Large Cemetery Research Articles

Middle Holocene hunter-gatherer mortuary practices in the Little Sea microregion on Lake Baikal, part I: Early Neolithic

Archaeological research on Cis-Baikal Early Neolithic mortuary practices has traditionally focused on the Kitoi mortuary tradition with its rich materials known from several large cemeteries of the Angara Valley and Southwest Baikal. Assemblages that do not fit that description have attracted much less attention. Currently, in Cis-Baikal, the Little Sea microregion has the highest number of such graves. The mortuary variation displayed by this material (31 burials from 26 graves at 8 localities) allows their provisional classification into two mortuary groups: the Khotoruk Group, which shows a few similarities with the Kitoi pattern, and the Kurma Group, which does not. Both groups also share a few characteristics, primarily their “Mesolithic” character of many grave inclusions. Not a single grave of the Khotoruk Group displays a complete package of classic Kitoi mortuary pattern, giving an overall impression of being its much impoverished and limited version. It seems that while on the Angara and Southwest Baikal the Kitoi cultural pattern was going through a period of rather dynamic cultural developments, the Little Sea microregion was not much affected by these processes. The evidence suggests a fusion of a few typical Kitoi mortuary characteristics with those of local origin. Based on the set of 15 radiocarbon dates, both groups coexisted roughly at the same time and together date from 8154±153 to 7277±103 modelled cal. BP. As such, the origin of the Khotoruk and Kurma Groups appears to predate the formation of the Kitoi cultural pattern by a few centuries and their end seems to be also earlier than that of the Kitoi.

Tombstone size and life expectancy: a cross-sectional analysis of cemetery data before the turn of the century.

The extent to which socioeconomic status was associated with life expectancy in the 19th and early part of the twentieth century is poorly understood. We sought to determine the association between a deceased individual's tombstone size, a potential marker of socioeconomic status, and their age of death in the late modern period. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 276 deceased individuals buried between 1820 and 1992 in a large cemetery in Quebec, Canada. The main outcome measure was age of death. We used generalized linear models adjusted for sex, marital status, and year of death to determine whether tombstone height and volume were associated with a greater number of years lived. Tombstone height and volume were associated with an older age of death in adjusted regression models. Individuals with tall tombstones lived 9.6years longer than those with short tombstones (95% confidence interval, CI 3.9 to 15.4). Individuals with large volume tombstones lived 6.2years longer than those with small tombstones (95% CI 1.7 to 10.8). Our findings indicate that in the 1800s and early 1900s, tombstone size was strongly associated with age of death. A possible explanation for this occurrence is that wealthy individuals, capable of purchasing more sizeable tombstones, were more likely to live a longer and healthier life.

THE ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY OF COLLECTIVE BURIALS FROM THE 2ND MILLENNIUM BC IN EAST CENTRAL EUROPE

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the absolute chronology of collective burials of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle communities of the Middle Bronze Age in East Central Europe. Based on Bayesian modeling of 91 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates from 18 cemeteries, the practice of collective burying of individuals was linked to a period of 400–640 (95.4%) years, between 1830–1690 (95.4%) and 1320–1160 (95.4%) BC. Collective burials in mounds with both cremation and inhumation rites were found earliest in the upland zone regardless of grave structure type (mounded or flat). Bayesian modeling of 14C determinations suggests that this practice was being transmitted generally from the southeast to the northwest direction. Bayesian modeling of the dates from the largest cemetery in Żerniki Górne, Lesser Poland Upland, confirmed the duration of use of the necropolis as ca. 140–310 (95.4%) years. Further results show the partial contemporaneity of burials and allow formulation of a spatial and temporal development model of the necropolis. Based on the investigation, some graves were used over just a couple of years and others over nearly 200, with up to 30 individuals found in a single grave.

Legacy effects of cemeteries on groundwater quality and nitrate loads to a headwater stream

Residential development and urbanization have increased nutrient loads to streams and groundwater through increased use of fertilizers and discharge of wastewater effluent. Stream degradation in urbanizing areas has simultaneously reduced natural attenuation of nutrients. In this context, cemeteries are an often-overlooked land use that may contribute to nutrient loading in urbanizing watersheds. Although cemeteries provide ecosystem services, such as infiltration of stormwater, micrometeorology control, and greenspace, they also pose a unique threat to groundwater quality due to degradation and leaching of organic material. To assess the potential legacy impact of cemeteries on water quality, we explored the impact of a large cemetery that comprises 9% of the total area of a suburban watershed on groundwater nitrate concentrations and stream nitrate loads. We found nitrate concentrations were significantly higher in cemetery groundwater (median = 6.2 mg l−1) than in residential groundwater (median = 0.05 mg l−1). During summer months (June through September), the stream is consistently a gaining stream receiving groundwater discharge. During this time, stream nitrate concentrations increase by 1.4–1.9 mg l−1 between the upstream edge of the cemetery and the downstream edge (from 0.03–0.46 mg l−1 to 1.6 mg l−1–2.1 mg l−1, respectively). Stream nitrate loads observed at gauging stations located about 500 m upstream and downstream of the cemetery property show that the stream nitrate load is consistently 20–40 kg NO3 −/day higher downstream of the cemetery between June to September. Given that the cemetery handles about 350–500 burials per year, it is estimated that 25%–50% of the nitrate load between the gauging stations could be attributable to groundwater discharge of burial decay products. Our observations of nitrate concentrations in cemetery groundwater, coupled with the increases in nitrate loads in a stream traversing the cemetery property, suggest cemeteries may be an overlooked source of nutrient loading in developed watersheds.

My Life with Holocaust Death

ABSTRACT The essay offers a chronological account of my introduction to Holocaust reality, beginning with visits to Dachau in 1955, Mauthausen in 1963 and the main camp at Auschwitz and Auschwitz/Birkenau in 1964, at a time when little was known about the concentration camps and the gassing procedures in the deathcamps. The sites would not become tourist destinations for many years, and in fact at Dachau there were only two other visitors present and at Mauthausen and Auschwitz-Birkenau none. Such a sense of desolation is unrecapturable today, and I was forced to deal with the knowledge that I was standing alone on some of the largest cemeteries in Europe. I focus on how I slowly learned to absorb the magnitude of the catastrophe we call the Holocaust, especially the murder of European Jewry. Viewing the crematorium and small (unused) gas chamber at Dachau, standing inside the used one at Mauthausen, and contemplating the ruins of crematoria and gas chambers at Birkenau quickly teaches one the value and the limitations of the imagination in trying to conjure up the fate of the victims and the cruelty of their killers. I was helped in this endeavor by attending the war crimes trials in the summer of 1964 of SS General Karl Wolff in Munich and an array of Auschwitz personnel at their prolonged trial in Frankfurt. Listening to testimony from shattered survivors while sitting no more than fifty feet away from their tormentors, remorseless creatures like Oswald Kaduk and Wilhelm Boger, left me much to reflect on, and these comprise a large part of the essay. History was made more personal for me by these experiences, and they became an unforgettable foundation for what would eventually become a lifelong effort to find ways of challenging the validity of what still today is often referred to as an unimaginable experience.

Middle Holocene hunter–gatherers of Cis-Baikal, Eastern Siberia: Combined impacts of the boreal forest, bow-and-arrow, and fishing

Middle Holocene hunter—gatherers (HG) of the Cis-Baikal region, Eastern Siberia, display substantial spatio-temporal variation in adaptive strategies highlighted by several cultural transitions. These transitions are examined focusing on the role of the following factors: (1) Changes in the distribution of the boreal forest; (2) Technological innovations; (3) Intensification of fishing; and (4) their combined impacts on subsistence and social structure. The expansion and retreat of boreal forest was important because it directly affected the distribution and abundance of large and medium terrestrial game, the core of subsistence for all Middle Holocene HGs in the region. All other things being equal, expanding forests meant less game while shrinking forest meant more game and more living space for HGs. The bow was crucial not only due to its technological superiority over the spear and atlatl as a game hunting weapon but also because its flexibility allowed it to work equally well for groups of any size and in any environment—forest or steppe. The much higher return rates associated with bow hunting freed enough labour to be allocated to other activities such as the intensification of fishing. Fishing and fisheries were important because they worked as a differentiating force: the more intensive the fishing, the more limited its spatial distribution and the greater the micro-regional differences between cultural patterns. Intensive fishing and game hunting pulled the adaptive strategies in two opposing directions: fishing towards differences and hunting towards similarities between groups and micro-regions. Social relations were important because they fine-tuned the social fabric to optimize the general strategy. Together, these factors account for all cultural transitions and variation documented for the Middle Holocene HGs of Cis-Baikal: Transition 1—Formation of the Late Mesolithic cultural pattern with incipient formal cemeteries ~8630 cal. BP; Transition 2—Replacement of the Late Mesolithic system on the Angara and in Southwest Baikal, but not in the Little Sea or on the Upper Lena, by the Early Neolithic Kitoi pattern with its very large cemeteries ~7560 cal. BP; Transition 3—Collapse of the Kitoi by ~6660 cal. BP followed by the formation of the Middle Neolithic pattern with no cemeteries; Transition 4—Re-appearance of cemeteries ~6060 cal. BP and the establishment of the Late Neolithic pattern; Transition 5—Formation of the Early Bronze Age system ~4970 cal. BP; and lastly, Transition 6—The end of the Early Bronze Age socio-economic pattern by ~3470 cal. BP.

Resource processing, early pottery and the emergence of Kitoi culture in Cis-Baikal: Insights from lipid residue analysis of an Early Neolithic ceramic assemblage from the Gorelyi Les habitation site, Eastern Siberia

In the early Holocene, Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities inhabiting the Cis-Baikal region of Eastern Siberia were participating in a series of important cultural changes. These included the establishment of large cemeteries in the Angara Valley and on the Southwest shores of Lake Baikal, culminating in the formation of the distinctive Early Neolithic Kitoi cultural pattern ca. 7560 cal. BP. Around the same time, the appearance of clay pots in a few Kitoi graves and at some contemporary habitation sites marks the formal transition to the Early Neolithic, which is defined in Russian archaeology by the emergence of pottery (and not the transition to farming). Little is known about how this early pottery was used, and why it was first adopted into the region. This pilot-study presents lipid-residue analysis of a selection of sherds from the oldest and relatively well-dated pottery assemblage in the Cis-Baikal region, which was recovered from the Gorelyi Les habitation site. The results indicate that the pots had been used to process a broad spectrum of food resources, including ruminants, fish and plants, and possibly resin and other by-products derived from pine trees, suggesting that the vessels were being used as general-purpose cooking containers. We conclude that there is scope for a much larger-scale investigation of diversity and change in prehistoric pottery use in Cis-Baikal, and that this research would improve current understandings of the diet, health and subsistence strategies of the Kitoi and other prehistoric populations.

The protected flora of long-established cemeteries in Hungary: Using historical maps in biodiversity conservation.

The role of anthropogenically influenced habitats in conserving elements of the original wildlife has increased worldwide simultaneously with the disappearance of natural sites. Burial places are able to conserve original elements of the wildlife, and this fact has been known for at least a century. To this day, little is known about long‐time changes and the effect of long‐time management methods in cemeteries on the flora they harbor. The utility of historical maps in research focused on natural values, as well as in answering questions related to conservation was recently demonstrated, but the use of digitized historical maps in biodiversity research of the Carpathian Basin is very limited. In the present paper, we aimed to predict the conservation potential of long‐established and newly established cemeteries of Hungarian settlements with various population sizes based on the digitized maps of the 2nd Military Survey of the Austrian Empire (1819–1869), by categorizing cemeteries into 3 distinct (anthropogenic habitat, cemetery, or natural habitat) types. To build our models, we used records of the protected flora from Hungarian cemeteries, based on data of thematic botanical surveys of 991 cemeteries. Out of the surveyed cemeteries, 553 (56%) harbored protected plants, totaling 306.617 estimated individuals of 92 protected species, belonging to 28 plant families. These species represent 12% of the entire protected flora of Hungary. Hungarian cemeteries play a key role mainly in preserving steppe and dry grassland plant species. Long‐established and large cemeteries harbor more protected plant species than small and newly established ones. Human population size of the settlements correlated negatively with the number of protected species and individuals. Moreover, woodland cover and proportion of grassland also significantly positively affected the number of protected plant species in cemeteries.

THE EARRINGS OF THE SVITLOVODSK CEMETERY

Scythian tribes and their North Pontic neighbors had a magnificent set of jewelry in their everyday life: beads, bracelets, appliques for costume decoration, rings, earrings, torques, pins.
 One of these categories, the earrings, is widely represented in the large Svitlovodsk cemetery on the south of the Dnieper Right Bank Forest-Steppe. During the 1975—1990 by archaeological expeditions under the direction of N. M. Bokiy and I. A. Kozyr more than 160 graves of Scythian Age have been excavated.
 A total of 45 items were found in 34 graves (21 % of the total). They are ring-shaped and sometimes decorated with beads or pendants. More often, the earrings have been put into female burials. Sometimes one earring has been occurred in the graves of male warriors.
 The ring-shaped earrings are made of bronze wire. One end is usually sharpened. This is the most numerous group including 19 items (42 % of the total) from 16 burials.
 Twisted wire hoop earrings (5 items, making up 11 % of all earrings, come from 4 burials). Moreover, 3 items are silver, 2 are bronze. They have been found jnly in female tombs.
 Hoop earrings with curved ends. 4 specimens (almost 9% of earrings) have been found in two graves with buried women.
 Ring-shaped smooth earrings with beads are the second largest type in Svitlovodsk, including 11 items (24 % of earrings from 11 graves). The body is usually bronze, only once it is silver. The beads made of glass, less often of copper, bone, bronze. Usually one bead was set onto body. In several cases 2, 3 and 4 such decorations have been recorded. This type is the most frequent attribute of female burials, sometimes of a child and a teenager, in one case of a wealthy male warrior.
 Hoop earrings with twisted body and bead. Two specimens (over 4% of earrings) come from 2 assemblages. They are made of bronze and electrum.
 Bronze hoop earrings with pendants. Two items (4 % of earrings) come from two graves. In one case the pendant was made of the animal tooth, in the second it was the bronze ring.
 Earrings in the shape of a stylized duck. Two copies (4 % of earrings) were found in graves 70 and 77. In Svitlovodsk, these jewelry were found in graves belonging to poor community members.This category of jewelry from Svitlovodsk shows the part of the set of jewelry of the common population of Scythia.

Edirnekapı Martyrs’ Cemetery: Towards a Therapeutic Forgetting

Edirnekapı Martyrs’ Cemetery (Edirnekapı Şehitliği, 1926), which is located in one of the oldest and largest cemeteries of Istanbul, contains the graves of mainly Muslim soldiers who died during the Balkan War and WWI, especially those wounded in the Çanakkale War (Gallipoli Campaign), which is considered the forerunner of the Turkish War of Independence (Kurtuluş Savaşı, 1919-1923) and one of the influential founding myths of the Turkish Republic. The soldiers who have lost their lives in the war against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) since the end of the 1980s are also buried here, creating a continuum of historical enemies. In addition, civilians killed during the 15 July coup attempt in 2016 are buried in a separate section next to the Edirnekapı Cemetery, adding another internal enemy - the Gülen Movement - to the official history. The physical correspondence of this mnemonical expansion is also visible in the expansion of the cemetery area, which has been gradually transformed into a public transportation hub since 2008. This article examines how the cemetery reproduces the myth of martyrdom and shapes the social frameworks of memory in favour of nationalism on the D-100 highway. The intersectionality of collective memory and urban infrastructure is analysed through the history and spatial formation of the cemetery, as a part of the greater mnemonic constellation on the D-100 highway.

Rock-cut Chamber Tombs and the Reproduction of Locality in Later Sicilian Prehistory

This article explores the archaeology of place and memory from the standpoint of research on large cemeteries of chamber tombs cut out of the rock in southern Sicily. Burials of this kind were integral to the configuration of major settlements dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age (c. 2200–600 bc) and are a distinctive feature of Sicilian cultural landscapes. Rock-cut tombs at the four key sites of Castelluccio, Thapsos, Pantalica and Cassibile, representing successive phases of the Bronze and Iron Ages, are discussed in relation to terrain and layout. One aim is to identify recurrent principles of spatial organization, while drawing attention to settlements as structured environments with complex ritual geographies. Changes in tomb form are discussed with reference to variations in funerary practices over time. I conclude that cultural traditions in this region were sustained in part by the prominence of funerary architecture and by re-engagement with older sites in later periods through acts of re-use and remembrance.

New Research into the Early and Middle Bronze Age in Central Jordan: The Site of Murayghat

Abstract The site of Murayghat, southwest of Madaba, consists of a central limestone knoll (Area 1) with numerous structures built from standing stones, single orthostat stones (Hadjar al-Mansoub), dolmen fields overlooking them, and domestic architecture situated around the central knoll. The dolmens, standing structures, and lower levels of the architecture date into the Early Bronze Age, while a reuse of the site is attested from the Middle Bronze Age. The dolmens are simple trilithon structures, which show planning and a relation with the possible cultic center. The EB I architecture features apsidal rooms and large walls made from orthostats similar to those on the central knoll. The site fits into the Early Bronze Age development of large cemetery structures related to settlement sites. The “Ritual Landscapes of Murayghat” project is carried out by the University of Copenhagen.

Walrusing, whaling and the origins of the Old Bering Sea culture

ABSTRACTFor a century, archaeologists have puzzled over the enigma of successful whaling unfolding with no predecessors prior to the last two millennia. The emergence of social complexity is linked with the appearance of the Old Bering Sea (OBS) aesthetic engraved on walrus ivory implements found in sites with large cemeteries and thick middens. Significantly, many OBS sites co-occur with major haulout locations for Pacific walrus, whose procurement engendered relationships that, along with seafaring or hunting technology, were the pivotal drivers that fostered whaling. Our revision of extant 14C assays to correct for marine carbon produces a younger ‘Low’ chronology placing the OBS florescence between AD 650–1250, with its earliest phase Okvik and allied Ipiutak communities from AD 300 to 600. The lithic technology of OBS is distinctive in its notched bifaces with affinities to 3000-year-old Chukchi Archaic assemblages. Later influences on OBS development include Ipiutak lithic technology and suggest migration, and either adversarial, or trading relationships with Alaska. The acquisition of rare commodities (driftwood, iron and obsidian) contributed to differential success and resulted in inequality recorded in burials.

Observation of behavior of the Ahlat Gravestones (TURKEY) at seismic risk and their recognition by QR code

Protection of cultural heritage and carrying it to the future are at the top of the significant topics of research and implementation in engineering in the 21st century. There are several historical structures in the district of Ahlat located in the east of Turkey on the Lake Van Basin that has harbored many civilizations. Some of such works are the gravestones that are found in the Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery, which is the oldest and largest cemetery in the district. This study firstly provides information about the Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery and the gravestones found in it. Observation-based structural analyses were carried out on these gravestones that are found in this area that are known to have belonged to different civilizations based on their physical and constructional characteristics. These stones were built out of Ahlat stone as single pieces. Information is provided on the damages that have occurred on the gravestones in time and their causes. In general, losses of mass, abrasions, separations, collapses and calcifications due to natural conditions, as well as vegetative formations, were observed in the gravestones. To provide an example of other gravestones within the context of the study, the gravestone that is known to belong to the person named Nureddin Ebu Hasan was selected. As a result of the modeling that was carried out for this gravestone by using the finite elements method, modal analyses were carried out. With these analyses, for the gravestone, period, effective mass participation rates and stress values were calculated. The stress values that were obtained in this study were compared to the material safety stress values that were obtained in previous studies. Additionally, QR code application was created for the gravestone that was selected as an example in the study, and information on this gravestone was transferred to an electronic environment. The QR code application includes different language options, visuals of the gravestone and information on the gravestone. The QR application was also supported with a video of the cemetery where the gravestone is located. With this application, access to information about gravestones will be possible by using tablets and smartphones. With a QR code to be created for each gravestone, these gravestones will obtain identity cards.

Food and the State: Bioarchaeological Investigations of Diet in the Moche Valley of Perú

The Moche of north coastal Perú were among the earliest New World societies to develop state socio-political organization. The Moche State (AD 200-800) was a centralized hierarchical society that controlled the Moche Valley as well as valleys to the north and south. Prior to the establishment of the state, a series of less hierarchical organizations were present in the valley. Irrigation agriculture has often been cited as central to development of the Moche State. To test this assertion I examined 750 individuals recovered from the largest cemetery at the site of Cerro Oreja. Although the most important occupation of Cerro Oreja was during the Gallinazo phase (AD 1-200), many individuals were interred here during the earlier Salinar period (400 -1 BC). Consequently, the Cerro Oreja collection holds a key to understanding the development of one of the earliest and most extensive states in the Americas. The teeth and/or alveoli of each individual were examined for the presence of dental caries, periodontal disease, abscesses, and antemortem tooth loss. My analysis suggests women and children did increasingly focus their diet on agricultural products. These findings seem to support the hypothesis that increased irrigation and reliance on agricultural production was fundamental to the development of the Moche state. However, men’s diets remained consistent through time. Status seems to have been of little import in determining diet before and during early periods of state development, in dramatic contrast to what we know of its importance during the zenith of the state’s power. I suggest that increasing differentiation of gender roles was important to the development of the state, and that gender differences may have been the most salient force in the transition to political hierarchy and social stratification in the Moche valley.

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris Statuette of 6A-Irj.t, Daughter of Amenhotep, the Priest of Amen-Re

This paper investigates one of plastered and polychromed wooden statuettes of a lady called 6A-Irj.t, daughter of a priest of Amen-Re called Amenhotep. The provenance is unknown to us; however, mummiform figure must have belonged to a rich tomb of a large cemetery and to a wealthy character based on rich colors, decorations, and inscriptions. Based on Raven Typology (1978-1979), statuette fits in type III: Ptah-Sokar-Osiris with green as evident from its features. These features include: a green face with black and white details in eyes, ornamented tripartite hair wig with strips colored in blue, anDty headdress, existence of a back pillar, long base with a deep rectangular cavity before statuette possibly once filled by a figure of falcon that depicts god Sokar. The green color of face represents an obvious identification with Osiris, the Great Green, to indicate resurrection. The affiliation of figure to Type III in Raven topography addresses its dating to 26th dynasty. Also, occurrence of anDty crown is a major feature of 26th Dynasty statuettes. The back pillar was also a fixed component of statuettes during 26th Dynasty as Schneider (1977) emphasized. Moreover, base cavity was also a typical feature of 26th Dynasty statuettes of this type. Texts also reflect same conclusion; owner name 6A-Irj.t was popular among women during Late period, use of (T) instead of (t) in owner's name occurred in Late Period variations of name as addressed by Ranke (1935), use of Late Period compound proposition m-bAH, and omitting of feminine analytical endings was a feature of Late Egyptian script. Jewelry contributed to guarantee protection of deceased in hereafter. The broad collar wsx protects neck and throat of deceased who is identified with Osiris in his 'joining earth' day as echoed in chapter 158 of Book of Dead. The texts and iconography probably denote an abstract version of chapter 151 of Book of Dead which reveals burial and embalming of deceased and cope with purpose of statuettes. This means that statuette is functioning as a little coffin where this chapter used to be inscribed as Gabolde (1990) explained. Thus, purpose of was to facilitate transition from death to hereafter and to imitate resurrection of Osiris as Schneider (1977) highlighted. Gods and goddesses displayed in iconography and/or mentioned in texts cooperated to assure full protection of deceased. winged scarab Khepri on feet carries Sn sign by its legs preserves deceased's corpse from decay and; therefore, exist forever. Also, Khepri rescues deceased from enemies in hereafter and helps deceased to build herself, i.e. resurrect every day. Eventually, Khepri forms a part of a composition including: deceased as Osiris, flanked by names of Isis and Nephthys as displayed in chapter 110 of Book of Dead. Beside two protector goddesses of deceased Osiris Isis and Nephthys, figures of four sons of Horus preserve mummified internal organs of deceased. Imesty, Dwamutef, Hapy, and Qebehsenuef protect liver, stomach, lungs, and intestines respectively. Atum guarantees deceased a seat in his night bark or his sacred seat for millions of years. Re protects face and head of deceased. He helps deceased to open her closed eyes to see sun disk illuminating like 'the horizon dwellers. Maat sustains deceased's hearing in 'Silent Land' so that he could hear judges in judgement court. He hears truth that no sins are held against her. The deceased wishes to deliver breath from Shu to tip of her nose which will help her to resurrect. Geb protects deceased as he does to Osiris, opens double doors of earth and receive her, and takeover enemies of deceased. Anubis opens two gates of horizon for deceased and protects her like he does to Osiris. Finally, Eye of Horus encompasses deceased, prevents storms from her, keeps her sound for life, and models its magical protection about her flesh as mentioned in Chapter 15 of Book of Dead.

A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya

Monumental architecture is a prime indicator of social complexity, because it requires many people to build a conspicuous structure commemorating shared beliefs. Examining monumentality in different environmental and economic settings can reveal diverse reasons for people to form larger social units and express unity through architectural display. In multiple areas of Africa, monumentality developed as mobile herders created large cemeteries and practiced other forms of commemoration. The motives for such behavior in sparsely populated, unpredictable landscapes may differ from well-studied cases of monumentality in predictable environments with sedentary populations. Here we report excavations and ground-penetrating radar surveys at the earliest and most massive monumental site in eastern Africa. Lothagam North Pillar Site was a communal cemetery near Lake Turkana (northwest Kenya) constructed 5,000 years ago by eastern Africa's earliest pastoralists. Inside a platform ringed by boulders, a 119.5-m2 mortuary cavity accommodated an estimated minimum of 580 individuals. People of diverse ages and both sexes were buried, and ornaments accompanied most individuals. There is no evidence for social stratification. The uncertainties of living on a "moving frontier" of early herding-exacerbated by dramatic environmental shifts-may have spurred people to strengthen social networks that could provide information and assistance. Lothagam North Pillar Site would have served as both an arena for interaction and a tangible reminder of shared identity.

Urban cemeteries as habitat for birds

Cemeteries in an urban area may occupy a large area and harbor many bird species. The aim of this paper was to identify bird species found in cemeteries of urban area in Bogor, West Java. Three largest cemeteries were selected as study sites: Gunung gadung (36.0 ha), Dreded (6.5 ha), and Blender (6.7 ha). Point count method was used, followed by calculation of Shannon diversity indices, Jaccard similarity index, and species dominance. A total of 33 bird species were found in all sites, of which 21 species (H’ 1.86) were found in Gununggadung, 20 species (H’ 1.74) in Dreded, and 14 species (H’1.77) in Blender, all considered to have low species diversity. Similarity among sites were quite high (0.64-0.72), all showed typical urban bird species although the three sites are far apart. Dominant bird species were aerial insectivores (swiftlet) and granivores (especially munias). The low bird diversity in cemeteries was due to the poor tree species and coverage. Planting with more diverse tree plants might increase bird species in cemeteries, as well as increase their other ecological function in urban area.

Optimized electrical resistivity tomography investigation established in identifying pit tombs of Mogareb, a cemetery area in a Pre-Aksumite archaeological site of Seglamen, northern Ethiopia

The larger area of Aksum is known as the most important archaeological areas in northern Ethiopia. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as from about the IV century BC, it developed as one of several polities on the Tigrean plateau and emerged as the capital city of a powerful kingdom roughly between the II and the VIII centuries AD. The Mogareb is a cemetery in a Pre-Aksumite archaeological site of Seglamen located about 12 km South-West of Aksum.The geophysical survey was deployed to investigate the cemetery with the objective of finding and locating unmarked tombs. This work was also intended to test potential of the technique for the wider archaeological area of Aksum, in similar context to Mogareb, where application of geophysical techniques in multidisciplinary archaeological researches, in general, is not common.The approach in this work established an optimized use of the electrical resistivity tomography technique in understanding the archaeological context of the Pre-Aksumite site of Seglamen. The electrical resistivity tomography investigation of large cemetery sites as Mogareb requires a methodological approach designed to define areas of maximum interest where data collection should be planned. Thus, the ERT method suited the Mogareb cemetery area due to the large amount of apriory information from previous archaeological expeditions involving surface collections and excavations that identified and limit extent of the cemetery and were used in the calibration of geophysical survey results.The electrical resistivity tomography survey was conducted on a rectangular grid of 19.5 m by 44.25 m with 0.75 m unit electrode spacing and line spacing in a Dipole-Dipole configuration resulting in high resolvable 2D and 3D electrical resistivity model sections. The models were successful to show interpreted pit tombs anomalies some of which were verified in an excavation of a 10 m by 10 m grid that had an overlap of 6 m by 10 m area to the Northern edge of the electrical resistivity tomography grid.

The Emergence of Extramural Cemeteries in Neolithic Southeast Europe: A Formally Modeled Chronology for Cernica, Romania

ABSTRACTThe emergence of separate cemeteries for disposal of the dead represents a profound shift in mortuary practice in the Late Neolithic of southeast Europe, with a new emphasis on the repeated use of a specific space distinct from, though still often close to, settlements. To help to time this shift more precisely, this paper presents 25 dates from 21 burials in the large cemetery at Cernica, in the Lower Danube valley in southern Romania, which are used to formally model the start, duration of use and end of the cemetery. A further six dates were obtained from four contexts for the nearby settlement. Careful consideration is given to the possibility of environmental and dietary offsets. The preferred model, without freshwater reservoir offsets, suggests that use of the Cernica cemetery probably began in5355–5220 cal BC (95% probability)and ended in5190–5080 cal BC (28% probability)or5070–4940 (67% probability). The implications of this result are discussed, including with reference to other cemeteries of similar age in the region, the nature of social relations being projected through mortuary ritual, and the incorporation of older, Mesolithic, ways of doing things into Late Neolithic mortuary practice.