Ritual Deposits Research Articles

Characterizing and Classifying Mayan Ritual Deposits

Initiated almost a century ago, the study of Mayan ritual deposits has undergone a gradual genesis, which until recently distinguished only caches and burials, while all cases that didn’t fit neatly into these two categories were classified as “problematical deposits”. Over the past decades, thanks to technical advances and a better understanding of the contexts, new types of rituals have been identified, such as secondary burials, termination deposits, ritual feasts and, more recently, foundation scatterings. The aim of this methodological approach is therefore to bring together the various hypotheses already formulated to propose different ways of characterizing ritual deposits. To this end, the discoveries on the site of Tikal, the most prolific site in the Lowlands in terms of traces of rituals, will be supplemented by those of seven other sites occupied during the Preclassic and Classic periods. The first series of criteria questions the stratigraphic position of the deposit in order to replace the ritual within the historical trajectory of the building or of the architectural group. The second point concerns the repetitive nature of these rituals which can sometimes be classified according to recurrent Ritual Complexes. These stratigraphical, morphological, chronological and artifactual information thus makes it possible to establish different etic categories and subcategories, while taking into account the probable variability of the emic meanings and purposes of these deposits.This proposed typology is neither definitive nor exhaustive and will evolve with futurefindings and studies of archival collections.

Moving away from the ritual deposition: hoards from the Viking Age, Least Cost Paths and reused Roman Roads

Moving away from the ritual deposition: hoards from the Viking Age, Least Cost Paths and reused Roman Roads

Psychoactive and other ceremonial plants from a 2,000-year-old Maya ritual deposit at Yaxnohcah, Mexico.

For millennia, healing and psychoactive plants have been part of the medicinal and ceremonial fabric of elaborate rituals and everyday religious practices throughout Mesoamerica. Despite the essential nature of these ritual practices to the societal framework of past cultures, a clear understanding of the ceremonial life of the ancient Maya remains stubbornly elusive. Here we record the discovery of a special ritual deposit, likely wrapped in a bundle, located beneath the end field of a Late Preclassic ballcourt in the Helena complex of the Maya city of Yaxnohcah. This discovery was made possible by the application of environmental DNA technology. Plants identified through this analytical process included Ipomoea corymbosa (xtabentun in Mayan), Capsicum sp. (chili pepper or ic in Mayan), Hampea trilobata (jool), and Oxandra lanceolata (chilcahuite). All four plants have recognized medicinal properties. Two of the plants, jool and chilcahuite, are involved in artifact manufacture that have ceremonial connections while chili peppers and xtabentun have been associated with divination rituals. Xtabentun (known to the Aztecs as ololiuhqui) produces highly efficacious hallucinogenic compounds and is reported here from Maya archaeological contexts for the first time.

Turtles for the ancestors: A zooarchaeological study of ritual deposits on Fakahina, Tuamotu archipelago (French Polynesia)

AbstractRituals and feasting ceremonies at Polynesian marae depict culturally complex relationships between humans and animals that cannot be explained by subsistence alone. In Central‐East Polynesia, this topic still requires the elaboration of a “ritual zooarchaeology” framework. Using sea turtle assemblages from three sacred sites on Fakahina atoll (Tuamotu), this study offers a preliminary approach to faunal deposits from ritual contexts. Following systematic excavations of marae on Fakahina, analysis aimed to determine whether faunal deposits could be linked with intentional feasting and offering behaviours. To detect how ritual actions were organised through space, skeletal and taphonomic variables were examined for both overall sites and “sub‐assemblages” within sites based on the spatial associations of fauna with site features.At certain site features, derived quantitative units such as %MAU and recovery rate could identify potential offering behaviours through the intentional sorting of culturally significant body parts. The taphonomic signatures of site features could also identify open or closed deposition environments, assisting with the identification of disturbed features as either exposed platforms or enclosed cists. In addition to highlighting previously undocumented complexity in the use of site features, an overall comparison of turtle remains from the three sites shows the potential of these methods to explore variation in ritual practices.

Taking the Deer by the Antlers: Deer in Material Culture in the Balkan Neolithic

Prehistoric communities had strong ties with the animal world that surrounded them—animals were prey, sources of food, and raw materials, but also threats and mysteries, and certain animals often had an important place in the symbolic realm. With the process of domestication and the switch to animal husbandry as the main source of animal food, these relations changed considerably, and a certain dichotomy between “the domestic” and “the wild” may be noted in numerous past communities. When it comes to the Neolithic period in the Balkans, domestic animals had an important place in subsistence and economy, and it seems that cattle had a particularly prominent symbolic role. Wild species preserved some of their significance in both subsistence and symbolic realms, especially cervids (red deer, roe deer, and fallow deer). In this paper, the place of deer in the material culture of the Neolithic communities in the Balkans will be analysed: skeletal elements of deer were used for the production of diverse items, including non-utilitarian ones, or were part of ritual depositions, and deer representations are encountered in other materials, such as clay figurines. The symbolic meaning of deer cannot be reconstructed with certainty; however, it is probable that deer were tied with territoriality and the landscape.

From construction to destruction: The development of an excavation protocol for pottery kilns

The recent preventive excavations at Famars and Montescourt-Lizerolles (Gallia Belgica, present North of France) with almost thirty new pottery kilns discovered and dated from the end of the 1st century CE to the beginning of the 4th century, as well as the programmed excavations at the 4th and 5th century CE pottery production sites of Fanjeaux and Magalas (Gallia Narbonensis, present Carcassonne region) have prompted the development of an excavation protocol adapted to kilns, complex edifices that are mostly cut through or emptied of their fillings. The new data showed that much more information could be obtained when following a rigorous method of cleaning, considering the position of artefacts in the fillings, and totally deconstructing the separate parts of the structure, by removing clay linings, supports and floors. Awareness of the diverse construction variations, applied material, and gestures lead to more exhaustive examination, even in the context of preventive archaeology where time pressure is important. The meticulous stripping of the structure has led to the demonstration of different elements, including the presence of channels to counteract humidity, the use of mudbricks or possible ritual deposits and gestures. Even if not all the combustion structures show these features, their presence can only be noticed when considering the possibility during excavation. This way, the authors hope to sensitise archaeologists to regard kilns with more care.

Cremated animal remains and shattered pottery. Rare ritual deposits from the Middle to Late Bronze Age at Aalst – Siesegemkouter (Belgium)

Abstract Archaeological research at Aalst – Siesegemkouter revealed several pits within a Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement. Most of them hardly contained any artefacts, but one exception showed a structured stratigraphy with an abundance of finds, including a large amount of shattered pottery, charcoal and calcined animal bone. The study of this assemblage, and comparison with two other pits showing similarities, provides strong indications of a closing deposit or another type of ‘site maintenance practice’. In the Low Countries, comparable contexts generally date from the Iron Age, suggesting that the finds from Aalst – Siesegemkouter represent early forerunners of this ritual practice. On top of this early date, the large volume of cremated animal bone represents an almost unique characteristic for which, until now, parallels from the Metal Ages have hardly been found, even on a Northwestern European scale. In general, the role played by organic remains in ritual contexts from these periods and regions is poorly understood, often due to bad preservation conditions or the lack of a multidisciplinary approach.

Reconstructing and testing neighborhoods at the Maya city of Caracol, Belize

Present theory suggests that neighborhoods form through frequent, repeated face-to-face interactions among people in groups of spatially co-located residences. Over time, layered interactions create relational identities (through face-to-face contact) and categorical identities (through perceived similarities). Neighborhood identity, when present, indicates a union of both relational and categorical identities generated through shared social experiences. Unfortunately, we cannot directly ask the deceased about their neighbors; however, we can reconstruct likely zones of frequent, repeated face-to-face interaction and then test those assumptions using archaeological data. This analysis reconstructs neighborhoods at Caracol, Belize through the application of least cost analysis and k-means clustering. This spatial reconstruction relies on interpretations of interactions occurring near residences, in adjacent terraced agricultural fields, at public plazas in districts, and on the way to and from service-providing district architecture. Reconstructed neighborhoods, based on relational identity, are then tested archaeologically with excavated material from contexts related to categorical identity. Inter- and intra-neighborhood comparisons of ritual deposits from cache and burial deposits within 59 excavated residential plazuela housemound groups situated among eight sampled neighborhoods test and validate these reconstructed neighborhoods at Caracol, Belize by demonstrating, with statistical significance, more similarities within than between reconstructed neighborhoods.

Funerary practices in megalithic tombs during the Argaric Bronze Age in South-Eastern Iberia: The cemetery of Los Eriales

The transition between the Copper Age and the Argaric Bronze Age in south-eastern Iberia has traditionally been understood in an evolutionary framework that would have involved the replacement of some cultural forms by others. The chronology of megalithic societies has changed this assumption, revealing that the continuity of ancestral funerary practices is also a key feature of the Bronze Age. In this context, the new radiocarbon series from Los Eriales discussed in this paper can be considered a key contribution. Three main aspects stand out according to their statistical analysis: i) Los Eriales should be considered the most recent Iberian megalithic cemetery, as ritual activity began in the last centuries of the third millennium cal BC; ii) funerary activity took place during short events of intensive ritual depositions spanning a few decades, mainly in the 21st and 18th centuries; and iii) Los Eriales cemetery was mainly used during the Argaric period, which means the coexistence of two very different funerary practices: collective megalithic rituals and individual intramural inhumations. The continuity of megalithic rituals can be explained in terms of resilience to the social fragmentation that characterised Argaric societies.

Understanding Archaeological Tells: Circulating Memories and Engaging with Ancestors through Material Attachments

Tell sites are central to archaeological interpretation in many world regions due to their lengthy sequences of stratified deposits. However, the cultural choices that create architectural remnants and associated materials are more poorly understood, as are the ways that previous layers situate the living community above. This article calls for agentive understandings of tell-formation processes through examination of archaeological sites in Burkina Faso, West Africa. We argue that tells here formed through strong cultural beliefs of co-residence between the living and ancestral communities. Drawing on data from excavation and cross-section profiles exposed by road construction, we provide evidence that architectural remnants were actively created and preserved in rituals related to the making and veneration of ancestors. Particular places in tells were used for new construction (often with foundation ritual deposits) only after the active memory of the individual faded from the living community, resulting in a slow (at least 80–100 years) stratification process. Through variations on these core ritual processes, dynamic multi-temporal social groups reinvented themselves over 1500 years through eras of inequity, egalitarian revolution and the Black Death pandemic.

Tales of middle Mesolithic cultural transformations and marine adaptation:

Submerged archaeological sites from the early Holocene, along the south-western and western Norwegian coastline are important sources of new information about stone-age human populations and coastal adaptation. In this article we present a Mesolithic hatchet made of bone that was found at the harbor floor at Kirkehavn in southern Norway in 1997. While radiocarbon dating proved this hatchet to be the oldest directly dated in Scandinavia (9884–9480 cal BP), aDNA analysis has identified the species from which this hatchet was made as either bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) or northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). The deposit of the hatchet must be understood in light of other contemporary ritual deposits along the south coast of Norway like the sub-merged Middle Mesolithic ritual site at Hummervikholmen and the cultural transformations taking place during this time. The result supplements the tale of new introductions in cultural practice and in material culture concurrently indicating the introduction of more complex hunter gatherer societies, while the distinctly marine adaptation continued on this part of the coast.

Killing Cattle –Age Selection of Cattle at Iron Age Central Places in Third–Eleventh Century AD Sweden based on Tooth Wear

ABSTRACT Cattle were the most important livestock in Iron Age Scandinavia and have been utilised in multiple ways. This paper aims to investigate the kill-off patterns of cattle in the first millennium (third–eleventh century) AD at four complex and multifunctional sites in Sweden, namely Helgö, Gamla Uppsala, Uppåkra and Stanstorp. The mortality profiles are derived from data on tooth development and wear, with a focus on the dp4 and M3. The results support the notion of regional differences in the selection of animals between eastern central and southern Sweden. The kill-off patterns at Uppåkra and Stanstorp, with a large proportion of adult animals, resemble the pattern observed in early urban centres, such as Birka and Sigtuna. The mortality profiles both at Helgö and Gamla Uppsala exhibit a kill-off pattern with a large proportion of calves and young adults. The patterns are linked to the climatic and ecological preconditions, as well as to food preferences and ritual activities. There does not seem to be a specific age group selected for ritual depositions. However, a recurring kill-off pattern with a high proportion of either juveniles or adult cattle may be linked to a specific selection for communal consumption and feasting events.

Targeted radiocarbon dating of animal bones from ritual wetland depositions in early Iron Age (Denmark)

The biography and chronology of ritual wetland deposits of animal bones has proven difficult to establish and has been based on the study and typology of associated groups of objects (ceramics and weapons) deposited at the same site. As a result, animal bone deposits are often generalised and perceived in plural, even though several sites exhibit evidence of multiple, clearly separate deposits of individual animals or animal parts. To surmount these shortcomings, this study presents and discusses the results of targeted radiocarbon dating of animal bone depositions from a number of well-established ritual wetland sites dated to the early Iron Age within the area of present-day Denmark. The study includes 154 radiocarbon dates from 10 different sites. The results confirm that the biography of ritual animal bone depositions in wetland sites is highly complex and indicate that the use of wetlands during the early Iron Age for ritualized deposition of animal bones lasted for up to 800 years from the 4th – 5th century BC. The study also shows that domestic animal species were preferred over wild animals, and it confirms that some species may have held a special significance. It is further suggested that some animal species were deposited in wetland ritual depositions for a longer period of time than others, and that some wetland sites were in use through multiple centuries, whereas others were not. All in all, the study suggests a complex and dynamic use of wetlands and animals as part of early Iron Age ritual life.

Beyond Technology: Pottery Reveals Translocal Social Relations at a Bell Beaker Monumental Site in Central Europe

The Bell Beaker site near Brodek u Prostějova (Czechia) has yielded remains of a large timber construction accompanied by four symmetrical ritual deposits with numerous artefacts, including more than fifty ceramic vessels. Their decoration consists of incised patterns, in nineteen cases with preserved white inlaid incrustations. To investigate the social relations at this extraordinary site, a multi-analytical and micro-destructive approach was employed to determine the provenance and technology of the pottery and the composition of the white incrustations. The results indicate various origins for the pottery within the region and the presence of extra-regional fabrics and graphitic temper. The main raw materials for the white inlays were calcium carbonate (calcite), hydroxyapatite (bone), and bright clay. The mixing of decorative motifs and the variation in the shape and size of the beakers suggest unique manufacturing processes. These results lend support to the monumental site of Brodek serving as a ritual place for several communities from both local and wider areas.

VEGETAL RITUAL OFFERINGS FROM A LATE BRONZE AGE PIT FROM VLAHA-PAD SITE, CLUJ COUNTY, ROMANIA

An amazing and extremely rare archaeological context discovered at the Vlaha-Pad site located in the Transylvania area (Cluj County, Romania) may be related to offerings in the Late Bronze Age. Radiocarbon calibrated data indicates that the context ranges from 1612 to 1433 cal BC . The context is particularly important regarding the unearthing of a wood barrel full of sprouted barley that can be associated with a ritual offering to Gods. In addition to the wood barrel, several special vessels that are usually related to ritual practices have been uncovered. The archaeological materials recovered from within belong to the Wietenberg IV culture dated to the Late Bronze Age. Our study focuses on the context with ritual deposition and the possible hypotheses related to it.

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Sociokulturel betydning af tragtbægerkulturens tidligneolitiske flintøkser

Examining the Ritual Landscape of Bronze Age Crete through the Lens of Archaeobotany

This paper investigates plant remains at three ritual sites from Bronze Age Crete: Kophinas, Knossos Anetaki and Petras. To date, ritual contexts on the island have been little investigated from an archaeobotanical standpoint. Analysis of the plant material from these three sites provides new data for the use of plants in ritual activities in both mortuary and non-mortuary contexts. The results are discussed from a semiotic and emotive perspective, allowing for a better grasp of the potential plant-related rituals responsible for the creation of these archaeobotanical assemblages, including instances of plant sacrifice, symbolic plant sacrifice and the ritual deposition of intentionally charred plant remains. These findings are then integrated with previously published data from Crete and Mainland Greece in order to provide a broader picture of ritual plant use for the island, as well as the Aegean region. The recurrent evidence for the intentional charring of plant material and the presence of taxa commonly associated with everyday contexts indicates that fire was an important aspect of ritual activities involving plants and that the same suite of plant remains was engaged in the social activities of both the domestic and ritual spheres.

Particularități ale vieții spirituale ale comunităților neolitice de la Parța (județul Timiș) prin prisma datelor arheozoologice / Peculiarities of the spiritual life of the Neolithic communities from Parța (Timiș County) in terms of archaeozoological data

The faunal material that is the subject of this archaeozoological project comes from archaeological research on a Neo-Eneolithic settlement located on the border of Parţa village (Timiş County). The settlement represents one of the most important Neolithic settlements in northern Banat, and is believed to have been one of the region’s major settlements in the late Neolithic period.The numerous archaeological research campaigns have determined numerous data related to the spiritual life of the prehistoric communities in Parța, highlighted by the research of the two sanctuaries and the observations about ritual practices outside the shrines (house altars, ritual deposits, etc.). In most cases, these communities expressed in various ritual forms their veneration and gratitude to the gods, using animals or parts of them to perform these rituals.In this paper we want to address those issues related to the usage of animals (or animal parts) in ritual practices, insisting on the identified taxa and the distribution of animal remains in ritual complexes, continuing with the interpretation of the data obtained. Finally, we want to discuss possible hypotheses related to ritual practices, argued by paleofaunal data.

К хронологии «кладов» конского снаряжения раннесарматского времени

In 2017, a ritual deposit was found accidentally near Malynivka village in Petrovo district of Kirovohrad region. It belongs to the category of sites known in the literature as “odd” assemblages (M. B. Shchukin), the votive or ritual “hoards”. The find consists of Roman provincial bronze vessels (Bargfeld type situla and Aylesford type pan), silver and lead bridle roundels, five pairs of iron bits and cheek-pieces, five frontlets with a hook, and ten iron socketed arrowheads. Parallels to these items are dated to the 2nd—1st centuries BC. The Aylesford pan, which was first found in the North Pontic region, specifies the date of the assemblages to the first half of the 1st century BC. The topography of the parallels makes it possible to associate this find with the Northwestern Caucasus or Kuban region and determine its cultural affiliation as Sarmatian. The date and cultural attribution of the assemblage does not exclude the connection of this and similar “odd” assemblages (Marievka, Bădragii Noi, Vesela Dolyna, Hordashivka, etc.) with the raids of the Sarmatians and Maeotians from Kuban region.

Not Seeing Is Believing: Ritual Practice and Architecture at Chalcolithic Çadır Höyük in Anatolia

Chalcolithic religious practice at the site of Çadır Höyük (central Anatolia) included the insertion of ritual deposits into the architectural fabric of the settlement, “consecrating” spaces or imbuing them with symbolic properties. These deposits are recognizable in the archaeological record by their consistent use of ritually-charged material, such as ochre, copper, human and animal bone, and certain kinds of ceramics. During the 800-year period considered in this paper, the material practice of making these ritual deposits remained remarkably consistent. However, the types of spaces where the deposits are made change as shifting social organization reforms the divisions between private and public space.