These boots are made for burnin’: Inferring the position of the corpse and the presence of leather footwears during cremation through isotope (δ13C, δ18O) and infrared (FTIR) analyses of experimentally burnt skeletal remains

Cremation is a complex mortuary practice, involving a number of activities of the living towards the dead before, during, and after the destruction of the bodily soft tissues by fire. The limiting information concerning these behavioral patterns obtained from the pyre remains and/or cremation deposits prevents the reconstruction of the handling of the corpse during the burning process. This pioneering study tries to determine the initial positioning of the corpse in the pyre and assess whether the deceased was wearing closed leather shoes during cremation through isotopic (δ13C, δ18O) and infrared (ATR-FTIR) analyses of experimentally burnt pig remains, used as a proxy for humans. The results obtained show that both the position of feet on or within the pyre and the presence of footwears may moderately-to-highly influence the oxygen isotope ratios of bone apatite carbonates and the cyanamide content of calcined bone in certain situations. By forming a protective layer, shoes appear to temporarily delay the burning of the underlying pig tissues and to increase the heat-shielding effect of the soft tissues protecting the bone mineral fraction. In such case, bioapatite bone carbonates exchange oxygen with a relatively more 18O-depleted atmosphere (due to the influence of lignin-derived oxygen rather than cellulose-derived oxygen), resulting in more pronounced decrease in the δ18Ocarb values during burning of the shoed feet vs. unshoed feet. The shift observed here was as high as 2.5‰. A concomitant isotopic effect of the initial location of the feet in the pyres was also observed, resulting in a top-to-bottom decrease difference in the δ18Ocarb values of shoed feet of about 1.4‰ between each deposition level tested. Finally, the presence of cyanamide (CN/P ≥ 0.02) seems to be indicative of closed footwear since the latter creates favorable conditions for its incorporation into bone apatite.

Cultivating Corpses: A Comparative Approach to Disembodied Mortuary Remains

Disembodied remains of corpses are often found in the archaeological record but seldom interpreted and understood. This mortuary practice challenges our traditional understanding of funerals and what constitutcs a "grave". Through a comparative analysis of prehistoric Bronze Age and Iron Age mortuary remai ns and contemporary funeral practices in Nepal, it is argued that the disembodiment is a cosmogonic act whereby the corpse is an intrinsic part of the agricultural and hydrological cycle. An explicit combination of the past and present for interpretations of the past is a premise for understanding and knowledge production in archaeology, and this theoretical stance is developed and explored.

Ethics and Practice in the Excavation, Examination, Analysis, and Preservation of Historical Mummified Human Remains

European perspectives on the study of human remains, particularly mummified individuals with associated material culture, highlight the multidisciplinary research potential of these rare discoveries. The diverse evidence associated with mummified remains offers unique potential to consider how the deceased was experienced over time. Scientific analyses reveal the complex taphonomic processes leading to the selective survival of tissue and cultural items. Medical approaches to mummies have been long established, but historical examples can combine cultural and historical sources with the palaeopathological to develop more nuanced understandings of disease and lifestyle, identifying both individual biographies and wider cultural trends in mortuary practice. Study of mummies raises ethical considerations similar to those for skeletonized remains, but given the greater recognition of their humanity, further social and religious considerations are relevant. Investigation needs to be set against the local legislation and the feelings of the mummies’ gatekeepers and, in some cases, their descendant communities.

Post-Meroe in Upper Nubia

Upper Nubia stretches from the Second Cataract upstream to the Gezira region south of Khartoum, including Sinnar-Roseires on the southern Blue Nile and Kosti on the White Nile, a distance of not less than 1,500 km. Close observation of the material culture excavated in this ample territory shows a subdivision of Upper Nubia into three zones after the Meroitic Period, in spite of the broad similarities within this cultural horizon. Aspects of regionalism are based on geographical and natural elements in addition to the variety of mortuary practice and pottery production, which are the main sources of information about the period under study. One of the major problems is the lack of organized comprehensive studies in Upper Nubia. Therefore, still debatable are the conventional theories on the Axumite and Noba invasions, while as demonstrated in this text, there is no tangible evidence for such theories in archaeological material. Still open for discussion is the term “Post-Meroe.”

Ship Mounds Matter: The Referential Qualities of Earth-Sourced Materials in Viking Ship Mounds

This article discusses the construction details of the mounds erected over large Viking ship burials in Norway and shows that they form an integral part of mortuary practice. Moreover, elements of the construction that are potentially unique to this type of monument are repeated, suggesting a knowledge of the properties of materials and their inter-relationships within the mounds. Here, referencing between and within the mounds is considered alongside the connections these soils, sediments, and other earth-sourced materials contained in relation to the cultural landscape. The selection of such materials and the location of the burials in the landscape were fundamental to the creation of a performative scene for the burial rites, and for establishing a desired, interlinked, social memory.

The Romano-British Villa and Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Eccles, Kent

This book presents a study of the central and lower Medway valley during the 1st millennium AD. It takes as its focus the Eccles Roman villa and Anglo-Saxon cemetery, excavated between 1962–1976 and directed by Alec Detsicas. An account of this important villa throughout its long history is outlined, and a re-assessment of the architectural evidence which Detsicas presented, with fresh interpretations, is provided. In the middle of the 7th century, a large Anglo-Saxon cemetery was established south of the villa. It started as a typical ‘Final Phase’ cemetery but continued into the late Saxon period. The evidence from the cemetery is presented as a site report, with a burial catalogue, a discussion of the grave goods and a study of the wider aspects of mortuary practice. The monograph also includes a chapter on some fragmentary Iron Age evidence and a discussion of an Anglo-Saxon timber building and its relationship to the cemetery. The evidence from the villa and Anglo-Saxon cemetery is discussed within the context of the Medway valley, which highlights the important contribution that Eccles makes to archaeological knowledge. The significance of the area is further investigated by studies devoted to the pre-English place-names of the valley and the documentary evidence of the area during the Anglo-Saxon period. The volume concludes with a general discussion, which draws together all the strands of evidence and evaluates the significance of the Medway valley during the 1st millennium AD.

Retrieving, Curating and Depositing Skulls at Pitted Ware culture Sites

At many Middle Neolithic sites in south-central Scandinavia associated with the hunter-gatherer complex known as the Pitted Ware culture, the skulls of humans and animals seem to have been treated differently from other skeletal elements. This is evident, for example, in inhumation graves lacking crania or entire skulls as well as numerous finds of cranial and mandibular fragments scattered in cultural layers or deposited in hearths and pits. Despite parallels in overall treatment and find contexts, the selective handling of human skulls has generally been regarded as a mortuary practice and thus qualitatively different from the handling of animal skulls. Focusing primarily on the head bones themselves and relating their treatment to the wider use of skeletal remains allows us to consider a more complex system of retrieving, modifying, curating and depositing crania and mandibles. Drawing on the overlapping general treatment of human and animal remains, it is suggested that head bones from both humans and animals were efficacious objects that could be used in depositional acts.

western zhou Rites and Mortuary Practice (Inscriptions and Texts)

This chapter presents an evaluation of Zhou ritual from the standpoint of modern archaeological evidence and excavated texts. While there is some continuity with the definition of Zhou ritual in transmitted texts, the differences with and gaps in the transmitted records are striking. The chapter explores rites and mortuary practices in detail, and it presents several examples of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions related to ancient rituals and practices for conferring political power and for ancestor worship. The chapter analyzes several inscriptions providing examples of early ceremonies and also discusses the sixty-day ritual calendar that governed ritual life during this period. The use of ritual to preserve the past led to the rise of literature and history in ancient China.