotopic Study on the Changing Funerary Practices in the Dutch Iron Age (800–12 bc)

Urnfields in the Dutch river area were replaced by cemeteries with a mixture of cremation and inhumation graves around the sixth century bc . This study provides the first biogeochemical evidence that the Iron Age communities were heterogeneous in terms of geological origins. The high percentage of non‐locally born individuals (~48%) supports the hypothesis that the change in burial practice was the result of the influx of foreign people, who were being allowed to keep their own burial customs, whereas some of the local inhabitants adapted the burial rites of foreign cultures, leading to a heterogeneous burial rite for some centuries.     

Kyordyughen Site,Ymyiakhtakh Culture,Yakutia: An Interpretation of Burial Rite

A series of radiocarbon dates for the Late Neolithic burial at Kyordyughen, Yakutia, support its association with the Ymyiakhtakh culture. The article proposes a new interpretation of the burial rite in the context of the site. Possible reasons for the disruption of the burial are presented. The presence of the dismembered remains of another body may indicate the practice of human sacrifice. The emergence of warriors as a social group is discussed, and the question is raised as to whether such a group might have been present in the Late Neolithic societies of northeast Asia on the basis of evidence favoring social differentiation with regard to military status.     

齐侯壶新研

齐侯壶记载了齐侯越礼而为陈氏服丧的事情,其礼直比诸侯。这一记载有助于我们理解为何海阳嘴子前墓葬会使用七鼎殉葬。铭文中的"二天子",与楚简中的"二天子"相同,指舜之二妃,都与陈国祭祀有关。从陈与齐、陈与楚的关系入手,可以理清这一问题。     

A possible case of ‘poll‐evil’ in an early Scythian horse skull from Arzhan 1, Tuva Republic,Central Asia

Occipital bone lesions on an Iron Age horse cranium from the burial mound of Arzhan 1, Tuva, Central Asia, are described and interpreted. Cavitations around the nuchal ligament attachment site on the skull are interpreted as foci of inflammation and necrosis following local infection. It is suggested that the pathology represents a case of ‘poll‐evil’, most likely due to a bacterial infection. The significance of such an interpretation is discussed, including its implications for disease ecology and the possible infection risks to contiguous animal and human communities of the first millennium BC in Central Asia. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iron Age pastoral nomadism and agriculture in the eastern Eurasian steppe: implications from dental palaeopathology and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes

Iron Age societies of the eastern Eurasian steppe are traditionally viewed as nomadic pastoralists. However, recent archaeological and anthropological research in Kazakhstan has reminded us that pastoralist economies can be highly complex and involve agriculture. This paper explores the nature of the pastoralist economies in two Early Iron Age populations from the burial grounds of Ai-Dai and Aymyrlyg in Southern Siberia. These populations represent two cultural groups of the Scythian World – the Tagar Culture of the Minusinsk Basin and the Uyuk Culture of Tuva. Analysis of dental palaeopathology and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes suggests that domesticated cereals, particularly millet, and fish formed a major component of the diet of both groups. The findings contribute to the emerging picture of the nuances of Early Iron Age subsistence strategies on the eastern steppe.     

The Present Condition of the Monuments of Egypt and Nubia

Studies of early Anglo-Saxon social identity have been largely based on information obtained from the skeletal remains and grave assemblages from inhumation burials. As a result, the social identity of populations that practiced the alternative mortuary rite, namely cremation, is often overlooked. This paper will provide new evidence for the social identity of cremation practicing groups based on a comprehensive study of the Elsham and Cleatham cemeteries, both located in North Lincolnshire. The demographic attributes of the burial populations will be scrutinized alongside their associated grave furnishings. In addition, the spatial distribution of burials will be assessed as a means of establishing whether certain social groups were segregated at these cemeteries. Based on the results presented in this paper, it is clear that the often binary differences in grave provisions afforded to men and women in the inhumation rite play only minor roles in the manifestation of social identity among cremating groups in eastern England. Instead, stages in the lifecycle, kin associations and perhaps even ideological beliefs seem to have been emphasized by the treatment of the cremated dead.     

西汉诸侯王墓棺椁及置椁窆棺工具浅论

西汉诸侯王墓在继承前代的基础上多用棺椁,并有相关配套用具,体现出与身份地位相符的棺椁制度。棺椁在质地、重数及装饰等方面均存在着一些差异,反映了多样化的特点。棺椁是盛放墓主尸身的重要设施,在置椁下棺时会使用较多的工具以达到要求,保证安全。相关工具的使用一方面是对旧葬制、葬俗的继承,另一方面又与墓葬形制、结构,棺椁自身特点等密切相关,体现出丧葬礼俗的演进、相应科学技术的进步及诸侯王墓的时代特点和地域特征等。     

The Great Hall of the Bishop's Palace at Hereford

Abstract

In the Summer of 2005 the authors directed the excavation of a flat stone setting with a boat-shaped central depression at Skamby, Kuddby parish, Östergötland, Sweden. The stone setting covered a small and poorly preserved boat inhumation, dated by the artefacts recovered to the early Viking period (9th century AD). This is the first excavation of a boat inhumation in the province of Östergötland. The paper reports on the excavations including the discovery of an exceptional collection of 23 amber gaming pieces, which provide a new perspective on Viking-period gaming. The data from this boat grave are considered in relation to the rest of the Skamby cemetery, which remains to be investigated. Judging from a topographical survey of the ridge surrounding the excavated area, and from metal-detector finds recovered from the surrounding fields, the Skamby cemetery appears to be a high-status burial ground divided into two zones, one comprised of boat inhumation graves, the other of circular stone settings likely to cover cremation graves. The results of the excavation lead to a revised picture of boat burial as an élite mortuary rite in southern Sweden during the late 1st millennium AD.     

北朝隋唐入华粟特人死亡观研究——以葬具图像的解读为主

Miho、青州和史君墓围屏石榻或石椁上直接表现丧葬仪式的图像,为我们了解和研究入华粟特人葬俗和死亡观提供了丰富的实物证据和图像资料。结合粟特故地、丝绸之路及其它入华粟特人墓葬的考古资料与中外历史、宗教文献记载,可以看出入华粟特人死亡观主要体现在以下四个方面:从犬视尸毒到事死如生;从善恶二元观到钦瓦特桥审判;圣火与善神崇拜;灵魂不死与天国享乐。     

The effect of cremation on the study of trace elements

Cremation was a frequent practice during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Europe. The destruction caused by this rite has meant that there are few anthropological studies of this period and that the amount of information that has been obtained is limited. Most studies deal with the number of individuals and the temperature of cremation. At present, however, studies are under way to determine the possibility of carrying out analyses of trace elements on cremated individuals in order to determine their diet. The present study, carried out at a necropolis with two kinds of burial (S'Illot des Porros, Mallorca, Iron Age), presents new data regarding the diagenetic effects differentiating cremated from buried bones. The levels of Sr, Ca, Ba, Zn, Cu and Mg in the spongy and cortical tissue of 197 femurs are analysed. The results obtained at this necropolis demonstrate that only the levels of calcium and magnesium in the cortical tissue of cremated bones increase, so diagenesis acts in the same way in cremated and non-cremated bones in this necropolis.     

Unusual burial from an early Neolithic site of the lengyel culture in central Poland: Punishment,violence or mortuary behaviour?

During excavations at the Early Neolithic site of the Brześć Kujawski Group of the Lengyel Culture in Osłonki (central Poland), an atypical burial of an adult male was discovered. The individual's skeleton revealed traces of several perimortem injuries: both broken shins (the right shin with two fractures), a large fracture to the frontal bone and about 25 cut marks made with a flint blade in the parietal‐occipital region of the cranium on the left side. The arrangement of the fractured parts of the lower limbs might suggest that the injuries were intentionally exposed. Due to the relatively rich grave goods, it seems unlikely that the buried person was rejected by the community and thus killed or stigmatized by mutilation of the cadaver. The way the cuts were made is different from the cases of scalping or severing muscles in cannibalistic or mortuary practices known from the literature. This burial probably reflects some special funerary rite, which is now difficult to reconstruct or interpret. It is both possible that the observed injuries resulted from wounds that led to the individual's death (perhaps in circumstances that motivated the other special features of the burial) or that they were inflicted on the dead body. Taking into account the probable practices of dismembering of the dead body or human sacrifice found in the later Neolithic period in Poland, all of these possibilities may be considered with respect to this burial. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Eneolithic Cattle Burials from Aljmaš‐Podunavlje and Osijek‐Retfala,Croatia

Two single bovine burials and one mixed animal burial (containing bovine and canid skeletal remains) have been unearthed at two Baden culture sites, Aljmaš‐Podunavlje and Osijek‐Retfala located in Eastern Croatia. Zooarchaeological analysis attributed the faunal remains to domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) and in one case a dog (Canis familiaris). Almost complete and articulated skeletons of subadult or adult cows were found in all three examined features, while pit 59/60 from Aljmaš also contained a skull belonging to an adult‐domesticated cattle and a skeleton of a very young dog, 2–3 months old. All of the skeletons are well preserved and display no evidence of carcass processing indicating that the animals were buried intentionally. Consideration of the positions in which these animals were interred and their relationship with nearby deposits enables discussion of potential animal burial strategies and possible connections with certain ritual practices in which cows and in one case a dog played important roles. The described burials represent the southernmost known distribution of the rite discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE WUSUN IN NORTHEASTERN CENTRAL ASIA

Among the peoples mentioned in Chinese dynastic chronicles are the Xiongnu and other steppe nomads such as the Yuezhi and the Wusun. The Xiongnu forced both these peoples to abandon their camping grounds and move to Zhetysu. Numerous sites in Tuva of the Late Scythian period (those of the Uyuk–Sagly culture) reveal ties with the Xiongnu and suggest that they were associated with the Wusun. Artifacts from Suglug-Khem-1 and -2 and Khayirakan, Tuva, specifically mirrors with side handles, hairpins, wire earrings, small wooden four-legged tables, painted vessels, etc., are paralleled by finds from burials of the low-ranking Wusun in Zhetysu. Before arriving at Zhetysu, the Wusun crossed the Altai-Sayan highland and the Irtysh below Lake Zaisan, where their presence is attested by sites of the Kula-Zhurga type. The distinctive features of the latter are flexed burials in stone cists and vessels resembling those from Tuva in shape; other artifacts are extremely rare and similar to those from burials of the low-ranking Wusun in Zhetysu.     

Remarks on Early Iron Age Burial Sites from Southern Cameroon

For the first time, graves dating to the Early Iron Age between 2000 BP and 1700 BP have been discovered in the southern Cameroonian rain forest. The features in question, from the sites of Akonétye and Campo, were almost identically furnished with iron objects and ceramic pots. Other features with more or less corresponding finds have been discovered at Mouanko–Lobethal, Mouanko–Epolo, Kribi–Mpoengu, and Yaoundé–Obobogo. The spatial distribution of these sites and their near synchronous dating suggest that a particular burial rite was practiced over a considerable area of southern Cameroon during the Early Iron Age.     

略论商周时期射牲礼

由花东甲骨文和作册般鼋铭文的记载可知,射牲礼起源不晚于商代中晚期,最初其举行的地点通常在自然形成的河流沼泽等水边,射牲结束后多伴随有祭祀活动。之后射牲礼逐渐发展完善,由麦尊和伯唐父鼎等青铜器铭文记载可以推定,至晚到西周早期,天子在辟雍乘舟射牲的仪式已明显区别于习射及以"择士"为目的的大射,其不仅与祭祀相关,且已具有象征天子亲自射猎以"示亲杀"的特点。     

Diet in the Iron Age cemetery population at Wetwang Slack,East Yorkshire,UK: carbon and nitrogen stable isotope evidence

This paper reports δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values for human and animal bone collagen from the middle Iron Age site at Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire, UK. The data indicate a human diet which was high in animal protein, with no evidence for any significant marine food input. No differences were found between high-status vehicle (or ‘chariot’) burials and the rest of the population and no other status differentiations are visible according to burial rite, age or sex groupings, although the data obtained for the older males display an unusual trend. No dietary variation is seen between two site phases and no evidence for an early immigrant group is present. The range of isotope values for the adult human group as a whole is small, indicating that the diet is likely to have been consistent over time and across the population, although two individuals stand out as unusual amongst the 62 analysed.     

The ‘Headless Romans’: multi-isotope investigations of an unusual burial ground from Roman Britain

Recent excavations at Driffield Terrace in York (Northern England) revealed an extremely unusual Romano-British cemetery of probably all-male composition, more than half of the individuals decapitated and with high incidence of other peri- and antemortem trauma. This paper presents the results of multi- (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium) isotopic analyses of bone and dentine collagen (n = 68) and tooth enamel (n = 18) which were conducted to obtain further information on the identity of these individuals and, more generally, in order to investigate the relationship between burial rite and geographical origin in a Roman provincial capital. The results show that the childhood origins of the “Headless Romans” were significantly more diverse than those of humans from other cemeteries in Roman York, but they demonstrate also that similar, unusual burial rites do not necessarily indicate a common geographical origin. Of particular interest were two individuals whose diet contained a significant proportion of C₄ plant (probably millet)-based protein. These are the first such isotope values observed in Britain from any archaeological time-period. Millet was not cultivated in the British Isles in antiquity and the results therefore demonstrate the value of palaeodietary data for assisting in isotopic mobility studies.     

Men’s Recollections of a Women’s Rite: Medieval English Men’s Recollections Regarding the Rite of the Purification of Women after Childbirth

This study examines the recollections of medieval English men, found in proof–of–age inquests, regarding their participation in the rite of the purification of women after childbirth. Because the rite of purification was reserved to women, scant attention has been paid to how this rite and the customs surrounding it played in the lives of medieval men. These men’s recollections situate postpartum purification within the festivities celebrating the birth of a man’s heir. For them, it is a public event celebrating paternity and lineage, and a forum for the negotiation of social relationships.