Burial Contexts Research Articles

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ДЕМЕМБРАЦИИ В ПОГРЕБАЛЬНОЙ ПРАКТИКЕ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ КАТАКОМБНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ НА НИЖНЕМ ДОНУ

The paper is devoted to the analysis of a series of Middle Bronze Age burials from the barrow cemeteries of Veselyi I, Chaltyrskiy XI, Glubokaya II and Molokanovskiy III in the Lower Don region. All of them present a hitherto unknown type of demembration which involves a complete of partial displacement of bones “in blocks”, i. e. in anatomical articulation. Judging by both their inventory and ritual details, the burials in question belong to the late stage of the Catacomb culture (late stage of the Donets culture, Bakhmur variant, and the Manych culture). The displacement of bones “in blocks” (and penetration into the grave) took place during the first year after the funeral. There is a number of hypotheses that attempt to explain the appearance of demembration in ritual practices of ancient people. The burial contexts described in this paper support the hypothesis ac- cording to which demembration served as a method of rendering the dear harmless.

Creating a body-subject in the Late Moche Period (CE 650 – 850). Bioarchaeological and biogeochemical analyses of human offerings from Huaca Colorada, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru

ABSTRACT Human offerings in the archaeological record are commonly defined by their community affiliation, the ceremonial events following their death and the places where they are interred. The deposition of an individual links kin members to the landscape but also seems to mark time and memory. Here we argue that inter-generational memory, created through cyclical depositions of local, coastal community members at Huaca Colorada, reflects political alliances during the Late Moche Period of northern Peru. Using multiple lines of evidence, which include osteological, isotopic and burial context data, this article interprets the human offerings among the Moche of the Andes and argues that the significance of foundation offerings lies not exclusively in the spectacle of sacrifice, but in creating memory that maintains or transforms sacred landscapes.

Growing up different in Neolithic China: A contextualised case study and differential diagnosis of a young adult with skeletal dysplasia

This paper presents a case study of a young adult from the late Neolithic Yangshao cultural period site (∼3300–2900 years BC) of Guanjia (关家) located in Henan Province on the Central Plains of China, who has evidence for skeletal dysplasia characterised by proportional stunting of the long bones and a small axial skeleton, generalised osteopenia, and non-fusion of epiphyses. We provide a detailed differential diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia with paediatric onset and conclude that this is likely a form of hypopituitarism or hypothyroidism, an extremely rare finding within the archaeological context. This paper highlights the issues of distinguishing the forms of proportional dwarfism in palaeopathology because of the considerable variation in manifestation of these conditions. Finally, we assess whether there were any health and social implications for this person and community through the consideration of a bioarchaeology of care approach across the lifecourse, burial context, and information on social perceptions of ‘difference’ in the community.标题：中国新石器时代不同的成长历程：一个青壮年骨发育异常案例的情景分析及鉴别诊断本文以中国中原地区河南省新石器时代晚期仰韶文化关家遗址（公元前3300年～2900年）的一个青壮年为研究对象。该个体表现出骨骼发育异常，包括长骨成比例发育不良，较小的中轴骨，全身骨质稀少，及骨骺不融合。我们对该个体进行了儿科骨骼发育不良的详细鉴别诊断，并得出结论，这可能是垂体功能减退或甲状腺功能减退的一种形式。这在考古学背景下是极为罕见的发现。由于各矮化疾病的表现形式有较大的变异性，本文着重讨论了在古病理学中分辨不同形式的成比例矮化的问题。最后，我们结合对整个生命历程的生物考古护理研究、埋葬背景、“差异”个体的社会认知等信息，评估是否对该个体和社区有健康或社会影响。

Las termitas como agentes aturales de alteraciones tafonómicas postdepositacionales en un esqueleto humano del sitio arqueológico Toca do Enoque (Piauí, Brasil)

Las termitas son insectos que aparecen muchas veces en contextos arqueológicos en Brasil y casi nunca son objeto de estudio como procesos naturales de formación de los depósitos y contextos arqueológicos. La probabilidad de que se encuentren marcas de estos insectos modificadores de carcasas de animales y humanos en sitios arqueológicos en Brasil y en Sudamérica hace pertinente su estudio. A partir de una aproximación teórica - metodológica que comprende la Icnoarqueología y la Arqueoentomología Funeraria, presentamos el caso de estudio de un esqueleto humano con señales de bioerosión debidas a la acción de termitas subterráneas en el sitio arqueológico Toca do Enoque (Piauí, nordeste de Brasil) del Holoceno Medio. Guiados por un protocolo de estudio actualístico, pudimos registrar que el patrón de daños observado en los huesos resultó ser consistente con el comportamiento osteofágico de ciertas especies de termitas endémicas de la región Neotropical (Familia: Termitidae). El análisis macroscópico muestra la importancia de reconocer a los isópteros subterráneos como agentes tafonómicos naturales que pueden actuar en la degradación postdeposicional de restos óseos humanos provenientes decontextos funerarios arqueológicos.

Elevated lead exposure in Roman occupants of Londinium: New evidence from the archaeological record

The evolution of metallurgical practices over several millennia has resulted in human exposures to a diverse variety of toxic elements. These exposures were not just confined to the metalworkers, but in many cases broadly impacted the larger community and society. The role of lead in Roman civilization is particularly fascinating, where the available evidence of lead use in a myriad of applications by Roman civilization suggests the potential for elevated exposures. The present paper addresses the hypothesis that because of these practices, Roman occupants of ancient Londinium (43–410 ad) were exposed to levels of lead that far exceeded exposures in the preceding populations of Iron Age Britain (700 bc–43 ad). The elemental content and stable lead and strontium isotopic signatures of 30 femora from three Londinium cemeteries and radiocarbon‐dated representative burials were examined and the results then compared with 70 femora dating to the pre‐Roman Iron Age from the well‐known Iron Age hillfort of Danebury, Hampshire, and from three cemeteries in East Yorkshire. Extensive efforts were directed at the minimization of sediment and soil contamination, the assessment of contamination from burial artefacts and a careful review of the burial context of specimens. Data for lead and 20 additional trace and major elements were obtained by magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS), after acid dissolution of pre‐cleaned bone cores. Lead isotope ratios in the bone core digests (and burial soils) were measured by multi‐collector ICPMS. It was found that concentrations of lead in the Roman/Londinium‐era femora were > 70‐fold greater than those from pre‐Roman populations. This was confirmed by femoral data obtained from the analysis of a pre‐Roman burial from the early first century bc found adjacent to the Southern Cemetery. Several major and trace element metrics for diagenesis demonstrate that levels of lead in the bone are robust indicators of human exposure during life. Lead isotope data for the Roman population are consistent with previously identified widespread lead pollution. The pre‐Roman populations contain lead isotopic compositions consistent with highly localized, minor sources of lead. Together, these data provide unequivocal confirmation that the Romans in Londinium were exposed to elevated lead levels. Elevated blood lead levels would have resulted, negatively affecting their health and possibly contributing to declining birth rates.

Herramientas de hilado romanas y tardo-romanas procedentes de Stobi, Macedonia

Este artículo se centra en los útiles de hilado en hueso procedentes del yacimiento arqueológico de Stobi, en la República de Macedonia. La mayoría de estos útiles proceden de enterramientos, aunque algunos de ellos fueron documentados en contextos de poblado. El elemento más antiguo ha sido datado en el I siglo BC, mientras que los más recientes provienen de contextos del siglo VI AD. Los útiles de hilado se agrupan en ruedas de huso, husos y ruecas. Posibles cambios en el espesor de las fibras de hilado a lo largo de diferentes períodos puede ser observado en las variaciones en forma y peso de las ruedas de huso estudiadas. Las dispersiones irregulares visibles en el lado inferior de dos de estas ruedas de huso reflejan que el método de sujeción de la rueda al huso. Aunque los husos difieren en la forma de su extremo superior, esto no puede asociarse con inferencias cronológicas. Lo que tienen en común los husos es el context funerario donde fueron descubiertas. El caso es similar con las sujeciones de mano de las ruecas, donde tres de los cuatro descubiertos provienen de contextos funerarios. Presentando investigaciones previas para este tipo de ruecas con atributos similares a los de Stobi, la consideración de su uso protector y simbólico es también analizada.

The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Early herders in eastern Africa built elaborate megalithic cemeteries ~ 5000 BP overlooking what is now Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. At least six ‘pillar sites’ were constructed during a time of rapid change: cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced to the basin as the lake was shrinking at the end of the African Humid Period. Cultural changes at this time include new lithic and ceramic technologies and the earliest monumentality in eastern Africa. Isolated human remains previously excavated from pillar sites east of Lake Turkana seemed to indicate that pillar site platforms were ossuaries for secondary burials. Recent bioarchaeological excavations at four pillar sites west of the lake have now yielded ≥49 individuals, most from primary and some from secondary interments, challenging earlier interpretations. Here we describe the mortuary cavities, and burial contexts, and included items such as adornments from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol pillar sites. In doing so, we reassess previous hypotheses regarding pillar site construction, use, and inter-site variability. We also present the first osteological analyses of skeletons buried at these sites. Although the human remains are fragmentary, they are nevertheless informative about the sex, age, and body size of the deceased and give evidence for health and disease processes. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts (n = 34 elements) suggest patterns of terrestrial mobility. Pillar site deposits provide important new insights into early herder lifeways in eastern Africa and the impact of the transition to pastoralism on past human populations.

Modeling the Rise of the City: Early Urban Networks in Southern Italy

The rise of the state in Ancient Italy went hand in hand with an increase in infrastructural power i.e. settlement centralization and urbanization. The paper discusses theoretical challenges and introduces a modeling approach to a case study, one of the earliest cities in Southern Italy, Pontecagnano, with the aim of understanding the community dynamics at the time of the earliest urbanization (ca. 900-600 BC). The model is a two-mode model that derives from social network analysis, an approach that has been fruitfully adapted to archaeological research. The model is applied to detect trends in burial contexts from the community involved. Burial was, at that time, in the region, a key instrument in the creation of memory and display of status and thus for building and consolidating state power. The analytical network model is able to detect the dynamics in the community over time very well: network Cohesion is expanding and contracting, and points to the existence of tension and a tight control of funerary behavior. The study of Centrality of selected nodes provides a good understanding of the strategies in terms of the circulation of key resources. The latter is particularly significant for studying urbanization because the appropriation of resources was not possible without centralization and the development of infrastructure, as well as an ideology. Based on the study of selected resources it is suggested that an increase in crop storage has played a particular role in the development of state power and the urbanization process at Pontecagnano. In due course, the paper also addresses methodological challenges of working with fragmented datasets when applying models to study the past.

"The dead shall be raised": Multidisciplinary analysis of human skeletons reveals complexity in 19th century immigrant socioeconomic history and identity in New Haven, Connecticut.

In July 2011, renovations to Yale-New Haven Hospital inadvertently exposed the cemetery of Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut’s first Catholic cemetery. While this cemetery was active between 1833 and 1851, both the church and its cemetery disappeared from public records, making the discovery serendipitous. Four relatively well-preserved adult skeletons were recovered with few artifacts. All four individuals show indicators of manual labor, health and disease stressors, and dental health issues. Two show indicators of trauma, with the possibility of judicial hanging in one individual. Musculoskeletal markings are consistent with physical stress, and two individuals have arthritic indicators of repetitive movement/specialized activities. Radiographic analyses show osteopenia, healed trauma, and other pathologies in several individuals. Dental calculus analysis did not identify any tuberculosis indicators, despite osteological markers. Isotopic analyses of teeth indicate that all four were likely recent immigrants to the Northeastern United States. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA were recovered from three individuals, and these analyses identified ancestry, hair/eye color, and relatedness. Genetic and isotopic results upended our initial ancestry assessment based on burial context alone. These individuals provide biocultural evidence of New Haven’s Industrial Revolution and the plasticity of ethnic and religious identity in the immigrant experience. Their recovery and the multifaceted analyses described here illuminate a previously undescribed part of the city’s rich history. The collective expertise of biological, geochemical, archaeological, and historical researchers interprets socioeconomic and cultural identity better than any one could alone. Our combined efforts changed our initial assumptions of a poor urban Catholic cemetery’s membership, and provide a template for future discoveries and analyses.

Tafonomía y preservación diferencial de restos óseos humanos del norte de la provincia del Neuquén (República Argentina)

Se presentan los resultados de los análisis tafonómicos realizados a dos conjuntos de restos óseos humanos de los sitios arqueológicos Aquihuecó y Hermanos Lazcano (departamento Chos Malal, provincia del Neuquén). Ambos se caracterizan por su similitud cronológica (comienzos del Holoceno tardío >3.500 años), posición geográfica y material asociado, pero el estado de preservación resulta desigual. Aquihuecó presenta un conjunto muy bien preservado con ejemplares óseos escasamente fragmentados. De forma contraria, Hermanos Lazcano se caracteriza por numerosos elementos óseos fragmentados. A los efectos de explicar esta preservación diferencial se realizó el análisis tafonómico y geoquímico en ambos sitios. Los resultados indicaron la presencia de una matriz sedimentaria favorable para la preservación de restos óseos para ambos sitios. A nivel tafonómico se registró un alto contenido de carbonato de calcio sobre los restos de Aquihuecó. Interpretamos que los depósitos de carbonato cálcico son responsables de su mejor estado de preservación, mientras que en Hermanos Lazcano la disolución ósea es el principal proceso de deterioro. Se destaca la necesidad de profundizar el rol del carbonato de calcio en la preservación ósea como también en los análisis geoquímicos y geoambientales a los efectos de aportar nuevas explicaciones a la historia tafonómica de los individuos.

Cranial deformation and genetic diversity in three adolescent male individuals from the Great Migration Period from Osijek, eastern Croatia.

Three individuals dating to the Great Migration Period (5th century CE) were discovered in a pit at the Hermanov vinograd site in Osijek, Croatia. We were inspired to study these individuals based on their unusual burial context as well as the identification of two different types of artificial cranial deformation in two of the individuals. We combine bioarchaeological analysis with radiographic imaging, stable isotopes analysis, and ancient DNA to analyze their dietary patterns, molecular sex, and genetic affinities in the context of the archaeological data and their bioarchaeological attributes. While all three individuals were adolescent males with skeletal evidence of severe malnutrition and similar diets, the most striking observation is that they had major differences in their genetic ancestry. Results of the genetic analyses of the nuclear ancient DNA data for these individuals indicate that the individual without artificial cranial deformation shows broadly West Eurasian associated-ancestry, the individual with tabular oblique-type has East Asian ancestry and the third individual with circular erect-type has Near Eastern associated-ancestry. Based on these results, we speculate that artificial cranial deformation type may have been a visual indicator membership in a specific cultural group, and that these groups were interacting intimately on the Pannonian Plain during the Migration Period.

Representation of Heaven and Beyond: The Bi Disc Imagery in the Han Burial Context

The bi (“disc”) is an object that was originally made from jade, and became an independent motif that appeared widely in different pictorial materials during Han times. The bi disc is considered one of the earliest jade forms, and has been used for ritual purposes or as an ornament from the Neolithic period until today. This paper focuses on the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), a period in which jade bi discs were extensively used and placed in burials of different ranks. Present finds show that images of bi discs also appeared widely in Han burials, in which they were depicted on coffins, funerary banners covering coffins, and mural paintings, and were also engraved on pictorial stones and pictorial bricks, these practices becoming more ubiquitous in the later Han period. By studying various images of bi discs in different burials throughout the Han period, this paper will explore the development and significance of different pictorial representations of bi disc in Han burial context, and also attempt to reveal the rich content and thoughts embedded in the form of bi discs during this period of time.

TWISTED AND FALSE-TWISTED TORQUES FROM THE BOSPORAN TOREUTIC WORKSHOPS

For now five neck or pectoral ornamentals are known that have twisted or falsely twisted binders, which were made in the workshops of the Bospor jewelers. The binders construction is represented by three types which are different in their structure. The torque from the primary burial Kul-Oba is related to the first type. Its binder consisted of the twisted bronze pivot covered by a thin golden sheet, which followed the binder shape. The binders of the ornamentals of the second type represent a hollow pipe, which relief imitated the six round pivots spiral twisting (the torque from Solokha, the pectoral from the Tolstaya Mogila). The ornamentals of the third type have a binder that is made of twisted pipes or wires (the torque from the Kul-Oba, the pectoral from the Bolshaya Blyznitsa).
 The first four ornamentals can be the products of the same workshop, and they can be made by the jewelers of two or three generations. The craftsman who made the pectoral from the Bolshaya Blyznitsa was most likely working in another workshop.
 On the basis of the burial context, the torques (pectorals) with a massive twisted/falsely twisted binder can be considered as one of the markers of royal dignity of its owner.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of a Viking age mass grave in Sweden

In 1998, a Viking Age mass grave was discovered and excavated at St. Laurence´s churchyard in Sigtuna, Sweden. The excavated bones underwent osteoarchaeological analysis and were assigned to at least 19 individuals. Eleven skeletons showed sharp force trauma from bladed weapons. Mass graves are an unusual finding from this time period, making the burial context extraordinary. To investigate a possible maternal kinship among the individuals, bones and teeth from the skeletal remains were selected for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Sanger sequencing of short stretches of the hypervariable segments I and II (HVS-I and HVS-II) was performed. A subset of the samples was also analysed by massively parallel sequencing analysis (MPS) of the entire mtDNA genome using the Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel. A total of 15 unique and three shared mtDNA profiles were obtained. Based on a combination of genetic and archaeological data, we conclude that a minimum of 20 individuals was buried in the mass grave. The majority of the individuals were not maternally related. However, two possible pairs of siblings or mother-child relationships were identified. All individuals were assigned to West Eurasian haplogroups, with a predominance of haplogroup H. Although the remains showed an advanced level of DNA degradation, the combined use of Sanger sequencing and MPS with the Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel revealed at least partial mtDNA data for all samples.

Manufacture and Use of Lapita Conus Multi-Segment Broad Rings: Evidence from the Teouma site, Central Vanuatu

Material culture associated with the Lapita Cultural Complex has been commented on for more than 100 years. Discussion and focus, however, have overwhelmingly concentrated on the distinctive dentate-stamped pottery. In this paper we highlight a very particular shell artifact form, examples of which were found in burial contexts at the Teouma Lapita site, Efate, Vanuatu. Here termed Conus Multi-Segment Broad Rings, each ring consists of three to four broad sections or segments that were joined via drilled perforations and threads. As only isolated segments of this ornament type are usually recovered from the archaeological record, an understanding of their finished form and use life has previously been lacking. Found across the Lapita distribution and associated only with this period, Conus Multi-Segment Broad Rings appear to be a stylistic marker additional to the dentate-stamped pottery. Here we reconstruct the manufacture and use of this distinctive shell ornament type through examination of the micro-trace evidence observed on the Teouma artifacts, as well as experimental working of modern Conus shell.

6. A Search Through the Archives: Looking for the Young and the Old in a Museum's Collections

The chapter details research conducted as part of the BEVARES (Biological EnVironmental and Archaeological interdisciplinary RESearch on life-course, material and materiality in human depositions) programme at the Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger. Initially an attempt to gain a better understanding of the museum’s archived bone material, as well as evaluate the information potential of analysing/re-analysing the (primarily) burnt/cremated bone within that material, the work moved towards identifying evidence for the young and the old in the burial record. This led to an interest in the intersection of the young and the old in the burial record as a potential new area of archaeological study. The current project focuses on burials of these two groups. Bronze and Iron Age bone assemblages from Rogaland county, southwestern Norway, are included in the study. A variety of factors were quantified, but the age of the individuals and the number of people per burial are of primary relevance here. Initial results have revealed some interesting trends – the number of sub-adults in the burial record is much greater than previously thought, and the mortality pattern seen in Rogaland is quite different from that evident in comparable material from Eastern Norway. The occurrence of young and old individuals in the same burial context does not appear to be a common phenomenon.

Investigating prehistoric diet and lifeways of early farmers in central northern Spain (3000–1500 CAL BC) using stable isotope techniques

This work focuses on reconstructing past diets and animal management during Prehistory in Central Northern Spain, spanning the NE area of the Old Castilian Plateau to the Cantabrian coast, from c. 3000–1500 BCE. During this time, early farming communities made changes in their models of production and social reproduction that crystallised in the emergence of social complexity. To investigate these changes, we reconstructed the past diet of these early farming populations by using stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of human and animal remains from the recently excavated sites of Abrigo de la Castanera in Cantabria and Arroyal I, El Hornazo, Fuente Celada and Ferrocarril-La Dehesa in Burgos. The human remains derived from a range of burial contexts including pit graves, megalithic monuments and burial caves. To provide initial insights into animal management during this timeframe, associated faunal remains were also studied as a baseline. In total, 52 samples were analysed, including 17 human burials and 35 animal specimens (cattle, sheep, pig, red deer and dog). Results show that humans in these sites consumed relatively similar diets, comprising of a predominantly C3 diet including animal protein. Animal management patterns indicate a wider use of the landscape for herbivore grazing. The differing diets of dogs at El Hornazo provide insights into the relationship that they had with humans and tentatively suggests differences in the diet of working animals versus household pets. The δ34S values of two individuals from Arroyal I indicate that they came from different regions, implying a level of inland mobility during the Chalcolithic.

The Warrior and the Cat: A Re-Evaluation of the Roles of Domestic Cats in Viking Age Scandinavia

The role of cats in Viking Age society is little investigated and has been dominated by uncritical adoptions of medieval mythology. Based on literary sources, the domestic cat is often linked to cultic spheres of female sorcery. Yet the archaeological evidence indicates an ambivalent situation. Cat bones from many trading centres show cut marks from skinning and highlight the value of cat fur. In contrast, the occurrence of cats in male burials points rather to a function as exotic and prestigious pets. The influence of Old Norse mythology on the traditional interpretation of cats as cultic companions therefore needs critical reconsideration. For this, a broad range of literary and historical sources – from Old Norse literature to Old Irish law texts – will be analysed and confronted with the archaeological evidence for domestic cats in Viking Age Scandinavia. The results will be discussed on a broader theoretical approach, involving concepts such as agency, and embedded in current research on human-animal-relations in order to achieve a more nuanced perspective on the roles and functions of cats in day-to-day reality as well as in the burial context.

Recalibrating grave-good chronologies: new AMS radiocarbon dates from Late Bronze Age burials in Lika, Croatia

Abstract

‘Not All That Is White Is Lime’—White Substances from Archaeological Burial Contexts: Analyses and Interpretations

Archaeological burial contexts may include a variety of white substances, but few analyses have been published. This study reports on the physico‐chemical characterization of such residues from seven archaeological sites. It is often assumed that white materials from burial contexts are lime. Our findings demonstrate that they can be gypsum, calcite (chalk), aragonite, brushite, degraded metal, natural (gum) resins or synthetic polymer–based products. These may be present as the result of diagenetic processes, funerary practices or modern contamination. This paper provides an analytical approach for the holistic investigation of white materials encountered in burial contexts.