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.     

Monitoring the burial environment of terrestrial wet archaeological sites in The Netherlands

Abstract

Monitoring the burial environment of archaeological sites is necessary to assess the success of their preservation in situ. Also, monitoring the state of preservation of actual archaeological remains together with that of their burial environment will further our understanding of the degradation processes acting on archaeological remains in situ. These remains consist not only of objects made from wood, metal, stone, etc., but also of pollen, soil features and even micromorphological features. Although, to date, the precise degradation mechanisms of archaeological remains in situ are not yet fully understood, general agreement exists on which parameters should be monitored in wet terrestrial environments. Also, it has been established that in situ measurements are preferable to laboratory analyses of soil (water) samples. In practice, it is difficult to find suitable monitoring equipment for in situ measurement as it must meet many requirements: an in situ measuring principle; stable for a period of at least several months; robust for use in the field; and equipped with a datalogger. A suitable principle exists for measuring the redox potential, however a simple, robust field instrument with datalogger is not yet available. Monitoring of the water table level, temperature and oxygen content is possible with recently developed, commercially available instruments. Monitoring of acidity is less complex as it does not vary as rapidly as, for example, the redox potential; however, the recommended method is still based on analysing soil samples, which is not acceptable in the long term at archaeological sites.     

Saving the Rose Theatre: England's first managed and monitored reburial

Abstract

The discovery of the Elizabethan Rose Theatre in London in 1989 led to pressure on the government for the site to be preserved for future full excavation and the display of the remains in situ. This paper describes briefly the historical and geological background to the theatre site, and discusses the rationale of the burial system adopted and the methods used to monitor the condition of the site. The burial system was designed with a limited life expectancy of a few years and it was, and still remains, the objective of the Rose Theatre Trust to raise sufficient money for the theatre to be displayed. However, fourteen years on, the system continues to perform satisfactorily. The methodology is reviewed, particularly the use of expensive and scarce Buckland sand, and finally, the options for the future of the theatre's remains are considered.     

Honour thy ancstor's possessions

Abstract

This article addresses the ethics of reclaiming moepū (funerary items) for reburial. It centres around a case involving moepū that were removed from a burial cave, conserved by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and reburied. Most significant amongst the funerary items removed from the burial cave were four carved wood images of ancestral deities called ki 'ciaumākua and other personal possessions of highranking chiefs. To explain the traditional practice of placing items with the dead, an overview of the traditional role of moepū is provided. Two opposing perspectives in response to the reburial are then presented. The article concludes that, as with iwi kūpuna (ancestral bones), the conservation of moepū is improper and museums should support efforts to return them to their deceased owners. Only by restoring moepū, to their original context — and thereby their original function — can the responsibility of caring for the ancestors be properly maintained and higher levels of traditional cultural understanding be achieved.     

Children’s Burial Grounds in Ireland (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cilliní</Emphasis>) and Parental Emotions Toward Infant Death

Cilliní—or children’s burial grounds—were the designated resting places for unbaptized infants and other members of Irish society who were considered unsuitable by the Roman Catholic Church for burial in consecrated ground. The sites appear to have proliferated from the seventeenth century onwards in the wake of the Counter-Reformation. While a number of previous studies have attempted to relate their apparently marginal characteristics to the liminality of Limbo, evidence drawn from the archaeological record and oral history accounts suggests that it was only the Roman Catholic Church that considered cilliní, and those interred within, to be marginal. In contrast, the evidence suggests that the families of the dead regarded the cemeteries as important places of burial and treated them in a similar manner to consecrated burial grounds.     

A child's burial in unconsecrated ground in early modern Dorchester,Dorset

Abstract

Re-examination of a child burial found during excavations in advance of the construction of new offices for Dorset County Council in the north-west quarter of Dorchester in 1937 indicates that it is of early modern, rather than of Roman date, as originally believed at the time of excavation. A possible context is explored for the burial of a child in unconsecrated ground in the 17th century.     

Family Burial,Family Structure,and The Urbanization of Herodian Jerusalem

Abstract

Epigraphic, archaeological, and historical data indicate that most of the population in Herodian Jerusalem was buried in family caves. In several cases, however, Diaspora Jews and proselytes were buried together, replacing the family by an alternative reference group of other immigrants or proselytes. Furthermore, the Qumran sectarians, and perhaps also some early Christians and pharisaic haverim, chose to withdraw from their families and to be buried in the sphere of the sect. This distinctive burial practice results from the ideological tension between the sect and the family (of the sectarian member).

Analysis of the number of niches in 306 burial caves (presumably familial caves) in light of the skeletal remains from some of these caves leads to a tentative reconstruction of the family structure in Herodian Jerusalem. Most prevalent were the nuclear and the small extended families, whereas hamulas were distinctively rare. It seems that the average family became smaller during the Herodian period. It is suggested that this process was due to the urbanization of Jerusalem, and that the change in family structure accelerated the growth of individualism in Jerusalem society.     

Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland

Abstract

Lincoln Cathedral's Angel Choir was built in the second half of the thirteenth century to house the shrine of St Hugh of Lincoln, canonised in 1220. Although he was never a major saint, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln sought to emulate the settings newly created for more venerable saints by constructing a completely new building to house his shrine. Despite considerable study of the Angel Choir the site of the shrine has not been established, neither has the site of the original burial. This is perhaps the more surprising when it is considered that contemporary documentation survives to describe the events of St Hugh's death and burial. There is sufficient evidence within the cathedral to reconstruct the sites of the original burial and the later shrines and this is supported by documentary evidence, so far overlooked, that is presented here.     

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.     

Towards a benign reburial context: the chemistry of the burial environment

Abstract

The successful reburial of exposed archaeological remains depends on the ability to recreate a benign preserving environment, especially for the desiccated and waterlogged environments that preserve organic and other valuable archaeological material. An introduction to the chemistry of soil and the burial environment is provided, covering the key variables: water, oxygen, cations and anions, pH, organic matter, clay and redox potential. The problems of monitoring these variables and their variation are highlighted. Recent work in monitoring the long-term effects of burial and the steps taken towards modelling actual burial environment chemistry are outlined. Factors to be considered when adding material for reburial are proposed. These include: the avoidance of soluble or potentially soluble minerals; the beneficial buffering effect of clays and organic matter; the minimization of changes in water level, redox potential and pH; and the desirability of retaining the porosity of the burial medium. This can often be achieved by re-using the soil in which the objects/structures were originally buried.     

THE SYMBOLIC AND SOCIAL MEANINGS OF THE INTERMEDIATE BRONZE AGE COPPER DAGGERS

Abstract

The transformation of hard, durable natural substances, such as stone or metal, into cultural objects with symbolic value has played an important role in human social development. This paper attempts to understand the symbolic and social meanings of copper daggers during the Intermediate Bronze Age, and the reasons for their widespread use within a burial context. A multidisciplinary approach is taken, combining and processing different areas of research, and employing a range of archaeological and ethnographic parallels. This paper allows also for a more comprehensive understanding of the social organisation during the Intermediate Bronze Age.     

Burial in Early Medieval Scotland: New Questions

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE presents a summary and interpretation of burial practices in Scotland in ad 400–650. Due to the dearth of documentary sources, mortuary archaeology provides a window on the changes occurring at the juncture between prehistory and history. Yet previous work has generally approached burial as evidence for a single aspect of this transition: the conversion to Christianity. Rather than signalling ethnic or religious affiliation, it is argued that graves should be understood as acts of structured deposition which enabled new relationships to be forged between the living and the dead at a local level. The composition of the grave with stone, sand, timber and earth can be seen as a form of furnishing cognate with the use of grave goods elsewhere in Britain and the continent.     

Ruins about Merj Hîn in Subalpine Lebanon

Abstract

An attentive examination of the impressive finds of the mausoleum uncovered in 2007 in Herodium has demonstrated that these are not in accord with the characteristics of Herodian architecture as postulated by the late Prof. Ehud Netzer. The following four arguments show that this monument, which was indeed built by Herod, did not serve as his eternal resting place: ? Its moderate dimensions.

? The absence of an appropriate gateway to the burial ground, and an adequate assembly space around the tomb.

? A stratigraphic argument: The stairway leading up to the palace-fortress on the hilltop leaves the mausoleum ‘in its shade’, being also overlaid on top of the single irrigation pool that served the small garden that had surrounded the tomb.

? The absence of any correspondence between the axis of symmetry of the mausoleum, and that of Greater Herodium, indicating that these two were entirely different building projects.

Two alternative proposals are presented for the possible locations of the tomb, which might have disappeared.     

Special Studies: Naturally Deposited Versus Intentionally Applied Gypsum on Archaeological Materials from Harappa,Pakistan

Abstract

White deposits on archaeological vessels excavated at Harappa, Pakistan, were identified by x-ray diffraction analysis as pure gypsum. Because of the evenness and location of the layer it appeared to have been intentionally applied. But since we were aware that the site has an extreme salt problem there was a possibility that the layer was a post-depositional accretion. Through the comparison of x-ray diffraction (XRD) peak intensities and the crystal morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) it was determined that natural and intentionally calcined/hydrated gypsum could be differentiated. This study should help archaeologists and conservators distinguish burial deposits from intentionally applied gypsum on archaeological material.     

Rare animals at a Mississippian chiefly compound: the Irene Mound site (9CH1), Georgia,USA

ABSTRACT

The Irene Mound site (9CH1) was a Middle and Late Mississippian site (ca. AD 1150–1450) situated on a bluff overlooking the lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA), a few kilometers upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. The 2.4 ha site consisted of a sequence of superimposed layers referred to as temple mounds, as well as a burial mound, a rotunda, a few residences, and other structures. It is interpreted as the residence of a chiefly lineage. The presence of animals rare or absent in other precolonial coastal assemblages distinguishes the Irene assemblage from others along the coast. Some of the animals exhibit atypical, even dangerous, behavior, others have elaborate feathers or fine fur, and many are notable coastal fishers. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) specimens in the assemblage are dominated by portions from the body. Irene may provide a zooarchaeological standard for assessing evidence of site functions and status in other coastal assemblages.     

Obituary Notice

Abstract

St Vitus’s Cathedral, founded in 1344, is a prime example of 14th-century cathedral Gothic, a product of the cooperation between the ingenious architect Peter Parler and his patron, Emperor Charles IV. The unusual layout consisted of a pair of choirs set side by side in the eastern section of the cathedral, an arrangement inspired by the earlier Romanesque double-choir basilica. One was dedicated to St Vitus and was used by the canons, the other to the Virgin Mary and operated by the mansionars. The royal and imperial necropolis was placed in the latter of the two choirs, with Charles IV’s tomb-chest protected by a sculptured canopy and surrounded by the cenotaphs of deceased family members and later kings and queens. The form of two choirs is probably the result of an extensive rearrangement of the earlier project completed in the 1350s, when initial plans to locate the royal burial ground in the canons’ choir were abandoned. The main choir contained a tabernacle of remarkable design, dating from c. 1365. There may originally have been plans for a third choir to be built around the tomb of St Adalbert located in the middle of the nave, the work on which was initiated in 1392.     

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.     

Changes in the Physico-Chemical and Microbial Nature of Wetlands from the Leaching of Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-Treated Wood

Abstract

Microbial activities are responsible for reducing the harmful effects of pollutants in different burial environments. Within wetlands in particular, microorganisms play an important role in the transformation of heavy metals and metalloids via direct or indirect oxidation/reduction. In turn, these microbial transformations can lead to the detoxification of pollutant elements such as copper, chromium and arsenic that comprise CCA-treated wood.

CCA was the most commonly used wood preservative in the UK (up until its partial ban in 2004). CCA prolongs the service life of wood by making it resistant to microbiological attack. As such, it has been regularly used in the construction of platforms and boardwalks in wetlands. However, recent concerns over the impact of the chemical constituents of this treatment on both the environment and human health have prompted the introduction of legislation in order to ensure that this type of treated wood is disposed of in accordance with the relevant health and safety guidelines.

In light of this information, it is important to assess changes in the physico-chemical and microbial nature of wetlands associated with the leaching of CCA from wooden structures. The results will not only provide a greater scope for understanding the implications associated with the in situ preservation of the archaeological resource contained within these environments, but also highlight the potential ramifications for wetland ecosystem dynamics.     

Dying Embers: Fire-lighting Technology and Mortuary Practice in Early Bronze Age Britain

In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire

Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 73

We examine the known examples of strike-a-light kits within prehistoric mortuary contexts in mainland Britain. Building on the seminal work of Clarke in the 1970s, and Needham’s recent work on Beaker grave groups, many further examples of this burial practice are documented from both historic and recent excavations. It is evident that strike-a-light kits have a considerable longevity in prehistoric mortuary practice, with all but one dating to between c. 2500 cal. BC and c. 1500 cal. BC. Our analysis presents new radiocarbon dates and data from stable isotope studies of human remains that indicate the practice reached a peak between c. 2200 and c. 2000 cal. BC. Strike-a-light kits appear to be associated both with individuals born local to their burial place, as well as those born at a considerable geographical distance. It is argued that strike-a-light kits had a particular significance in the burial of adult males, and that kits were symbolic inclusions rather than being linked to the practice of fire-lighting during the men’s life-time in this period.