An infant burial from Arma Veirana in northwestern Italy provides insights into funerary practices and female personhood in early Mesolithic Europe

The evolution and development of human mortuary behaviors is of enormous cultural significance. Here we report a richly-decorated young infant burial (AVH-1) from Arma Veirana (Liguria, northwestern Italy) that is directly dated to 10,211–9910 cal BP (95.4% probability), placing it within the early Holocene and therefore attributable to the early Mesolithic, a cultural period from which well-documented burials are exceedingly rare. Virtual dental histology, proteomics, and aDNA indicate that the infant was a 40–50 days old female. Associated artifacts indicate significant material and emotional investment in the child’s interment. The detailed biological profile of AVH-1 establishes the child as the earliest European near-neonate documented to be female. The Arma Veirana burial thus provides insight into sex/gender-based social status, funerary treatment, and the attribution of personhood to the youngest individuals among prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups and adds substantially to the scant data on mortuary practices from an important period in prehistory shortly following the end of the last Ice Age.

Social differentiation and well-being in the Italian Iron Age: exploring the relationship between sex, age, biological stress, and burial complexity among the Picenes of Novilara (8th–7th c. BC)

The possible association between “biological” and “social” status in the past is a central topic in bioarchaeological studies. For the Italian Iron Age, previous research comparing skeletal and funerary variables depicts a multifaceted scenario consistent with nuanced biocultural patterns. This calls for additional studies on a broader series of archaeological contexts and skeletal assemblages. Here, we contribute new data about the biological correlates of social differentiation during the Italian Iron Age by comparing paleopathological and funerary variables in the Picene necropolis of Novilara (Marche region, 8th–7th c. BC). Novilara is one of the largest Picene necropolises in the Italian Peninsula and one of the most important funerary sites of the Italian Iron Age. The skeletal sample includes 147 individuals (females: 70; males: 35; 10 unsexed adults; 32 non-adults). We use linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, non-specific periosteal lesions, and stature to approximate non-specific stressors and compare them with archaeological variables summarizing funerary variability by means of logistic models, Mann–Whitney and Spearman tests. Results are heterogeneous and vary according to the considered variables. On average, they however show that (a) adults featuring a more complex funerary treatment have a lower probability of showing stress-related skeletal changes, and (b) even though funerary features suggests a strong gender differentiation, frequencies of paleopathological variables do not differ between sexes. Our analyses point to a complex link between biological and social status in this population and call for a critical reflection about the theoretical and methodological issues affecting similar studies.

Migration and cultural integration in the early medieval cemetery of Finglesham, Kent, through stable isotopes

Debate over migrations to Britain during the fifth and sixth centuries AD is still rampant in archaeological discourse. Stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope values from multiple tissues in individuals buried at Finglesham in Kent during the first millennium AD demonstrate not only migration of individuals to the region but also highlight community integration through foodways and refute previous models of ‘invasion’ and replacement. This case study community suggests gendered differences in mobility into early medieval England, with males more likely to be migrants from cooler regions than women. It also challenges traditional narratives of social status in these furnished cemeteries being linked to diet or migrant status with no clear correlations found between funerary treatment and isotopic signatures. This multi-tissue and multi-isotope study tracks dietary changes in this multi-origin community throughout their lives and shows that they may have even changed their diets to adapt to Christianising influences in the region.

Epidemics and Wars: Comparative Archaeology and Anthropology of Ancient Greek Mass Burials

The high number of dead bodies to deal with in time of mortality crises (events marked by an unusually high number of dead in a limited amount of time) often leads to modifications in the traditional funerary practices of a society. This contribution questions the way Ancient Greeks, from the 8th till the 3rd century BC, handled such mortality crises, focusing on mass burials. In a first methodological part, we discuss the means to identify funerary sites related to mortality crises, using the methods of archaeothanatology. By confronting archaeological features (taphonomic processes, position of the remains, grave type, offerings, etc.) and bioanthropological data (number of dead, sex, age, pathologies, etc.), we will first define the main characteristics of mass burials. We will then question how to discriminate between mass burials linked to war, epidemics, massacres and famine, underlining the major importance of historical sources in this process. The second part is dedicated to the study of various cases from Athens, Paros, Chaeronea, Tanagra and Greek Sicily and their interpretation. We will argue that epidemic mass burials are the most difficult to identify, since they may present innumerable variations in terms of osteoprofiles and archaeological features. Finally, we will question our abilities, as archaeoanthropologists, to evaluate the impact of epidemics on the funerary treatment of the dead in the Ancient world.

RADIOCARBON DATING THE 3RD MILLENNIUM BC IN THE CENTRAL BALKANS: A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE EARLY BRONZE AGE SEQUENCE

ABSTRACTLong-standing archaeological narratives suggest that the 3rd millennium cal BC is a key period in Mediterranean and European prehistory, characterized by the development of extensive interaction networks. In the Balkans for instance, the identification of such interactions relies solely upon typological arguments associated with conflicting local terminologies. Through a combination of 25 new radiocarbon (14C) dates and re-examination of the existing documentation, this paper defines the absolute chronology for groups which were previously only broadly framed into the 3rd millennium BC central Balkans (modern-day Serbia and North Macedonia). These absolute dates allow us to establish with greater clarity the chronological relations between different cultural groups that represent the main cultural units of the central Balkans sequence for the 3rd millennium cal BC: Coţofeni-Kostolac, Bubanj-Hum II, Belotić-Bela Crkva, Armenochori, and Bubanj Hum III. When comparing together the chronologies for material culture, funerary treatment of the body, and funerary architecture, there are no easily discernible patterns. We observe instead a complex mix of traits criss-crossing over a wide area encompassing the Pannonian basin, the central Balkans and the Greek peninsula.

Defining Non-Normative Practices in a Diverse Funerary Record

In the past few decades, researchers have increasingly come to understand that the archaeological record of the Caribbean region shows a high degree of sociocultural variation across the archipelago and through time. Funerary treatment in the precolonial and early colonial Caribbean archipelago in particular was variable, hampering assessment of potentially non-normative funerary practices. Alongside multidisciplinary contextual assessment of funerary practice, we use social network analysis to study relations within the dataset to explore other indicators of non-normative practices. This approach demonstrates that altering the scale of analysis (i.e., local vs. regional) can drastically change our concept of what can be considered non-normative. Network analysis revealed relationships within the diverse funerary patterns, including co-occurrence of uncommon modes of burial at sites, suggesting that even rare modes of burial comprised widely recognized practices.

2. Funerary Treatment of Immature Deceased in Neolithic Collective Burial Sites in France. Were Children Buried with Adults?

In France, collective burial sites of the Late Neolithic period (3600-2100 BC) include a variety of structures ranging from simple pits and natural caves to hypogea and megalithic structures. The management of these graves raises questions about their representativeness and about burial practices involving non-adult individuals. This study of funerary selection based on age-at-death compares the results obtained for different sites and offers several potential interpretations concerning the integration of immature individuals in these collective tombs based on their age. The study highlights a particular selection observed in various funerary structures and a chronological difference between northern and southern France. These first results lead to a discussion of distinct cultural choices among different geographical areas.

El espacio funerario de La Noria, Tamtok, San Luis Potosí

En el marco del proyecto Origen y desarrollo del paisaje urbano de Tamtok, San Luis Potosí, iniciado en 2008, se ha generado una línea de investigación enfocada en el tratamiento funerario de un conjunto de enterramientos ubicado en el sector noroeste del sitio, perteneciente al periodo posclásico tardío. El presente texto muestra el análisis de algunos componentes que permiten dilucidar el tratamiento mortuorio del conjunto. Aquí se estudia, entre otros, los tipos de depósito, la disposición del ajuar y la utilización dinámica del espacio. El objetivo central de esta investigación consiste en generar aportes para comprender la función social de este particular conjunto funerario huasteco.Abstract: Within the Origin and Development of San Luis Potosi Tamtok Urban Landscape project, was developed since 2008 a research inquiry which pretended to study the funerary treatment of a burials group located in north-western sector of the site, belonging to the Late Postclassic period. The present paper makes known the analysis of some components which allow to understand the funerary treatment. For example, it studies deposit types, the disposition of offerings, the dynamic utilization of space, among other issues. The central objective of this research is to generate contributions to acknowledge the social function of this particular Huastec funerary cluster.Résumé : Dans le cadre du projet Origine et développement du paysage urbain de Tamtok, San Luis Potosi lancé en 2008, a été mis en place un axe de recherche portant sur le traitement funéraire d’un ensemble d’enterrements situé dans le secteur nord-ouest du site et correspondant au Postclassique récent. L’article ci-dessous présente l’analyse de quel- ques-uns des éléments permettant de comprendre le traitement de cet ensemble funéraire. Y sont étudiées, entre autres, les modalités de dépôt, la disposition du mobilier funéraire et l’utilisation dynamique de l’espace. L’objectif principal de cette recherche est de proposer un ensemble de données qui permettent d’appréhender la fonction sociale de cet ensemble funéraire particulier de la Huastèque.

The Pigi Athinas Tumuli Cemetery of Macedonian Olympus

The Middle-Late Bronze Age (1620–1500 B.C.) was a period of emerging and intensifying social complexity involving small-scale settlement hierarchies, but the archaeological understanding of social organization at this time has remained limited. In a comparative case study of funerary treatment and skeletal biology, the authors consider the distribution of multiple skeletal pathological conditions between distinct tumuli-style burials at Pigi Athinas. Though social rank may have started to displace the centrality of kinship, subtle variations in both funerary and bioarchaeological data indicated the most important structuring factors were sex and age distinctions. Over time, the influence of differential diets, divisions of gender, and ritual feasting appear as the people participated in a widespread Mycenaean system that shaped both gender and health in ancient Greece.