Funerary Contexts Research Articles

An Interpretation and Analysis on the Polychromy of Attic Korai from Votive and Funerary Contexts

The characteristic woman of Archaic Greek sculpture, the kore (pl. korai) stands proud, rigid, frontal, and omnisciently smirking at her viewer with the famous Archaic smile. She has been interpreted as an attendant, goddess, or deceased maiden, wearing representations of draped diaphanous robes, jewelry, and bearing offerings. Yet where her now clean marble surface exists once was intricately illuminated with vibrant pigments, inlaid stones, metals, and often accompanied by accessories of various materials. Recent advancements in analytical techniques have enabled scholars to delve deeper into the study of these sculptures, uncovering traces of pigments which would otherwise be left undetected. However, the image that these colours paint has yet to be thoroughly analysed and a history of intentional removal and surface cleaning has postponed a complete evaluation of the sculptures. In Attica, from the sixth to the early 5th century BCE, korai reflect stylistic progression and variation within and between archaeological contexts. A palette of colours was used to display features now lost to the modern eye. This paper examines the korai, proposing meaning through colour, patterns, and representations. Using polychrome reconstructions, spectral data, pottery, archaeological evidence, and ancient literary sources, the author interpreted the polychromy and decorative elements of Attic korai from votive and funerary contexts. Asking questions on symbolism, utility, cultural connection, and identity of the sculptures; this paper explains the use of pigments in relation to the symbolism of the sculptures and to their role in the greater framework of the Archaic Greek world.

Heirloom or Antique? Import or Imitation? Objects with Fictive “Biographies” in Early Iron Age Knossos

During the Early Iron Age, Knossos was one of the most important cities of the Aegean. In addition to objects from elsewhere in the Aegean, a wide range of Cypriot, Phoenician and North Syrian imports has been discovered in the Early Iron Age Knossian cemeteries. In certain cases, these grave goods predate their funerary context by a century. This paper examines the stylistic and contextual dating of these imports, in an attempt to associate, from a contextual point of view, these items with the funerary practices of the Knossians. Grave goods deposited in the same cemeteriesalso included Early Iron Age local imitations of Late Bronze Age Near Eastern imports. It is suggested that members of the Early Iron Age Knossian elite treated certain contemporary objects, which belonged stylistically either to the Late Bronze Age Cypriot, Phoenician or North Syrian traditions, on the one hand, or to the local Minoan tradition, on the other hand, as if they were antiques and/or heirlooms. In this way, that is, by appropriating the ancestral past of the community, the elite could establish and maintain their authority. For this reason, “fake” keimelia and heirlooms had to acquire new complex “biographies”.

Funerary Practices in Archaeology: Pluralities & Heritage

This article presents an aspect of the configuration of the studies of funerary practices in archaeology, first in terms of their plural perspectives and intersecting spaces, such as mortuary studies, funerary archaeology, social bioarchaeology and archaeology-anthropology of death; and in a second moment, with emphasis on the issue of cemeteries as historical archaeological heritage. It was based on an article initially published in <i>Revista Clio Série Arqueológica</i>, a periodical of the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, which dealt with the issue of the relationship between funerary sites, funerary practices and archaeological heritage. From a review of the random archaeological bibliography, the intersections between a general archaeological theory of material culture and as bioarchaeologies were verified, on the one hand in the international perspective and hermetic legislation and burial terminologies, on the other hand, in the perspective of the case from Brazil. In the first case, hypotheses were formulated to characterize funerary contexts and non-funerary contexts in relation to funerary cycles. In the second case, exemplified sites and funerary terminologies linked with the proper funerary contexts - the heritage-cemeteries in the case of Brazil. Heritage-cemeteries contain objects of material culture, closely related to human skeletal remains, comprising artifacts or primordial, symbolic, sensitive structures, representing an innovative intersectional area, with the body amalgamated with artifacts and funerary structures, within the studies of funeral practices, perhaps necessarily, in the underground and aboveground approaches.

Metal Casting Equipment in the Bronze Age Burials in Europe

The article is devoted to the analysis of the finds of foundry implements in the Bronze Age burials in Europe. In addition, it revises criteria for identifying burials of metalworkers. In all probability, complexes where the professional sphere of the buried is represented only by tools associated with metal work and by those with a full set of tools suitable for work should be attributed to those of metalworkers. As a result of comparison of aspects and dynamics of this phenomena, common and specific characteristics of Eastern Europe, on the one side, and Central and Western — on the other, have been revealed. Burials with casting equipment in Europe first emerged in the Late Aeneolithic Age and existed in the Early Bronze Age. In the Middle Bronze Age, this tradition was widespread in the south of Eastern Europe, especially among the Catacomb cultures. In Central and Western Europe, in contrast, burials of metalworkers are almost totally absent in the Middle Bronze Age. Casting equipment in the funerary context emerged anew in Central and Western Europe in the Late Bronze Age. However, these finds are mostly located in the burial grounds and are connected with the burials. In Eastern Europe, only one Late Bronze Age complex with casting equipment is known. Nevertheless, in Transural region, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan they existed in the same period. These complexes are very different from the Middle Bronze Age burials of metalworkers. Overall, discrepancies in the development of this phenomenon in the eastern and western European regions are related to their cultural development in the course of the Bronze Age.

Social Entertainment in Greco- Roman Egypt (Games and Sports)

There’s no doubt that sport represents a central cultural place in the mankind civilization also sport and physical activities can be traced to the beginnings of recorded history. The ancient Egyptians practiced a lot of today’s sports such as shooting, wrestling, weightlifting, fishing, ball games, long jump, rowing, and swimming as well as competitive sports such as wrestling and non-competitive sports such as hunting that practiced for recreation. Indeed, there was a strong culture between physical activity and the ancient Egyptian religion as well as was found a relation between the kings and the athletic prowess. Besides, athletic competitions included several sources of traditions derived from hero cults, funeral games, and initiation rituals as well as components of religious festivals, for example, gaming squares were found into temple roofs for the recreation of priests as well as religious and funerary contexts. While the kings, princes, and statesmen of ancient Egypt were eager to attend sports completions that provided with the necessary equipment. In other words, sports like the gym represented the most important parts of the most Greek men also fed the soul and the body of the athletics so the Greeks played games of several kinds such as competitions of physical athletics. Besides, the Greek thought that the gods liked to see human bodies as strong, fit, and graceful. Also, athletes in Roman Egypt enjoyed many privileges and benefits in their cities up to public offices, pension, and extension of public liturgies and these athletics activities perhaps are owing to the flourishing of metropolis life. Meanwhile, this paper aims to republished and shed light on the various sides of the entertainment social sides in daily Egyptian life but in specific studied the importance of sports and games and the symbolic of them for the ancient Egyptian in daily life as well as the religious importance of sports and several games. Specifically, this research contained the history of games and recreation in ancient Egypt such as sport flourished in Ptolemaic Egypt for example, Ptolemy IV who participated in a Greek contest.

Sealing with Stone: Assessing an Assemblage of Lithic Debitage from a Funerary Context at the Lowland Maya City of Caracol, Belize

Excavators working in a ceremonial plaza group in the Classic period Lowland Maya city of Caracol, Belize, encountered thousands of pieces of chert and obsidian scattered above a royal tomb. A recent analysis of the chert from this context confirms that the assemblage included pieces from each stage of reduction in the production of blades. Taken together, the quantity of both chert and obsidian makes it the largest reported collection of lithic debitage found at the site and provides insight into the techniques of lithic crafters at Caracol. In this article, we consider the sequence of actions involved in the burial of a high-ranking individual and suggest that the layering of flaked stone above the tomb is reminiscent of other reported above-tomb contexts in the Maya Lowlands. Further, a technological analysis of this collection produced results similar to analyses of assemblages typically found in crafting-intensive residential groups. This finding suggests that lithic crafters throughout the city of Caracol donated flaked stone material for funerary events, providing a protective layer and sealing the grave below.

House of Weeping: The Motif of Tears in Akkadian and Hebrew Prayers

House of Weeping: The Motif of Tears in Akkadian and Hebrew Prayers

Scenes of Mongoose as a Predator in the Papyrus Thicket During the Old Kingdom

This paper studies the mongoose (ichneumon) as a predator widely represented in the fowling and fishing scenes, chasing birds in a papyrus thicket. From the predynastic period, several scholars attempted to attest the mongoose among other animals prevailed at this time, which had been called different names in ancient Egyptian language. It also deals with specific features of mongoose in order to differentiate it from other similar animals such as Otter and Weasel. The paper reviews many tomb scenes of the mongoose as a predator of young birds in their nests, with several scenes, causing the belief that the ancient Egyptian trying to tame it. Besides, it discusses the unrealistic appearance of the papyrus thicket in which the animals were preyed, as a fictional rather than a true reflection of wildlife. furthermore, the religious meaning interpreted these scenes. Especially, all related scenes were found in a funerary context and therefore one expects them to have a religious dimension, even though this was not explicitly stated.

Los 'Bronces de Maquiz'. Nuevas propuestas para su contextualización dentro del proceso histórico de 'Iliturgi'

A pesar de haberse convertido en materiales referentes de la historiografía arqueológica española, los conocidos como “Bronces de Maquiz” (Mengíbar, Jaén) aún presentan una serie de interrogantes en cuanto a su cronología y contexto de amortización, en buena medida debido a su hallazgo fortuito hace más de 150 años y a la escasez de paralelos peninsulares directos. Recientes hallazgos, como el producido en la necrópolis de Piquía (Arjona, Jaén), han puesto de manifiesto la adscripción de objetos de bronce similares a un contexto funerario y a una cronología tardía, de inicios del siglo I a.C. Por otro lado, el análisis de la documentación conservada sobre el hallazgo en Mengíbar aporta un contexto espacial bastante preciso, que nos permite situarlo en la ladera oriental de Cerro Maquiz, un área carente de secuencia de ocupación anterior al siglo II a.C. El estudio relacional desde perspectivas formales y funcionales, así como la valoración más compleja del lugar de hallazgo nos conducen a definir nuevas propuestas interpretativas y contextuales para este conjunto de materiales, todo ello integrado en las dinámicas de investigación centradas en el proceso histórico del territorio de Iliturgi.

Sex-related morbidity and mortality in non-adult individuals from the Early Medieval site of Valdaro (Italy): the contribution of dental enamel peptide analysis

In this work, osteological and paleopathological analyses are combined with liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry to study life and death of 30 non-adult individuals from an Early Medieval Italian funerary context (Valdaro, 7th-8th cent. AD). We estimated individual sex by exploiting sexual differences in enamel-bounded peptides. Enamel proteins were extracted through an acid etching of the whole tooth crowns for 4 samples and through a partial digestion of small enamel chunks for the remaining 26 samples. Both protocols were informative on the sex of the individuals through the identification of amelogenin isoforms (AMELX and AMELY). In addition, low-mineralized tooth germs were analysed and they provided reliable information on the infants’ sex. We observed the presence of 13 males and 17 females among the non-adults of Valdaro, not significantly different from a random sample with an equal frequency of males and females. Cribra cranii and endocranial lesion occurrence showed an association with sex, with higher frequencies in male individuals.

Wood in Pre-Columbian Funerary Rituals: A Case Study from El Caño (Panama, AD 880–1020)

ABSTRACT This research presents for the first time a comprehensive study of charcoal directly related to the multiple burials interred in Tomb 2 of El Caño (Coclé province, Panama). This funerary context, which dates to between AD 880 to AD 1020, contained three different burial levels accompanied by substantial ceramic offerings and rich mortuary assemblages. The challenge of taxonomically identifying charcoal from tropical areas was addressed by combining standard procedures in tandem with chemical analysis (Py-GC-MS) of archaeological charcoal and fresh wood from the reference collection. Nine charcoal types were identified at the genus level: Avicennia spp., Rhizophora spp., Handranthus/Tabebuia, cf. Copaifera spp., Inga spp., Guettarda spp., Roupala spp., Allophylus spp. and cf. Ryania spp. Charcoal of cf. Copaifera spp., Roupala spp., Guettarda spp., and probably Handroanthus/Tabebuia might be related to their use as firewood for producing smoke. The presence of Copaifera and Roupala indicates the selection of odorous woods for burning in the sahumerios. Diverse habitats, such as coastal mangroves, riverine and dry forests, were exploited to obtain wood, highlighting the complex management of wild plant resources developed by the hierarchical societies of the Isthmo-Colombian area.

Use of decayed wood for funerary practices: Archaeobotanical analysis of funerary wooden artefacts from Prehispanic (ca. 400–1500 CE) Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain)

The island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) shows great potential for studying the wooden raw materials used by the indigenous population during the Prehispanic period based on xylological analyses from domestic and funerary contexts. This paper includes archaeobotanical data from wooden funerary artefacts recovered from several archaeological contexts of the island and deposited at El Museo Canario (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain). Our results provide pioneering data as only a few xylological and anthracological analyses have been carried out on this island. Thus, the preferential use of pinewood (Pinus canariensis) for the manufacture of most of the artefacts is suggested, although dragon tree wood (Dracaena sp.) has also been identified in some funerary boards. Wood selection criteria not focusing on healthy wood has been suggested based on a combination of the microscopic observation of fungal decay patterns and archaeoentomological data. In addition to this, morpho-technological analysis suggests extensive woodworking knowledge in a geographic context lacking metal ores. Further xylological and experimental research, including other islands of the archipelago, is needed to obtain a more comprehensive perspective of wood procurement and use during the Prehispanic period.

POTTERY GRAVE GOODS FROM FUNERARY CONTEXTS AT THE ARGARIC SITE OF PEÑALOSA (JAÉN). A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

The need for interdisciplinary studies is the basis of ambitious research (ARCHEM Project) that is carried out in the argaric settlement of Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén), combining organic residues analysis and techno-typological studies of pottery found in funerary contexts. Manufacture and use of pottery could inform us about customs and traditions that remain hidden in time and in the archaeological record. Knowing the implications and decisions of potters as well as the functionality of those vessels deposited inside the graves can approach the idiosyncrasy of a society in the Bronze Age in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. The methodology used to identify patterns of functionality is highlighted by the combination of cutting-edge analysis techniques in both fields such as the application of different chromatographic techniques (GC-MS, UPLC-HRMS and GC-C-IRMS) that allow to identify the organic compounds in the ceramics and the application of analytical techniques from Earth Sciences (Stereomicroscopic, X-Ray Diffraction and Petrography), which allow us to characterize ceramic pastes and knowing the catchment of raw materials. This study highlights the Peñalosa site as a melting pot of new research and it brings us closer with the use of a complex methodology combined to the societies 4000 years ago.

Dying in the Hallstatt Plateau: the case of wooden coffins from Iron Age necropolises in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) and the difficulties in defining their chronology

Iron Age archaeology in Europe and the Mediterranean often faces significant difficulties to establish precise chronological frameworks by means of radiocarbon dating due to the so-called Hallstatt Plateau. This problem worsens in those archaeological sites excavated decades ago with a lack of stratigraphic control of the objects recovered. The archaeological studies carried out in Iron Age funerary contexts from Mallorca (Balearic Islands) are greatly affected by these two distorting factors. Therefore, it has been difficult to establish an accurate chronology for the origin and abandonment of certain individualization practices, such as the use of wooden coffins in collective necropolises. The goal of this paper is to overcome these limitations and to define the most reliable chronological framework for this funerary phenomenon by applying a multi-proxy approach. Thus, the chronological information provided by the detailed typological study of the material culture associated with the wooden coffins was connected to the results obtained from an extensive series of new radiocarbon dating of the wooden coffins. In addition, a wiggle-matching analysis (different 14C dates for the same wooden object corresponding to individual tree-rings) was also conducted in some wooden coffins in order to enhance the precision of the radiocarbon dates. Accordingly, the direct and indirect chronological information show that the use of wooden coffins in Mallorca started around 800–750 cal BC and was abandoned at c. 350–300 cal BC.

Food at the heart of the Empire: dietary reconstruction for Imperial Rome inhabitants

This paper aims to provide a broad diet reconstruction for people buried in archaeologically defined contexts in Rome (first to third centuries CE), in order to combine archaeological and biological evidence focusing on dietary preferences in Imperial Rome. A sample of 214 human bones recovered from 6 funerary contexts was selected for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The baseline for the terrestrial protein component of the diet was set using 17 coeval faunal remains recovered from excavations at Rome supplemented by previously published data for the same geographic and chronological frames. δ13C ranges from − 19.9 to − 14.8‰, whereas δ15N values are between 7.2 and 10.0‰. The values are consistent with an overall diet mainly based on terrestrial resources. All the human samples rely on a higher trophic level than the primary consumer faunal samples. Certainly, C3 plants played a pivotal role in the dietary habits. However, C4 plants also seem to have been consumed, albeit they were not as widespread and were not always used for human consumption. The environment played a critical role also for Romans of lower social classes. The topographical location determined the preferential consumption of food that people could obtain from their neighborhood.

The funerary use of caves during the Holocene in the Atlantic Western Pyrenees: New information from Atxuri-I and Txotxinkoba caves (Biscay, Northern Iberian Peninsula)

The Atlantic Western Pyrenean area is exceptionally rich in archaeological evidence of funerary contexts dated to Late Prehistory. These funerary deposits are mainly recorded in caves and megalithic structures. Burials attributed to the Holocene have been recorded in more than 187 caves (177 just in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia), reflecting the relevance of this phenomenon in the AWP. Nonetheless, just a few of these inhumation contexts have been properly studied, and even fewer have direct and systematic 14C dates. Here, we present the results from the analysis of two sepulchral caves from Biscay: Atxuri-I and Txotxinkoba, that preserve a minimum number of 9 and 14 individuals, respectively. Both caves present subadult individuals of different ages-at-death and among adults, both sexes are represented. Although the representation of osteological elements is roughly similar in both sites, small differences in the preservation of pelvic bones and the completeness of long bones suggest a potential bias in Atxuri-I. We provide six new radiocarbon dates on human remains. Two 14C dates from Atxuri-I show that the cave was used for funerary purposes at least during two very different times: the Mesolithic and the Bronze Age. The latter period is represented by a directly dated complete femur, which was also studied biomechanically, providing results similar with the available Bronze Age female sample from the Iberian Peninsula. The four dates from Txotxinkoba show that the cave was only used for a relatively short period during the Chalcolithic. When put within the Atlantic Western Pyrenean context, despite the limited amount of direct dates a pattern is evident, where most of the largest accumulations of human remains are found in sites with Chalcolithic burials (between 4,600 and 4,000 BP), such as Lacilla II, Pico Ramos, Urtao II and Abauntz, and Txotxinkoba would fit within this group. Those caves that show human burial chronologies spanning longer periods of time, such as Lumentxa, Santimamiñe, Marizulo or Aizpea, generally contain smaller numbers of individuals, and Atxuri-I would fit within this group.

Pigments, incense, and bitumen from the New Kingdom town and cemetery on Sai Island in Nubia

An analysis of paints found in ceramic sherd palettes from the 18th Dynasty (1548-1302 BCE) Pharaonic town on Sai Island in Upper Nubia using polarised light microscopy and infrared spectroscopy revealed pigments from the standard Egyptian repertoire: red and yellow ochres, Egyptian blue, calcite, gypsum, anhydrite, and the bright white huntite. Orange-yellow residues in ceramic sherds from the town were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and were identified as Pistacia sp. resin, probably for use as incense. A dark organic substance from a vessel in the elite Pharaonic cemetery of the island was analysed using a second GC–MS method and was shown to be bitumen. Biomarkers in the bitumen indicate that its source may be the same as a sample from another Pharaonic town in Upper Nubia, suggesting a possible Nubian source. This is one of the earliest identifications of the use of bitumen in a funerary context in the ancient Nile Valley, and the furthest southern example yet analysed. Black fluids containing bitumen were used in Egypt as part of the process of mummification and for funerary anointing rituals; it is likely that the bitumen material at Sai was related to these practices.

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula.

There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800–4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.

El hipogeo del Carrer París (Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona): estudio micromorfológico de un depósito funerario del Neolítico Final y Calcolítico Campaniforme

This paper presents the contributions of micromorphology to the study of the hypogeum of Carrer Paris (Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona), dated between 2878 and 2206 cal bc. The hypogeum of Carrer Paris was first used for a collective inhumation during the Late Neolithic. Afterward it was used again during the Bell-Beaker Chalcolithic for three different burial episodes including Bell-Beaker vessels.. The continued use of the sepulcher highlights the evolution of common funeral practices in the Neolithic towards a progressive tendency to individualize burials parallel to the adoption of bell- shaped vessels. The study shows that the hypogeum was conceived and constructed well in advance of its use as well as the existence of a funeral ritual related to the use of fire prior to its use as a sepulchre. In addition, the sedimentary infilling of the structure by geogenic processes and identifies the post-depositional processes that the burials have suffered. In summary, soil micromorphology has proved to be an essential tool for the study and interpretation of funerary contexts. In this case, it has allowed us to identify and characterize better the constructive and funerary process of this type of prehistoric burials in the peninsular Northeast.

Eggstraordinary artefacts: decorated ostrich eggs in the ancient Mediterranean world

Decorated ostrich eggs were luxury items in antiquity. They were engraved, painted, and embellished with ivory, precious metals and faience fittings. They have been found primarily in elite funerary contexts from Mesopotamia and the Levant to the wider Mediterranean throughout the region’s Bronze and Iron Ages (third-first millennia BCE). Most scholarship has assessed their iconography to determine craftsman origin, equating decorative style with cultural identity. This is tenuous at best, given how readily motifs can be copied or adapted, and especially challenging for periods in which artisans were reliant on royal/elite patronage and known to migrate between regions, as during these eras. Furthermore, the full extent of the roles of non-elites in the production and distribution of these elite artefacts has never been considered directly. Thus, the role these luxuries played as social actors across a spectrum of society has been overlooked. It is this aspect that the present work addresses. It does so by building upon a recently concluded study that has used isotopic analyses and scanning electron microscopy to assess where and how eggs were acquired in the ancient Mediterranean and the working techniques used to decorate them. The results allow us to consider the role these objects played as social actors upon more than just their elite consumers. This suggests that, as scholars, we must adopt different questions, methodologies, and thus perspectives, to recognise the wider social effects of luxury material culture and its impact upon diverse groups and individuals beyond wealthy consumers.