Funerary Objects Research Articles

The Chu Silk Manuscripts from Zidanku, Changsha (Hunan Province). Volume 1: Discovery and Transmission

The Chu Silk Manuscripts from Zidanku, Changsha (Hunan Province). Volume 1: Discovery and Transmission

The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere

Steeves eloquently reminds us that settler/colonial history is not the only history nor the singular authority on the past. Through a multi-lensed approach, weaving archaeology, sociology, and her own Indigenous traditions, Steeves challenges supporters of the already waning view concerning a panhemispheric cultural group that migrated to the prehistoric Americas. Defining all prehistoric Native Americans as descendants of a singular ancestral Clovis Point people is a gross oversimplification and is not supported by the archaeological evidence, the oral traditions of Indigenous groups, nor by linguistics. Steeves warns that classifying all prehistoric American Indigenous peoples as Clovis (a) wrongly groups them as homogenous, (b) superimposes a single technological categorization on diverse heritages, and (c) forces an untrue, Eurocentric narrative.Though the Indigenous method and theory that Steeves employs includes empirical knowledge and critical thought, her process also recognizes these are not the only systems for knowing the world. Furthermore, she emphasizes that in the Indigenous method, no one owns the knowledge; instead it is relational, providing a corroboration between oral tradition and archaeological record. Steeves presents her work in a way that celebrates the diverse groups often reduced to “Indian” tropes, refuting that these different cultural, heritage, and language groups were all the same; additionally, she is adamant in dispelling the stereotyped myth that Native Americans are anti-science. She frames this conversation in terms of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990) and the important work of returning human remains and funerary objects, including the remains of the Ancient One (Kennewick Man), the reburial of whom a number of Western archaeologists and institutions fought to prevent. Another issue she addresses is the use of arbitrary European nomenclature for groups, lands, flora and fauna, and cultural practices when discussing Indigenous history—instead, she argues, archaeologists and historians should use the names given by Indigenous peoples when referring to Indigenous histories. Steeves claims that expanding how we explain and explore Indigenous histories also expands our understanding of global history.Steeves postulates that there were much earlier and more frequent migrations of people to the Western Hemisphere, and that those who refute this possibility do so from the Clovis First hypothesis, which has never existed save in the minds of historians. Likewise, is it possible that indigenous groups migrated from North America to Asia (the reverse of the commonly affirmed migration pattern)? Steeves, a proponent of the multi-regional hypothesis, finds that human habitation of the Western Hemisphere could go back as far as 130,000 years ago. She investigates why pre-Clovis models have been dismissed by historians since the mid-twentieth century.Intercutting her criticism of the Euro-dominant praxis within archaeology and anthropology, Steeves uses empirical evidence, linguistic evidence, personal narratives, poetry, and Indigenous ways of knowing to express a lucid and thorough critique of commonly held beliefs about history and prehistory. Proposing a holistic approach, she shows a rich relational knowledge contained in traditional peoples’ oral histories stretching to deep time and spaces. Such stories speak of Pleistocene beasts, evidenced by two mammoth teeth kept as sacred objects.In short, Steeves attempts to reclaim the histories of prehistoric Indigenous groups by Indigenous scholars for Indigenous peoples today. In her journey, she shares with us that the stubborn inability of those who refuse a pre-Clovis habitation of the Western Hemisphere have done so not because of the evidence but because it was important to maintain the facade of a people who had an infant culture easily conquered by the older, more dominant, and more established Old World empires. By dehumanizing the Indigenous—then and now—it is possible to rationalize the systematic destruction of those traditional lifeways.Steeves ends her work by calling on scholars to fan the flames of the Eighth Fire—what she calls a healing smoke—which is a place of peace, intersected by settler and Indigenous pasts. Unlike any scholarly work I have enjoyed, Steeves brings an unprecedented life to her claims. Her fire not only challenges what we have said about the past but will also certainly inspire new, vibrant scholarship that breaks down conventions and barriers.

Возможности и особенности применения палинологического анализа на археологических объектах разного типа

A wide variety of archaeological sites associated with various human activity has led to the emergence of a wide range of problems solved by archaeological palynology. On the example of the palynological materials accumulated in the Laboratory of Nature Sciences of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the opportunities and features of the palynological analysis application are considered both on classical objects for Russian archaeopalynology (cultural layer, buried soils, defensive ramparts, burial mounds, etc.) and on non-traditional ones (latrines, vessels, funerary objects, ceramics, etc.). It is shown that the reconstruction of the natural environment, generally accepted for palynology, is mainly possible for the materials from long timed sites of shepherds in caves and rock shelters and cultural layers of sites, settlements, hillforts. Materials obtained from other objects (ancient and medieval arable lands, storage pits, latrines, the contents of ritual objects, vessels, and the gastrointestinal tract of the buried) give an idea of very local and short-term environmental conditions or events usually associated with economic and/or daily activities of a person, with his food, funerary rites and traditions. In this regard, the possibilities of the palynological method and the purposes will be different for each specific research. Recommendations for the sampling for palynological analysis are given for each specific case.

Enclosures of Death in the Early Iron Age

This article focuses on the study of the Early Iron Age necropolis of Esfola, taking into account the burial rituals of the site (the architecture, the funerary objects and the human skeletal analyses are dealt with in the context of ‘burial ritual’ studies). This research will contribute to the body of knowledge on Early Iron Age necropolises with enclosures, typical of the Beja and Ourique regions in southern Portugal, i.e. Vinha das Caliças 4, Monte do Bolor 1–2, Cinco Réis 8, Carlota and Palhais. All these sites identified in the southern Iberian Peninsula allow us to characterize the funerary rituals practised in this region during the Early Iron Age.

The unwritten history of medical treatment: Evidence for ritual-healers and their activities in the pre-literate past

ObjectiveTo reveal the presence and activities of healers from funerary contexts. MaterialsEthnohistoric and ethnographic textual descriptions and the bioarchaeological record. MethodsA synthesis of human remains, grave contexts, and funerary objects. ConclusionsThe capacity to act as a “healer” forms part of the social identity of a diverse range of uniquely specialized individuals cross-culturally who also perform a variety of other roles associated with transcendent ideologies, beliefs, and religion. They are ambivalent, capable of doing both good and ill. They defend the health and well-being of the individual and the community but, using the same knowledge, are also implicated in attacks on individuals and groups within and outside their communities. This ambivalence, combined with a lack of defined institutional organization and the great diversity of medico-religious healers in the recent ethnographic past and historically, makes the identification of such individuals in the archaeological record controversial, but they are present. SignificanceNot only are healers identifiable in the archaeological record, but their practices disproportionately influence it, acting as a powerful complement to historical sources for the development of medicine and medical knowledge. LimitationsPublished literature is of variable detail, which means that healing practices and healers are under-appreciated and under-represented in reconstructions of past societies. Suggestions for Further ResearchApplication of archaeothanatological approaches to recording and synthesis of the funerary context with the remains of the deceased can be used to identify objects and practices used in healing that have been more recently superseded by scientific approaches to health.

Visualization, Documentation and Non-Destructive Investigation of an Ancient Egyptian Corn Mummy in a Falcon-shaped Wooden Coffin

Corn mummies’ were funerary objects in ancient Egypt that were served as sacred images of the god Osiris during the Khoiak feast. They are grain-filled linen sacs, usually filled with an emmer or barley specimen, the ingredients for staple food in ancient Egypt (bread and beer). In the fertility cult of Osiris, the function of Corn mummies was presumably for continuous prosperity of the land and healthy crop growth. This paper focuses on the use of nondestructive methods for the documentation and visual examination of a Corn mummy coffin (No. 1242) dating back to the late period; but its original inscriptions are partially lost. Digital imaging and Reflectance Transformation imaging (RTI) were used to document all surface aspects. D-stretch was used to enhance surface details that were not clearly visible by digital imaging and RTI. Infrared imaging was used to reveal the details of hieroglyphic inscriptions and outline drawings on the wooden coffin. X-ray radiography was used to non-destructively verify the inside contents of the wrapped mummy inside the wooden coffin, and whether it includes any human remains or not. The methods provided a comprehensive documentation and examination of the various parts of the artifact.

Three Papyrus Sheaths of Priestesses of Amun

During the Twenty-First Dynasty, funerary customs of the priesthood of Amun in Thebes were relatively altered due to the socio-political and economic circumstances of that period. The quest for security compelled the priests to use hidden collective tombs with no decorations or inscriptions other than those written on funerary objects. Of these are three papyrus sheaths that once belonged to three priestesses of Amun. Those formerly unpublished statuettes have been particularly intriguing as they were found within the priestesses’ burials in two collective tombs of Deir el-Bahari - the Royal Cache (DB 320), and Bab el-Gusus - and hence belong to a class of objects that has not been sufficiently investigated.

Molecular analysis of black coatings and anointing fluids from ancient Egyptian coffins, mummy cases, and funerary objects

Black organic coatings and ritual deposits on ancient Egyptian coffins and cartonnage cases are important and understudied sources of evidence about the rituals of funerary practice. Sometimes, the coatings were applied extensively over the surface of the coffin, resembling paint; in other cases, they were poured over the mummy case or wrapped body, presumably as part of a funerary ritual. For this study, multiple samples of black coatings and ritual liquids were taken from 20 Egyptian funerary items dating to a specific time period (c. 943 to 716 BC). Multiple sampling from each object enabled several comparisons to be made: the variability of the black coating within one application, the variability between two applications on one object, and the variability from object to object. All samples were analyzed for lipids using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and 51 samples from across the 20 items were further analyzed for the presence of bitumen using solid phase separation followed by selected ion monitoring GC-MS. The majority of the black substances were found to comprise a complex mixture of organic materials, including bitumen from the Dead Sea, conifer resin, and Pistacia resin, providing evidence for a continuation in international trade between Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean after the Late Bronze Age. Both the coating and the anointing liquid are very similar to mummification balms, pointing to parallels with Egyptian embalming rituals and raising questions about the practical aspects of Egyptian funerary practice.

Horses from Xiongnu Elite Burial Complex Tsaram

The paper presents morphological description of horse remains from the elite burial complex Tsaram dated to the Xiongnu period. The complex is located in the Kyakhtinsky district of the Republic of Buryatia (Russia) and consists of one central burial № 7 and accompanying funerary objects. In the grave pit of the largest burial a typical Han chariot was found, which was damaged during later intrusions. The skeletal remains (skull, two cervical vertebrae, metapodials and phalanges) belonged to one stallion were excavated near the chariot. At the northern edge of the grave pit the sacrificial complex with numerous remains of domestic animals was discovered. The animal sacrifice included remains of 25 horse individuals, both males and females. All bone remains originate from incomplete skeletons: only bones of the head, distal parts of the forelimbs and hind limbs are presented. The anatomical composition of the skeletons suggests that in the funeral practice horse skins were used instead of whole carcasses. Among sacrificed horses, adult and senile individuals predominated. The number of young individuals is small, while juveniles are absent. The withers height attributes horses to the small, short and medium Vitt's categories. The chariot horse had a larger body size than other horses. The morphometric analysis demonstrates that Tsaram horses are different in the size and proportions of the limb bones from the Paziryk and Bulan-Kobin horses.

Misplacement, Re-Edition or Funerary Object: On the Textual Features of the Anhui Shijing Manuscript and Its Value

Abstract There are numerous discrepancies between the Anhui University Shijing Manuscript and Mao Shi 毛詩. These discrepancies are not due to misplacement or re-editing, but result from the use of the Anda Shijing as a funerary object. However, this is not to discredit the significance of the Anda Shijing, which still has exegetical, philological, hermeneutical and paleographical value.

Childhood and Identity Acquisition in the Late Prehispanic Ónavas Valley, Sonora, Mexico

ABSTRACT Identity acquisition is a lifelong process that begins prior to birth (passive), becomes more active with self-awareness, and continues throughout the enculturation process. We argue that in childhood, as a liminal period of the life course, individuals are subject to a combination of active and passive forces of identity acquisition, largely determined first by family/parental decisions, then by community decisions as part of the enculturation process. We test this idea by reconstructing episodes of identity acquisition across social age categories in a late prehispanic (AD 900–1300) skeletal sample from the site of El Cementerio from north-west Mexico, which represents the central community of a settlement system in the valley of Ónavas, Sonora, Mexico. Artificial cranial modification, dental modification, and the placement of funerary objects reflect intersecting identities and provide clues to social age and identity acquisition within the community.

On the Transition from Ming Dynasty Ceramic Courtyard to North China Residence——Take the Ming Dynasty Pottery Courtyard of Henan Museum as an Example

The pottery building is not only a funerary object, but also reflects the architectural technology, plastic arts, and artistic aesthetics of the dynasty. The layout of the pottery courtyard and the layout of related houses are also the research value. The Ming Dynasty pottery courtyard unearthed in this article is a true portrayal of the residential courtyards in northern China.

Investigation of an Unrecorded Indigenous Copper Kettle Burial at Cap St-Louis, New Brunswick

This article is the result of an investigation about an unrecorded archaeological find in Cap St-Louis (New Brunswick) in 1940. The find was a Copper Kettle Burial as it was practiced by the Mi’gmaq during the 16th and 17th century. No proper recording or conservation efforts had been deployed then since the Copper Kettle Burial was not well known at the time. Most of the funerary objects have been lost or given as mementos to family or friends of finder. The site has been eroded since 1940 but this investigation permitted Parks Canada to assign it a provenience number and ensure proper protection in the future for the site in case other burials appears at this location. Some objects are located at the Musée Acadien de l’Université de Moncton. In the spirit of reconciliation, the university will give back these funerary objects to the Mi’gmaq of New Brunswick.

The Andient Near East: History, Texts, etc.

The Andient Near East:History, Texts, etc. Christopher T. Begg and Fred W. Guyette 19. [Contacts between the ANE and India] Claus Ambos, "Reconsidering the Nature of the Contacts between the Cuneiform Cultures of the Near East and India," WdO 50 (1, 2020) 31-78. After interactions between them already in the 3rd millennium b.c., there were again maritime and overland connections between the cuneiform cultures of the ANE and [End Page 6] India during the 1st millennium b.c. This article presents evidence for direct contact and interaction between the two regions and examines the possibility that these included the exchange of ideas and knowledge as well. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 20. [Tree of Life in ANE Iconography] Amy L. Balogh, "The Tree of Life in Ancient Near Eastern Iconography," The Tree of Life, 32-73 [see #779]. ANE images of the Sacred Tree are symbolic entities where the lived experience of nature meets the iconographical imagination, and there flourishes a semiotic language, ripe with meaning and always open to yielding more. At its most basic level, the Sacred Tree symbolizes the relationship between the natural cycles and processes necessary for human life and flourishing on the one hand, and humankind's dependence on the nurturing, protective activities of the divine realm on the other. From place to place and era to era, this symbolism takes on different nuances and associations, and does so in such a way that it does not diminish its core definition but rather enhances it by meeting each audience anew—including the innumerable audiences of Genesis 2–3, where the Sacred Tree becomes known as the "tree of life." To use the tree's own metaphor, the symbol of the Sacred Tree is rooted in an ancient past while her branches sway in the shifting winds of history. This ancient past is one in which the terrestrial concerns of sustenance and protection and the role of cosmic activity in addressing those concerns are central in the iconographic imagination. As time moves forward, these concerns endure and to them are added concerns over the fate of particular communities, kingdoms, and empires. This shift is evidenced by the changes in the Sacred Tree iconography at the dawn of the first millennium b.c.e., when iconographers bring together for the first time the themes of kingship, the divine feminine, and cosmic provision. The fact that the Sacred Tree is accompanied by a wide range of supporting motifs and is found on special objects dating from the fourth millennium onward from professional seals, to household devotional objects, funerary objects, jewelry, sacred architecture, and more, speaks to the ability of the symbol to move fluidly through space and time and to accrue new layers of significance in a way that renders it ever more timeless. It is fitting, then, that, like all the Sacred Tree's iconographers, the biblical authors would maintain the symbol's essential connection to eternal life and divinely sanctioned abundance, and at the same time add their own layers of significance, rendering it anew for their intended audience. See also #26. [Adapted from author's conclusion, pp. 68-69—C.T.B.] 21. [Virginity in Hittite Ritual] Billie Jean Collins, "Virginity in Hittite Ritual," Hrozný and Hittite, 455-68 [see #788]. C.'s examination of the role of young girls in three rituals from Ḫattuša, i.e. Paškuwatti, Anniwiyanni, and Ammā suggests that these girls served as ritual assistants with a specific range of duties, which, however, did not include acts of a sexual nature, as has previously been suggested. The term DUMU.MUNUS šuppeššara may refer to a girl (daughter) dedicated for a time to temple service by her family, for whom her pre-sexual state would have been a matter of honor. C.'s paper further offers new interpretations of the first two rituals cited above in light of a newly reconstructed ritual attributed to a Wise Woman named Ammā. A key passage in the Paškuwatti ritual against sexual dysfunction should, according to C., be understood as metaphorical and does not require reading into the text a...

Археологические материалы таштыкской эпохи на стоянке Казановка-14 в Аскизском районе Республики Хакасия

General information on archaeological excavations at the Kazanovka-14 site in 2021 is presented. The site is located on the right bank of the Askiz river on a small elevation above the floodplain at the foothills of the Abakansky mountain range. In 2020, mounds of the Late Bronze Age and Tagar culture of the Kazanovka-12 burial ground in the immediate vicinity of the camp were investigated. The site consists of a cultural layer deposited on a dealluvialplume at a relatively shallow depth from the present day surface. The cultural layer includes both scattered artifacts and bone material as well as the remains of a burnt construction with a series of pottery vessels. The archaeological material is unevenly deposited, with isolated concentration spots of animal bones, including processed bones. The archeological assemblage includes various ceramics (vessels of the different sizes, (mainly of the opened form, with a recessed and rounded rim, ornamentation of the top part in the form of dangling triangles, semicircular and triangular indentations), weaponry (arrowheads made of bone, as a rule, elongated-rhombic, and metal, tiered; fragment of an armor plate), fragments of clothing (belt cover plates). Among the finds, sandstone tiles with carved images stand out. On the basis of the finds complex, the site dates to the later stages of the Tashtyk epoch (middle of the 1st millenium A.D.). The surviving outskirts of the settlement, with preserved evidence of active bone carving and possibly ceramic production were excavated and examined. Given the small number of investigated settlement sites in the Khakass-Minusinsk Basin, Kazanovka-14 represents unique opportunities to characterize the economic life of the Tashtyk population and correlate the household and funerary object complexes known from the crypts.

A SHABTI OF KING TAHARQA

Shabtis are funerary objects of importance among the equipment of the deceased in ancient Egypt. Placed in tombs, their purpose was to work for the dead in the afterlife. This article deals with a recently restored shabti of one of the great kings of the Third Intermediate Period, king Taharqa of the 25th Dynasty. It was among the king's collection of artefacts found inside his pyramid in Nuri in Lower Nubia. The shabti bears a versionof the Sixth Chapter of the Book of the Dead. It asks the shabti to do work on behalf of his owner in the afterlife. The article compares this shabti and others belonging to Taharqa, as well as those of the king's successors, notably his grandson king Senkamanisken.

Duas leis, um museu

A legislação patrimonial norte-americana possui diversas especificidades. Uma lei de grande importância e relevância no cenário nacional tratou, em 1989, da instalação de um museu voltado para a divulgação e pesquisa da história de comunidades nativo-americanas, o National Museum of the American Indian, que faz parte da Smithsonian Institution. A lei de criação do museu também estabelece os critérios para a repatriação de remanescentes humanos e objetos funerários presentes nas coleções adquiridas para a formação do museu. Com base no NMAIA (National Museum of the American Indian Act), uma segunda lei foi aprovada no ano seguinte, o NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act). De abrangência nacional, o NAGPRA tornou-se uma das legislações patrimoniais mais importantes e conhecidas do mundo.

The Cultural Biography of a Pilgrimage Token: From Hagiographical to Archaeological Evidence

Abstract Across the eastern Mediterranean, the personnel of late antique pilgrimage sites distributed terracotta tokens stamped with depictions of saints, scenes from the life of Christ, and related imagery. Using primarily hagiographical sources, scholars associate tokens with healing practices, the veneration of icons, and the worship of relics. Certainly, hagiographies offer valuable representations of ritual processes, but they also make claims on the proper distribution, meaning, and use of tokens amidst a diversity of intercessory activities. How, in practice, was a token produced and distributed? How did pilgrims use tokens at and away from pilgrimage complexes beyond the assertions made by hagiographers? This article answers these questions by tracing the “cultural biography” of a token. It analyzes the archaeological contexts of tokens in order to clarify select statuses that a token might occupy during its lifetime, including commodity, gift, domestic object, funerary object, relic, rubbish, and art object. This approach lays the foundation for examining hagiographical claims regarding the use of tokens as one among many assertions in the contested process of harnessing the power of saints. It illustrates the capacity of devotees to exhibit diverse practices as well as the efforts of personnel at pilgrimage sites to shape those practices.

The Tomb of Ta-Ḏḥwty sȝt Ḥr-tȝ (Tathoutis daughter of Herta): Tomb 1 in the Necropolis of Bir el-Shaghala: The Architecture and the Paintings in the Antechamberمقبرة تا-چحوتي ابنة حر-?

Tomb 1 at Bir el-Shaghala (Dakhla Oasis) is a mausoleum-like structure belonging to Ta-Ḏḥwty sȝt Ḥr-tȝ (Tathoutis daughter of Herta). The ground floor has an open-air court and an antechamber and two burial chambers with painted wall decoration. The upper floor has a chapel and a pyramid, which is the largest from a private tomb. The upper part witnessed two phases of use: two vaults were added inside the pyramid and two banqueting rooms to its north. The tomb’s layout is modeled on late dynastic pyramidal tombs, but the vaulted rooms isolate it as a distinctive type. The antechamber decoration shows many anomalies: the ba of Re, Tutu, and Horus Great of Strength all have human bodies. An apotheosis scene is unique in a tomb from Roman Egypt, as is the ceiling frieze of ba-birds and an Abydene fetish. The paintings in the rooms show stylistic affinities to the Kharga Coffin Group and attest to common motifs used in tombs and funerary objects in the oases. The tomb is datable to late 1st century CE on the basis of its architecture and paintings.

«Long» barrow in the Menovnoe VI burial ground

The pre-Mongolian time materials in the territory of the Irtysh River basin in Kazakhstan are associated with the functioning of the Kimak-Kipchak proto-state federation that existed in the end of the 1st — beginning of the 2nd mil. AD. Due to the nomadic lifestyle of these ethnic groups, the sites are represented by barrow cemeteries, the majority of which consists of «chains» of individual burial structures aligned in meridian direction. The most inter-esting funerary objects are the «long» mounds, usually ending the system of memorial structures in the northern or southern sector of the burial ground. Particular features of these objects include the presence of several attached enclosures under a common mound, which developed in the meridian direction, as well as the burial of children and adolescents, virtually unknown from individual Kimak-Kipchak mounds. Here, we analyse the materials of the «long» barrow of the Menovnoye VI burial ground, located in the Upper Irtysh region 1.5 km southeast from the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky District, East Kazakhstan Oblast. Under the kurgan mound, there was an en-closure with two extensions containing burials of two men, a teenager, and a child. The buried were laid stretched on their backs, with their heads towards the east. The remains of men and the teenager were accompanied by horses, and those of the child — with sheep bones. An adult man, buried within the central enclosure, apart from horse, was accompanied for his afterlife by a dog. The grave goods discovered with the buried represent wea-ponry items, military and horse equipment. The weaponry included fragments of a sword, a bone grip, arrowheads, combat and household knives. Horse harness items included stirrups and a bit made of iron, a bronze figured buckle with flexible iron prong. The child was accompanied by a bronze teardrop-shaped amulet pendant and a small cattle astragalus used for playing dice. The number of «long» mounds in the cemetery ranges from one or two to three or four. The number of individuals in them varies from 2–3 to 8–11, which emphasizes the familial proximity of adults and children buried together. The «long» barrows of the «Menovnoye VI type», which contained burials of male members of the society, reflected the presence of patriarchal family ties within the tribal communities on the one hand, and formation of patriarchal-feudal relations in the context of development of the Kimak-Kipchak nomadic proto-state on the other.