scholarly journals The dead of the Dietersberg Cave, Germany: new insights into burial practices of the Iron Age from 14C-dates and stable isotope (C, N, O, Sr) analyses of human bones and teeth

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Müller-Scheeßel ◽  
Gisela Grupe ◽  
Bernd Mühldorfer ◽  
Thomas Tütken
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
The Dead

What Is the Norm?

2020 ◽  
pp. 170-189
Author(s):  
Nils Müller-Scheessel ◽  
Carola Berszin ◽  
Gisela Grupe ◽  
Annette Schwentke ◽  
Anja Staskiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
The Dead ◽  
High Degree

Despite great variability, most burials of the Early Iron Age in Central Europe exhibit a high degree of standardization. Richly furnished graves consist of wooden chambers furnished with grave goods like chariots, vessels, and other objects, while less “rich” burials—clustered in “regular” cemeteries—show the same orientation to the south as well as regularly reappearing objects like weapons or ornaments. Because of these strict rules, scholars have accepted such burials as “the norm,” and any other form of deposition of the dead as “abnormal,” hinting at macabre customs like cannibalism or sacrifice. This chapter analyzes one kind of Iron Age deviant burial, those in settlement pits, discussing bioarchaeological and isotopic analyses, a reassessment of archaeological evidence, and a comparison with normative burial practices. The dead in settlements belonged to at least three social categories, each probably considered incomplete in some way and unfit to be buried in regular cemeteries: very small children, adolescents, and other individuals that had suffered an untimely or “bad” death, and individuals of low social standing.

Conclusions

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Harding
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Grain Storage ◽  
Regular Form ◽  
Reasonable Expectation ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Sacred Landscapes ◽  
Real Issue ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Dead

Most studies of Iron Age burial practices in Britain begin by recognizing that, with a few notable but limited exceptions, there is no recurrent and regular form of disposal of the dead for most of the first millennium BC. We have questioned whether this is a reasonable expectation, that there should be a regular funerary rite, or whether this is simply conditioned by contemporary religious or secular standards. More specifically, our expectation of a regular funerary rite involving the intact inhumation of the dead or the deposit or disposal of the cremated remains as an entity may not conform to regular Iron Age practice, in which it seems that fragmentation and dispersal may have been common. Is there any reason why a diversity of practices, more difficult to recognize archaeologically, should not have been deployed in prehistory, already perhaps long before the Iron Age when the absence of recurrent and regular cemeteries happens to register archaeologically as a conspicuous omission? The fact that in certain regions at certain times one particular mode of disposal predominates, or happens to leave conspicuous archaeological traces, may lead archaeologists to expect a measure of standardization of practice that does not represent the actual diversity of prevailing rites. The real issue, therefore, is not to explain the absence of a conspicuous or recurrent rite, but the basis of choice that made communities adopt various practices, burying some individuals or groups in graves or cemeteries, others in re-used grain storage pits, and disposing of the disarticulated remains of others in various locations around a settlement. A second question, however, is when did the disposal of the dead in Britain first take the form of cemeteries, the recurrent and regular form of which might encourage us to believe that the majority of the population was disposed of in this way? It would be easy to respond by saying that there are formal cemeteries in Neolithic long barrows and chambered tombs, but sacred landscapes like the Boyne valley in County Meath or the Kilmartin valley in Argyll suggest that these special tombs may have been for much more than disposal of the dead.

The History of the Judahite Bench Tomb

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Suriano
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Iron Age Ii ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Insight Into

The history of the Judahite bench tomb provides important insight into the meaning of mortuary practices, and by extension, death in the Hebrew Bible. The bench tomb appeared in Judah during Iron Age II. Although it included certain burial features that appear earlier in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, such as burial benches, and the use of caves for extramural burials, the Judahite bench tomb uniquely incorporated these features into a specific plan that emulated domestic structures and facilitated multigenerational burials. During the seventh century, and continuing into the sixth, the bench tombs become popular in Jerusalem. The history of this type of burial shows a gradual development of cultural practices that were meant to control death and contain the dead. It is possible to observe within these cultural practices the tomb as a means of constructing identity for both the dead and the living.

Aquatic Radiocarbon Reservoir Offsets in the Southeastern Baltic

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gytis Piličiauskas ◽  
Carl Heron
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Curonian Lagoon ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Ceramic Vessel ◽  
Pike Perch ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Ams Dates

The aim of this article is to discuss radiocarbon dating offsets due to freshwater and marine reservoir effects (FRE and MRE, respectively) in the southeastern Baltic. Thirty-six 14C dates from Lithuanian coastal and inland Subneolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age sites as well as two Mesolithic-Neolithic cemeteries are presented here. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates, sometimes paired or tripled, have been obtained on samples of various origin, foodcrusts, or visible charred deposits adhering to the surfaces of ceramic vessel walls were also dated and investigated for stable isotope signals. The results argue for a significant freshwater component in the food processed in ceramic vessels during the Subneolithic and Neolithic. Paired dating of ungulate and human bones at the Spiginas and Donkalnis cemeteries (6300–1900 cal BC) does not suggest an FRE, although stable isotope data on human bone collagen strongly suggest a large input of freshwater food in the diet. An FRE in the order of 320–510 yr was estimated for the Šventoji paleolagoon around 3000 cal BC. At the same time, the FRE of the Curonian Lagoon could be larger as implied by large apparent 14C ages of modern pike-perch (981 ± 30 BP) and bream (738 ± 30 BP) bones as well as “foodcrust” offsets (650–530 yr) at Nida (3500–2500 cal BC). An MRE of 190 ± 43 yr was estimated for the southeastern coast of the Littorina Sea according to offsets between dates of seal bones and terrestrial samples at Nida and Šventoji. Any FRE at Lake Kretuonas remains uncertain due to the limited work to date.

scholarly journals The Sandby Borg Massacre: Interpersonal Violence and the Demography of the Dead

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Alfsdotter ◽  
Anna Kjellström
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
The Dead ◽  
And Control

During excavations of the Iron Age ringfort of Sandby borg (ad 400–550), the remains of twenty-six unburied bodies were encountered inside and outside the buildings. The skeletons and the archaeological record indicate that after the individuals had died the ringfort was deserted. An osteological investigation and trauma analysis were conducted according to standard anthropological protocols. The osteological analysis identified only men, but individuals of all ages were represented. Eight individuals (31 per cent) showed evidence of perimortem trauma that was sharp, blunt, and penetrating, consistent with interpersonal violence. The location of the bodies and the trauma pattern appear to indicate a massacre rather than a battle. The ‘efficient trauma’ distribution (i.e. minimal but effective violence), the fact that the bodies were not manipulated, combined with the archaeological context, suggest that the perpetrators were numerous and that the assault was carried out effectively. The contemporary sociopolitical situation was seemingly turbulent and the suggested motive behind the massacre was to gain power and control.

scholarly journals PROBLEM OF FUNERAL RITES OF THE POPULATION OF SCYTHIAN AGE IN THE SEYM RIVER BASIN

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-262
Author(s):  
O. O. Bilynskyi
Keyword(s):  
Local Population ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Skull Bone ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Funeral Rites ◽  
Human Bones ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
The Common ◽  
Burial Rite ◽  
Grave Goods

The author analyzed the problem of burial sites of the population of Scythian Age in the Seym region. Currently there are several locations associated with the local population. These are the burial sites from the Moiseevo and Maritsa hillforts and the necropolis near Dolinske village. The burials from the Moiseevo hillfort probably date back to the medieval times and the necropolis at the Maritsa settlement belonged to the Yukhniv culture. According to the available data, burial in the territory of this site was carried out after the hillfort ceased to function as a settlement — ca. 4th century BC. Necropolis near the Dolynske village is well known in the literature as an example of ground burials of the forest-steppe population of Scythian Age. However, detailed analysis of the circumstances of discovery of burials and the grave goods suggests that the burials were actually covered by the mounds but they did not survive due to the removal of soil. The grave goods is reminiscent of the nearby Sula necropolises. The lack of common burial sites in the region prompts the search for other burial rites. Traditionally cremations with the further dispersal of ashes are the common types of burial that do not leave visible burial sites but despite the complexity of their detection there are still no finds that would indicate this rite. The fragments of human bones at Shyryaevo, Kuzina Gora and Moiseyevo hillforts are the only hints that could indicate this. A round amulet which was made of human skull bone was discovered at the latter. Stray finds of human remains occurred at the sites of the entire forest-steppe territory in Scythian Age and many sites of Central Europe but the irregularity of such finds at the Seym region demonstrate that they could not be a mandatory consequence of a certain burial rite. The wide variety of analogies offers the options for the reconstruction of special burial practices that could lead to the deposition of human bones. By analogy with other cultures, the cannibalism, temporary burial at the site, and the deliberate storage of bones that may have been obtained from the burials can be assumed.

New AMS Dates for Verteba Cave and Stable Isotope Evidence of Human Diet in The Holocene Forest-Steppe, Ukraine

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah H Ledogar ◽  
Jordan K Karsten ◽  
Gwyn D Madden ◽  
Ryan Schmidt ◽  
Mykhailo P Sokohatskyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Discrete Events ◽  
Human Diet ◽  
Freshwater Reservoir

ABSTRACTExcavations at several locations in Verteba Cave have uncovered a large amount of human skeletal remains in association with faunal bones and Tripolye material culture. We aim to establish radiocarbon (14C) dates for eight sites and to evaluate whether these deposits are singular events, or slow accumulations over time.14C measurements, along with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from human and faunal remains, were collected from 18 specimens. Stable isotope values were used to evaluate human and animal diet, and whether freshwater reservoir effects offset measured dates. We found diets of the sampled species had limited to no influence from freshwater resources. Human diet appears to be dominated by terrestrial plants and herbivores. Four new sites were identified as Eneolithic. Comparisons of dates from top and bottom strata for two sites (7 and 20) reveal coeval dates, and we suggest that these deposits represent discrete events rather than slow continuous use. Lastly, we identified dates from the Mesolithic (8490±45 BP, 8765±30 BP), Iron Age (2505±20 BP), Slavic state era (1315±25 BP), and Medieval Period (585±15 BP), demonstrating periodic use of the cave by humans prior to and after the Eneolithic.

Paleodietary Patterns of the Cherepakha 13 Site Population (Early Iron Age) in Primorye (Maritime) Province, Russian Far East, based on Stable Isotope Analysis

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1611-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav V Kuzmin ◽  
Vsevolod S Panov ◽  
Viacheslav V Gasilin ◽  
Sergei V Batarshev
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Far East ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Maritime Province

ABSTRACTNew paleodietary data were obtained after the discovery and excavation in 2015–2017 of the Cherepakha 13 site in the southern part of Primorye (Maritime) Province in far eastern Russia. The site is located near the coast of Ussuri Bay (Sea of Japan) and belongs to the Yankovsky cultural complex of the Early Iron Age 14C-dated to ca. 3000 BP (ca. 1200 cal BC). The stable isotope composition of the bone collagen for 11 humans and 30 animals was determined. For humans, the following values (with±1 sigma) were yielded: δ13C=–10.2±0.8‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.3‰. The majority of terrestrial animals show the usual isotopic signals: δ13C=–19.4 ÷ –23.3‰; and δ15N=+4.6÷+6.6‰ (for wolves, up to +10.1‰); dogs, however, have an isotopic composition similar to humans: δ13C= –11.7±1.2‰; and δ15N=+12.4±0.4‰. Marine mammals have common values for pinnipeds: δ13C=–13.7 ÷ –14.6‰; and δ15N=+17.4 ÷ +18.0‰. The main food resources for the population of Cherepakha 13 site were (1) marine mollusks, fish, and mammals; and (2) terrestrial mammals; and possibly C4 plants (domesticated millets).

Conclusion: A Sense of Place

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Harding
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Sense Of Place ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Funerary Monuments ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Local Landmark ◽  
Social Expression ◽  
Significant Measure

It has often been supposed that the Anglo-Saxon poet lamenting the passing of an heroic society was referring to the ruins of Roman walls, for some reason decorated with serpentiform designs. But it seems more likely that the walls in question were those of an older order altogether, the grass-covered ramparts of a long-abandoned hillfort, winding serpent-like around the contours of a conspicuous local landmark like the Lambton Worm of Wearside folklore. However derelict, such sites must have retained a sense of place that heightened in collective memory the importance of people and events that were associated with them. Archaeology by convention characterizes ancient societies on the basis of the artefacts that they leave behind, whether structural and monumental, or portable and ephemeral. What survives will depend in significant measure upon the durability of material or construction, and upon a variety of taphonomic and environmental factors relating to the deposit or residual context. It will also self-evidently depend upon what communities chose to create and to leave behind, since artefacts are essentially proxy expressions of what they regarded as important, reflecting not just a basic utility but something of the identity and social values of the makers. As hillforts are the most substantial, monumental constructions of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age communities in north Alpine Europe, exceeding in scale even funerary monuments of those local groups that created lasting memorials to the dead, we may infer that they were the most potent expression of what mattered to the communities that built them. One of the recurrent frustrations of archaeology is that for periods or regions in which settlement remains are well represented, burial sites can prove elusive, and vice versa. What appears to be an exasperating demonstration of Murphy's Law nevertheless must have a significant explanation. In effect, some communities leave a mark predominantly in terms of settlement remains and others predominantly in funerary monuments. Diepeveen- Jansen (2007: 385) observed that in the Iron Age of the Marne-Moselle region, ‘the use of hillforts alternates with the employment of increasingly ostentatious burial practices’ (my emphasis), with the implication that this must reflect a meaningful shift in social expression.

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