Cremation Rituals Research Articles

Cranial selection in the cremated remains of the Iron Age Golasecca Celtic Civilization (Northwestern Italy, 9‐4th century BCE)

AbstractThe Golasecca Celtic Civilization (GCC) developed in the Italian Iron Age, between the 9th and 4th centuries BCE, and is characterized by the predominant use of cremation as a funerary ritual in the Italian area. Reconstructing the steps of the cremation ritual in archaeology is a complex challenge, as many anthropic actions leave only faint traces in cremated remains. Within the funerary rituals of prehistoric and protohistoric Italy, the skull has received particular attention from numerous archaeological cultures and civilizations. The context of via Marconi 2020 (Sesto Calende, Varese, northern Italy) has allowed hinting at this practice also in GCC, through the anthropological analysis of cremated remains found in two different but spatially close tombs. The analysis of the cremated remains identified the selection of some elements of the skull of an adult individual and the post‐cranium of a non‐adult individual in the first tomb, and the presence of only the skull of the non‐adult individual in the second tomb. The possibility of a ritual attention of the GCC reserved for the skull has been proven for the first time thanks to the analysis of these subjects. This work provides new data on funerary ritual behaviors of the GCC, allowing for a better understanding within the Italian and European panorama.

Dalit Histories, Pandemic Histories

Dalit Histories, Pandemic Histories

Temple eye banking: cornea donation practice at Pashupati crematorium in Nepal

ABSTRACT In high-income countries where eye care is advanced, cornea harvesting is hidden from public view. Here entire eyeball enucleations performed on corpses are done in hospital morgues without mourners’ presence. For the last two decades, the traditional public crematorium area next to the Pashupatinath temple at the holy river Bagmati east of Kathmandu, has become a major Nepal Eye Bank site for motivated cornea donations. To be cremated in the premises of the Pashupatinath temple is considered highly auspicious. After families have given their consent, the cremation rituals are briefly interrupted by the Nepal Eye Bank staff, and cornea button excisions are performed in public space. Thus, mourners regularly view and assist during the removal of cornea button tissues from the deceased before the bodies are burned on the open funeral pyres or in the electric crematorium. How is it that Nepali mourners at Pashupati crematorium accept and comply with cornea donation practice? I argue that cornea donation at Pashupati is a collective achievement accomplished by complex socio-material arrangements that bring together various professionals, procedural manuals, legal framework, equipment, medical intervention, the deceased body, and mourners during the cremation practice.

Zooarchaeology of the Iron Age in Western Iberia: new insights from the Celtic oppidum of Ulaca

The Vettones were one of the most important Celtic peoples of the Late Iron Age in Western Iberia (between the Duero and Tagus Rivers). It is a period recognised from the spread of the cremation ritual in the cemeteries, the development of iron metallurgy, and the emergence of large fortified settlements—the characteristic oppida—that would finally be abandoned with the conquest of Hispania by Rome. Different types of evidence suggest that the Vetton economy was based on livestock. Palaeobotanical and carpological analyses reveal a major deforestation of the landscape, the conversion of large areas into pastures and cultivated fields, and the use of enclosures as cattle pens. The stone sculptures of bulls and pigs found throughout the mountainous areas of the region—the famous verracos—also reflect the value the Vettones placed on livestock. However, there have been very few studies devoted to the identification of faunal remains. In this text, we offer previously unpublished data on the animals found in the oppidum of Ulaca (Solosancho, Ávila, Spain), one of the largest in Celtic Iberia (third–first centuries BC), which we relate to other evidence from neighbouring sites. Thus, the state of the research into Vetton zooarchaeology is offered in the broader context of the Iberian Peninsula.

The rite of cremation in contemporary burial practices of the Chukchi reindeer herders

In the Reindeer Chukchi and Koryak cultures, cremation practices did not interrupt for centuries. In contem-porary Chukchi culture, burial practices include cremation, leaving the body in the open space, and burial in “Rus-sian style”. Cremation is still practiced among Reindeer Chukchi nowadays, although with some modifications and simplifications. The article is based on the fieldwork materials assembled by authors in 2000–2021 from the vil-lages of Vaegi, Khatyrka, Meinypylgino, Omolon, Kaiettyn, and Ilirney of the Anadyr and Bilibino municipal dis-tricts, as well as on published materials. For the comparative analysis, the ethnographic materials from Kam-chatka and Magadan regions were used. The informants’ answers suggest that contemporary burial rites in Vaegi, Khatyrka, Meinypylgino, and Omolon villages are the closest to the traditional cremation ritual. The pur-pose of this article is the reconstruction of the rite of cremation of Chukchi peoples and compare the traditional ceremony with the contemporary rituals of Reindeer Chukchi from Vaegi, Khatyrka, Meinypylgino, and Omolon localities. This paper described the full cremation ceremonial cycle: the preparation for the burial, sewing the bur-ial clothing, crafting specific tools, distribution of the ceremonial roles, activities on the day before, during and after the cremation. The rite of asking the dead, preserved virtually with no changes till modern days, is described in detailed; the actions of main participants on every stage have been reconstructed. The local differences in the burial ceremony be-tween various Chukchi groups have been specified. Special consideration has been given to the local Chukchi termi-nology, formulas, and spells, which were in use in the burial rite until 1970–1980s. Currently, informants practice simpli-fied elements of the rite, the Chukchi language is not routinely used for the ceremonies, some words being spelled in Russian. Nevertheless, the burial practices have kept the mythological elements such as crossing the border into the other world, dividing of the worlds, creatures-guardians, evil spirits, guardian spirits.

Compositional and Morphological Investigations of Roman Glass from Cremation Deposits at Birdoswald Fort on Hadrian’s Wall, UK

Several different types of burial were identified during the excavation of the Roman military cemetery associated with the fort at Birdoswald, on Hadrian’s Wall (UK). Fragments of glass vessels and glass beads were recovered from many of the cremation deposits, as they were commonly used during cremation rituals, and many of these had been affected by heat. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the raw materials, colorants and opacifiers employed to produce the glass assemblage. Most of the large fragments are transparent with a blue-green colour, with a composition typical of recycled glass. The smaller fragments are from beads and are coloured and sometimes opaque. Colourants and opacifiers characteristic of Roman glass were added in this glass formulation, including cobalt-based compounds (blue glass), copper alloys (green glass), white calcium antimonate, and yellow lead antimonate. The multianalytical approach of this research has allowed for the distinguishing of the extreme depletion of sodium on the surface of the melted glass fragments due to the exposure to high temperatures during the cremation process, followed by surface weathering in a burial environment. Based on the chemical composition of the bulk of the samples, a model of high temperature viscosity of glass was applied in order to assess the cremation temperature in the pyre, providing relevant information about funerary rituals and cremation technology in Roman Britain.

Is it hot enough? A multi-proxy approach shows variations in cremation conditions during the Metal Ages in Belgium

Studies of funerary practices provide information about many aspects of death in past societies. However, only limited archaeological evidence documents the circumstances under which cremations occurred and the person(s) who were performing the funerary rituals. Lying at the border between Atlantic and Continental cultural traditions, the Scheldt and Meuse basins of Belgium represent a unique location to investigate variations in ancient pyre technology and body management, as well as the transfer of knowledge related to cremation techniques during the Metal Ages (ca. 2100-52 BCE). The combined use of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of different skeletal elements from cremation deposits from four archaeological sites clearly shows differences between the Meuse and Scheldt basins. Different wood availability or selection, and variations in the skills and/or experience of the cremation operator may explain these results. These observed differences are likely linked to ways in which cremation was performed in the two basins, indicating that during the Metal Ages, burning processes were not homogeneous in the Belgian region. Instead, cremation practices appear to align with the different cultural influences also observed in ceramics and bronze artifacts from the same time period. These observed differences in funerary practices between the two basins in Belgium show the immense potential of combining infrared and carbon and oxygen isotope analyses to investigate cremation rituals in any period and region around the world.

Divergence, diet, and disease: the identification of group identity, landscape use, health, and mobility in the fifth- to sixth-century AD burial community of Echt, the Netherlands

This study aims to better understand the development of group identity, mobility, and health in the Early Medieval Meuse Valley. This is achieved by combining existing demographic and palaeopathological information from 73 cremation deposits from Echt, the Netherlands, with new strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) and strontium concentrations ([Sr]) that are performed on pars petrosa, diaphysis, and rib fragments. Although the surrounding Early Medieval cemeteries practiced inhumation, the initial burial community of Echt persisted in expressing the divergent burial ritual of cremation. Thirty-two radiocarbon dates demonstrate the fifth- to sixth-century cremation deposits to be chronologically separated from the seventh-century inhumations that were preserved in situ, suggesting a subsequent burial community replaced cremation with inhumation in the seventh century. Nutritionally inadequate diets may have contributed to the relatively high prevalence of porotic hyperostosis (~ 34%), resulting from decreasing foods supplies caused by deteriorating climatic conditions. The inhabitants are postulated to have mainly consumed foods originating from the land directly surrounding their farmsteads, expressed by the great variability in the 87Sr/86Sr of the diaphyses and ribs (0.7096 to 0.7131), matching the geological complexity of the area. The lack of significant differences between the 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] of ribs and diaphyses connotes little change in the geological origin of the foods occurred over time, stressing the importance of the yield of local harvests. In contrast, large differences in childhood (i.e. pars petrosa) vs. adult (i.e. ribs and diaphyses) 87Sr/86Sr suggest the regional movement of individuals to possibly support inter-farmstead relationships (e.g. via marriages).

A Comparison of Mortuary Practices among the Tucson Basin Hohokam and Trincheras Traditions

Mortuary rituals are compared and contrasted in order to better understand social interaction between the Tucson Basin Hohokam of southern Arizona and the Trincheras tradition populations of northern Sonora. This interaction is explored through the examination of ideas about personhood and embodiment, and their relationship to the biological profiles and posthumous treatments of individuals during the Hohokam Classic period (AD 1150–1450) and the occupation of Cerro de Trincheras (AD 1300–1450). In both areas, cremation was the main burial custom, and both groups had complex, multistage cremation rituals, in which burning of the body played only a small part. Examination of rich archaeological data and well-excavated contexts at these sites revealed remarkable similarities and differences in body treatment during the mortuary ritual. Tucson Basin Hohokam mortuary practices suggest a strongerconnection to,andremembrance of,the deceased within smaller social groups. In contrast, mortuary practices at Cerro de Trincheras emphasize similarities among the various cremated individuals, with rituals directed more toward the broader social group. Results suggest that the two groups were fundamentally similar in how they treated the bodies of the dead during the cremation process, but different in how the dead were remembered and commemorated.

New observations of the burial rite: Traces of fire exposure in Early Medieval inhumation burials -examples from the Slavic cemetery of Wusterhausen/Dosse (North-Eastern Germany).

Inhumation burials gradually replaced the tradition of cremating the deceased from the 10th century AD onwards and have been dominating the North-Western Slavic regions since the 11th/12th century AD. However, excavated human remains, as well as funerary containers, from the Late Slavic period (11th to 12th century AD) show evidence of fire exposure. A few inhumation burials from the Wusterhausen/Dosse burial ground - a typical burial site from the latest pagan times - show signs of a partial cremation. Although normally a rare finding in Late Slavic inhumation burials, such traces of an impact of fire were detected on several burials from various locations. The character and purpose of these burns (cremations?) has already been under investigation for a long time. They might be related to religiously motivated cremation rituals, the result of "grave fires" or the continuity of pagan traditions. Within the scope of this paper, with the Wusterhausen examples, we are taking a closer look at the different implementations of cremation and fire exposure during burial practices in Slavic regions from the 10th to 12th century AD and their characteristics. It seems probable that, even if diverse in their nature, the traces of fire exposure are linked to the atmosphere of religious changes that was omnipresent during this period.

Preliminary results of study of the inlet burials on the Besinshitobe in Otrar oasis

The proposed publication aims to the introduction into scientific circulation, systematization and analysis of the burials of Besinshitobe. To date, about 50 graves have been studied. The analysis of burial materials allows the author to distinguish three main types of burial complexes. The chronological identity of the graves was made on the basis of analogies to the inventory. Their dating is still preliminary. The earliest burial complex is characterized by single burials with accompanying equipment. Five buried had the traces of artificial deformation of the ring type on their skulls. In two burials, an incomplete cremation ritual was performed. The earliest burials of this complex belong to the 4th–5th centuries A.D. The second complex combines burials in large earthen vessels placed in pits. All the burials were children’s, one of which was collective. On the basis of analogies, this group can be attributed to the 7th – 8th centuries A.D. The third, medieval burial complex is characterized by single Muslim burial grounds. A common sign for him is the lack of accompanying inventory, orientation of the deceased's head to the north-west and north-north-west. The use of incomplete scorching in the burial ritual is a known case. The ceramic complex obtained from the level I of the tier of the excavations at Besinshitoba allows the author to attribute Muslim burials to the 9th –11th and 13th –15th centuries A.D.

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

Looking for the invisible: The use of anthracological analysis to reveal ritual acts in the eneolithic cremations of Puglia (SE Italy)

This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary study of the necropolis of Salve (Lecce-south Puglia-Italy), in which tumuli were used as funerary monuments from the mid-4th to the mid-3rd millennia BC. Both cremation and burial rituals are attested. The discovery of anthracological finds among the remains of cremations in the necropolis of Salve offered an opportunity to study the role of plants in the funerary rituals of the Eneolithic communities of Puglia. The anthracological analysis sought to reconstruct the phases of the cremation ritual not directly visible at the site, such as the ignition of the pyre and the collection and transport of the burnt remains.The identified wood species are typical of the local Mediterranean vegetation, and consist mostly of evergreen oak (Quercus type ilex), deciduous oak (Quercus type deciduous) and olive (Olea europaea). Given the high energy density of these species, it is possible that they were used to sustain the prolonged fire of the pyre. Other wood species include green shrubs (Rhamnus/Phillyrea) and plum (Prunus sp.), perhaps used to start the fire.Differences between the mounds are visible in the selection of the fuel and are partly reflected in the building technique and the arrangement of the bodies inside the funerary structures. The results of the anthracological analysis offer new insights into prehistoric funerary rituals and provide a new perspective on the funerary customs of the Eneolithic communities of Puglia.

Investigating glass beads and the funerary rituals of ancient Vaccaei culture (S. IV‐I BC) by Raman spectroscopy

AbstractGlass pieces were highly appreciated goods in the Protohistory of the Iberian Peninsula. The specialized production of these glass pieces seems noncompatible with local workshops, and therefore, they are proof of commercial relationships with other cultures with the technical capability to produce such pieces. However, detailed studies of glass beads of archaeological relevance are scarce, as these samples usually appeared without a clear historical context. Nevertheless, the archaeological site of Pintia (Padilla de Duero, Valladolid, Spain) is a relevant exception to this situation. About 600 pieces have been recovered by 2018, with a significant percentage found in closed tombs. In this work, a set of 15 representative pieces from the Vaccaei culture (IV‐I centuries BC) have been studied by Raman spectroscopy and ESEM/EDX. The combination of both techniques provided valuable information about the fabrication of these samples, identifying diverse features that could be related to different workshops or origins. In particular, the characteristics of a sophisticated bifacial pendant were found to be compatible with their provenance from Carthage. Also, some of the pigments employed on these samples were identified by Raman spectroscopy, finding lead oxides, calcium antimoniate, hematite, and Naples yellow. The diverse trousseaus and viatic offerings found in the Vaccaei tombs show the relevance and complexity of the funerary cremation rituals in their culture. The study by Raman spectroscopy of well‐preserved and thermally altered glass beads found in the same tomb allowed estimating the maximum temperature reached during the cremation in about 600°C, which confirmed previous estimations derived from the state of conservation of the bone remains.

Food for the dead, fuel for the pyre: symbolism and function of plant remains in provincial Roman cremation rituals in the necropolis of Bracara Augusta (NW Iberia)

This paper analyses and discusses the fuel and plant offerings found in 174 primary (pyre remains) and secondary contexts (ritual pits) of the necropolis of Via XVII in Bracara Augusta (Braga), in northern Portugal. This site is one of the largest Roman funerary complexes in the Iberian Peninsula, spanning from the last decades of the 1st century BC to the 7th century AD.More than 42500 charcoal fragments, comprising 44 different taxa, were analysed. Wood from deciduous Quercus was the most frequent, although other taxa such as Fraxinus sp., Fabaceae, Salix sp., Prunus sp., Rosaceae Maloideae and Castanea sativa were also relevant. The main criteria for the wood collection and use in the pyres might have been its availability in the region, although symbolic factors cannot be discarded. Evidence of wood from Fagus sylvatica and Pinus sylvestris, allowed to discuss the range of wood catchment area.A total of 407 remains of fruits and seeds were also identified in the samples, including shells of Juglans regia nuts, seeds and cones of Pinus pinea, endocarps of Prunus avium, P. domestica and P. persica, cotyledons of domestic pulses and a fragments of Cupressus sempervirens fruits. These remains were associated with symbolic and ritual aspects of the roman cremation ceremony.The results obtained were interpreted and contextualized according to their known use in the ritual process of Roman cremations by reviewing data from classical literary sources and other sites throughout the Roman Empire.

Paleopathological peculiarities of the population of timber-grave (Srubnaya) culture of the Late Bronze Age originating from the burials of Archedino-Chernushensky Kurgan group

Skeletal remains from the burials of timber-grave period of the Late Bronze Age originating from kurgans of the Archedino-Chernushensky group served as the material for this research. The archaeological monument is located in the territory of the Frolovsky Municipal District of Volgograd Oblast. The remains of 12 individuals (6 adults, 4 children, and 2 adolescents) were explored. In the course of this research, the author applied the method of account for the occurrence of discretely varying traits on the skull and bones of postcranial skeleton, as well as evaluation program for dissemination of pathological characteristic developed by the national researchers A. A. Movsesyan, E. V. Pererva, A. P. Buzhilova. The archaeological explorations of group Archedino-Chernushensky Kurgan group were carried out in 2020. Therefore, the acquired anthropological materials are introduced into the scientific discourse for the first time. The author was able to establish that the equal number of children and adult burials can be attributed to timber-grave period. The examined skeletal remains of the Late Bronze Age of the Lower Volga Region demonstrate the signs of episodic stress (enamel hypoplasia) and distribution of diseases related to the deficiency of microelements in the body (porosis of the diaphysis in individuals who did not reach the age of puberty). The records of such type of deviations on anthropological materials of deviations indicates chronic stress associated with systematic occurrences of famine, which is natural for the population of the Late Bronze Age of the Lower Volga Region, who were involved in mixed farming. The excavations reveal the series of injuries of household and battle nature among adult population. The prevalent burial method of timber-grave culture Archedino-Chernushensky Kurgan group of appears to be the cremation ritual.   

Burned human remains: diachronic analysis of cremation rituals in necropolises of northern Italy

The funeral ritual of cremation has been practiced since ancient times and is an important source of information for the reconstruction of past mortuary behavior. In this study, 387 cremation tombs from five sites in the Po Valley (northern Italy) belonging to different periods (from the Bronze Age to the Roman Age) were examined to identify possible diachronic differences in cremation rituals. Anthropological analyses consisted of sex and age-at-death determination and estimation of the minimum number of individuals. Factors such as color variations of bones, fragmentation, skeletal completeness, and presence of animal bones were investigated as indicators of the funeral ritual. Different representation of the two sexes and different age-at-death were compared, as were single burials versus multiple ones. The results demonstrated significant differences among periods for almost all variables considered. The Bronze Age sample presented a higher frequency of single graves. The Iron and Roman Age samples showed a higher frequency of subadults than the Bronze Age. The cremations from all periods showed high frequencies of arm and leg bones, but the Roman Age sample showed a higher frequency of vertebrae and pelvic girdle elements. Larger fragments (≥ 20 mm) prevailed in the Roman Age, as did the presence of animal bones and blackened bones. We discuss these results by comparing them with sociocultural data of the human communities settled in the Po Valley during the Bronze, Iron, and Roman Ages. In conclusion, our study revealed different funerary rituals in northern Italy among the three periods.

PRE-ISLAMIC BURIALS OF THE BESINSHITOBE BURIAL GROUND IN OTRAR OASIS

This article is devoted to the introduction into the scientific circulation of new archaeological materials obtained from excavations of Besinshitobe burial ground of Otrar oasis in Southern Kazakhstan. The results of the study of this burial ground, along with the materials of other synchronous monuments, should expand ideas about the post-Kangyu period of the region’s history. The author systematized and analyzed the burials of the pre-Arab era. According to the nature of the burial rite, two groups are distinguished: single burials with accompanying equipment and burials in clay vessels. Their dating is still preliminary. Based on the comparative analysis of the burial complex with the materials of the monuments of the adjacent territories, the main stages of the functioning of the burial ground are determined. The earliest period includes solitary burials with accompanying equipment. Some skulls have traces of artificial deformation of the ring type. In two burials, a ritual of incomplete cremation was performed. The earliest burials of this complex belong to the 4th-5th centuries A.D. Based on the analogies of burials in large clay vessels placed in grave pits, it can be attributed to the 7th - 8th centuries A.D.

"Pars Pro Toto" and Personhood in Roman Cremation Ritual: New Bioarchaeological Evidence for the Rite of "Os Resectum"

Os resectum, or ‘cut bone,’ is an obscure Roman funerary rite known primarily from literary sources. To date, archaeological examples have been recovered from Rome, Ostia, Herculaneum, and Pithekoussai, but none have been positively identified in the western provinces of the Roman Empire. This paper presents bioarchaeological evidence concerning an unusual pattern of preservation for the bones of a single finger in a burial from a late second to mid-third century A.D. cemetery in the Roman colony of Lincoln, England. It explores the implications of this evidence for the identification and performance of os resectum, and for understanding rites of passage surrounding Roman death. As well as revealing the value of integrating scientific and theoretical perspectives in the investigation of questions surrounding ritual behavior, it is argued that os resectum provides evidence to support the presence of a widespread concept of somatic partibility at the heart of Roman forms of personhood.

Music and cremation rituals in The Netherlands: A fine-grained analysis of a crematorium’s playlist

Abstract Although music is an important part of cremation rituals, there is hardly any research regarding music and cremations. This lack of research has inspired the authors to conduct a long-term research project, focusing on musical and linguistic aspects of music played during cremations. This article presents the analysis of a playlist consisting of twenty-five sets of music, each consisting of three tracks, used in a crematorium in the south of The Netherlands from 1986 onward. The main objective is to identify the differences and similarities of the twenty-five sets of musical tracks regarding content and musical properties. Consequently, we aim to provide insight in the history of (music played during) cremation rituals in The Netherlands. To analyze the musical properties of the sets, the authors use both a qualitative approach (close reading and musical analysis) and a computational analysis approach. The article demonstrates that a combination of a close reading and musical analysis and a computational analysis is necessary to explain the differences in properties of the sets. The presented multi-method approach may allow for comparisons against musical preferences in the context of current cremations, which makes it possible to trace the development of music and cremation rituals.