Burial Style Research Articles

경남내륙지역 목관·목곽묘의 구조적 특징과 축조양상

This study examined the wooden gasket tombs and wooden chamber tombs in Gyeongnam Inland areas from two main perspectives. It summarizes recent excavation cases to review the structural characteristics of these tombs and infers the construction style and burial methods through the example of the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86. Firstly, the wooden gasket tombs consist of ① burial area (tomb pit), ② wooden gasket, ③ backfill soil, ④ topsoil, ⑤ wooden fence, and ⑥ mound, which are not significantly different from those found in the Yeongnam region. However, the wooden gasket tomb at Jangchon-ri B-25 is a unique half-cut chamber type. What is particularly noteworthy is that the lower part of the tomb pit is excavated about 10° eastward from the top, where the wooden gasket is placed. Additionally, the wooden gasket tomb at Dohang-ri #48 lacks backfill soil and exhibits a distinctive structure with retaining walls. The structure of the wooden chamber tombs consists of ① burial area (tomb pit), ② wooden chamber, ② wooden gasket, ③ pedestal, ④ backfill soil, ⑤ topsoil, ⑥ capstone, and ⑦ outer wall. There are various types of wooden chamber tombs, including single-chamber style, double-chamber style, and compound chamber style. Among them, the wooden chamber tombs in Jeongjang-ri is notably distinct because it has separate compartments on both walls for the relics among the double-chamber style tombs that have both the inner and outer walls and the single-chamber style tombs. Additionally, the floor surface is excavated to install a pedestal, and two to five wooden planks are placed across it. And it is clear that the inside and outside are installed on the wooden board. Second, the architectural features and burial styles have been reconstructed by inferring the procedure of construction based on the structural features of the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86. The assumed procedure is as follows: Excavation of the ① burial area and ② tomb pit and installation of the pedestal → Installation of horizontal wooden planks and longitudinal planks → ④ Installation of inner and outer walls and backfilling → ⑤ Placement of body and artifacts → ⑥ Closing and sealing of the wooden gasket and mound construction. Therefore, the Jeongjang-ri Tomb No. Ⅲ-86, among others, holds significance as it provides an opportunity to comprehensively reconstruct the structural characteristics and construction processes of wooden chamber tombs in the Gyeongnam Inland region.

봉토분 구획성토의 재검토 - 낙동강 중류 이동지역 조사사례를 중심으로

Researchers have varying opinions about whether the term "compartmentalized embankment" is appropriate and serves its purpose when it comes to raising the mound of tumuli. This study aims to divide the characteristics of the compartment into two from the perspective that the term compartmentalization is not necessarily based on meticulous planning and to reevaluate the nature of the compartmentalized embankment by analyzing its pattern from the tumuli in the Middle Nadong-river Basin. The analysis results showed that the quantity of radial compartments in the tumuli varies by the vertical process of each stage of the tumulus, and that both the number of radial compartments and vertical processes tend to increase in relation to the size of the tumulus. In addition, when it was possible to identify the first compartmentalized planning row, it was found that only a single planning row was created diagonally to the main burial chamber with a pit burial style. In short, the radial compartment means that the efficiency-based compartmentalization occurs again within the planned compartment, and the number of compartments increases as the size of the tumulus expands, indicating that the number of efficiency-based compartments increases regarding the maximum daily fill volume and the breaks during work. However, in contrast to this trend, there are cases where the number of compartments appears relatively high though the size of the mound is small, which suggests that the number of efficiency-based compartments has increased due to the limited labor force invested in the construction of the tumulus. The tumuli were constructed scientifically and systematically as a result of the civil engineering technology of the time, though it would have been challenging to standardize it. The application of civil engineering technology in the construction of the tumuli may not have strictly followed a set pattern even if there was one, but would have rather been adapted flexibly to accommodate the conditions of the construction site. This is also shown in the aspect of compartmentalized embankment, suggesting that it was used as a technique to raise the mound rather than primarily to distribute the work.

吉林省 和龍市 渤海 北大古墳群 考察

The Beida Ancient Tombs, situated in Baijazi, Helong, Jilin Province, is on the northern bank of the Hailan River, approximately 5 km southwest of Xigucheng. The tombs primarily exhibit a lateral crypt (vaulted) burial style with stone chambers and enclosures. However, some instances of stone-walled earthen mounds have been identified.
 The interred individuals were either buried in wooden coffins or directly into a platform. While there is evidence of structures for placing a coffin, commonly, the natural ground surface was utilized without alteration. Meanwhile, within individual tombs, additional burials took place over a long period. It is noteworthy that individuals were laid to rest in different ways. While artifact excavation was not abundant due to simple funerals, the central chronological period has been ascertained to span from the pre-8th century to the mid of that century through cross-dating methods involving Chinese ceramics, bronze mirrors, and Tang-style metal belts.
 The Beida Ancient Tombs are predominantly stone-built and the prevalence of excavated foreign artifacts is the highest among the Balhae tombs. In particular, given its symmetrical alignment with the Longtoushan graveyard, particularly centered around Xigucheng, the construction of the Beida Ancient Tombs was influenced by the funerary grounds of officials closely connected to the central capital of Balhae Jungkyung hyundeokbu.

분묘자료에 대한 다른 인식

Recognized their current status and future applicability, burial data have been limitedly used in Korean mortuary archaeology. A couple of prevalent dogmata, of which origins are not apparently known, could be attributed to the limitation. The dogmata premise that a specific burial style represents an ethnic group, that the phylogeny of new burial style should be explored, and eventually that burial data should be interpreted as package thing. Overcoming the limited ideas, I propose a methodological alternative that burials are constructed by a series of articulated activities, and that technological choice could exist in each stage of the whole procedure. This methodological shift is likely to spur the changes in theoretical orientation of Korean mortuary archaeology.

Cultural and demic co-diffusion of Tubo Empire on Tibetan Plateau.

A high point of Tibetan Plateau (TP) civilization, the expansive Tubo Empire (618-842 AD) wielded great influence across ancient western China. However, whether the Tubo expansion was cultural or demic remains unclear due to sparse ancient DNA sampling. Here, we reported ten ancient genomes at 0.017- to 0.867-fold coverages from the Dulan site with typical Tubo archaeological culture dating to 1308-1130 BP. Nine individuals from three different grave types have close relationship with previously reported ancient highlanders from the southwestern Himalayas and modern core-Tibetan populations. A Dulan-related Tubo ancestry contributed overwhelmingly (95%-100%) to the formation of modern Tibetans. A genetic outlier with dominant Eurasian steppe-related ancestry suggesting a potential population movement into the Tubo-controlled regions from Central Asia. Together with archeological evidence from burial styles and customs, our study suggested the impact of the Tubo empire on the northeast edge of the TP involved both cultural and demic diffusion.

강상·누상의 재검토

Looking back on Gangshang (崗上) and Loushang (樓上), it was recognized that the social difference character that had been developed had been accepted without any major opposition or new repercussions. However, since this is an issue in studies of all tombs, including stone mound tombs, it is decided that there should be an opportunity for improvement. In the process, social differentiation studies state that the conformity of burial aspects to ‘the contexts of a death’ could be a problem. Thus, this study introduced and analyzed the burial styles of stone mound tombs in the Lianan area. In addition, this research clarified the issue of the sacrificial burial, which was raised in a debate over social formation in the North Korean academic community, as well as the refutation of the theory of the sacrificial burial in the South Korean academic community and views on the status of the buried people. Next, this study highlighted that it would be required to investigate numerous options, to highlight the current studies of Korean bronze age social differentiation's conflicting condition, and to seek answers. Rather than assuming the tombs as the cemetery for communities of kinship or generation, a new concept of stone mound tombs in Gangshang and Loushang was developed due to the incompatibility between the circumstances of death and the burial aspects. Gangshang and Loushang were brought up and reexamined because there are comprehensive morphological variations-the scale, structure, and refinement of the tomb, labor force investment, and buried relics-funeral practices, and information form the human remains . Hopefully, better alternatives can be presented through a lot of discussions, going back to the situations of burials.

Sharing Features in Archaeological and Crime Scene Investigations: A Comparative Methodological Analysis of Human Remains at NguvuKazi in Mang’ola, Northern Tanzania

This paper outlays preliminary archaeological investigation on human remains exhumed at Lake Eyasi basin in Mang’ola, Arusha Tanzania. The study intended to underscore the complexities of burial practices in terms of burial styles, chronological sequences of burial cairns, human remains biological profile, pathology and morphological variations. The field excavation of burial graves was carried out at the NguvuKazi, almost three kilometers southeast of Mumba rock-shelter, on the foot of Laghangereri-Ishemjega hill. The graves were tightly clustered in an area of about 60 square meters. Each grave was covered over with sizeable angular stone slabs to the height of about 50 cm above the ground surface. Buried individuals were poorly preserved and highly fragmented from geomorphological processes and anthropogenic actions. The human remains were directly placed underneath of the stones. The graves were therefore not interred so much in the ground. Corpses were buried between 20 cm and 50 cm deep and covered with piled large gneiss slabs. Such burial practices caused severe postmortem trauma leading to the deterioration, fragmentation and crumbling of human remains. Poorly preservation conditions of collected human remains and lengthy duration from the date of burial to the date of the reburial posed severe challenges as long bones were highly fragmented. These accumulated results provide primary results that may contribute significantly to crime scene detective procedures.

21st-Century Archaeological Discoveries of the Early Nomadic Cultural Remains – Centered in the Middle Section of the Great Wall Area in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Since the beginning of the 21st century, eight early nomadic cultural remains located in Xinzhouyaozi Village, Xiaoshuanggucheng Village, and Xindianzi Town, have been discovered in Manhan Mountain, Hunhe River and two other districts in the middle section of the Great Wall area in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The new discoveries have crucial academic significance to the study of the formation of nomads, cultural exchanges, and the culture of steppe nomads, in terms of burial styles, animal sacrifice customs, and characteristics of grave goods

Multi-proxy analyses reveal regional cremation practices and social status at the Late Bronze Age site of Herstal, Belgium

The funerary Bronze Age culture in the Belgian part of the Meuse valley is poorly understood due to the challenging nature of cremation deposits that dominate the archaeological record. Only a few sites were analysed in that region, limiting the possibilities to reconstruct the development of Bronze Age populations in Belgium. Due to its good preservation and detailed excavation reports, the site of Herstal (Belgium) offers a unique opportunity to finally gain new insights into the life and death of those buried in the Meuse Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A total of 21 graves were analysed using a multi-proxy approach, combining grave typology, osteoarchaeology, strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr), and radiocarbon dating. The 87Sr/86Sr results show that the individuals of Herstal most likely used a variety of local food supplies while having interactions with other populations in and beyond the Meuse Valley, as demonstrated by the bronze artefacts and ceramics displaying clear influences from Germany, Southern Netherlands, and North-West France. The cemetery most likely shows a local burial style with the presence of two (or even three) individuals in several cremation deposits containing a number of privileged individuals who had access to bronze trading networks.

Handprints on bricks from the Jin-Yuan Period (1115–1368 CE) of Inner Mongolia, China – A case of art experiments by laborers

The human hands are among the earliest art themes, though reasons behind hand art in ancient times are not totally understood. In this study, we report handprints on bricks excavated from the Xiheidai cemetery, located in Jungar Banner, Inner Mongolia, China. Handprints were found on six bricks that came from the fillings of the tomb Ⅱ-M5. The burial style and funeral goods indicated that II-M5 belonged to the Jin-Yuan Period (金-元时期) (1115–1368CE). Data based on the morphology and measurements of handprints (especially that of the digits, sex, age, and height of people who left them) were analyzed in addition to hand preference. Results demonstrated that adult males left these handprints. The males had mainly middle posture and all were right-handed. The identities of the people who left these handprints are unknown. They might include brick-making laborers who had leisurely moments of artistic experimentation and experiences. However, these bricks were treated as waste. These discoveries bring out not only first-hand hand morphology beyond bones, but also vivid working scenarios of ancient laborers, adding to our understanding of working-class daily life in northern China nearly a millennium ago.

The Multi-Period Settlement Dali in Southeastern Kazakhstan: Bronze Age Institutional Dynamics along the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor

Archaeological excavations at the Dali site complex located in southeastern Kazakhstan provide a rich picture of Bronze Age life spanning from the early third to late second millennia b.c. Nearly ten years of research at the site have produced an abundant assemblage of architectural remains, ritual and burial contexts, human and animal ancient DNA, and evidence for related economic practices and other material forms (ceramics, metallurgy). A systematic radiocarbon dating program provides detailed chronological context for the numerous stratigraphically documented phases of occupation, burial, and economy at the site. The settlement contexts at Dali provide some of the most varied and well-dated material assemblages known in the region and help illustrate how local pastoralist societies developed traditions of architecture, ceramic production, herd management, and ritual in the Early Bronze Age, while innovating and incorporating novel craft techniques, economic strategies, burial styles, and settlement construction in the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Taken together, the archaeological data from Dali allow for a detailed reconstruction of the local practices and regional interactions that engaged agro-pastoralist communities within diverse, shared institutional domains across the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor and beyond over a span of more than 2000 years.

A biomolecular anthropological investigation of William Adams, the first SAMURAI from England

William Adams (Miura Anjin) was an English navigator who sailed with a Dutch trading fleet to the far East and landed in Japan in 1600. He became a vassal under the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was bestowed with a title, lands and swords, and became the first SAMURAI from England. "Miura" comes from the name of the territory given to him and "Anjin" means "pilot". He lived out the rest of his life in Japan and died in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, in 1620, where he was reportedly laid to rest. Shortly after his death, graveyards designated for foreigners were destroyed during a period of Christian repression, but Miura Anjin’s bones were supposedly taken, protected, and reburied. Archaeological investigations in 1931 uncovered human skeletal remains and it was proposed that they were those of Miura Anjin. However, this could not be confirmed from the evidence at the time and the remains were reburied. In 2017, excavations found skeletal remains matching the description of those reinterred in 1931. We analyzed these remains from various aspects, including genetic background, dietary habits, and burial style, utilizing modern scientific techniques to investigate whether they do indeed belong to the first English SAMURAI.

Geophysical monitoring of simulated homicide burials for forensic investigations

Finding hidden bodies, believed to have been murdered and buried, is problematic, expensive in terms of human resource and currently has low success rates for law enforcement agencies. Here we present, for the first time, ten years of multidisciplinary geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine graves using animal analogues. Results will provide forensic search teams with crucial information on optimal detection techniques, equipment configuration and datasets for comparison to active and unsolved cold case searches. Electrical Resistivity (ER) surveys showed a naked burial produced large, low-resistivity anomalies for up to four years, but then the body became difficult to image. A wrapped burial had consistent small, high-resistivity anomalies for four years, then large high-resistivity anomalies until the survey period end. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) 110–900 MHz surveys showed the wrapped burial could be detected throughout. 225 MHz GPR data was optimal, but the naked burial was poorly imaged after six years. Results suggested conducting both ER and GPR surveys if the burial style was unknown when searching for interred remains. Surveys in winter and spring produced the best datasets, and, as post-burial time increases, surveying in these seasons became increasingly important. This multidisciplinary study provides critical new insights for law enforcement and families of the disappeared worldwide.

Bioarchaeology of Idaho in perspective: A Late Archaic Burial (10MO84) from the Upper Snake River Plain

The fortuitous discovery of an isolated Late Archaic burial (10MO84) in southeastern Idaho is a rare contribution to bioarchaeology of the region. This study describes the osteobiography of this skeleton and contextualizes results to published accounts of bioarchaeology within Idaho, the Great Basin, and the Intermountain West. Analysis suggests that there is much potential variability in burial styles and goods in the region through time, dental attrition is consistently severe, and arthritis of the upper limb is common. More systematic and collaborative bioarchaeology will continue to improve a bio-cultural synthesis of prehistoric Idaho and surrounding regions.

Food traditions and colonial interactions in the ancient Mediterranean: Stable isotope evidence from the Greek Sicilian colony Himera

During the 8-7th centuries BCE, Greeks began establishing colonies throughout the Mediterranean region. Founded in 648 BCE, the Greek colony Himera was the meeting place for Greeks of multiple cultural backgrounds, indigenous Sicilians, and Phoenicians, and was closely connected to the broader Mediterranean world through trade. We explore evidence for diversity and cultural hybridity at Himera from the perspective of its food traditions using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of 90 humans, and fauna associated with the burials.Results indicate diets based on C3 plants, supporting historical evidence that cereals provided most daily calories, with other plants eaten as supplemental “relishes.” Terrestrial animal protein was consumed in variable, but mostly low amounts, and there is no clear isotopic evidence for fish consumption. There are no differences in diet based on burial style, body position, burial “richness,” or age group, but some evidence for differences in diets of males and females, particularly during young adulthood. The fact that diets vary independently of several potentially prominent markers of status or ethnicity supports models of cultural hybridity in Greek colonization, wherein elements of different cultures mingled and recombined in new ways specific to the colony, rather than simple admixture or assimilation.

Dental Paleopathology of the Ray Site (12W6), Indiana

The Ray site (1 2W6), in southern Indiana, contains several secondary burials, two of which havebeen dated to the Mississippian period (A.D. 1050-A.D. 1450). Three burial styles were noted: (1) burials linedwith stone slabs and containing Mississippian pottery, (2) burials lined with stone slabs without Mississippianpottery, and (3) burials not lined with stone slabs and without Mississippian pottery. The purpose of this studywas to determine the biological homogeneity of this poorly preserved skeletal assemblage via an analysis of dentalpathological conditions, the frequency and expression of which are known to associate with distinct dietary and/orsettlement patterns. Conditions studied include the frequency of hypoplastic defects and carious lesions, the typeof hypoplastic defects, the earliest age of onset of hypoplastic defects, and the location of carious lesions. A totalof 437 teeth were scored for hypoplastic defects and 433 were scored for carious lesions. No significant differencein dental pathologies was found between burial styles. Therefore, despite considerable burial heterogeneity,dental pathological conditions suggest that individuals from all burials consumed an equally cariogenic diet andunderwent similar childhood stresses. It is most likely that all burials are from the same temporal and social groupand that the different burial styles represent different stages in the processing of the remains of individuals from ahigh social status Mississippian mortuary.

Examining the osteological paradox: Skeletal stress in mass graves versus civilians at the Greek colony of Himera (Sicily).

Bioarchaeologists interpret skeletal stress as evidence of resilience or frailty, where absence of lesions might result from lack of exposure to pathogens (i.e., good health) or extreme vulnerability (i.e., selection). We examine physiological stress in two skeletal series from Greek Himera: (1) nine mass graves from the battles of Himera (480 and 409 BCE) and (2) Himeran civilians (648-409 BCE). Civilians are assumed to have died from multiple causes, including ill health leading to their deaths. Individuals from the battles presumably died while in relatively good health, in battle. More skeletal stress among civilians than battle casualties would support the idea that skeletal stress is a sign of frailty at Himera. We compare variation in skeletal stress between and among civilians and battle casualties. Cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), and sub-periosteal new bone formation, were examined in 474 individuals (mass graves n = 64; civilians n = 410). Chi-square tests showed significantly higher prevalence of LEH (p = 0.04) and sub-periosteal new bone formation (p = 0.05) among young and mid-aged adult male civilians than mass grave casualties. Skeletal stress was also lower in the earlier battle, and varied among civilians with burial style. Our findings generally support the hypothesis that skeletal stress is evidence of frailty (i.e., leading to greater risk of mortality). However, the relationship between stress and frailty is complicated by social factors, when considering historical context. In particular, a possible "soldier-class" may have experienced less stress than the overall civilian population.

Shell beads from Mississippian sites in the northern Yazoo Basin, Mississippi

ABSTRACTIn this paper, which focuses on the Mississippian period in the northern Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, I present some interesting findings from research done over the past century. In this area, most shell beads come from surface collections, or from excavated burials in cemeteries or ossuaries. Burial styles include extended, flexed, semi-flexed, and bundles, with very few cremations having been encountered. Bead burials also seem to reflect both common and elite people, and there are some interesting discoveries concerning association of shell beads. I will use 33 archaeologically investigated major sites as examples to illustrate an unexpected paucity of shell beads and other shell ornaments at some of the most heavily populated Mississippian sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Two other sites with shell beads in the uplands will be used for comparison.

A preliminary redating of the Holocene Roonka burials, south‐eastern Australia

ABSTRACTRoonka is one of the most complete excavations of an Aboriginal burial ground in south‐eastern Australia. The chronology of the site and the nature of its use have proven difficult to interpret. Previous dating and chronological interpretations of the site have emphasised a chronology of changing use and burial practices, but the nature of the site and the dates obtained do not clearly support these interpretations. We report on the direct dating of human bone from a further ten burials from the main excavation. In order to further investigate the cultural chronology set out by Pretty (1977), samples were selected to cover a range of burial types and preservation states. Comparison of these dates with the previous conventional dates and early AMS dates not only shows the impact of improving technology but demonstrates that multiple burial styles were in use contemporaneously. Moreover, the results suggest that use of the site may have been discontinuous. Consequently, interpretations that assume a chronological sequence for Roonka based on burial practice are not supported, while analyses based on a synchronic interpretation may ignore significant temporal change.

A Report on a Long Term Research Program on the Bowman site in Arkansas

The Bowman (3LR46) and Bowman/Wallace (3LR50) sites represent a Caddo multi-mound center on the Red River in Little River County, Arkansas. Southeastern researchers may recognize the site name from an engraved shell cup and several additional “SECC” objects found in Mound 2. Hoffman provides a brief summary of digging at the sites and offers a proposed site organization of eight mounds (both burial and “temple mounds”) surrounding a possible plaza area and at least three offmound cemeteries. Material collected from Mounds 1 and 2 and two off-mound cemeteries suggest Haley phase (ca. A.D. 1200-1400) occupations. Additionally, data from Mound 1 have the potential to “reveal a solid sequence of [Caddo] burial and mortuary artifact styles” beginning with the earliest Caddo occupations in the Red River region.