Retrieving, Curating and Depositing Skulls at Pitted Ware culture Sites

Tobias Lindström

doi:10.37718/csa.2020.07

Abstract

At many Middle Neolithic sites in south-central Scandinavia associated with the hunter-gatherer complex known as the Pitted Ware culture, the skulls of humans and animals seem to have been treated differently from other skeletal elements. This is evident, for example, in inhumation graves lacking crania or entire skulls as well as numerous finds of cranial and mandibular fragments scattered in cultural layers or deposited in hearths and pits. Despite parallels in overall treatment and find contexts, the selective handling of human skulls has generally been regarded as a mortuary practice and thus qualitatively different from the handling of animal skulls. Focusing primarily on the head bones themselves and relating their treatment to the wider use of skeletal remains allows us to consider a more complex system of retrieving, modifying, curating and depositing crania and mandibles. Drawing on the overlapping general treatment of human and animal remains, it is suggested that head bones from both humans and animals were efficacious objects that could be used in depositional acts.

Highlights

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the apparently selective treatment afforded to skulls at Pitted Ware culture (PWC) sites in south-central Scandinavia
This selective treatment is visible in the form of inhumation graves lacking heads and in crania, mandibles or cranial fragments deposited in archaeological features or scattered in the cultural layers
The handling of skulls seen at PWC sites in south-central Scandinavia ranges from post-depositional removal of human skulls from inhumation graves, through deposition of intact crania and mandibles, to dispersal and sorting of skull fragments in cultural layers

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the apparently selective treatment afforded to skulls at Pitted Ware culture (PWC) sites in south-central Scandinavia This selective treatment is visible in the form of inhumation graves lacking heads and in crania, mandibles or cranial fragments deposited in archaeological features or scattered in the cultural layers. Human remains are obviously not universally repugnant to the living, and skulls have a tangible materiality and physical presence that is not reducible to symbolism. By their distinctive shape, they are readily identifiable as once living beings, as well as being separate from them. Crossculturally, skulls as well as other bone elements often demand certain actions and are considered able to do things and affect their surroundings (see e.g. Krmpotich et al 2010)

Objectives

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Discussion

Conclusion