Abstract
Renewed excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) has resulted in the discovery of the earliest occurrence of an intentional cremation in the Near East directly dated to 7031-6700 cal BC (Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, also known as Final PPNB, which spans ca. 7100-6400 cal BC). The funerary treatment involved in situ cremation within a pyre-pit of a young adult individual who previously survived from a flint projectile injury. In this study we have used a multidisciplinary approach that integrates archaeothanatology, spatial analysis, bioanthropology, zooarchaeology, soil micromorphological analysis, and phytolith identification in order to reconstruct the different stages and techniques involved in this ritual: cremation pit construction, selection of fuel, possible initial position of the corpse, potential associated items and funerary containers, fire management, post-cremation gesture and structure abandonment. The origins and development of cremation practices in the region are explored as well as their significance in terms of Northern-Southern Levantine connections during the transition between the 8th and 7th millennia BC.
Highlights
The treatment of the dead during the Neolithization process in the Near East was a complex process, embedded in a cognitive and symbolic world that underpinned the economic and dietary shift from hunting and gathering to agro-pastoralism [e.g. articles in 1]
In this paper we present the earliest occurrence of an intentional primary cremation from the Near East known to date, from the site of Beisamoun in Northern Israel
It places the emergence of this practice to a critical transition period, between the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC known as the Final PPNB), on the eve of the 7th millennium BC
Summary
The treatment of the dead during the Neolithization process in the Near East was a complex process, embedded in a cognitive and symbolic world that underpinned the economic and dietary shift from hunting and gathering to agro-pastoralism [e.g. articles in 1]. Only one may represent a primary cremation, the others, probably having been burnt after the decay process (colouration of the bones favours burning at a low temperature, in a fire that was not tended [16: 151–160]) This isolated Epipaleolithic case remains equivocal and difficult to interpret. In this paper we present the earliest occurrence of an intentional primary cremation from the Near East known to date, from the site of Beisamoun in Northern Israel It places the emergence of this practice to a critical transition period, between the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC known as the Final PPNB), on the eve of the 7th millennium BC
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