Babies Reborn 2008

UNION INTERNATIONALE DES SCIENCES PRÉHISTORIQUES ET PROTOHISTORIQUES INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR PREHISTORIC AND PROTOHISTORIC SCIENCES

PROCEEDINGS OF THE XV WORLD CONGRESS (LISBON, 4-9 SEPTEMBER 2006)

ACTES DU XV CONGRÈS MONDIAL (LISBONNE, 4-9 SEPTEMBRE 2006)

Series Editor: Luiz Oosterbeek

VOL. 24

WS26

Babies Reborn: Infant/Child Burials in Pre- and Protohistory

Edited by

Krum Bacvarov

BAR International Series 1832 2008

This title published by Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England [email protected] www.archaeopress.com BAR S1832 Proceedings of the XV World Congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences Actes du XV Congrès Mondial de l’Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques Outgoing President: Vítor Oliveira Jorge Outgoing Secretary General: Jean Bourgeois Congress Secretary General: Luiz Oosterbeek (Series Editor) Incoming President: Pedro Ignacio Shmitz Incoming Secretary General: Luiz Oosterbeek Babies Reborn: Infant/Child Burials in Pre- and Protohistory, Vol. 24, Section WS26

© UISPP / IUPPS and authors 2008 ISBN 978 1 4073 0316 1 Signed papers are the responsibility of their authors alone. Les texts signés sont de la seule responsabilité de ses auteurs. Contacts : Secretary of U.I.S.P.P. – International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Av. Dr. Cândido Madureira 13, 2300 TOMAR Email: [email protected] www.uispp.ipt.pt Printed in England by Alden HenDi, Oxfordshire All BAR titles are available from: Hadrian Books Ltd 122 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7BP England [email protected] The current BAR catalogue with details of all titles in print, prices and means of payment is available free from Hadrian Books or may be downloaded from www.archaeopress.com

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NOTE OF THE SERIES EDITOR

The present volume is part of a series of proceedings of the XV world congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP / IUPPS), held in September 2006, in Lisbon.

The Union is the international organization that represents the prehistoric and protohistoric research, involving thousands of archaeologists from all over the world. It holds a major congress every five years, to present a “state of the art” in its various domains. It also includes a series of scientific commissions that pursue the Union’s goals in the various specialities, in between congresses. Aiming at promoting a multidisciplinary approach to prehistory, it has several regional or thematic associations as affiliates, and on its turn it is a member of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (an organism supported by UNESCO).

Over 2500 authors have contributed to c. 1500 papers presented in 101 sessions during the XVth world Congress of UISPP, held under the organisation of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar. 25% of these papers dealt with Palaeolithic societies, and an extra 5% were related to Human evolution and environmental adaptations. The sessions on the origins and spread of hominids, on the origins of modern humans in Europe and on the middle / upper Palaeolithic transition, attracted the largest number of contributions. The papers on Post-Palaeolithic contexts were 22% of the total, with those focusing in the early farmers and metallurgists corresponding to 12,5%. Among these, the largest session was focused on prehistoric mounds across the world. The remaining sessions crossed these chronological boundaries, and within them were most represented the regional studies (14%), the prehistoric art papers (12%) and the technological studies (mostly on lithics – 10%).

The Congress staged the participation of many other international organisations (such as IFRAO, INQUA, WAC, CAA or HERITY) stressing the value of IUPPS as the common ground representative of prehistoric and protohistoric research. It also served for a relevant renewal of the Union: the fact that more than 50% of the sessions were organised by younger scholars, and the support of 150 volunteers (with the support of the European Forum of Heritage Organisations) were in line with the renewal of the Permanent Council (40 new members) and of the Executive Committee (5 new members). Several Scientific Commissions were also established.

Finally, the Congress decided to hold its next world congress in Brazil, in 2011. It elected Pe. Ignácio Shmitz as new President, Luiz Oosterbeek as Secretary General and Rossano Lopes Bastos as Congress secretary.

L.O.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents................................................................................................................... ii

List of Figures....................................................................................................................... iv

List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... vii

Volume Editor’s Foreword ................................................................................................... ix

Paleolithic

Early Deliberate Child Burials: Bioarchaeological insights from the Near Eastern Mediterranean .................................................................................................................. 3

Anne-marie Tillier

The Gravettian Infant Burials from Krems-Wachtberg, Austria.......................................... 15 Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Christine Neugebauer-Maresch, Ulrich Simon,

and Maria Teschler-Nicola

Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age

Infant Burials in Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cyprus: Evidence from Khirokitia ......................... 23 Françoise Le Mort

Suffer the Children: ‘Visualising’ children in the archaeological record............................. 33 Malcolm Lillie

Çatalhöyük’s Foundation Burials: Ritual child sacrifice or convenient deaths?.................. 45 Sharon Moses

Des morts peu fiables: les sépultures néolithiques d’immatures en Grèce .......................... 53 Maia Pomadère

A Long Way to the West: Earliest jar burials in southeast Europe and the Near East......... 61 Krum Bacvarov

Infant Jar Burials – a ritual associated with early agriculture? ............................................ 71 Estelle Orrelle

The Jar Burials of the Chalcolithic “Necropolis” at Byblos ................................................ 79 Gassia Artin

Mobilier funéraire de nouveau-nés et d’enfants: cas d’étude de la Bulgarie ....................... 87 Yavor Boyadžiev and Maria Gurova

Late Neolithic Boys at the Gomolava Cemetery (Serbia).................................................... 95 Sofija Stefanović

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Child Burials in Intramural and Extramural Contexts From the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of Romania: The problem of “inside” and “outside” ........................ 101

Raluca Kogălniceanu

The Changing Relationship between the Living and the Dead: Child burial at the site of Kenan Tepe, Turkey ................................................................................ 113

David Hopwood

Childhood in Late Neolithic Vietnam: Bio-mortuary insights into an ambiguous life stage......................................................................................... 123

Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Kate Domett, Nguyen Kim Thuy, Nguyen Kim Dung, Nguyen Lan Cuong, Damien Huffer, and Sarah Muller

A Social Aspect of Intramural Infant Burials’ Analysis: The case of EBA Tell Yunatsite, Bulgaria ................................................................... 137

Tatiana Mishina

Later Bronze Age and Iron Age

Pre-Adult and Adult Burials of East Manych Catacomb Culture: Was infanticide really impossible? .............................................................................. 149

Marina Andreeva

Infant/Child Burials and Social Reproduction in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (c. 2100-800 BC) of Central Italy................................................. 161

Erik van Rossenberg

A Biocultural Study of Children From Iron Age South Siberia......................................... 175 Eileen Murphy

Infant Burials in Iron Age Britain ...................................................................................... 189 Belinda Tibbetts

Later perspectives

Special Burials, Special Buildings? An Anglo-Saxon perspective on the interpretation of infant burials in association with rural settlement structures............. 197

Sally Crawford

Enfants Huaca: Sépultures en Ollas des enfants nés dans des circonstances spéciales selon les extirpateurs d’idolâtries andines du XVIIème siècle........................ 205

Mariel López

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1.1. Map of the Levant with sites documenting Middle Palaeolithic human occupations........................................................................................................... 4

Fig. 1.2. The Skhul 1 child burial in upper view.................................................................... 6

Fig. 1.3. The primary deliberate burial of the Qafzeh 11 adolescent was uncovered at the bottom of the Mousterian sequence in the site ....................................................... 6

Fig. 1.4. The double primary burial found at Qafzeh: Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 yrs old at death child was lying at the feet of a late adolescent Qafzeh 9 .................................... 6

Fig. 1.5. Spatial distribution of the human remains in the Kebara Cave................................ 8

Fig. 1.6. 1 The Kebara ........................................................................................................... 9

Fig. 1.7. Dederiyeh .............................................................................................................. 11

Fig. 2.1. The city of Krems is situated north of the Danube, where the river exits the narrow Wachau valley and flows into the alluvial plain northwest of Vienna............... 16

Fig. 2.2. The Wachtberg area between the Danube and the river Krems, with the site of Krems-Hundssteig in the southern part and Krems-Wachtberg about 100 m further northwest .................................................. 16

Fig. 2.3. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 1 was recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology. .................... 18

Fig. 2.4. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 2 was recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology ..................... 18

Fig. 3.1. Site location ........................................................................................................... 24

Fig. 3.2. Infant burial 624 (building 126, level B, east sector) lying on the back ................ 26

Fig. 3.3. Infant burial 563 (building 123, level A, east sector) resting on the face .............. 27

Fig. 3.4. Infant burial 830 (building 122, level C, east sector) including a stone on the body (a) and after removal of the stone (b) ......................................................... 27

Fig. 3.5. Infant burial 538 (building 123, level A, east sector) ............................................ 27

Fig. 4.1. Location map for the cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region ............................ 34

Fig. 4.2. Mesolithic and Neolithic isotope ratios for the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries .......... 37

Fig. 4.3. Vasilyevka II isotopes ratios.................................................................................. 37

Fig. 4.4. The Nenasytets cemetery....................................................................................... 38

Fig. 4.5. Osipovka child burial (individual no. 28). This individual was buried with c. 200 Cyprinidae (Carp) teeth in association ........................................................ 39

Fig. 5.1. A hurried wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, possibly to add stability to the wall ................................................................................ 49

Fig. 6.1. Sites mentionés dans le texte ................................................................................. 54

Fig. 7.1. Map showing the location of the sites mentioned in the text................................. 62

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Fig. 7.2. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the later Neolithic and Chalcolithic ............................................................................................................. 67

Fig. 7.3. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the Early Bronze Age ................. 68

Fig. 9.1. Geo-spatial corpus: topographic distribution......................................................... 81

Fig. 9.2. Funerary contexts: jar burials ................................................................................ 81

Fig. 9.3. Human remains (burial No. 801) ........................................................................... 82

Fig. 9.4. Grave goods in a jar............................................................................................... 82

Fig. 9.5. Metal artefact (burial No. 1669) ............................................................................ 84

Fig. 9.6. Ornaments (burial No. 92)..................................................................................... 84

Fig. 10.1. Durankulak, sépultures de nouveau-nés avec du mobilier funéraire ................... 89

Fig. 10.2. Durankulak, sépultures de l’Infants II avec du mobilier funéraire ...................... 91

Fig. 11.1. Burials at the Gomolava cemetery....................................................................... 95

Fig. 11.2. Burial No. 8, 1 year old boy, buried with 4 ceramic vessels and 7 copper beads......................................................................................................... 96

Fig. 11.3. Burial No. 9, 3 years old boy, buried without grave goods ................................. 97

Fig. 11.4. Burial No. 10, 7 years old boy, buried with 2 ceramic vessels and 2 bone beads ............................................................................................................ 97

Fig. 12.1. Map of the archaeological sites mentioned in the text....................................... 102

Fig. 12.2. Cernica............................................................................................................... 104

Fig. 12.3. Vărăşti ............................................................................................................... 106

Fig. 12.4. Gârleşti-Gherceşti .............................................................................................. 106

Fig. 12.5. Ostrovul Corbului .............................................................................................. 106

Fig. 12.6. a) Percentages of child and adult burials at the sites mentioned in the text; b) Comparison between child and adult burials’ percentage in the burial groups and cemeteries (Neolithic and Chalcolithic) ................................................................ 108

Fig. 13.1. Location of Kenan Tepe in southeastern Turkey............................................... 114

Fig. 13.2. Topographic map of Kenan Tepe showing the location of areas and trenches.................................................................................................................. 115

Fig. 13.3. Plaster-lined Ubaid infant burial and the shallow bowl that was used to cover the child.......................................................................................................... 116

Fig. 13.4. Ubaid infant burial with associated grinding stone............................................ 116

Fig. 13.5. Mud-brick lined burial of the Late Chalcolithic infant ...................................... 117

Fig. 13.6. Flexed burial of G.7.25.5................................................................................... 118

Fig. 13.7. Burial goods associated with the G.7.25.5 burial .............................................. 119

Fig. 13.8. Bowl found against northern corner of the G.7.28.6 burial ............................... 119

Fig. 14.1. Age specific mortality at Man Bac (all excavation seasons, n=46) ................... 125

Fig. 14.2. Massive carious lesion to right dm1 and note also focal demineralisation of left d12 (MB05 B18, 18 month old infant) ............................................................... 126

Fig. 14.3. Distribution of burials by age for the three excavation seasons at Man Bac ................................................................................................................... 127

Fig. 14.4. Frequency of ceramics per grave by age class................................................... 128

Fig. 14.5. Six month old infant (MB05 B05) with two small pots..................................... 129

Fig. 14.6. Close up of the hands of an 8 to 9 year old child (MB05 B25) grasping large bivalve shell.......................................................................................... 129

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Fig. 15.1. Horizontally compressed scheme of the central cross-section........................... 138

Fig. 15.2. Distribution of infant burials by horizons.......................................................... 139

Fig. 15.3. Houses with/without infant burials by horizons ................................................ 139

Fig. 15.4. Location of burials in the houses ....................................................................... 140

Fig. 15.5. Houses with double burials................................................................................ 140

Fig. 15.6. Burial # 13, near the oven.................................................................................. 141

Fig. 15.7. Burial # 17, with surface marking ..................................................................... 141

Fig. 15.8. Burial # 25 ......................................................................................................... 141

Fig. 15.9. Burial # 41, slanting pit ..................................................................................... 142

Fig. 15.10. Burial # 45, slanting pit ................................................................................... 142

Fig. 15.11. Types of burial vessels .................................................................................... 143

Fig. 15.12. Typological distribution of burial vessels........................................................ 144

Fig. 15.13. Burial # 10, in a bowl with a lid ...................................................................... 145

Fig. 16.1. Individual burials............................................................................................... 150

Fig. 16.2. Double adult/infant burials (selection A)........................................................... 153

Fig. 16.3. Double adult/child burials (selection B) ............................................................ 154

Fig. 16.4. Double adult/adult burials (1-7, selection C) and adult/pre-adult burial (selection D)................................................................................................................. 155

Fig. 16.5. Double burials of pre-adults (1-5, selection D); collective burials of 3-4 individuals (6 and 8, selection A; 7, selection B)......................................................... 156

Fig. 18.1. Map showing the location of the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tuva, south Siberia................................................................................................................. 176

Fig. 18.2. (a) Infant buried within a stone cist of unknown context from Aymyrlyg, (b) Log House Tomb X ................................................................................................ 177

Fig. 18.3. (a) Cranium of a 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) that displayed a chekan injury on his/her left parietal................................................................................................... 182

Fig. 18.4. (a) Young girls milking sheep at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia, (b) Girls taking turns to prepare Airag (fermented mare’s milk) to drink at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park, Mongolia......................................................... 184

Fig. 18.5. Father and daughter on horseback at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park, Mongolia ...................................................................................................................... 184

Fig. 18.6. Grandfather and grandson inside a yurt at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia ....... 185

Fig. 19.1. Sites mentioned in text ...................................................................................... 189

Fig. 21.1. Quebrada de Humahuaca................................................................................... 206

Fig. 21.2. a) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca; b) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca, détail........................................................................ 209

Fig. 21.3. Technologie céramique...................................................................................... 211

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LIST OF TABLES

Tab. 3.1. Age distribution .................................................................................................... 25

Tab. 3.2. Burial position ...................................................................................................... 27

Tab. 3.3 Degree of body contraction ................................................................................... 27

Tab. 10.1. Tableau général des sépultures d’après l’âge et le mobilier en silex .................. 88

Tab. 10.2. Sépultures d’enfants (Infans II 7-14 ans)............................................................ 92

Tab. 10.3. Sépultures de nouveau-nés déterminées d’après le contexte funéraire ............... 92

Tab. 10.4. Sépultures d’enfants identifiées sans certitude ................................................... 93

Tab. 11.1. Gomolava cemetery: child burials ...................................................................... 95

Tab. 12.1. Cernica: sex and age groups distribution .......................................................... 105

Tab. 12.2. Radovanu: age groups distribution ................................................................... 105

Tab. 13.1. Infant and child burials excavated from Kenan Tepe ....................................... 113

Tab. 14.1. Demographic attributes of several Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages..................................................................................................... 126

Tab. 14.2. Early childhood caries (≤3 years) experience in prehistoric Southeast Asia.............................................................................................................. 126

Tab. 14.3. Frequency of cribra orbitalia in Man Bac children ≤ 10 years old at death ......................................................................................................................... 127

Tab. 14.4. Distribution of Man Bac grave goods by age-at-death ..................................... 128

Tab. 16.1. Individual burials age selections....................................................................... 151

Tab. 16.2. Grave goods in individual burials ..................................................................... 152

Tab. 16.3. Collective burial age selections ........................................................................ 152

Tab. 16.4. Grave goods in collective burials...................................................................... 158

Tab. 16.5. Bioarchaeological determinations of age and sex (selections A and B) ........... 158

Tab. 16.6. Sex-and-age determinations made by archaeologists and bioarchaeologists (selection C).............................................................................. 159

Tab. 17.1. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Early Bronze Age.......................... 162

Tab. 17.2. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Middle Bronze Age....................... 162

Tab. 17.3. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Late Bronze Age ........................... 163

Tab. 17.4. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Final Bronze Age .......................... 165

Tab. 17.5. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo: Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age ................. 167

Tab. 19.1. Incidence of burial type .................................................................................... 190

Tab. 19.2. Incidence of deposits in pit burials ................................................................... 190

Tab. 19.3. Incidence of deposits in ditch burials................................................................ 190

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Tab. 19.4. Orientation of infant burials.............................................................................. 192

Tab. 19.5. Variable comparison across sites ...................................................................... 194

Tab. 20.1. Infant burials at Anglo-Saxon settlements ........................................................ 198

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VOLUME EDITOR’S FOREWORD

But who knows the fate of his bones, or how often he is to be buried? Who hath the oracle of his ashes, or whither they are to be scattered? Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia (1658)

When I first decided to organize a session at the XVth Congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP / IUPPS) in Lisbon, I simply wanted to put the results of my own research project in the perspective of more or less similar phenomena, in a limited time and space framework. It is always stimulating just to see where you are standing, this was my thinking, so I contacted a possible partner who was then working on a similar project, and sketched a list of prospective participants. Then, as I started to receive proposals for the talks, the session’s time and space framework quickly expanded to include periods and places as remote from each other as the Gravettian in Austria and Anglo-Saxon England or Neolithic Vietnam and seventeenth-century Andean world. The session’s title – which for obvious reasons appears slightly changed as the title of this volume – apparently did its job to focus the research interest in approaches varying from purely archaeological and bioarchaeological analyses of burial contexts through chronology observations to interpretations and reconstructions of ritual and symbolic networks.

Burial practices for infants and children in the remote past have attracted archaeologists long before the seminal book of Eleanor Scott, The Archaeology of Infancy and Infant Death (B.A.R., 1999), but this kind of research has actually intensified in the last decade. Now that the editing of the texts and illustrations of this volume is finally complete, and the table of contents is ready, I see an outcome that could have perhaps been expected but was definitely hoped for, one that gives insights into a whole new world of childhood in the past.

As is only appropriate in such cases, the volume is chronologically and territorially ordered, and begins with Anne-Marie Tillier’s paper that looks for the origins of funerary practices as applied to infants and non-adults in certain Mousterian assemblages in the Mediterranean Levant. The Gravettian burials from Krems-Wachtberg in Lower Austria are considered by a team from the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum Vienna (Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Christine Neugebauer-Maresch, Ulrich Simon, and Maria Teschler-Nicola), in the context of the debate over rituals and social structure of hunter-gatherer communities. The bulk of papers, however, are focused on the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age evidence; they are based on material from southeast Europe, Anatolia, and the Levant, and consider burial samples from sites or regions as Khirokitia in Cyprus (Françoise Le Mort), Çatalhöyük (Sharon Moses), Kenan Tepe (David Hopwood), Byblos (Estelle Orrelle and Gassia Artin), the Dnieper Rapids in Ukraine (Malcolm Lillie), Durankulak (Yavor Boyadžiev and Maria Gurova), Yunatsite (Tatiana Mishina), and Gomolava (Sofija Stefanović), or look for general trends as in Neolithic/Chalcolithic Greece or Romania (Maia Pomadère and Raluca Kogălniceanu) or trace the appearance and development of early jar burial (Krum Bacvarov). A team from the Australian National University and the Vietnamese Institute of

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Archaeology (Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Kate Domett, Nguyen Kim Thuy, Nguyen Kim Dung, Nguyen Lan Cuong, Damien Huffer, and Sarah Muller) sheds light on the role of children and adult attitudes towards children at the late Neolithic cemetery of Man Bac in northern Vietnam. Another group of papers covers the later Bronze Age and Iron Age, in southeast Europe and the North Caucasus (Marina Andreeva), south Siberia (Eileen Murphy), Central Italy (Erik van Rossenberg), and Great Britain (Belinda Tibbetts). Two more papers investigate the correlation between infant burial and built structures within the context of Anglo-Saxon England (Sally Crawford) as well as the typical child burials in jars in the Andean world (Mariel López).

I would not argue that this collection of papers gives a comprehensive picture of infant/child burial in preliterate societies; there are admittedly huge gaps in our knowledge of past burial practices as well as in this volume’s scope that could have perhaps been filled in to some extent, but this was not what I was after. What we have instead is various reference points in the analysis, interpretation, and reconstruction of infant/child burial record, bits and pieces that contribute to the multifaceted aspects of this vast research area. Moreover, many papers’ considerations include sites or phenomena, territories or periods that overlap and complement one another, thus emphasizing parallels and interrelations and allowing comparisons within or between larger networks, which will hopefully stimulate new approaches and inferences in the future.

I would like to acknowledge the help of those who made possible the publication of this volume. First and foremost, this is Professor Luiz Oosterbeek, the Secretary General of UISPP, who took the burden to organize UISPP’s XVth Congress as well as to coordinate the complicated process of editing all sessions’ proceedings as a series editor. Special thanks are due to my partner in the WS26 Babies Reborn organization, Tatiana Mishina who was always there for my boringly numerous questions and suggestions. Cláudia Fidalgo from the UISPP Secretariat was vital to the session’s organization as well as to the making of this volume. I owe to Sharon Moses the cover drawing that wonderfully reconstructs a wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. My poor proficiency in French was greatly helped by Maia Pomadère and Mario Ignatov who edited the French texts and translated some of the French abstracts. Thank you also goes to all authors who quickly responded to my – sometimes admittedly too fussy – editorial requests. Last but not least I gratefully acknowledge the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; it was during my AvH research fellowship at the University of Saarland that this volume has been edited.

K.B. Saarbrücken, May 2007

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EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN

MEDITERRANEAN

Anne-marie TILLIER Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passé UMR 5199, France

[email protected]

Abstract: The Near East provides an excellent opportunity to approach from published interpretations the origins of funerary practises applied to infants and non-adults during the Middle Palaeolithic in Eurasia. These practises were shared by morphologically different human groups that have alternated use of the Mediterranean Levant between 110 and 50 Kyrs BP and were associated with distinct Mousterian assemblages. Key-Words: Funerary practice, childhood, Mousterian, Mediterranean Levant

Résumé: Ce sont les documents issus du Proche-Orient qui permettent d’aborder la question de l’origine des gestes funéraires concernant les enfants de moins d’un an et les sujets immatures au Paléolithique Moyen en Eurasie. Ces pratiques ont été le fait de différents groupes humains identifiés successivement au Levant Méditerranéen entre 100.000 et 50.000 ans BP dans des niveaux moustériens de facture distincte. Mots clefs: Pratique funéraire, enfance, Moustérien, Levant Méditerranéen

INTRODUCTION

The Near East has attracted the attention of the scientific community since the first archaeological surveys conducted in the 1930s, by D.A. Garrod, D. Bate, T.D. McCown and M. Stekelis on the western escarpment of the Mount Carmel (south of Haïfa), and by R. Neuville in Upper Galilee. These excavations have led to major discoveries of human settlements associated to Middle Palaeolithic (= Mousterian) industries.

In the last four decades, long-term projects were conducted in several sites, Qafzeh, Amud and Kebara in Northern Israel, Dederiyeh in Northern Syria. Disco-veries have documented morphologically different human groups associated with Mousterian assemblages that have alternated use of the Levant between 170 and 50 Kyrs (McCown & Keith 1939; Suzuki & Takai 1970; Vandermeersch 1981; Bar Yosef & Vandermeersch 1991; Rak et al. 1994; Tillier 1999; Akazawa & Muhesen 2002; Tillier et al. 2003). Some authors (e.g. Vandermeersch, Akazawa & Muhesen 2002; Trinkaus 1983; Rak 1993; Rak et al. 1993; Stringer 1994) made a more meaningful distinction within this hominid sample, considering that the fossils recovered from Kebara, Amud and Dederiyeh were the representatives of west Asian Neanderthals.

Besides its human diversity, these records from the Near East brought the better evidence of intentional burials during the Middle Palaeolithic in the Old World and provided an excellent opportunity to approach from published interpretations the origins of funerary practises applied to infants and non-adults (e.g. Tillier et al. 1988; Hovers et al. 1995; Tillier 1995).

EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS

The Skhul and Qafzeh sites are unique in south-western Asia because of their unusual concentration of hominid remains and the accumulation of various data reflecting bioarchaeological aspects of Middle Palaeolithic societies from the southern Levant.

Skhul

The Skhul site, located about 25 km south of Haifa (Fig. 1.1), was excavated from 1931 to 1934 by D.A. Garrod, D. Bate and T.D. McCown. During the field seasons, ten individuals (3 children and 7 adults) were uncovered in front of the entrance of the cave from layer B that contained a lithic assemblage described as “levalloiso-mousterian” by Bate (in Garrod & Bate 1937). According to the excavators, all the individuals have been buried and the Skhul site was considered as “one of the most remarkable of prehistoric sites by virtue of the cemetery it contained” (McCown in Garrod & Bate 1937, 106).

In a preliminary report, T.D. McCown (1934) mentioned the antiquity of the Skhul hominids, given their overall morphology and the archaeological context. However a reasonable chronological framework for a majority of scholars was, till the early 1980s, to consider the Skhul deposits to be of late Mousterian age, around 40 kyrs BP (e.g. Jelinek 1982; Trinkaus 1984). Application of radiometric techniques (ThermoLuminescence, Electron Spin Resonance) revealed the antiquity of the human occupation: the TL results supported an early date of 119 ± 18 kyrs BP (Mercier et al. 1993), while the ESR/LU techniques gave a more recent date of 101 ± 13 kyrs

BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

4

Fig. 1.1. Map of the Levant with sites documenting Middle Palaeolithic human occupations (revised after Bar Yosef 2000). Among sites with human remains (black star), only five (Skhul, Qafzeh, Kebara, Amud and Dederiyeh)

provide evidence of non-adult individuals deliberately buried

(Grun & Stringer 1991). Using the Tabun cave sequence (Mount Carmel) as a reference for a classification of the Levantine lithic entities, the Mousterian assemblage at Skhul was qualified as “Tabun C-type” Mousterian

industry, in which centripetal and/or bi-directional preparations prevailed and the typical products were side scrapers, large oval and quadrangular levallois flakes (e.g. Hovers 1997).

A.-M. TILLIER: EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

5

Qafzeh

Qafzeh cave, located about 3 km east of Nazareth (Fig. 1.1) was first excavated by R. Neuville between 1933 and 1935, and new field seasons were carried out under the direction of B. Vandermeersch from 1965 to 1979. Numerous fossil hominids (including 9 non-adults and 6 adults) were found with a lithic assemblage similar to that of Skhul, i.e. a “Tabun C-type” Mousterian industry (Boutié 1989; Hovers 1997). The spatial distribution of the human remains was restricted to a few square meters in front of the entrance to the cave, and the majority of finds originated from layer XVII.

The analysis of Qafzeh microfaunal assemblage (Tchernov 1995) supported an occupation during a warm phase of OIS 5. Radiometric techniques applied to the Mousterian sequence placed the deposits between 92 ± 5 kyrs BP (TL and non-invasive gamma spectrometry technique applied to the adult Qafzeh 6; Valladas et al. 1988; Yokoyama et al. 1997) and 115 ± 15 kyrs (ESR, Schwarcz et al. 1988,). Furthermore as illustrated by the TL results the Mousterian occupation covers a short time span (Valladas et al. 1988).

IDENTITY OF THE SKHUL AND QAFZEH MOUSTERIAN INHABITANTS

In the monograph devoted to the Mount Carmel hominids, McCown and Keith (1939) have noted that “in no essential point or complex of features can we exclude the Skhul people from a position among ancestors of modern races”. From detailed morphological analyses of both Skhul and Qafzeh specimens (N=26), an evaluation of the morphological pattern exhibited by the earliest modern humans in the Near East can be obtained. True derived features link the Skhul-Qafzeh specimens with modern humans, besides some archaic retentions (McCown & Keith 1939; Howell 1958; Vandermeersch 1981; Mann 1995; Tillier 1999).

Both at Qafzeh and Skhul sites, most of the human remains were unearthed in a hard limestone breccia. However, information deriving from the nature of deposits, position of skeletal remains (direct or indirect evidence of pits and filling of the graves, preservation of anatomical connections) and, in few cases, evidence of grave goods, strongly supports the notion of protected burials (Garrod & Bate 1937; Vandermeersch 1969 & 1970: Tillier et al. 1988; Tillier 1995).

Indications of other symbolic activities (Vandermeersch 1966; Hovers et al. 1997; Bar Yosef Mayer 2005; Taborin 2003; Vanhaeren et al. 2006) near the burial areas are known from the two sites: presence of shell beads at Skhul, red ochre, coloured flints, Glycymeris valves (with one of them documenting colorant use) and an engraved artefact at Qafzeh. However, no direct association bet-ween these objects, the dead bodies and funerary practises can be accurately demonstrated.

SEARCH FOR AGE-RELATED FUNERARY PRACTISES

The important series of non-adult individuals found at these sites constitutes a unique sample of anatomically modern non-adults so far discovered within a clearly Mousterian context. At Skhul, children represented 30% of the total sample while non-adult individuals were more numerous at Qafzeh (almost 60%). The three children from Skhul belong to two age-classes, 1-4 yrs and 5-9 yrs, while a wider age distribution at death, from birth to 15-19 yrs of age, can be observed at Qafzeh. Within the overall sample, only two individuals under one year of age were uncovered. However, it is evident that neonatal and postneonatal (deaths between four weeks and the end of the first year) mortality rates were certainly higher among Middle Palaeolithic human communities than among later ones.

The data collected form Qafzeh and Skhul bring no evidence of selection in the deceased children relative to individual age at death. The most complete infant specimen unearthed at Qafzeh was a neonate (Qafzeh 13), and the skeletal remains were found under a stone. They were removed as a block with the sediments and no field observations (body position, preservation of anatomical connections) were available that could be employed to reconstruct elements in the sequence of human body deposit. Interestingly, cranial and infracranial bones (including complete hand bones) and a few deciduous tooth germs were preserved. Considering the preservation state of the skeleton and the location of the deposit on the terrasse, it was suggested that the Qafzeh 13 deposit might have been intentionally protected (Tillier 1995).

Belonging to the second age-class, the Skhul 1 child was circa 3 yrs old at death. The child skeleton (Fig. 1.2) was found 1.75 m deep in front of the mouth of the cave. According to McCown (1937, 48), “the skeleton which was embedded in hard limestone breccia, showed by the position of its parts that the child had been buried in a squatting posture with body flexed forwards”.

Third evidence of primary burial was represented by the Qafzeh 15 child, circa 8 yrs at death (Tillier 1999). Only the upper part of the skeleton was preserved in anatomical position, indicating that the child had been laid on the back, the face being turned to north-west. The sediments were strongly brecciated and postdepositional diagenetic processes have altered the lower part of the skeleton.

Qafzeh 11 is a partial skeleton of a young adolescent (ca. 13 years old at death, Tillier 1999). The individual lied north-south down on the bedrock, facing west. The upper limbs were tightly flexed, with hands positioned near the face. The lower part of the skeleton was poorly preserved. Parts of fallow deer antlers were placed directly in contact with the hands of the adolescent (Fig. 1.3). This burial represents a unique deposit uncovered from the site that was associated with an offering (Vandermeersch 1970; Tillier 1995).


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Fig. 1.2. The Skhul 1 child burial in upper view (after McCown & Keith 1939)

Fig. 1.3. The primary deliberate burial of the Qafzeh 11 adolescent was uncovered at the bottom of the Mousterian

sequence in the site. Parts of fallow deer antlers were placed nearby the adolescent face, in contact with the

hands (after Vandermeersch 1970, photograph B. Vandermeersch)

Besides single burials, Qafzeh provided the first evidence of an unequivocal primary double burial. The deposit consist of a late-adolescent individual, Qafzeh 9 (age class 15-19 years) oriented north-south, and a child, Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 years old at death, oriented west-east

(Vandermeersch 1969; Tillier 1995)1. Both individuals were buried in a narrow pit circa 50 cm wide and 1.50 m long (Fig. 1.4). Qafzeh 9 lied on the left side, the right hand on the left forearm, and lower limbs flexed. A few centimetres separated the left toes of Qafzeh 9 from the child’s right upper limb. Qafzeh 10 was also lying on the left side with the left upper limb tightly flexed under the head. The right upper limb was extended while the lower limbs were also flexed, the right knee joint being at the level of the pelvis. The associated Qafzeh 9/10 deposit represents the first double burial known in the Mediterranean Levant and a unique case reported from the Middle Palaeolithic in Eurasia.

Fig. 1.4. The double primary burial found at Qafzeh: Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 yrs old at death child was lying

at the feet of a late adolescent Qafzeh 9. (drawing D. Visset, in Tillier 1995)

1 Contrary to the assertion made by Cohen (2003, 29), the burial does not consist of a young mother and her newborn.


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Skhul and Qafzeh sites provide the highest number of non-adults intentionally buried (50% of the overall immature sample), besides few adult burials (at least 5, Tillier et al. 1988), suggesting some repetitive tradition (Tillier 1995; Hovers et al. 1995). Concerning the remaining non-adult sample (two children at Skhul, at least 4 at Qafzeh), there are no arguments (such as traces of cutmarks on the isolated cranial and post-cranial bones) to support the occurrence of secondary mortuary practices at both sites. The presence of human action that would explain the disturbance of primary internments, as suggested by McCown (in Garrod & Bate 1937, 92-107) for Skhul 8 and 10 children, should remain a working hypothesis. However, it should be mentioned that no traces of animal gnawing (carnivores or other animals) can be detected on the skeletal remains.

LEVANTINE FUNERARY PRACTISES DATED TO “LATE MOUSTERIAN”

Most anthropologists accept the view that various human groups were the bearers of distinct Mousterian lithic industries in the Mediterranean Levant, although there is no general consensus at the present time on the classification of these groups. A chronological gap of more than 30.000 years separated the Skhul-Qafzeh hominids from latecomers defined at Amud and Kebara as either archaic Homo sapiens (e.g. Arensburg 1991; Mann 1995; Tillier et al. 2003) or west Asian Neanderthals (cf. supra).

Kebara cave

The cave of Kebara, located at about 60/65 m above sea level in the Carmel Mountains, some 15 kilometres south of the Skhul cave, was first surveyed between 1951 and 1965 by M. Stekelis, later by a current multidisciplinary Israeli-French project that lasted from 1982 to 1990. The dates for Kebara Mousterian sequence demonstrate a long period of human occupations from unit VI to XII (ca. 64.000 to 48.000 years B.P., Bar-Yosef et al. 1992). But most of the human remains were found between ca. 6.2 and 8.0 meters below datum (Units IX, X, XI, XII) and derived from the oldest Mousterian human occupation (Schick & Stekelis 1970; Bar-Yosef & Vandermeersch 1991; Bar-Yosef et al. 1992; Tillier et al. 2003).

The Kebara hominid sample includes a large amount of fragmentary isolated bone or tooth remains (N = 21), besides two individuals better preserved, Kebara 1 and 2 (Fig. 1.5). The mosaic of features (archaic retentions, “regional” and modern traits) exhibited by the most complete specimens and the lack of diagnostic elements (such as the cranium) might explain the controversial phylogenetic position of the fossils, either seen as West Asian Neanderthals (Tillier et al. 1988; Vandermeersch 1991; Rak 1993) or kept within the Homo sapiens range of variation (Arensburg 1991; Mann 1995; Arensburg & Cohen 1998; Tillier et al. 2003).

The Kebara 1 infant skeleton was uncovered during the last year of Stekelis excavations in 1965 in the northern sector of the cave, close to the northern wall, in an area that was used as a dumping zone. Schick and Stekelis (1977, 103) mentioned “... at a depth of 6.83-6.90 m the skeleton of a seven-month-old child was discovered... Nearby were three stones and the tooth of a rhinoceros. The skeleton was removed intact within a mass of earth”. The skeletal remains removed as a block with the sediments were sent for study to the Witwatersrand University, South Africa. No additional details concerning the deposition of the body, or the needed evidence for its original anatomical articulation were available when the unexcavated remains were later returned to Israel. However, considering the Kebara 1 location within the cave, the state of preservation of the skeleton (Fig. 1.6) and the presence of three large stones alongside the skeletal remains, Smith and Arensburg (1977, 164) suggested that the infant was probably intentionally buried and the burial secondarily disturbed.

The infant skeleton originated from Unit X, which was dated by two radiometric techniques, between 61.6 ± 3.6 kyrs (TL, Valladas et al. 1987) and 64 ± 6 kyrs (ESR, Schwarcz et al. 1989). This infant burial was one of the two primary burials found at the Kebara cave, the second being that of an adult uncovered from a more recent layer, Unit XII (Kebara 2, Bar Yosef et al. 1992).

Amud Cave

The Amud cave is located in the Wadi Amud, on the western bank of the Jordan valley. This site was first excavated from 1961 to 1964 by H. Suzuki and F. Takai, and between 1991 and 1994 by Y. Rak and colleagues (Suzuki & Takai 1970; Rak et al. 1994). Unlike the Kebara cave, the Mousterian sequence from Amud has yielded two individuals who were buried, one adult (Amud 1) and a very young child (Amud 7).

The Amud 7 infant burial was found in 1992 and its position in the stratigraphical sequence suggested an older age than that of Amud 1. Contrary to Ohnuma and Akazawa (1988) who related the industries of Amud to that of Tabun D, Meignen and Bar-Yosef (1991) and Hovers et al. (1995), considered the lithic assemblage as late Mousterian of Tabun B-type. This was confirmed by radiometric dates that gave an average of 60 kyrs BP (Valladas et al. 1999; Rink et al. 2001).

According to the original description published by the excavators (Rak et al. 1994), Amud 7 is an articulated skeleton of a 10 month old infant lying on its right side in a small niche and the skull has collapsed. Hovers et al. noticed (1995, 52), “A natural niche in the rock face of the cave wall served as burial structure, the body laid down directly on the bedrock…” Lying on the infant pelvis was part of a cervid maxilla and its presence within the space occupied by the body, in contact with the bones, supported the recognition of an offering. Rak et al. (2001,


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Fig. 1.5. Spatial distribution of the human remains in the Kebara Cave (after Tillier et al. 2003) and location of the Kebara 1 infant deposit

versus Arensburg & Cohen 1998; Tillier 1998) concluded that the morphology of the Amud 7 skeleton presented numerous similarities with European Neanderthals.

The amount of individuals represented by the human skeletal and dental sample from Kebara and Amud is quite important, but includes mainly isolated bones and teeth. While the occurrence of deliberate burials at both sites is quite low, it should be emphasized that the number of children buried equals that of adults and that the two infants buried documented postneonatal mortality.

DIACHRONIC CHANGES, DIFFERENCES IN SUB-ADULT MORTALITY, OR DIFFERENCES IN LIFEWAYS?

Can we consider that the data collected from the four sites in the Near Eastern Mediterranean document differences

in sub-adult mortality through time or changes in beha-vioural patterns (differences in lifeways, special patterns of death treatment)?

As it was already mentioned, a large chronological gap separated the early anatomically modern humans (Skhul and Qafzeh) from other Levantine hominids. A real difference between the two groups lies in child/adult ratio of buried individuals and the fact that sub-adult indivi-duals surviving to early childhood are only present among the deceased juveniles within the Skhul-Qafzeh sample.

Relevant to these observations, are the following questi-ons: can such data be interpreted in terms of substantial care to unhealthy sub-adults among early Levantine modern humans? Is there a biological explanation for the high frequency of buried individuals at both Qafzeh and Skhul? An increase in the duration of childhood depen-dency associated with the emergence of modern humans


9

Fig. 1.6. 1 The Kebara 1 child fragmentary skeleton; 2 Isolated petrous bone; 3 deciduous dentition (upper and lower teeth); 4, 5 and 6 Upper and lower permanent tooth germs; 7 Condylar process of the left mandibular ramus; 8 Thoracic

vertebral bodies and fragments of neural arches; 9 First sternebre; 10 A right talus

was, for instance, postulated by few scholars (e.g. Stringer et al. 1990; Trinkaus & Tompkins 1990), but the skeletal studies can hardly prove such an assumption.

The published descriptions of Kebara 1 and Amud 7 (Rak et al. 1994; Tillier et al. 2003) provide no information

about pathological conditions and cause of death of the two infants. By contrast to the Qafzeh 13 neonate skeleton, incidence of periosteal reactive bone (porotic hyperostosis) can be identified, involving the outer table of cranial bones (e.g., parietal and sphenoid regions) as well as fragments of the ulna, ilium, and vertebrae (Tillier


10

et al. 2003). The Qafzeh 10 child skeleton (from the double burial) exhibits pathological lesions that indicate two episodes of trauma during childhood; they include an early closure of the coronal suture on the right side (craniostenosis affecting the skull development) and, on the lower limb bones, a benign skeletal tumor in the distal part of the right femoral diaphysis (Tillier 1999; Tillier et al. 2003). However, the older individual from the same burial, Qafzeh 9, exhibits no skeletal evidence of patho-logy or traumatic condition. Only minor lesions were visible on the skull (e.g. aseptic osteonecrosis on the right condylar process) and the right foot bones (Arensburg et al. 2006).

Finally, the Qafzeh 11 adolescent who had suffered of an otitis media during his life (Arensburg & Nathan 1972; Tillier 1999) represented a unique case of ante mortem injury on the skull (affecting the right side of the fore-head) that was caused soon before death (Tillier et al. 2003). Interestingly, this adolescent is the only individual buried in the site associated with grave goods suggesting special treatment of the deceased person.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

A critical analysis of the available data permits to assume that 50% of the non-adult individuals were intentionally buried in Skhul and Qafzeh. Later evidence of funerary practices applied to non-adults came from Kebara and Amud caves in which two single infant burials were found in a distinct Mousterian archaeological context.

In all cases, archaeological indication for the body location deposit is lacking. Furthermore, variation in spatial distribution of these deposits (inside the caves at Kebara and Amud, outside at Skhul and Qafzeh) cannot be interpreted as a reflection of selective areas in death treatment as, for instance, no bones were recovered inside the Qafzeh cave where only lithic artefacts were preserved.

Different age-classes are represented among the buried individuals: infants (2 + 1 at Qafzeh?), early childhood (1), late childhood (2), adolescence (2), but there are no standards in terms of body position. All the burials are primary deposits and contain one individual; there is a unique case of primary double burial at Qafzeh, but the interpretation of the relationship between the two individuals (using non-metric traits, Tillier 1999) can only be speculated.

No significant differences in burial customs were observed at the four sites from south-west Asia. At all sites, adult and non-adult burials were present, although the child/adult ratio of buried individuals differs between Skhul-Qafzeh and Kebara-Amud2. Furthermore, from the 2 A similar situation is known from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq (Trinkaus 1983). However, the absolute chronology of the deposits within the

TL, ESR and U series results that were obtained from the four sites, it is clear that at Kebara and Amud, the infant and adults burials were not contemporaneous. By contrast, given the available dates of Qafzeh, the site sequence might reflect a relatively short and continuous occupation by a single biological and social group.

We have pointed out that at Kebara, Amud, Skhul, and Qafzeh, the non-adult burials were not single discoveries. Such a situation differs from that found in the Dederiyeh cave located in the Afrin basin in north-western Syria, where only children were unearthed. At this site, T. Aka-zawa and S. Muhesen have described (Akazawa et al. 1993, 2002) two child burials (uncovered in 1990 and 1993 respectively) from the Mousterian layers attributed to Tabun B-type. The Mousterian deposits are dated by the excavators around 60 kyrs, by comparison with Keba-ra and Amud archaeological sequence, but radiometric dates are needed, as there are various identified layers.

According to Akazawa et al. (2002), the Dederiyeh 1 skeleton (a child ca. 2 yrs old at death) was found 1.5 m below the surface in layer 11, directly beneath the flat bottom of the pit. The child (Fig. 1.7) was oriented north-south and lied on the back, upper limbs extended along the body and lower limbs partly flexed. The presence of a plaque behind the head was interpreted as a possible pillow; the head was probably in a higher position than the body and the skull has collapsed after the soft tissue decomposition. Akazawa et al. (2002, 75) noticed that “the pillow-like boulder and the small stone tool found near the child’s heart are suggestive of grave goods, but we cannot be sure that they really are”.

In addition to the Dederiyeh 1 primary burial, Akazawa et al. (2002) identified a second pit 25 cm deep in layer 3, about 50 cm below the surface of the deposits inside the cave. The pit contained unarticulated bones belonging to a ca. 2 yrs old child skeleton (Dederiyeh 2), and the authors suggested (2002, 76) that it “… might be the remains of an intentional burial that has been disturbed”. Belonging to the same age-class, Dederiyeh 1 and 2, however, “lived in different environmental conditions at different times” (Akazawa et al. 2002, 391).

In conclusion, the documentation collected from south-western Asian sites provided evidence of funerary practises for the non-adult series of Mousterian toolmakers in the Old World. The child/adult ratio of buried individuals differs from one site to the other. There is no doubt that the first children intentionally buried in the Levant were interred by early modern humans, at Skhul and Qafzeh. These deliberate child burials, as well as those associated with “Levantine Late Mousterian” (Kebara, Amud, and Dederiyeh) largely predated those found later in Europe and associated to Neanderthals (e.g. at La Ferrassie in France, Heim 1982). Shanidar Mousterian sequence is difficult to assess and this explains why this paper focussed on Near Eastern Mediterranean sites.


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Fig. 1.7. Dederiyeh 1 child burial, ca. 2 yrs old at death; 1 plaque; 2 flint (after T. Akazawa & S. Muhesen 2002, Fig. IV/2. Reproduced by courtesy of the authors)

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Krum Bacvarov and Tatiana Mishina for their invitation to participate in Workshop 26 Babies reborn: infant/children burials in prehistory, in

Lisbon. The study of the original fossils was made possible through the courtesy of the Department of Antiquities in Jerusalem and the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology of the Tel Aviv University. The Irene Sala Care Archaeological Foundation, the OMLL-ESF


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program directed by F. D’Errico (UMR 5199/IPGQ, Bordeaux 1 University), and the UMR 5199/ LAPP supported this research. Thanks are due to M. Seurin (UMR 5199-LAPP), for the technical assistance with the illustration, and to T. Akazawa and S. Muhesen, for their permission to reproduce the drawing of Dederiyeh 1 burial.

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TILLIER, A.-M., B. ARENSBURG, H. DUDAY & B. VANDERMEERSCH 2003. Dental pathology, Stressful Events and Disease in Levantine Early Anatomically Modern Humans: Evidence from Qafzeh, in N. Goren-Inbar & J.D. Speth (eds.) Human Paleoecology in the Levantine Corridor: 135-148. Oxford: Oxbow.

TRINKAUS, E. 1983. The Shanidar Neanderthals. New York: Academic Press.

TRINKAUS, E. 1984. Western Asia, in F.H. Smith & F. Spencer (eds.) The Origins of Modern Humans: 251-326. New York: A. R. Liss.

TRINKAUS, E., & R.L. TOMPKINS 1990. The Neanderthal life cycle: the possibility, probability and perceptibility of contrast with recent humans, in C.E.J. Rousseau (ed.) Primate life history and evolution: 153-180. New York: Wiley Liss.

VALLADAS, H., J.L. JORON, G. VALLADAS, B. ARENSBURG, O. BAR YOSEF, A. BELFER-COHEN, P. GOLDBERG, H. LAVILLE, L. MEIG-NEN, Y. RAK, E. TCHERNOV, A.-M. TILLIER & B. VANDERMEERSCH 1987. Thermoluminescence dates for the Neanderthal burial site at Kebara, Israel. Nature 330: 159-160.

VALLADAS, H., J.L. REYSS, J.L. JORON, G. VALLADAS, O. BAR YOSEF & B. VAN-DERMEERSCH 1988. Thermoluminescence dating of Mousterian “Proto-Cro-Magnon” remains from Israel and the origin of modern man. Nature 331: 614-616.

VALLADAS, H., N. MERCIER, E. HOVERS, L. FROJET, J.L. JORON, W. KIMBEL & Y. RAK 1999. TL dates for the Neanderthal site of Amud Cave, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science, 26: 182-193.

VANDERMEERSCH, B. 1966. Découverte d’un objet en ocre avec traces d’utilisation dans le Moustérien de Qafzeh (Israël). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 66: 157-158.

VANDERMEERSCH, B. 1969. Les nouveaux squelettes moustériens découverts à Qafzeh (Israël) et leur signification. C. R. Acad. Sc. Paris, 268, D: 2562-2565.

VANDERMEERSCH, B. 1970. Une sépulture moustérienne avec offrandes découverte dans la grotte de Qafzeh. C. R. Acad. Sc. Paris, 270, D: 298- 301.


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VANDERMEERSCH, B. 1981. Les Hommes Fossiles de Qafzeh (Israël). Cahiers de Paléoanthropologie. Paris: CNRS.

YOKOHAMA, Y., C. FALGUIÈRES & M.A. de LUMLEY 1997. Datation Directe d'un crâne Proto-Cro-Magnon de Qafzeh par la spectrométrie gamma non destructive. C. R. Acad. Sc. Paris, 324, série IIa: 773-779.

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THE GRAVETTIAN INFANT BURIALS FROM KREMS-WACHTBERG, AUSTRIA

Thomas EINWÖGERER Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna,

[email protected]

Marc HÄNDEL Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, [email protected]

Christine NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna,

[email protected]

Ulrich SIMON Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, [email protected]

Maria TESCHLER-NICOLA Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria, [email protected]

Abstract: For several years the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has been carrying out field research in the area of Krems in Lower Austria. In 2005 and 2006, two burials of infants, dated to 27.000 years BP, were discovered at the Gravettian open air site of Krems-Wachtberg. Nowhere have burials of such extremely young Upper Palaeolithic individuals ever been found. They substantially enrich the debate about rituals and document that infants were considered full members of hunter-gatherer communities. Furthermore, they enlarge our sample size of human fossil remains and help resolve issues of ontogeny of Early Modern Humans. Keywords: Gravettian, infant burials, open air site, Austria, Krems-Wachtberg

Résumé: La Commission Préhistorique de l’Académie autrichienne des sciences entrepris depuis quelques années une série d’explorations dans la région de Krems (Basse-Autriche). Les fouilles archéologiques sur le site gravettien de Krems-Wachtberg ont livré en 2005 et en 2006 deux sépultures de nourrissons, datées de 27.000 ans BP. Jusqu’à présent il s’agit de la première découverte d’individus de cet âge du paléolithique supérieur. Elle relance le débat au sujet des rituels funéraires et fournit la preuve que les enfants étaient considérés comme membres de plein droit dans les communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs. Ces restes humains viennent enrichir le nombre des fossiles humains connus et fournissent une contribution à l’étude de l’ontogénèse des néanthropiens. Mots Clefs: Gravettien, sépultures d'enfants, site en plein air, Autriche, Krems-Wachtberg

INTRODUCTION

Palaeolithic loess sites in Lower Austria have been well known since the end of the 19th century (Neugebauer-Maresch 1999). Within the last decade the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences focused on the reinvestigation of Palaeolithic sites in Eastern Austria. Among these, the find-spots within the loess sequences of Krems became of particular interest (Neugebauer-Maresch 2000). Surveys, test trenches and drilling-core analysis gave a picture of Gravettian settle-ment patterns in this topographic area between the Danube and the river Krems. The excavations at Krems-Hundssteig (Neuge-bauer-Maresch 2003, 2008; Fladerer & Salcher 2004) and Krems-Wachtberg (Einwögerer 2005 a & b; Einwögerer et al. 2006) support this evidence and provide detailed information about spatial organiza-tion of these camp sites and multiple presence of modern man in the Middle Upper Palaeolithic (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2).

THE SITE

The southern slope of a promontory, where the river of Krems flows into the Danube, is called Wachtberg and is today largely covered by a residential area belonging to the city of Krems. The site of Krems-Hundssteig is situated in its southernmost part; the Krems-Wachtberg site lies about 100 m to the northwest. The research at first had a more general character. We aimed to re-investigate open air sites in the centre of Lower Austria and focused on an extensive excavation of the well known site of Krems-Hundssteig (2000-2002). The following project included the investigation of Krems-Wachtberg (since 2005) exclusively.

During the excavations at Krems-Hundssteig, several test drillings were made on the last vacant plots in the Wachtberg area, and a clearly definable cultural layer with a high density of finds and extremely well preserved


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Fig. 2.1. The city of Krems is situated north of the Danube, where the river exits the narrow Wachau valley and flows into the alluvial plain northwest of Vienna (modified Austrian Map 2.0, BEV Vienna 2001)

Fig. 2.2. The Wachtberg area between the Danube and the river Krems, with the site of Krems-Hundssteig in the southern part and Krems-Wachtberg about 100 m further northwest

(Photo: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Prehistoric Commission)

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faunal remains like bone and mammoth ivory was recorded in a depth of approximately 5 m and in an area of about 250 m2 – not far from the place where Josef Bayer had already excavated in 1930 (Einwögerer 2000; Fladerer 2001, 2003).

THE EXCAVATIONS

Already during the first excavation campaign at Krems-Wachtberg in 2005, an extraordinarily well developed Gravettian cultural layer (archaeological horizon AH 4, Poz-1290: 26.580 ± 160 BP) – to a great extent a living floor with distinct features (structures évidentes) – was recorded. The living floor is characterized by a compact mixture of ash coloured sediment and find material.

Although only 18 m2 have been investigated so far, a rich assemblage of more than 17.000 single finds was recovered. Among these are about 7.000 burned and unburned faunal remains as well as about 7.000 lithic artefacts of over 1 cm in size. Aside from many large (up to 8 cm in size) and exceptionally well preserved pieces of charcoal, several kinds of painting material such as red and yellow ochre, haematite, graphite and weathered shell limestone (for white colour) were retrieved.

Just as for the production of stone tools, the complete manufacturing process can also be reconstructed for animal remains. Aside from a few almost complete long bones and larger tusk fragments, medium to small bone flakes of mostly up to 6 cm in size, are predominant among the mammoth remains. They most probably result from the manufacturing of bone tools and/or from crushing bones to extract the marrow. As for mammoth ivory, even small chips resulting from carving the material with stone tools were recorded. Recovered bone and antler tools include a polisher made from the rib of a mammoth, two awls and several fragments of antler projectile points. Among ornaments such as ivory beads, perforated teeth of wolf and polar fox, the ivory pins are of particular interest. Another outstanding find is a small fragment of fired clay with imprints of human papillary lines and the impression of a fingernail (Svoboda et al. 2004). This evidence for firing clay and several denticulated backed bladelets in the lithic inventory provide a direct connection to the site of Josef Bayer (1930). Furthermore, these findings indicate a close relation to the contemporaneous southern Moravian sites, like Dolní Vĕstonice, Pavlov and Předmostí (Svoboda 2004). The inventory is therefore referred to the Gra-vettian.

The centre of the finds’ distribution, defined by a high density of charcoal, faunal remains, painting material and lithic artefacts, can be assumed to be located west of the excavated area. Three clearly definable features are stratigraphically connected with this living floor. Pit 3 is located on the western edge of the investigated area, and therefore not yet excavated completely. It descends

vertically from the living floor for approximately 30 cm and has a flat base. The pit with yet unclear function is compactly filled with mainly charcoal and burned animal bones, and is covered by several debris layers.

INFANT BURIALS

In September 2005 and in July 2006 two infant burials, (Double-) Burial 1 and Burial 2, were discovered in a peripheral position south of the area with the highest concentration of finds. The grave pits also descend vertically from the base of the living floor and are – together with Pit 3 – the oldest features within the archaeological horizon AH 4. Despite the fact that there are yet no radiocarbon dates of the human skeletal remains, we can therefore assume that the infants were buried at the beginning of the settlement activity connected with the living floor.

Burial 1

At the base of a flat recess, which was filled in two phases with find material from the main archaeological horizon AH 4, a shoulder blade of an adult mammoth in horizontal position was uncovered. The bone was nearly complete, but clearly showed artificially induced traces: the joint (cavitas glenoidalis) was exposed to fire and the spina scapulae, pointing to the bottom of the pit, had been intentionally removed by regular flaking. After recovering the bone, which was supported by a piece of mammoth tusk, a 3-5 cm deep hollow space was encountered. Below a very thin alluvial layer of Loess, the skeletons of two babies were uncovered, embedded in red ochre (Fig. 2. 3).

Both newborns were buried in a strongly crouched position with their heads to the north and their faces towards east. The excellent preservation of this grave is due to the robust and therefore protective mammoth shoulder blade.

Both individuals’ crania were preserved three-dimensi-onally and showed considerable empty spaces even after 27.000 years. The same observation was made in the case of the thorax of the infant to the west (Individual 2), where hollow spaces between spine and ribs were noticed. A string of at least 30 drop shaped ivory beads, which had been placed around the pelvis of the baby to the west, is to be considered as personal adornment or offering.

The double grave was recovered as a block and brought to the General Hospital of Vienna, where a computer tomography was taken. In the Natural History Museum Vienna, Department of Anthropology, the recovered block was first stored in a climate chamber until laser scanning was carried out. This non-invasive procedure was an obligatory step in order to three-dimensionally record the superficial features and bone contours and to produce scaled copies for exhibition purposes. In the


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Fig. 2.3. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 1 was recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology. All

further investigations can thus take place in the lab (Photo: Natural History Museum Vienna, Department

of Anthropology)

laboratory, the fragile bones are being consolidated, carefully excavated, documented and examined anthropo-logically since that time.

The developmental stage of a deciduous incisor of Individual 2 (right) allowed to estimate the age at death as perinatal (9th-10th lunar month). The equal lengths of both right femora indicate the same age at death of both newborns. Contemporaneous burial suggests they were twins. It was also possible to recover the ossicles of Individual 1 (left).

The excellently preserved burial with its skeletal remains gives us the chance to observe details of the burial practice, for example, the shape and boundaries of the red ochre indicate that both babies have not only been embedded in, but supposedly smeared over with this material, probably mixed with animal fat.

Burial 2

In summer 2006, a second burial was found about 1 m north of the double burial and in the same stratigraphic position (Fig. 2.4).

Fig. 2.4. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 2 was recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History

Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology (Photo: Natural History Museum Vienna, Department

of Anthropology)

In contrast, this burial pit had not been covered by a protective shoulder blade and it contained only a single individual lying in a different orientation, with the head to the south. Just like the newborns of the double burial, Individual 3 has also been buried in a flexed position, facing the east and embedded in a conspicuous amount of red ochre. The sharp boundaries of the dispersion of red pigment indicate that at least this individual had been embraced by an organic material (fur or leather?), which has decayed completely in the course of the millennia. In the case of Burial 2 it might have been fixed with the ivory pin, which was found 2 cm above the skull. Missing the protection of an object like the mammoth shoulder blade, this skeleton is less well preserved than those of the double burial.

In contrast to the first burial, 3D-laserscanning was performed directly on site. Burial 2 was also recovered as a block and brought to the General Hospital of Vienna for computer tomography. Afterwards it was transported to the laboratory of the Department of Anthropology at the Natural History Museum in Vienna for further excavation and special analysis. Based on the mineralization degree of the upper incisors and the length of the left femur

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(approximately 85 mm), the age at death can be estimated as 0-3 months.

SUMMARY

The finds at Krems-Wachtberg in general – the technology of lithic, bone and ivory industry, the use of fired clay and settlement structures – confirm the close relation to the contemporaneous south Moravian sites, like Dolní Vĕstonice, Pavlov and Předmostí. Moreover, one could find parallels in the burial rituals and related symbolic activities as well. This is evidenced by the use of red ochre, grave goods as ivory beads and the practice of covering the grave with a mammoth shoulder blade (Trinkaus & Svoboda 2006).

While Upper Palaeolithic graves of adults are better documented, burial evidence of younger pre-adolescents are rare. This phenomenon initiated a discussion about the possible different treatment of infants at death (Zilhão & Trinkaus 2002). The burials of Krems-Wachtberg demonstrate that newborns were already considered full members of hunter-gatherer communities 27,000 years ago (Einwögerer et al. 2006). These findings not only enrich the debate on the Gravettian ritual behaviour but also enlarge our sparse sample of Upper Palaeolithic human fossil remains in Austria (Teschler-Nicola & Trinkaus 2001; Teschler-Nicola et al. 2004) and add to our understanding of the ontogeny of Early Modern Humans.

References

EINWÖGERER, T. 2000. Die jungpaläolithische Station auf dem Wachtberg in Krems, NÖ. Mitteilungen Prähistorische Kommission der Österreichischen Aka-demie der Wissenschaften 34: 1-203.

EINWÖGERER, T. 2005a. Die Auffindung einer jung-paläolithischen Säuglings-Doppelbestattung im Zuge neuerer Ausgrabungen am Wachtberg in Krems, NÖ. Das Waldviertel 54/4: 399-404.

EINWÖGERER, T. 2005b. Die gravettienzeitliche Säug-lings-Doppelbestattung vom Wachtberg in Krems. Archäologie Österreichs 16/2: 19-20.

EINWÖGERER, T., H. FRIESINGER, M. HÄNDEL, C. NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, U. SIMON & M. TESCHLER-NICOLA 2006. Upper Palaeolithic infant burials. Decorations on the bodies of newborns indicate that they were probably important in their community. Nature 444: 285.

EINWÖGERER, T., M. HÄNDEL & U. SIMON 2006. Die Fortsetzung der Ausgrabungen an der Gravettien-fundstelle Krems-Wachtberg 2006. Das Waldviertel 55/4: 428-433.

FLADERER, F.A. 2001. Die Faunareste von Krems-Wachtberg, Ausgrabung 1930. Jagdwild und Tierkör-

pernutzung an der Donau vor 27.000 Jahren. Mitteil-ungen Prähistorische Kommission der Österrei-chischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 39: 1-97.

FLADERER, F.A. 2003. A calf-dominated mammoth age profile from the 27 ka BP stadial Krems-Wachtberg site in the middle Danube valley, in: Reumer, J.W.F., J. de Vos & D. Mol (eds.) Advances in Mammoth Research: Proceedings of the 2nd International Mammoth Conference, Rotterdam 16-20 May 1999: 135-158. Rotterdam: Deinsea 9.

FLADERER, F.A. & T. SALCHER 2004. Faunal remains from the Krems-Hundssteig/Wachtberg Gravettian site complex – A difference in research techniques and/or site function? The Dolní Věstonice Studies 11 (The Gravettian along the Danube): 100-115.

NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, C. 1999. Le Paléolithique en Autriche. Grenoble: Préhistoire d'Europe 8.

NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, C. 2000. Wege zur Eiszeit. Ein neues Projekt der Prähistorischen Kommission der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und des Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung. Anzeiger der phil.-hist. Klasse 135: 31-46.

NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, C. 2003. Erste Ergebnisse der neuen Grabungen in Krems-Hundssteig im Rah-men eines Projektes der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (The Palaeolithic Project of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with some first results of the new investigations at Krems-Hundssteig). Preistoria Alpina 39: 165-173.

NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, C. (Ed.) 2008. Krems-Hundssteig – Mammutjägerlager der Eiszeit. Mitte-ilungen Prähistorische Kommission der Österreichi-schen Akademie der Wissenschaften 67: 1-347.

SVOBODA, J. 2004. Předmostí. Kontext paleoantropolo-gických nálezŭ Předmostí. The context of paleoanthro-pological discoveries. Přehled výzkumů 46: 63-82.

SVOBODA, J., C. NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH, M. KRÁLÍK, T. EINWÖGERER & V. NOVOTNÝ 2004. Technological and dermatoglyphic analysis of the earliest ceramics: Pavlov (South Moravia) and Krems (Lower Austria). Přehled Výzkumů 45: 256-259.

TESCHLER-NICOLA, M., W. ANTL-WEISER & H. PROSSINGER 2004. Two Human Deciduous Teeth found in a Gravettian Excavation Site near Stillfried/ March, Lower Austria. Homo 54: 229-239.

TESCHLER-NICOLA, M. & E. TRINKAUS 2001. Human Remains from the Austrian Gravettian: The Willendorf femoral diaphysis and mandibular symp-hysis. Journal of Human Evolution 40: 451-465.

TRINKAUS, E. & J. SVOBODA 2006. Early Modern Human Evolution in Central Europe. The People of Dolní Vĕstonice and Pavlov. Oxford: University Press.

ZILHÃO, J. & E. TRINKAUS 2002. Portrait of the Artist as a Child. Lisboa: Trabalhos de Arqueologia 22. Instituto Português de Arqueologia.

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INFANT BURIALS IN PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC CYPRUS: EVIDENCE FROM KHIROKITIA

Françoise Le MORT Université Lyon 2, CNRS UMR 5133, “Archéorient: Environnements et Sociétés de l’Orient Ancien”, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux, Lyon, France, [email protected]

Abstract: Among the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cypriot sites, six have yielded human remains. The largest series has been unearthed at Khirokitia (7th – early 6th millennium cal. BC). The sample (240 accessible individuals) includes a large proportion of infants less than one year of age, most of them deceased perinatally, as well as a low proportion of juveniles more than one year old. At this site, infants were buried under the floors of the houses like other juveniles and adults. The burials are primary, most of them single. Only slight differences between infant and other burials appear. Key words: Infants, burials, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Cyprus

Résumé: Parmi les sites néolithiques précéramiques chypriotes, six ont livré des restes humains. La série la plus importante a été mise au jour à Khirokitia (7e- début du 6e millénaire av. J.-C.). Le matériel accessible (240 individus) comprend une forte proportion d’enfants de moins d’un an, décédés pour la plupart durant la période périnatale, ainsi qu’une faible proportion d’enfants de plus d’un an. Sur ce site, les très jeunes enfants sont inhumés sous le sol des habitations, comme les autres sujets immatures et adultes. Les sépultures sont primaires et, dans leur immense majorité, individuelles. Les différences entre les tombes des très jeunes enfants et les celles des autres défunts sont très discrètes. Mots-clés: très jeunes enfants, sépultures, Néolithique précéramique, Chypre

INTRODUCTION

Age-related mortuary practices have been documented at various archaeological sites belonging to many different cultures (i.e. Dunand 1973; Sellier 1995; Sansilbano-Collilieux 2000; Murail et al. 2004). Furthermore, specific funeral treatment devoted to infants who had been stillborn or had died shortly after birth or the presence of a reserved funeral area for these very young individuals have been often observed (i.e. Duday et al. 1995; Coqueugniot et al. 1998).

As far as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Near East is concer-ned, one of the largest series of infant1 burials has been unearthed at the site of Khirokitia in Cyprus (Le Mort 2000). The high number of such burials discovered at this site offers a singular opportunity for discussion on aspects of mortuary behaviour and attitudes towards infants.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean; its tip is only 70 km from the Turkish coast and 120 km from Syria. The first visitors reached the southern coast of the island in the early 10th millennium cal. BC (Simmons 1988 & 2004).

Excavations at the southern site of Parekklisha-Shillourokambos and at Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, in the western part of the island, provided evidence of the presence of farmers in Cyprus from the 9th millennium cal. BC (Guilaine et al. 2000; Peltenburg et al. 2000; Guilaine 2003; Peltenburg 2003). Both sites have yielded 1 The term infant is used as defined by Scheuer & Black (2004). The group infants thus comprises the individuals who died between birth and the end of the first year.

human remains dating back to the 8th millennium cal. BC (Guilaine et al. 2002 & 2003; Crubézy et al. 2003; Fox et al. 2003), the oldest known from Cyprus.

A recent reappraisal of Kalavassos-Tenta, in the southern coastal zone of the island, has brought to light a revised chronological scheme, which tends to assign the earliest period of the site (period 5) to the Early and Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, and the next periods (4-2) to the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, in mainland terms (Todd 2003). Fourteen burials containing a minimum of 18 individuals were uncovered at the site (Todd 1987; Moyer 2005). Half of them were found in subfloor grave pits, in buildings belonging to period 4. The others were excavated outside buildings.

Skeletal remains dating back to the 7th and early 6th

millennium cal. BC, that is the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus, have been uncovered at Khirokitia and two more sites, Kholetria-Ortos in western Cyprus (Simmons 1996 & 2003), and Cap Andreas Kastros in north-eastern Cyprus (Le Brun 1981; Massei Solivères 1981). The Khirokitia series is the largest for the Neolithic of Cyprus and one of the largest in Near Eastern Neolithic.

THE SITE OF KHIROKITIA

The site of Khirokitia, situated on a hill, at about 6 km directly from the present southern coast of the island (Fig. 3.1), was first excavated by Dikaios between 1936 and 1946 (Dikaios 1953). After a few soundings (Stanley Price & Christou 1973; Le Brun & Stanley Price 1977), the excavations directed by A. Le Brun were renewed in 1977 (Le Brun 1984, 1989a & 1994; Le Brun & Daune-


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Fig. 3.1. Site location (map by the Service Cartographies of the Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux)

Le Brun 2003). The occupation of the site, which illustrates the late phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus, took place in the 7th and early 6th millennium cal. BC. The settlement area could be evaluated at approxima-tely 1.5 hectare of which only a part (about 4.000 m2) has been explored. The village consists of houses composed of several round-shape buildings. It is divided into two sectors, east and west, by a long wall running through the settlement on that side, which is not naturally protected by the river. It must have been built to enclose the earlier settlement, i.e. the east sector. Later, the village extended beyond this boundary, thus making the west sector. In the course of recent excavation, nine stratigraphical levels (A to H, J)2 have been recognized in the east sector and three (I to III) in the west sector. The inhabitants of Khirokitia were engaged in farming, herding and hunting activities (Hansen 1994; Le Brun 1996; Davis 2003).

Many burials were discovered at the site. In the part explored by Dikaios, they are distributed in all excavated areas (Dikaios 1953). In the area recently excavated, they were found in all levels except for the oldest three (levels G, H, J) but it has to be noticed that these levels have been explored on a limited area (Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994, as well as personal communication; Le Mort 1994 & 2000). It is difficult to establish the exact number of graves found during the old excavations for two reasons: first, some of them have not been published in the final report (Niklasson 1991)3, and second, the 2 A. Le Brun, personal communication. 3 The reappraisal of the skeletal remains stored in the Cyprus Museum allowed us to confirm the presence of remains from burials the number of which does not appear in Dikaios’ publication (1953).

analysis of the published data made us hypothesize that the few burials considered by Dikaios as including more than one individual correspond to superimposed single burials (Le Mort 2003). Thus the total number of buried individuals is 146, estimated on the basis of descriptions published by Dikaios. During the soundings carried out in 1972 in the part of the site previously investigated by Dikaios, some human remains were found but their burial treatment is not clear (Stanley Price & Christou 1972). Recent excavations have yielded at least 105 individuals more4.

These are primary burials; there is no indication of secondary treatment of human remains. The burial pits were dug into the floors of houses while those houses were occupied. A few burials could not be related to any building; nevertheless, as they were close to the surface, the erosion could have destroyed the building in the floor of which they have been dug in.

THE BURIALS: METHODS OF EXCAVATION AND STUDY

Excavation

The techniques used by Dikaios for excavating burials are not described in the report (Dikaios 1953). According to the published photographs, drawings and descriptions, it yet appears that a careful work was carried out on the 4 Two recently discovered burials, the skeletal remains of which have not yet been studied, are not included in this number.

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field. Besides, while we studied the juvenile5 skeletons from the old excavations, we noticed that tiny bones of infants deceased perinatally such as hand and foot bones were not rare; the tooth buds of those infants are few, but their scarcity is probably due to the lack of sieving.

The burials uncovered during recent excavations were all excavated using careful methods. From 1986, specific meticulous excavation techniques including the recording of every bone or bone piece on the field (Duday et al. 1990; Tillier & Duday 1990) have been applied in order to collect as many data as possible for the biological study and for the analysis of funerary practices. Moreover, the photographs and drawings from Dikaios’ publication (1953) have been re-examined using the methods of “anthropologie de terrain” (Duday et al. 1990) in order to complement the published descriptions.

Skeletal Sample

The material from Dikaios’ excavations was partly analysed by Angel (1953)6 and then by Kurth (1958) and Charles (1962). A specific study of the dental pathology was later carried out by Taramidis (1983) and Mitsis & Taramidis (1995). The few remains found during the soundings were shortly reported (Stanley Price & Christou 1973). A reappraisal of all accessible remains has been carried out, in parallel with the study of the skeletons from recent excavations. The biological study took into account the estimation of age at death, sex diagnosis, metrical characteristics, discrete traits, body modifications, pathology and chemical analysis (Lange-Badré & Le Mort 1998; Le Mort 2000, 2003 & 2007 (in press); Harter-Lailheugue et al. 2005).

Part of the human remains unearthed by Dikaios is now missing. The reappraisal of the skeletons uncovered during the old excavations and in the course of the soundings, and the study of the human remains from recent excavations allowed us to identify 240 individuals (Minimum Number of Individuals)7.

Estimation of age at death of juvenile individuals8

Dental maturation is the most accurate indicator of chronological age for juvenile individuals (Saunders et al. 1993). It was analysed, applying the methods developed by Moorres et al. (1963a, b) whenever possible or Ubelaker (1978) in the other cases.

The estimation of age at death for perinatal individuals highly depends on the state of preservation of the skeleton 5 In this text, the term juvenile is used for any stage of life that is not truly adult (Scheuer & Black 2004). 6 The sample examined by Angel comprises only 34 infants whereas the analysis of the published burial data gives a total of 62. Some of the skeletons were probably considered unsuitable for study. 7 This sample does not include the remains from the two recently discovered burials (see above). 8 The age at death is the only biological attribute that will be discussed in this paper, in relation to funerary practices.

(Tillier & Duday 1990). Whenever possible, the dental calcification was considered. Nevertheless, the incomple-tely calcified teeth of very young infants and foetuses being often broken or missing, the bone size was, in many cases, the only available indicator of age. Standards for estimating foetal length and, subsequently, perinatal age from individual bones were provided by several authors. We employed the standards developed by Fazekas & Kosa (1978) which are based on a large reference sample. However, further studies (Bruzek, Sellier & Tillier 1997) have shown that an error of estimation exists because of the individual and interpopulational variability. The esti-mates should consequently be considered with caution. That is the reason why all the individuals deceased perinatally (foetuses more than six lunar months old, stillborns and infants under one month of age) were treated generally.

The reliability of morphological and morphometric analyses for sexual diagnosis in children being very low (Majo 1996), no gender identification of young indivi-duals could be performed.

THE INFANT BURIALS

Age distribution

The studied skeletal sample consists of 109 infants less than one year old, 25 other juveniles and 106 adults (> 20 years). The juveniles/adults ratio (56%) appears to be consistent with an ancient population (Ledermann 1969; Sellier 1996). On the other hand, the age distribution of juveniles is quite unusual (Le Mort 2000); it reveals a high proportion of infants less than one year old, most of them (91%) deceased perinatally, as well as a low proportion of juveniles more than one year old (Table 3.1). With reference to data from historical demography, the normal perinates/infants less than one year old ratio in pre-industrial populations ranges between 43% and 52% (Dupâquier 1979).

Tab. 3.1. Age distribution

Age group Number

0 of whom: 109

Perinates 99

Others (1 month – 1 year) 10

1-19 years 25

Adults (> 20 years) 106

Total 240

At Khirokitia, the funerary practices are as a whole homogenous. There are no indications that notable changes occurred over time.


26

Location and type of burial

No reserved funeral area for any age group was found. The dead are buried in the same way, whatever their age is. Most of the buildings yielded one or several burials, belonging either to single or to various stratigraphical levels (Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994). Burials of a single age group (adults, juveniles or infants) may be found in one building. In other cases, adult burials were found together with older juveniles and/or infant burials. There is no special part of the house reserved for graves.

The buildings where infant burials have been found are distributed all over the investigated area. It is interesting to notice that two houses from the west sector have yielded a large amount of perinatal burials. Seven peri-natal individuals were buried under floor 319 of construc-tion S. 89 (level Ic) (Le Brun 1984 & 1989a)9; no other graves were discovered in this building. Construction S. 106 is also noteworthy; one adult burial belonging to level Ia (Le Brun 1984) and twelve perinatal burials (levels Ib and Ic10) were found there. The only case of double burial recorded at Khirokitia comes from this building where one of the burial pits contained the remains of two indivi-duals deceased perinatally (possibly twins). Furthermore, three buildings excavated by Dikaios in the west sector (“tholos” X(II), XV(II), and XLVII) yielded many infant burials (up to 25 in “tholos” XLVII) (Dikaios 1953) distributed between the various floors; they contained mainly remains of perinatal individuals11. Adult and child burials were also found in these buildings (Dikaios 1953).

Position and orientation of the body

The shape and dimensions of the grave pits vary but they are usually small. The bodies are buried in a contracted position.

In 1953, Dikaios classified the burials into 11 types, on the basis of the degree of contraction of the body and of the side on which it lies. This classification does not seem to take into account the infants; their position was not described in the publication.

Recent excavations have confirmed that various burial positions had been represented at Khirokitia. In order to clarify them, the published data were re-examined in parallel with the analysis of “recently” excavated graves. In a number of cases, the bad state of preservation of the 9 The published number of individuals is 8, but the anthropological study led us to conclude that remains considered in the field as belonging to two different incomplete skeletons actually represent a single individual. 10 A. Le Brun, personal communication. 11 Dikaios used two different series of numbers for the burials and human remains. Most of the skeletons stored in the Cyprus Museum have preserved their original wooden label indicating their number and, generally, the number of the building they come from. In a number of cases, especially from buildings which yielded many burials, the con-cordance between skeleton numbers and burial numbers is impossible to establish for a certainty. If we take into account only the individuals that could be attributed without any doubt to construction XLVII, the remains of 16 infants have been identified, 14 of whom died perinatally.

skeleton or the lack of accurate data did not allow us to determine the initial position of the body for certainty. For the infants unearthed during old excavations, the only available data being the tiny sketches published in the report (Dikaios 1953), most of the time, the burial position could not be recognized.

The side on which the dead lies was recognized for 104 individuals including 62 adults, 30 infants (all of them deceased perinatally) and 12 other juveniles. Eight positions have been observed. The body may lie on the right or left side, on the back (Fig. 3.2) or on the face (Fig. 3.3). In a number of cases, the body rests in a particular position, partly on the back and partly on the right/left side showing ¾ of the skeleton’s anterior part or partly on the face and partly on the right/left side showing ¾ of the skeleton’s posterior part (Figs. 3.4 and 3.5). Such positions have been considered as close to the right or left lateral decubitus and thus included in their number. Whatever the age of the deceased, the most common position is on the right side; a less common position is on the face (Table 3.2).

Fig. 3.2. Infant burial 624 (building 126, level B, east sector) lying on the back (drawing by O. Le Brun,

French Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)

The degree of contraction of the body could be determined for 108 individuals including 70 adults, 26 infants (all of them deceased perinatally) and 12 other juveniles. Three different positions regarding the contra-ction of the skeleton were identified: tightly contracted when the upper and lower limbs are tightly flexed on the trunk; contracted when the lower limbs are bent at an acute angle to the spine; and slightly contracted when they are bent at a right or obtuse angle to the spine. Most of the adult skeletons are tightly contracted while the most of juveniles are contracted (Table 3.3). In certain cases, the adult body is so strongly contracted that it very likely was forced into this position. It could have been


27

Fig. 3.3. Infant burial 563 (building 123, level A, east sector) resting on the face (drawing by O. Le Brun,

French Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)

Tab. 3.2. Burial position (* infants are excluded from the juveniles)

Adults (N=62)

Juveniles* (N=12)

Infants (N=30)

Right side 45% 67% 47%

Left side 32% 17% 27%

Back 15% 8% 20%

Face 8% 8% 6%

Tab. 3.3. Degree of body contraction (* infants are excluded from the juveniles)

Adults (N=70)

Juveniles* (N=12)

Infants (N=26)

Tightly contracted 69% 17% 23%

Contracted 24% 58% 69%

Slightly contracted 7% 25% 8%

held by a bag, bonds or some other means but the position could also have been maintained by the narrow burial pit. It might be assumed that the degree of contraction of the deceased is only related to the body size, the juvenile bodies needing less room than the adults. Nevertheless, the hypothesis of a link between the age at death and the degree of contraction, as part of burial position, cannot be totally ruled out. A high variability in the body orientation was observed for all age groups.

Grave goods

Inclusions are quite rare in the graves. Less than ¼ of the burials include one or several big stones on the body

Fig. 3.4. Infant burial 830 (building 122, level C, east sector) including a stone on the body (a) and after

removal of the stone (b)

Fig. 3.5. Infant burial 538 (building 123, level A, east sector). A fallow deer scapula has been placed on the

head of the infant (drawing by O. Le Brun, French Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)

(Dikaios 1983; Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994; Le Mort 1994). These stones can be divided into 3 categories: rough stones, querns and worked stones. They were mostly found in adult burials but some of them come from juvenile graves as well. Contrary to what is known from other juvenile burials, no quern or worked stone was deposited in infant burials; only rough stone were found in a few (4) infant graves, one of which contained an individual who had not died perinatally.

Stone vessels, often including spouted stone bowls, were also discovered in some adult and juvenile tombs (Dikaios 1983; Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994). They are rarely associated with infants; four examples are known from Dikaios’ excavations. In “tholos” X(II), a spouted stone


28

bowl, bottom up, was placed on the legs of infant VIII and another one has been deposited upside down on the left part of infant IX body. In another “tholos” (XV(II)), a spouted stone bowl laid in fragments under one infant skeleton (V). Finally, among the numerous infant graves from “tholos” XLVII, one (XXVII) contained a small spouted stone bowl placed upside down on the remains of the individual12.

Animal bones were sometimes associated with human remains in the burials. Such an association mainly concerns juveniles (3 cases involving 2 infants), the only case of an adult burial being not definite (Le Brun 1984 & 1989a). In construction S.123 (east sector, level A), a fallow deer scapula has been deposited on the head of an infant (locus 538) who died during the perinatal period, covering its face (Fig. 3.3). This is a unique discovery at the site. Nevertheless, it can be compared to the stones laid on the body in certain burials (Le Brun 1989a). These stones might be placed on the head (most of the instances), on the trunk, on the pelvis or on the lower limbs (Le Brun 1989b). In another burial (locus 382, building 89, level Ic, west sector), containing the body of a perinatal infant, a sheep or goat horn was placed beside the skeleton (Le Brun 1984).

Six necklaces as well as rare flint and bone tools were found in adult and juvenile burials but no clear associa-tion with infant graves has been evidenced (Dikaios 1953 & Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b).

DISCUSSION AND COMPARISONS

At Khirokitia, infants are buried in the same way as the other juveniles and adults, apart from slight differences. The small number of infants who did not die perinatally and the lack of accurate data regarding their burials did not allow us to make comparisons between perinates and other infants.

The unusual juvenile age distribution observed at Khirokitia reflects, in all likelihood, demographic anoma-lies (Le Mort 2000). Several hypotheses could account for the very high proportion of infants deceased perinatally.

It might be assumed that the age distribution of the juvenile skeletal remains from Khirokitia is due to an uneven archaeological sampling. Nevertheless, comparing the remains from old excavations to those from recent excavations in different areas of the site, or comparing the remains from the east and west sectors, a quite similar picture appears: the perinatal group is over-represented in any case (Le Mort 2000).

Another possibility would be the existence of age-related mortuary practices. It might be assumed that the inhabi- 12 Since it is impossible to establish for certainty the concordance between infant burials and skeletons’ numbers from these buildings, the age of these infants cannot be specified.

tants of Khirokitia gave a specific treatment to the peri-natal individuals leading to a better preservation of their skeletal remains and allowing frequent discovery of their burials while excavating the houses. The rarity of the other juvenile graves would be the consequence of burial customs including the inhumation of most of them in a place not yet discovered. Taking into account the homogeneity of mortuary practices at the site, such a hypothesis looks unlikely.

A high ratio of infants who died perinatally to other juveniles can be an indication of infanticide (Molleson 1991). Further evidence for the sex ratio of the infant sample and/or possible specific age-related mortuary practices is yet needed to prove such a practice (Faerman et al. 1998). At Khirokitia, it seems improbable, taking into account again the homogeneity of mortuary practices at the site.

The high proportion of infants deceased perinatally might be due to specific pathological conditions. Porotic bone lesions were found to be frequent among infants and other juveniles (Le Mort 2003). It is interesting to notice that a high percentage of the infant age group was also pointed out for the small skeletal series (18 individuals) from the neighbouring site of Kalavassos-Tenta and that these human remains also exhibit porotic bone lesions (Todd 1987; Moyer 2005). A number of etiologies have been suggested for such lesions (i.e. Stuart Macadam 1992; Auferheide & Rodriguez-Martin 1998; Schultz 2001; Wapler et al. 2004); they might be indicative of a poor health status leading to a high perinatal mortality.

No infant remains have been reported from the other Cypriot sites dating to the 7th – early 6th millennium BC, that is Cap Andreas Kastros and Kholetria Ortos. At Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, the incomplete remains of at least five individuals including no infant bones were recovered from well 133. Five bone fragments from an individual of possible late foetal age were found in another well (116) but their conditions of deposition do not appear clearly (Peltenburg et al., 2000; Fox et al., 2003; Peltenburg 2003).

The infant funerary practices at Khirokitia may be com-pared to those observed at Kalavassos-Tenta and Parekk-lisha-Shillourokambos.

At Kalavassos-Tenta, the dead are usually buried singly but a pit containing the remains of four infants was found, possibly deposited during two separate episodes, as well as a burial described as secondary, including the remains of two adult individuals. Apart from this grave, the burials are primary, consisting of bodies in a contracted position. No age-related mortuary practices have been evidenced at the site (Moyer 2005).

At Parekklisha-Shillourokambos, a large cavity of anthro-pogenic origin produced a collective burial, including juvenile but no infant remains, as well as three single


29

adult burials (Crubézy et al. 2003). Three infant and four adult graves were found in another sector of the site (Guilaine et al. 2002, 2003).

It thus seems that mortuary practices were more diversified at Parekklisha-Shillourokambos. The small amount of infant remains from the this site does not allow to point out age-related burial customs but indicate nevertheless that, at least in certain cases, infants were not treated like the other individuals.

CONCLUSION

With its huge number of infant burials, the site of Khirokitia shed light on burial customs in the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus. Contrary to what is commonly observed in ancient populations, no specific funeral treatment devoted to infants who had been stillborn or had died shortly after birth and no reserved funeral area for these very young individuals seem to have existed at Khirokitia.

Many studies pointed out a lack of infants in ancient populations (i.e. Guy et al. 1997). High percentage of infants and especially of perinatal infants in such populations was rarely recorded (Molleson 1991; Castex et al. 1996). Various reasons could account for this unusual demographic picture: age related burial customs, infanticide, particular pathological conditions. At Khirokitia, the unusual age distribution can be totally explained neither by an uneven archaeological sampling, nor by cultural practices such as burial customs or infanticide. Specific pathological conditions might have occurred.

The comparison between funerary practices at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in Cyprus reveals an evolution resulting at Khirokitia in quite homogenous burial customs, which included primary burials, usually of a single individual, whatever the age of the dead. Burial customs as well as many other features (Le Brun & Daune-Le Brun 2003) confirm the specificity of the late phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus.

Acknowledgments

I wish to express my gratitude to A. Le Brun who have entrusted to me the study of the burials and skeletal remains from Khirokitia. I am also grateful to S. Hadjisavvas and D. Christou, former Directors of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, for allowing me to study the skeletal remains from Dikaios’ excavations at Khirokitia, at the Cyprus Museum. Thanks are also given to O. Le Brun for her help while excavating and studying the burials, to L. Astruc, C. Baron, A. Fontaine, O. Perez and S. Veschi for their assistance on the field and during the cleaning and reconstruction of skeletons as well as to G. Christou and A. Savvas for their kind help while

working at the Nicosia and Larnaka Museums. The discussions with H. Duday, M. Sansilbano-Collilieux and A.M. Tillier during this work were very useful to me.

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SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

Malcolm C. LILLIE University of Hull, UK, [email protected]

Abstract: The ‘visibility’ of children in prehistoric archaeological contexts has been addressed in some detail in recent studies of the past. Reasons behind the apparent absence of children in the archaeological record have been variously attributed to gender issues and a general disregard for the potential multiple gendering of individuals in the past, differential burial and preservation, a lack of understanding of past social structures and the mistaken belief that children cannot become significant social individuals, amongst others. This paper reviews some of these issues in relation to a range of sites from Europe, and with a focus on research from the cemetery populations of the Dnieper Rapids region of Ukraine. This region has evidence to suggest that in areas where hunter-fisher-gatherer lifeways are based on robust resources, such as existed in the riparian zone of the Dnieper River from the Epipalaeolithic through to Copper Age, children could be integrated into socials structures from an early age. The review highlights some of the key aspects of Mesolithic and Neolithic burial practices and assesses the available evidence in light of changing perspectives on prehistoric ritual articulation and the role of children in the past. Key words: Dnieper River, Ukraine, Mesolithic, Neolithic, burial practices, children

Résume: La “visibilité” d’enfants dans des contextes archéologiques préhistoriques a été adressée de manière assez détaillée dans de récentes études du passé. Les raisons pour l’absence apparente des enfants dans le dossier archéologique ont été attribuées, à tour de rôle, aux questions de genre et à une négligence générale pour la différenciation potentielle par sexe multiple des individus dans le passé. A quoi s’ajoutent les différences d'enterrement et de conservation, un manque d’arrangement des structures sociales passées et la croyance erronée que les enfants ne peuvent pas devenir des individus sociaux significatifs, entre autres. Cet article passe en revue certaines de ces questions par rapport à une gamme d’emplacements de l’Europe, en se concentrant sur la recherche des populations de cimetière de la région du Dniepr en Ukraine. Cette région a l’évidence pour suggérer que dans les secteurs où les modes de vie du chasseur-pêcheur-ramasseur sont basés sur des ressources robustes, telles existaient dans la zone riveraine du Dniepr de l’âge Épipaléolithique jusqu’à l’âge de cuivre, des enfants pourraient être intégrés dans des structures sociales d’un âge jeune. La revue accentue certains des aspects principaux de pratiques funéraires mésolithiques et néolithiques et évalue l’évidence disponible à la lumière des perspectives changeantes sur l’articulation rituelle préhistorique et le rôle des enfants dans le passé. Mots Clefs: Dniepr, Ukraine, Mésolithique, Néolithique, pratiques funéraires, enfants

INTRODUCTION

As the papers in the current volume highlight, children in prehistory can be very visible, and they were often afforded burial and ritual articulations that stand out in the archaeological record. Conversely, the ‘visibility’ of child burials can be extremely sparse and difficult to assess due to factors such as preservation and ritual biases. This paper will review some examples from the literature, and consider the evidence from the cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region of Ukraine (Fig. 4.1) in detail, in an attempt to highlight some of the practices occurring in Mesolithic and Neolithic burial contexts.

Previous studies into the interpretation of children in the archaeological record have highlighted a considerable array of processes in the disposal/burial of children in prehistory. However, it should be remembered that adult individuals are also treated differentially in death for various reasons (e.g. Ahlström 2003; Bonsall 1997; Brinch Peterson & Meiklejohn 2003; Eriksson et al. 2003; Larsson et al. 1981; Lillie 1996, 1997 & 1998a; Schulting 2003). In certain instances the reasons for a lack of visibility of cemeteries are attributed, in part, to rising sea levels obscuring a significant part of the archaeological record (e.g. Larsson et al. 1981). This factor is of

particular significance to northwest European researchers in regions where stable isotope evidence supports the idea that exploitation of marine resources in the Mesolithic was significant, and therefore settlement/activity sites would potentially have been located in areas that are now submerged (e.g. Schulting & Richards 2001).

Differential treatment in death is attested at numerous locations in Europe (and elsewhere). Evidence from locations such as Vedbæk (Brinch Peterson & Meiklejohn 2003) indicates that combinations of ritual treatment occur. Here, multiple burials of a male and female with a young teenager, a 5 year old chid and an infant <1 year of age all buried in a pit at Gøngehusvey 7 contrast with a single inhumation of a child at the site of Maglemose-gaard. At Tågerup, Scania, Sweden (Ahlström 2003) the human remains found in burial pits were recorded as fragile and extremely fragmented, but despite this two non-adult burials aged 6-7 years (grave 3) and 9-10 years (grave 6) respectively, were identified. At this site, differential treatment is again attested by the occurrence of fragments of a non-adult skeleton in a semi-flexed position located some distance from the rest of the main grave group. This individual was aged at c. 9-10 years at death and was found with a transverse arrowhead in the vicinity of the pelvis region. The author suggests that this


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Fig. 4.1. Location map for the cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region: 1 Osipovka; 2 Derievka I and II; 3 Vasilyevka V; 4 Vasilyevka III and II; 5 Nikolskoye; 6 Marievka; 7 Vovnigi II;

8 Yasinovatka; 9 Igren VIII (Filled Triangle = Mesolithic, Open Triangle = Neolithic)

find may indicate that the cause of death was violent in this particular case (Ahlström 2003, 480).

Burial context clearly influences preservation, as finds from the Mesolithic site of Ageröd I:HC attest (Larsson et al. 1981). At this location a series of summer camp occupations produced fragmentary human remains (5 pieces – 4 during excavations between 1946-9 and 1 during excavations between 1972-4). The skeletal mate-rial recovered appears to have been derived from individuals of late adolescent or adult age.

Despite the fragmented nature of the remains Larsson et al. identified an unhealed septal aperture at the point of insertion of the musculus deltoideus in the distal epiphysis of a right humerus; this resulted from an injury, and there is also some evidence for osteoporosis on this skeletal element. Some light osteophytic lipping was also noted on the proximal portion of an adult male’s left ulna. The extremely fragmentary nature of this material clearly reflects disposal of human remains in a manner other than ritual primary burial, and in this paper (dated to 1981) a minimum number of 22 sites with fragmentary human remains were identified for the Scandinavian Mesolithic. Obviously, the evidence indicates that primary burial was not extended to all individuals in society, or alternatively that the burial ritual employed resulted in some destruction and loss of elements prior to burial (Larsson et al. 1981, 166).

Interestingly, the evidence from Skateholm, in southern Scania, and Vedbæk in eastern Zeeland, Denmark (Nilsson 2003) highlights yet another aspect of Mesolithic burial practice, that of cremation. As noted by Nilsson, cremation represents an extreme contrast to inhumation as the latter involves burying the dead intact, while cremation rapidly destroys the body (2003, 531). Either way, both practices serve to remove the body from view and thus they avoid the need for the living to watch the process of decomposition (Nilsson 2003, 531). Despite this observation, grave 28 at Skateholm has evidence to support the notion that access to the body was facilitated after burial, and after decomposition, as bones from the left side of the skeleton were removed, but adjacent elements remained in place and undisturbed (Nilsson 2003, 531). This observation could help account for the presence of disarticulated skeletal elements at settlement sites, and Nilsson goes so far as to suggest that the practices played out at Skateholm may inform us about the Neolithic period, wherein the manipulation of human remains is a dominant aspect of mortuary rituals (Nilsson 2003, 532).

The analysis of stable isotopes and diet can also provide significant insights into past social structuring in society. In this context recent research by Shulting (2003) has provided some intriguing observations on the populations buried at the Mesolithic sites of Hoëdic and Teviec in southern Brittany. At these sites a number of the graves

M.C. LILLIE: SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

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have multiple interments indicative of successive phases of burial. Shulting argues that this phenomenon is reminiscent of subsequent Neolithic activity, and may suggest that these burial traditions are in fact direct precursors to Neolithic practices (2003, 432).

At these cemeteries Hoëdic has 14 individuals in eviden-ce, with 2 non-adults, and Teviec has 23 individuals, with 3 non-adults in evidence. The children (all between neonate and 4 years of age) all exhibit elevated nitrogen values when compared to the young adult females in these populations. This is attributed to the fact that the non-adults are being breastfed, and as such exhibit a c. 3‰ δ

15N trophic level increase when compared to the young adult female C/N ratios. This increase reflects the fact that the children are effectively predating on their mothers. It is apparent from the isotope signatures of the individuals studied by Schulting, that the adult males and mature adult females have elevated C/N ratios when compared to the young adult females. However, it is perhaps worth mentioning that contrary to the suggestion that this indicates differential diets (Schulting 2003, 434), with young females not consuming a diet with as much marine input as the adult males and mature adult females (and by inference not originating in the local population) the evidence could also suggest that breastfeeding is resulting in a suppression of the C/N ratios for the young adult females.

Breastfeeding functions because nutrients are transferred to the child from the mother. Unless the mature adult females are acting as ‘wet nurses’ in these populations it would be unlikely that their C/N ratios would be suppressed in this way, hence their ‘normal’ dietary signatures at the population level of expression. The children are unlikely to express an ‘ideal’ trophic level increase relevant to the population based expression of C/N ratios (i.e. the adult males and mature females), precisely because they remove the mothers nutrients at the systemic level. The Hoëdic and Teviec cemeteries are extremely interesting due to the myriad of possible interpretations of the available data (cf. Schulting & Richards 2001), and the potential identification of long overlaps between the Mesolithic and Neolithic of the region.

The differences between males/mature females and young adult females highlights an important interpretational aspect when studying populations where non-adult remains are lacking, in that the young adult females could conceivably express lower C/N ratios because they were breastfeeding either at or immediately prior to death. If non-adult isotope studies are not available, this factor is effectively ‘invisible’ in dietary terms. The isotope ratios from young adult females then, if influenced by breastfeeding, could consequently lead to a mistaken assumption that the young adult females in a given population were consuming divergent diets to those of other members in the community being studied, simply because we don’t ‘see’ the children.

Perhaps informative in terms of the visibility of children in cemetery populations are the cemeteries of the northern zone, such as Olenii Ostrov in Karelia (Jacobs 1995) and Zvejnieki in northern Latvia (Gerhard et al. 2003). Visibility is enhanced in the latter case by the long duration of the burial practices occurring at Zvejnieki. Here, the burial rituals employed display equivalent treatment in death for males, females and non-adults. At this site ochre, a range of artefacts, burial orientations and types, and stone settings, are afforded to all of the individuals being buried. Zvejnieki is informative due to the number of non-adult burials interred, with half of the Mesolithic burials belonging to non-adults, and two-thirds of these including grave goods (Gerhard et al. 2003, 559).

Isotope studies at Zvejnieki have shown that the highest nitrogen value in the interred Mesolithic burials is associated with a child burial (burial 261), who has a δ15N value of 15.2‰ (Eriksson et al. 2003). As was observed previously with the Hoëdic and Teviec isotope studies (Shulting 2003), the elevated nitrogen values are considered to reflect trophic level enrichment due to breastfeeding. In general the Mesolithic and earlier Neolithic populations at Zvejnieki had substantially higher intakes of freshwater fish to their counterparts in later periods, where more variable diets are in evidence from the Middle Neolithic period onwards (Shulting 2003, 14).

At Zvejnieki, the fact that children and juveniles were identified as significant in burial clearly suggests that they were considered important social individuals in life. The idea that non-adult individuals in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies can achieve recognition as significant ‘social actors’ has been put forward previously (e.g. Lillie 1998a), and may well reflect the fact that non-adults are able to fish and gather from an early age in societies that exploit the rich resources of the riparian and coastal zones of Europe.

Of particular interest in the studies of Zvejnieki is the observation that even where non-adult remains are lacking, some insights into childhood diets can be recovered from the study of the isotope signatures of the molars (Eriksson et al. 2003). If this approach is viable, then given the developmental sequence of the molars, it is conceivable that a sequence of diet at c. 6 year intervals up to completion of the formation of the third molars could be obtained. In addition, if the individual is interred at any time up to c. 30 years of age, the isotope signature from the bone would provide a record of the diet between c. 20-30 years of age. Although it is unlikely that the first to third molars would be available for study from Mesolithic and Early Neolithic individuals in significant numbers, such a study would provide unparalleled in-sights into dietary practices/changes across an indivi-dual’s earlier life, and could conceivably shed light on significant factors such as the movement of individuals between different groups.


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A REVIEW OF THE CEMETERIES OF THE DNIEPER RAPIDS REGION

The cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region have been the subject of considerable re-dating, re-analysis and isotope studies in recent years. This has been carried out both by the current author, and by colleagues such as Mike Richards, Ken Jacobs, Dmitri Telegin and Inna Potekhina, amongst others (e.g. Jacobs 1993 & 1994; Lillie 1996, 1997, 1998a & b; Lillie & Richards 2000; Lillie et al. 2003; Lillie & Jacobs 2006; Telegin et al. 2002; Telegin 2003), since Telegin’s early work (1961, 1968 & 1982). These cemeteries are considered to be ‘true’ cemeteries as they are often situated away from any substantial settlement evidence, and function solely for the rituals involved in the removal of the dead from society (Haussler 1995; Lillie 1996, 1997 & 2003a, 60; Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 148). Despite the con-siderable number of burials in the Mesolithic and Neolithic cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region, variable preservation occurred, and curation practices have led to an emphasis on the cranial part of the skeleton, and a general absence of non-adults burials in collections. Despite this, the detailed excavation archives produced by Telegin and Dobrovolsky, enables considerable insights into non-adult treatment in death, and by inference, their role in socio-cultural structures in life.

In two recent papers (Lillie 2003a & b) the nature of the subsistence strategies of the populations of the Dnieper Rapids were considered in relation to new research, a review of the evidence from excavations and the stable isotope studies undertaken by Lillie and Richards (Lillie & Richards 2000; Lillie et al. 2003; Lillie & Jacobs 2006). This work outlined the limitations imposed on our research by the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, the ephemeral nature of hunter-fisher-gatherer sites, and the inherent difficulties experienced when attempting to reconstruct past dietary pathways (Lillie 2003b, 1).

When considering the possible range of dietary compo-nents available to hunter-fisher-gatherer populations, alongside the work of Zvelebil (1994), research by Pallarés and Mora (1999) on Mesolithic sites from the eastern Pyrenees and Perry (1999) on Mesolithic sites in the northern Netherlands have highlighted just how diverse the range of species being exploited could be. The presence of numerous grinding stones attests to the processing of plant resources, which is also supported by the evidence from lithic microwear analysis (Pallarés & Mora 1999, 67), and these insights may provide a further link to the subsequent adoption of domesticated plant species by the later Mesolithic populations of Europe. Ethnographic studies have shown that alongside con-sumption, many of the species attested at Mesolithic and earlier Neolithic sites in Europe had other uses in medicine and construction (e.g. Perry 1999, 234; Nicholas 1991, 2006a, 51-3 & 2006b).

In light of recent studies outlining the range of plant species available to Mesolithic populations, and by extension, to the populations of the Dnieper Rapids region, Lillie (2003a & b) sought to assess the degree to which we are able to determine the composition of prehistoric diets (Lillie 2003a) using a combination of archaeological and ethnographic analogies.

In general a number of key observations were forth-coming from these analyses. This included the observa-tion that caries was universally absent from all of the cemeteries studied between c. 11.000-4500 cal BC, implying a diet lacking in caries potentiating foodstuffs, whilst calculus deposits occur throughout the cemetery series, reflecting the consumption of dietary proteins. Archaeological evidence supports the notion that fishing formed an integral element of prehistoric diets with a range of fishing related artefacts occurring. These include fish-tooth necklaces, which are found as grave goods at a number of the earlier Neolithic sites, and fish hooks, net sinkers and harpoons at other archaeological sites (Telegin & Potekhina 1987).

Interestingly, in the Volga Basin (Zhilin 2006) c. 60 Mesolithic and Neolithic sites have been identified in wetland contexts, and twelve of these have been excavated. The material culture of the Mesolithic sites includes extensive finds of organic artefacts including, at the site of Ozerki 17, complete fishing hooks with the line attached, pine fishtraps, and fragments of fishing nets and pine bark floats. In association were a series of net sinkers which included large pebbles with lime bark or bog grass bindings, and sharpened stakes still in situ in the shallow water deposits adjacent to Mesolithic and Neolithic sites (Zhilin 2006, 66). These are interpreted as stakes for securing nets and fish traps. The fishing related artefacts recovered from the wetland sites in the Volga Basin highlight just how fragmentary the evidence is from the ‘dry’ contexts in the Dnieper Rapids, and other European regions.

Despite the gaps in the evidence, the isotope signatures obtained from the populations in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods does support the notion that fish made up a proportion of Mesolithic and Neolithic diet (Figs. 4.2 and 4.3). Isotope analysis allows for a direct assessment of prehistoric dietary pathways and protein source, particularly in the last 10 years of the individual’s life (Schwarcz & Schoeninger 1991). As such, this enables a consideration of the relative dietary dependence of the individual through comparison of the δ13C and δ15N ratios in evidence (cf. McGovern-Wilson & Quinn 1996).

The isotope results presented in Figure 4.2 have been interpreted as representing a relatively uniform diet, for many of the cemeteries in the later Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (Lillie & Richards 2000). Figure 4.3 shows that individuals from the Mesolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka II (Lillie & Jacobs 2006), dated to c. 7300-6200 cal. BC, exhibit values for δ13C that cluster between


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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

-24 -23 -22 -21 -20 -19 -18 -17 -16 -15 -14

δ13C

δ15Ν

Derievka

Marievka

Nikolskoye

Osipovka

Vasilyevka V

Yasinovatka

Fig. 4.2. Mesolithic and Neolithic isotope ratios for the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries (after Lillie & Richards 2000)

10

10,5

11

11,5

12

12,5

13

13,5

14

14,5

-23 -22,8 -22,6 -22,4 -22,2 -22 -21,8 -21,6 -21,4 -21,2 -21

δ13C

δ15N

Females

Males

Indet

Fig. 4.3. Vasilyevka II isotopes ratios (after Lillie & Jacobs 2006)

–20.5 and –21.5‰, with δ15N values of c. 12.5-14.0‰ on average. These values have δ13C levels that are more positive than both the Epipalaeolithic (Vasilyevka III: Lillie et al. 2003) and the contemporary samples for the late Mesolithic site of Marievka and the early Neolithic sites (Fig. 4.2). Intriguingly, whilst the δ13C ratios from

Vasilyevka II are more positive than evidenced elsewhere on the Dnieper, they are somewhat consistent with those from the Danubian Iron Gates sites of Vlasac, Lepenski Vir and Schela Cladovei, as reported by Bonsall et al. (1997). This evidence indicates that the Vasilyevka II δ13C ratios are slightly more negative than those from the


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Fig. 4.4. The Nenasytets cemetery (after Telegin & Potekhina 1987, Fig. 1.2)

Danubian Iron Gates sites, while the associated δ15N ratios are towards the lower end of the range from Vlasac. Vasilyevka II reinforces the notion that variability occurs in isotope levels both at the intra population level and across the inter population range. The humans from Vasilyevka II would suggest that C3 plant foods contributed a significant proportion of the diet of these populations, but that freshwater fish were also an integral element of the diet (Lillie 2003b).

The Mesolithic and Neolithic values presented in Figure 4.2 are more varied, with a number of samples having δ13C values that are between –22 ‰ and –24 ‰, which is more negative than one would expect for a purely terrestrial C3 diet (c. –20 ‰ to -21‰). These values are again indicative of the addition of aquatic resources, most likely river fish, to the diets (Lillie 2003b). This interpretation is supported by the associated higher δ15N values for these individuals, and reinforced by the archaeological evidence for fishing related equipment.

Variation is in evidence, with two of the Neolithic samples studied, Der 33 (Dereivka cemetery) and Vas 29 (Vasilyevka V), have collagen δ13C and δ15N values that probably do not indicate any significant amounts of river fish in the diets. Again, further interpretation is difficult without associated faunal isotope values, but the high δ15N values are indicative of diets with significant amounts of animal, rather than plant, protein in them.

The isotope studies undertaken to date support the notion that variation occurs in relation to the dietary components of the populations of the Dnieper Rapids region, and that

fish, an r-selected species that provides a measure of reliability in terms of resource base, were consumed. The emphasis on reliable resources may provide some insights into the mechanisms whereby non-adult individuals achieved a measure of status in life, where, as mentioned above, they were able to fish and gather along the riparian zone, thereby actively contributing to the economic activities of the group.

The fact that some level of status is afforded to non-adult individuals is reinforced by the cemetery evidence (see Telegin & Potekhina 1987 for a detailed overview). Non-adult burials occur throughout the cemetery series, and in certain instances vivid insights into burial ritual are forthcoming. At the cemetery located at the Nenasytets rapids (Bodyansky 1951) 9 burials comprising 4 adults and 5 children were uncovered during excavations in 1948 (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 5). At this site (Fig. 4.4) all of the burials were uncovered in the extended supine position. Where multiple interment occurs, the deceased are buried with their heads at opposite ends to each other (e.g. individuals 4 and 5, and individuals 6-8, Fig. 4.4).

At this cemetery 6 of the deceased had ochre in association and 8 of the nine individuals had associated grave goods. Whilst one of the adult burials (Grave 3) had a considerable quantity of associated artefacts, such as 150 annular (limestone?) beads and 55 pendants of immature deer teeth, with Unio shells and a retouched flint flake in association, similar finds accompanied the other burials in this cemetery, and the non-adult burials 4, 8 and 9 all had associated grave goods. In addition burial 2 had a scraper in association whilst burial 8 had a flint knife in close proximity (both of these are non-adult


39

burials) (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 5). Whilst undated in absolute terms the artefact inventory at Nenasytets led Telegin to assign this cemetery to his earlier phase A2, immediately after Marievka and slightly earlier than Yasinovatka stage A burials. This would suggest an age in the region of between c. 6200 cal BC (the end date for Marievka) and c. 5476-5271 cal BC (the earliest dates for Yasinovatka), i.e. Nenasytets is either a late Mesolithic or transitional Mesolithic-Neolithic site. The evidence would support the notion that adolescents and children were fully integrated into society at an early age, and that in death at least they are identified as significant to society.

Differential treatment of individuals in death is evidenced by cemeteries such as Vovnigi II, which has only 30 of the total 130 burials having associated grave goods, and 91 of these individuals being sprinkled with ochre (Telegin & Potekhina 1987). At Osipovka (which has dates ranging between 6600 and 5300/4780 cal BC) individual, paired and collective burial pits are in evidence, and a total of 67 burials were unearthed. A paired burial of an adult and child is directly dated to c. 6600-6370 cal BC. In this cemetery individual burials are again in the extended supine position, and a single child burial (Fig. 4.5) had c. 200 Cyprinidae (carp) teeth in association, the only other grave good found at this cemetery consisted of a worked bone artefact found in collective grave pit (no. 53).

Fig. 4.5. Osipovka child burial (individual no. 28). This individual was buried with c. 200 Cyprinidae (Carp) teeth in association (after Telegin & Potekhina 1987, Fig. 22.4)

Osipovka has evidence for secondary burials in pit no. 31, where the disarticulated remains of 7 adults and a child

had a number of elements missing from the burial pit. Secondary burial is also attested in grave pit 53, where the partial remains of 6 adults, 1 adolescent and 4 children were identified, and where burnt bones are also included in the burial deposit (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 47). Osipovka is aceramic and seems to include burials from the Mesolithic through to earlier Neolithic periods. Telegin and Potekhina identify Osipovka as a distinctive monument in the Dnieper valley due to the rite of secondary burial and the disorganised nature of the individual burials, which in other cemeteries of this region are systematically arranged in rows. It is possible that the individuals interred at Osipovka represent an intrusive group in the later Mesolithic at the Dnieper Rapids.

Two of the larger cemeteries in the Dnieper Rapids region, Nikolskoye and Yasinovatka, have 137 burials (with 80 adults, 13 adolescents, and 9 children), and 68 individuals (with 51 adults, 4 adolescents, and 9 children) respectively. Non-adults are clearly under-represented at both of these sites, as are females (Lillie 1997, 220). It should be noted that some problems obviously exist when attempting to assess social differentiation at these cemeteries as the grave goods often comprise hunting-fishing derived material such as deer tooth pendants and Cyprinidae (carp) teeth. However, despite this observa-tion, it must be assumed that the inclusion of grave goods in non-adult burial contexts can indicate some level of social significance.

At Yasinovatka, whilst burials comprising adults and non-adults occur in a number of instances, a grave pit located beneath cairn III at this cemetery contained 3 child burials. Two of these were represented by skulls, while the third comprised an articulated skeleton in a good state of preservation. This individual lay in the extended supine position (mirroring adult burials) and associated grave goods included a string of white annular beads near the right shoulder and Cyprinidae teeth below the pelvic bones (Lillie 1997, 221). This child was afforded burial in exactly the same style as the adults at this cemetery, and it was noted by Lillie (1997, 221) that the discovery of a non-adult with grave goods provides an important insight into the articulation of burial ritual at a site where child burials (not associated with and adult) are rare. The phase b-1 burials at Yasinovatka exhibit a considerable degree of disturbance due to re-cutting of graves, and only a single example of an undisturbed burial exists (burial 45), which is dated to 5432-5148 cal BC. This suggests that the second stage burials at Yasinovatka are disturbed by later activity, perhaps indicating that no form of grave marker was employed to identify the earlier interments, or that less significance is placed on the earlier burials in this b-stage of the cemetery’s use.

Finally, when ‘visualising’ children in the archaeological record, in addition to the use of isotopes from adult molars (or other early forming teeth), it is worth remem-bering that other indicators of juvenile systemic stressors


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occur in the form of enamel hypoplasias. In the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries, the incidence of these non-specific indicators of childhood systemic stress occur at low levels on the dentitions of adult individuals from both periods. For the Mesolithic period 820 teeth are preserved, of these 12 (1.46%) exhibit hypoplasias, whilst in the Neolithic period 33 of the 1464 teeth preserved exhibit hypoplasias (2.25%). These are represented on the individual level by six individuals in the Mesolithic period (13.8%) and twelve individuals in the Neolithic period (11.5%).

The distribution of hypoplasias between both males and females in the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries indicates generalised systemic stress during childhood, between the ages of 2.0-6.0 years (Goodman & Rose 1991; Smith 1991), with 71.74% of occurrences between 2-4 years, and 28.26% between 4-6 years. This distribution con-forms to that highlighted by Goodman and Armelagos (1985, 486-7), whereby in general, weaning stress is thought to occur between 1-4 years of age, with varia-bility being population specific in nature.

As mentioned above, enamel hypoplasias are non-specific indicators of stress, and may be the result of a number of factors such as local trauma, hereditary conditions, nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases and metabolic disruptions (Huss-Ashmore et al. 1982; Goodman et al. 1984; Goodman & Armelagos 1985; Moggi-Cecchi 1994). However, of the several developmental dental defects that may be related to general and nutritional stress, macroscopic enamel hypoplasia appears to be one of the more valid and reliable indicators (Huss-Ashmore et al. 1982), which in the case of the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries, suggests that weaning stress occurs. This reinforces the fact that breastfeeding is occurring at these sites and that some variation in young adult female isotope ratios may be anticipated as a result.

DISCUSSION

The above discussion has highlighted numerous aspects of non-adult burial and the ritual treatment involved in the removal of these individuals from society. We have obviously expanded our knowledge base when inter-preting non-adult individuals, and a lot of work has been undertaken in the past decade to make the ‘invisible people’ visible (cf. Moore & Scott 1997). Women are no longer ignored in favour of males when interpreting hunter-fisher-gatherer societies and non-adults individuals are ‘becoming’ more visible as the dominant discourse attempts to provide the basis for an holistic social narrative of the Mesolithic.

Our understanding of burial ritual is more robust as the methods and theories we use become more refined and targeted (e.g. Nilsson 2003). The use of detailed studies of taphonomic processes has shown that some significant insights can be gleaned from the archaeological record. Nilsson has noted that the removal of skeletal elements

after burial and decomposition occurs in the case of burial 28 at Skateholm I.

This observation could help account for the presence of disarticulated skeletal elements at settlement sites, and Nilsson goes so far as to suggest that the practices played out at Skateholm may inform use about the Neolithic period wherein the manipulation of human remains is a dominant aspect of mortuary rituals (2003, 532). Simi-larly, Shulting argues that this phenomenon is reminiscent of subsequent Neolithic activities, and may suggest that these practices are precursors to later Neolithic rituals (2003, 432). These studies would imply that Neolithic collective burials and the removal/re-use of skeletal elements in ritual contexts away from the primary burial context are effectively continuities in ritual practice from the Mesolithic.

By implication, Schulting’s research may also indicate that where non-adult remains are lacking, young adult females could conceivably express lower C/N ratios because they were breastfeeding either at or immediately prior to death. As non-adults are not always represented in mortuary contexts, if non-adult isotope studies are not feasible/available, this factor is effectively ‘invisible’ in dietary terms. The young adult females isotope ratios could consequently lead to a mistaken assumption that the young adult females were consuming divergent diets to those of other members in the community being studied, simply because we don’t ‘see’ the children.

Differential isotope signatures are recorded throughout the European Mesolithic/hunter-fisher-gatherer skeletal series, but in general, the identification of differential diet cannot be used to infer inequality in terms of total dietary calorific values or that these differences are entirely culturally imposed. Similarly, the use of plants is apparent (e.g. Zvelebil 1994; Pallarés & Mora 1999; Perry 1999), but we cannot assess the relative contribution that plants made to the diet, and we also cannot gauge at what age children could have been integrated into the resource procurement strategies of forager groups. However, the identification of childhood stress episodes using hypo-plasias, and by inference dietary shifts away from breastfeeding, provide some insights into the possible age ranges at which children could have begun to participate in resource procurement in different groups is a way into this area of study.

Lillie (1998a, 2003a & b) has argued that the variability identified through isotopic studies reinforces the notion that differential access to proteins of animal, fish, and/or plant derivation, and the mediation of such access, occurs, but that this does not necessarily result in a reduction in health status, especially in the case of the individuals from the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries.

The early integration of children into the social context may reflect a number of factors relating to the societies considered. In general group mobility, economic stress,


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workloads, and the regulation of family size are cited amongst the reasons for the lack of consideration afforded to young children in a wide range of societies from prehistoric hunter-gatherers to the modern period (cf. Mays 1995). Within the Dnieper Rapids region the exploitation of a rich resource spectrum (hunting-fishing-gathering) may have enabled younger children to play an active part in subsistence tasks from a relatively low age, and as a consequence these individuals are perceived as having a recognised social persona in death.

This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that children in a number of the Ukrainian cemeteries are afforded burial that is identical to that given to adults, that many non-adult individuals have grave goods (often in significant quantities as noted at Osipovka), and ochre is used in the burial rituals. Similarly, we have evidence for differential treatment in death with some individuals being buried without grave goods, suggesting some level of horizontal stratification, however the inclusion/non-inclusion of grave goods is not restricted to discrete groups, but is applied throughout age/gender categories. At Osipovka secondary burial occurs, and this is reminiscent of Scandinavian Mesolithic practices wherein a minimum number of 22 sites with fragmentary human remains have been identified. Larsson et al. (1981, 166) have argued that this evidence indicates that primary burial was not extended to all individuals in society, or alternatively that the burial ritual employed resulted in some destruction and loss of elements prior to burial. Again this represents an aspect of Mesolithic ritual that is visible from Scandinavia to Ukraine, and is a ritual activity that is transposed into Neolithic burial practices.

Clearly, some significant limitations are imposed on our research by the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record, the ephemeral nature of hunter-fisher-gatherer sites, and the inherent difficulties experienced when attempting to reconstruct past dietary pathways (Lillie 2003). However, as the above discussion has shown, the techniques used in interpreting Mesolithic and hunter-fisher-gatherer societies (the latter subsistence strategies characterise earlier Neolithic groups in the Dnieper Rapids region) have provided considerable insights into non-adults in these societies. The above discussion has also suggested that in certain instances, the lack of non-adult burials does not preclude the generation of some important observations relating to childhood stress (e.g. enamel hypoplasias) or diet (e.g. isotope studies of teeth). Similarly, by inference we can suggest that young adult female isotope ratios can be biased by weaning practices (which again can be inferred from the age distribution of the enamel hypoplasias on adult teeth), which provides an insight into childhood subsistence and possibly the age at which children begin to function as ‘social actors’.

Biases exist, but when we actually attempt to ‘visualise’ children in hunter-fisher-gatherer contexts the above discussion has shown that a considerable corpus of evidence exists. We can draw meaningful insights into a

discrete part of society that was fundamental to group survival, and we can (with relative ease) identify non-adult individuals who clearly functioned as meaningful and significant social individuals.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Krum Bacvarov for his invitation to produce this review paper. The interpretation and discussion of the isotope results owes much to the work of Mike Richards who has worked with the author on all of the data presented here. The samples of human bone, used for the analyses of Vasilyevka II, were obtained by Ken Jacobs during research in St. Petersburg, Russia; all other samples were obtained by Malcolm Lillie and processed by Mike Richards. The palaeopathological analysis was undertaken during the author’s doctoral research which was funded by the SERC (now NERC). The author would like to thank Professor Gokhman and Dr. Alexander Kozintsev, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, and Professor Vladimir Timofeev, Depart-ment of Palaeolithic Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia and Professor Dmitri Telegin and Dr. Inna Potekhina, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev, for invaluable assistance during my research visits to Eastern Europe. As ever, any errors and/or omissions remain the response-bility of the author.

Finally, since commencing my work in Ukraine, both Ken Jacobs and Vladimir Timofeev have died unexpectedly, similarly my mother and sister died suddenly between October 2004 and April 2005, these losses have impacted differentially on me, but all of these individuals have influenced my research and life in various ways, each is sorely missed.

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ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS: RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?

Sharon MOSES Cornell University, U.S.A., [email protected]

Abstract: Neolithic Çatalhöyük in south central Turkey illustrates prehistoric ideology and religion interwoven with daily life. This paper posits that children’s bodies were integral in creation of sacred spaces. Unusual child burials in lieu of clear physical/forensic evidence of violent death are often interpreted archaeologically as “natural,” utilized for ritual purposes. I propose that contextual evidence can, in certain circumstances, be as compelling and that a priori labeling them as “natural” robs potential understanding of children’s roles in religious ideologies. This paper is not a physical or forensic analysis, but rather theoretical and contextual. Ways to discern clues for ritual death based upon different motivations are presented. Keywords: Neolithic, children, religion, burial, sacrifice

Résumé: Le site néolithique de Çatalhöyük dans le sud de la Turquie centrale illustre l’idéologie et la religion préhistoriques entrecroisées avec la vie quotidienne. Cet article avance que les corps des enfants étaient intégrés à la création d’espaces sacrés. Les enterrements insolites d’enfants, en lieu et place de la preuve physique/légale claire de mort violente, sont souvent interprétés archéologiquement comme “naturels”, utilisés dans des buts rituels. Je propose que les témoignages contextuels peuvent, dans certaines circonstances, être significatifs, et que la qualification a priori de ces sépultures comme “naturelles” empêche la compréhension potentielle des rôles des enfants dans les idéologies religieuses. Ce papier n’est pas une analyse physique ou légale, mais plutôt théorique et contextuelle. Les façons de discerner les indices de morts rituelles, fondées sur des motivations différentes, sont présentées. Mots clefs: Néolithique, les enfants, la religion, l’enterrement, le sacrifice

INTRODUCTION

Often when archaeologists discover children and infants as foundation deposits there is a hesitation to characterize them as ritual deaths or sacrifices, particularly in lieu of forensic evidence which would clearly indicate violent death. It is problematic, however, to always base our evaluations solely on hard forensic evidence. The majority of infant and child remains do not easily reflect recognizable clues of unnatural death after centuries or millennia, particularly when the means may have included smothering, strangling, or other methods which would leave no imprint upon skeletal remains.

It is much easier and frankly, safer, as archaeologists to leave the mode of death unaddressed where it is not readily obvious, noting only that the child’s body was placed in a wall, a floor, or other structure after-the-fact as a ritual deposit. But does this failure to explore likely death scenarios based upon contextual differences and their subsequent implications, minimize our potential understanding of ritual child burials?

Unfortunately, the full implication of children’s bodies and the means by which they came to be utilized in ritual events is too seldom pursued or debated. Rather, these unique burials tend to be summed up with the phrase “possible foundation deposit” and left as little more than a footnote in the reconstruction of ancient religious practices and beliefs.

Avoidance of labeling sacrificial activities may also be partly rooted in our own modern Western biases which have difficulty reconciling ritual child sacrifice with ease.

Contemporary political and cultural concerns may also play a role in hindering suggestions of possible ritual practices that descendant communities may find offensive or where fears of resulting negativity may have residual effect.

We should be cognizant of these factors in the interpretive process; this paper is not a call for uncritical interpret-tation, the utilization of “sacrifice” as the new default term, or for speculation in absence of evidence. Rather, this is an appeal for a more balanced, though cautionary approach, to placing unusual child burials in context within other patterned behavior instead of avoiding them as ultimately indeterminate.

This paper argues that unilateral avoidance of controver-sial burials ultimately robs the potential for understanding the full impact of children’s roles in prehistory. This is particularly pertinent in the Neolithic, a time when religious symbolism and ritual behavior experienced florescence in concert with changing social and cultural ideologies where the importance of children as conduits to the supernatural world would be highly significant.

Based upon my studies of child burials and social roles in the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, I argue that contextual evidence should be considered as an alternative interpretive tool where patterns cross-regio-nally, intraspatially or temporally indicate a deeper likelihood of sacrificial rituals despite an absence of direct forensic evidence. Further, this paper strives for ways to discern and separate possible ritual deaths from votive deposits utilizing children’s bodies after death has already occurred.


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Furthermore, I argue that foundation deposit as a descriptive phrase should not be utilized as a one-size-fits-all application covering all child burials simply because they are located at the foundation level of structures. Such deposits were complex in that different contexts addressed different spiritual or ideological concerns associated with creating sacred spaces. These subtle differences and varying contexts may reflect different ritual motivations. This paper is in favor of noting those differences where they occur. Different motivations may well have defined not only the ritual involved but subsequently the status of the offering immediately before burial, whether alive or dead.

These considerations may bring us closer to detecting clues favoring active or passive agencies and the victim’s mode of death. Because of these differences, under certain circumstances ritual death rather than convenient death may be a more viable interpretation.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BURIAL STYLES IN THE NEOLITHIC

Intramural, courtyard burials, or cemeteries abutting living areas are consistent with funerary practices throughout the Neolithic Near East. Styles of burial vary by region, with cremation and ceramic encasement in jars or pots more predominant in southeastern Europe, particularly in Greece and Italy (Perlès 2001).

Widely practiced in the Near East from the Natufian through PPNB (Prepottery Neolithic B), skull removal and elaboration (plastering skulls, etc.) became infrequent by the PPNC throughout the Levant (Bar-Yosef & Valla 1991; Kenyon 1957; Kuijt 2000). The practice of decapita-teon of the dead has been found in relatively few instances in Anatolia by comparison, at sites Çatalhöyük, Nevalı Çori, Çayönü, and Cafer Höyük during the early to late Neolithic (Hauptmann 1999; Özdoğan 1999; Rollefson 2001).

Only two instances of specific decapitation (both adults) and one instance of skull plastering (also an adult) has been found at Çatalhöyük – the plaster primarily placed in a band across the eyes and face, rather than the entire skull as found in the Levant (2004 field season).

Further westward in the Mediterranean region, i.e. Greece, Italy etc. rather than post-mortem skull removal per se, secondary burial practices wherein long bones and skulls from primary burials were gathered and redeposited (sometimes in ossuaries) was a common practice, and virtually no skull plastering/elaboration has been found (Perlès 2001).

By comparison, Çatalhöyük seems to place more emphasis on intramural burials than has been found elsewhere in the Anatolian region. In fact, the number of burials found within settlement living spaces and not in delineated public or ritual-specific cult buildings far

outnumbers those found in other Anatolian sites thus far (Andrews et al. 2006). Although some sites in Anatolia can currently lay claim to more burials per se, such as Çayönü, it must be remembered that the majority of individuals found at Çayönü were interred in a ritual structure (Skull Building) rather than a dwelling, signify-cantly changing the context of the burials themselves.

It has been established that structures once thought to be shrines at Çatalhöyük (Mellaart 1967) were in fact not shrines or public structures but served as dwellings. Micromorphology of floors and surfaces indicate multiple activities including food preparation, tool knapping, sleeping areas, and other activities associated with daily life (Matthews et al. 1996). These dwellings housed an average of four or more individuals on a year-around basis and indications are that children were part of the family units inhabiting them. This is contrary to earlier beliefs that the architectural design of the structures was not child-friendly, and would pose a threat to the health and welfare of small children around sharp contours such as plastered horns, burcrania and external ledges from which they might fall.

In the Mediterranean and southeastern European regions, though intramural child burials occur, generally speaking a burial placement in delineated cemeteries which more formally separated the living from the dead was more likely to occur. Intramural burials are generally less common in numbers compared to the Near East and Levant. Besides allocated cemeteries, burial spaces included caves and other areas that could be considered liminal in some way, particularly for ritual purposes (Perlès 2001; Whitehouse 1992).

Aside from intramural interment, neonates, infants, and juveniles at Çatalhöyük were given primary burial; primary-multiple burials do occur, but when they do, children tend to be grouped with other children and occasionally with an adult. In these adult/child burials, it is often assumed (when the adult is female) that she was likely the mother, perhaps who died in childbirth.

Since the 1990s excavations began, approximately twen-ty-four percent of non-adults have been interred within baskets made specifically for burials. Unique grasses indicate that these baskets were not utilized for other household purposes; at least none have been found thus far (Hodder 2006). The vast majority of basket burials from the renewed excavations appear to be relegated to neonates and infants, although Mellaart (1964) noted in his 1960s preliminary reports that basket burials were represented in all age groups. Presumably these numbers diminished as age of the individual increased, but Mellaart noted at least one case of an adult in an enlarged basket. Unfortunately detailed accounts of these examples were not documented.

Despite earlier views by Mellaart (1967) who suggested secondary burials were the predominant funerary

S. MOSES: ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS: RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?

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practice at Çatalhöyük, this has now been ruled out. In secondary burials fingers, toes, hyoid bones, etc. are invariably lost due to the scattering effect of excarnation or other exposure practices. The disarticulated bones in the burials Mellaart excavated and thought were secondary, were in actuality disturbed burials; the result of new interments placed next to or over the top of previous burials. Secondary burials have thus been determined an uncommon funerary practice at Çatalhöyük. Only two graves from current excavations show evidence of secondary burial activity (Andrews et al. 2005). Of the secondary burials from Grave 31 in Building 1, two were adults and two were adolescent males (#1482 and #1491) aged fifteen and seventeen respectively.

Human remains analysis indicates that the majority of burials were primary and/or disturbed and bodies interred beneath house floors and platforms shortly after death. Previous hypotheses that bodies had been exposed to scavengers for excarnation before burial are not supported by the evidence. Remains of individuals thought to be secondary interments show no signs of chewing or other scavenger activity, although there has been evidence of “trampling.” This suggests they were placed on or near a trafficked surface where the bodies were distressed by being tread over yet isolated from animals and an uncontrolled environment.

Finally, when Çatalhöyük’s burials are projected against a settlement population estimated at one time to have been approximately 3.000 to 8.000, the numbers do not reconcile (Hodder & Cessford 2004). It is now believed that the majority of the population, both adult and sub-adult, was not interred beneath the settlement houses, but elsewhere outside the settlement.

The overall placement of more burials in some dwellings than others coupled with the outward appearance of largely egalitarian governance, suggests that at Çatal-höyük and elsewhere in the Neolithic, ancestors and kinship lineages was of great importance. Burials at Çatalhöyük were likely utilized toward establishing and maintaining connections to religion, tradition and privileges or rights accorded to specific households and families.

Since the majority of the dead were disposed of off the mound utilizing funerary practices as yet unknown, this suggests that intramural mound burials were a special category in and of themselves simply by virtue of their selection for in-settlement, intramural interment (Hodder & Cessford 2004).

The majority of on-mound burials at Çatalhöyük are children. This paper follows the “special category” premise of on-mound burials and argues that children played an integral role in maintaining connections to the ancestors, creating sacred spaces and in general communicating with the supernatural world.

ÇATALHÖYÜK’S DIFFERENTIATED CHILD BURIALS

Çatalhöyük excavations have uncovered four types of child burials which are further differentiated from typical on-mound child burials. That is to say, a “typical” on-mound child burial is one normally intramural, located beneath a platform or floor on the north/northwest, north/central, west or eastern side of a house. Neonates are often found along a south or southwestern wall and often in a woven basket and close to or within the hearth. The significance of the southern side seems to be spiritual rather than functional both for building entrance and burial pattern.

Evidence suggests that burial location within the house was dependant upon the age of the child, with only neonates and youngest infants placed in the south area or in the vicinity of the hearth. Burial options for placement of these youngest individuals seems to have encompassed the whole house (though the southerly areas held preference) while other age categories seem precluded from the south/hearth area. In all, nearly sixty per cent of the individuals interred in the settlement based upon data from the current excavations through 2003 are of children, suggesting children held a special place in the cosmological beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants (Moses 2006).

The four differentiated categories of specialized child burials found in Çatalhöyük excavations thus far as presented in this paper are: 1) foundation burials, 2) threshold burials, 3) change of space-use ritual burial, and 4) fortification or wall/ceiling burial. Each of these categories will be examined with examples taken from the original excavations by James Mellaart in the early 1960s as well as from the current excavations under Ian Hodder, who reopened the site in 1993. I will then attempt to synthesize my interpretations and theoretical perspectives toward a more meaningful understanding of the signify-cance of these distinct child burials.

ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION AND THRESHOLD BURIALS

From the most recent excavations there are three neonate burials, individuals #2515, #2199, and #2197, placed at the threshold between two rooms within Building 1, namely the crawl space between Space 71 and Space 187. These burials took place during the construction phase (Subphase B1.1B), thus their designation as foundation deposits. This building was located in the North Area of the east mound.

Also interred during the construction phase, a fourth neonate (#2532) with an adult female (#2527) referred to previously, were placed in the fill but located away from the threshold burials and closer to the north wall (Cess-ford, North Area Excavation report, Vol. 3 forthcoming).


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This has been posited as a likely mother and child pair. The location of this pair in comparative reference to the three neonate deposits suggests the neonate/adult burial may have been placed during the construction phase with other ritual motives, although still linked to the foun-dation status of the building.

All four neonates constitute the only four neonates in the building out of sixty-two burials. The significance of burial location, construction activity, and the limitation of the age category for the remainder of the life cycle of the house, differentiates these from all other burials within the house.

The most recent foundation deposit has been the discovery of a woman embracing a plastered skull which caused quite a stir at the site. Todate, it is the only plastered treatment of a skull, linking the practice to the Levant and other Near Eastern sites where skull plastering techniques were used. The plastering seems focused upon the facial features rather than the entire skull as found in Jericho, however. The young woman holding the semi-plastered skull was deposited in a pit with infant (10498) associated with the foundation level of Building 42, which was a new building constructed over a previous midden. Hodder posits that because the building had no structural/ancestral predecessor, it may have been deemed necessary to build over the top of an “ancestor” - the plastered skull – in order to establish the house (Hodder 2006). The woman may have been a member of the house lineage or for other unknown reasons was selected as the most appropriate deposit for this ritual event. No overt signs of violence have been noted about the skeleton and it has not been identified as a sacrificial victim but accepted as simply a foundation deposit, presumably a natural and opportune death at the time of construction. The plastered skull itself was not new at the time of its deposit in the grave. Evidence indicates it had been plastered at least three different times with red paint and had been kept above ground for some time before this burial.

CHANGE OF SPACE RITUAL BURIAL

A neonate burial was found in Space 199, feature 525 of the South Area excavations. The neonate was in a basket and placed in a shallow grave in an open area, approximately five meters east of a wall (F.551). Its extramural status identifies it as very unusual and is the only one of its kind to-date. This burial was found in the beginning of Level XII, one of the earliest partially excavated levels of Çatalhöyük. The burial was located in an area during a transition of space use; that is to say, the beginning of Level XII which marked the end of a long term use midden in the courtyard and the beginning of a sheep/goat penning area. The context suggests that the burial served as a ritual deposit for sanctifying this change. Burning activity adjacent to this burial is evidenced by a charcoal residue from a unique fuel (oak

wood). It appears to have been a one time event which ultimately and inadvertently helped seal the burial (Farid, South Area Excavation reports Vol. 3 forthcoming). The burial was located on the western periphery of the fire and no evidence suggesting the fire was used for utilitarian purposes such as food processing has been found.

As a ritual event, the visual significance of the burial was enhanced by its open public access; a marked contrast to the private and enclosed intramural burials which would have limited the view to a select few inside a house.

WALL/CEILING BURIAL DEPOSITS

Mellaart discovered the remains of a child whom he describes as a “stillborn” or “premature” found encased in a mudbrick from a wall he believed to be a shrine in Level VI.A.14 on the South side of the mound (Mellaart 1963; 1967, 83). The infant was discovered when the mudbrick was broken during excavation. The impressions in the clay revealed that it was once enshrouded in a woven basket and the infant’s bones were stained with red ochre. A piece of shell and an obsidian chip were also placed with the baby.

Mellaart surmised that the brick was “set somewhere high in the wall” (Mellaart 1963, 75) in his description of the west wall where two plastered bull’s heads were located and where a wall relief he believed to be an abstract “goddess” was found. This may have been the context for the brick but unfortunately more specific details are lacking.

Small hand prints were painted in red over the end of the larger bucrania’s snout during an earlier phase, suggesting a correlation between small children and infants in the religious symbolism in the room. Mellaart (1963) described this building as particularly elaborate, with multiple bucrania and horn cores molded into benches as well as the wall; the south wall which was relatively undecorated in other houses, also had a molded niche or cavity and a ram’s head plastered above it.

From the current excavations in an area known as the “4040” on the north side of the mound, an infant of approximately two years of age was found in Space 227, near the northeast platform (2004 Çatalhöyük Archive Report). There were no distinguishable burial cuts in the platform and it is believed to also have originally been placed higher up in the northern wall, which was unstable during the occupation of the house and seemingly in danger of collapsing inward (Fig. 5.1).

WHERE POWER RESIDES: SACRIFICE VERSUS VOTIVE DEPOSIT

Historically and ethnographically, cases of human or animal sacrifice suggest the power of the foundation


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Fig. 5.1. A hurried wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, possibly to add stability to the wall, reconstruction by Sharon Moses

sacrifice lies in its cost to the individual and/or the community performing the ritual, as well as the suffering of the victim (Brown 1991; Green 2001). This is the core of sacrificial efficacy toward coercing the will of super-naturals toward granting benefits to the living such as blessings, privileges, prosperity, protection, purification and sanctification (Abusch 2002; Brown 1991).

When coupled with intramural interment, foundation sacrifices have been found to be associated with ancestor cults and lineage governing systems that dictate the act of killing the victim is necessary for the offering to have value. Ritual killing has been further linked to agricultural societies, where seasonal changes, crop or animal fertility and prosperity are entwined with religious mythologies (Green 2001; James 2002). Folklore, songs, legends and customs from historic periods reflect a long tradition in many societies that stress the importance of living crea-tures as sacrifices or scapegoats in order to communicate or make requests of the supernatural world. Supernaturals are perceived to respond most to the act of sacrifice through the emotional impact, blood, tears, or release of essence of the victim that symbolize the life force in order to propitiate the gods (Brown 1991; Green 2001; James 2002).

Sacrificial rituals existed in Native American cultures of North America (Gill 1982; Underhill 1953). In the Pacific Northwest for example, foundation sacrifices utilizing slaves or captives when erecting a new community use or storage house was practiced. The victim was placed in one of the corner post holes and was subsequently crushed when the foundation post was lowered in over the top of them. Those who survived the weight of the post met death through suffocation as the post hole was filled with dirt and rocks.

In the Midwestern region, a captive young girl was periodically sacrificed as part of an ancient Pawnee ceremony commemorating the journey from this world to the supernatural world from where a medicine bundle was believed to have originated. After the four day ceremony, the girl was struck on the head with a sacred war club and shot with a sacred bow and arrow as well. Her blood was used to sanctify dried buffalo meat and corn seeds (Gill 1982).

Blood letting and ritual killing were closely connected to re-enactment of mythological events and transformation in many Native American cultures. Loss of life-essence and blood of victims were also necessary catalysts in


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ritual acts intended to bring about change or acknow-ledge it, either literal or figurative, through cosmological forces.

In another example from historic Europe, Slavic countries such as Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia local customs originally demanded human sacrifices for foundation deposits for bridges, fortification walls and places of worship since pre-Christian times. However, tradition changed in that human beings were replaced with hens, cocks, cats and dogs as Christianity’s influence spread in rural communities throughout the Middle Ages. Traditional rituals were closely tied with community identities and were not completely replaced with Christian ideas, even at the peak of persecution.

Ritual victims when not sacrificed beforehand were typi-cally caged or bound and buried alive beneath foundation structures. Germanic peoples likewise give ethnographic accounts of different sacrifices for different purposes (Bartha 1983). Archaeological evidence from prehistory forward demonstrates that victims were often children, many times placed in boundary locations which could be construed as “liminal” and near storage areas such as grain or corn silos (Scott 1991; Skeates 1991). By the Middle Ages a widespread shift to animals as ritual substitutions can be noted and human beings (in the form of body parts, secondary burials or representational figurines, etc.) were used in more passive forms of dedication rituals.

The ritual act of sacrifice was an active method by which individuals and communities sought to incite supernatural action or to generate reciprocal obligations from the supernatural world. Its signature was a sense of individual or collective empowerment via the ritual act.

Where neither human nor animal sacrifice is evident, human and/or animal bones or body parts, and inanimate objects have been used historically as votive deposits. Alternately, votive deposits were designed to function as a gesture, an expression of hopeful appeal, yet something more than a prayer. These deposits can be construed as evidence of a passive ritual act in that they lacked immediacy and the course of action was ultimately left to the discretion of supernatural entities. The depositor lacked the empowerment inherent in a sacrificial act.

Furthermore, the votive deposit placed little or no great loss upon the depositor; that is to say, the deposit had value, but this may have been more symbolic than economic or lower in emotional cost. Votives were often placed after the request had been granted as a form of thank you, acknowledgement, and to act as a visual marker and/or performance. These performances were meant as much for the living as for the dead, acting as a form of communal or familial bonding and reinforcement of group identity.

SUMMARY

The three neonate foundation burials nearest the crawl space of Building 1 appear to fulfill a dual purpose. While foundation deposits are often located in corners or literally within a foundation structure, these foundation burials seem to be defined by the liminal status of the internal threshold between two rooms. Thus, while the construction phase of the house establishes the general context, the focus of intent appears to be the room-to-room access point.

Sacrificial threshold rituals are often made to purify and consecrate a doorway, where the crossing over point is perceived as a dangerous zone to the health and vitality of the occupants and the house itself if not properly treated. Threshold sacrifices normally consist of taking the life of the offering, its blood, etc. utilized to make this liminal space sacred (Brewster 1971; Green 2001; Whitehouse 1992).

A votive deposit, in this case the burial of stillborns, I posit, would be an unlikely ritual choice considering the context; the importance of the ritual is correlated and defined by its limited performance, in this case in Çatalhöyük’s Building 1. As mentioned earlier, this building contained no other neonates for the duration of its house-life which constituted sixty-two burials.

Because one of the neonates was buried in a primary burial with an adult female and separated in location from the other three neonates clustered nearest the threshold and no clear association with a particular wall or struc-ture, it seems less clear whether the mother and child died in childbirth and were therefore used as votive burials during the construction phase because they belonged to the lineage of the house. There is not enough contextual evidence to suggest association with the main neonate burial cluster beyond the age of the infant, also a neonate.

The infant buried with the woman with a plastered skull of the foundation deposit for Building 42, however, seems a more likely candidate for a sacrificial event rather than a timely, convenient death. The purposeful and highly significant burial interred with a rare plastered skull suggests a ritual event worthy of a sacrificial catalyst. If the establishment of a new building over a previous midden necessitated the inclusion of an “ancestor” via a plastered skull, this implies forethought and planning associated with a change of space use as seen in the extramural child burial.

The change-of-space ritual from a midden to a penning area for sheep and goats stands out as a one-time event, complete with a bonfire fueled with special wood consecrating the ground in the burial’s vicinity. Again, the deposit of a stillborn, I posit, would seem to run counter to the special context and intent of this ritual.

It is not unprecedented to assume that children played an important role in the daily shepherding of livestock and


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were thus associated more closely with animal care. Most agrarian and shepherding societies utilize its children to help with crops and/or animals while adults are largely engaged in activities that require more refined knowledge, skill and strength. Beyond the physical qualities and uses children posed in the care of animals and food gathering, they also represented a spiritual element in the protection of these resources.

Children have often represented a purity or closeness to the supernatural world in a way that adults did not (Green 2001). Perhaps the consecration of ground and change of space necessitated the ritual death of a child to promote health and protection.

Çatalhöyük’s special emphasis on the religious symbo-lism of children and their bodies would seem to be con-sistent with sanctifying the health and prosperity of the animals to be penned in this space. It would be of utmost importance to facilitate the well-being of such an im-portant aspect of the settlement’s economy and survival.

Finally, the in-wall infant burials provide us with an insight into the conceptual differences between votive and sacrificial rites. Hodder posits that the deposit from the wall in the 4040 area did not appear to be a “careful” one, that is to say, not evidenced by an obvious ritual, but may have been hurriedly placed there possibly to “‘strengthen’ the wall” (Hodder 2006, 217).

Mellaart’s infant was encased in a mudbrick inside a basket with grave offerings suggesting that more thought and preparation went into the deposit. He described the infant as stillborn, but in actuality this would be nearly impossible to confirm. The room in which this deposit was found was replete with reliefs, plastered bucrania, horn cores and a stylized handprint of a child in two pla-stered bucrania sequences, suggesting a strong connection between young children and the overall religious sym-bolism in the room.

There are many ethnographic examples of non-living deposits placed in walls for the purpose of buttressing architectural stability or for apotropaic purposes (Brew-ster 1971; Green 2001). Typically, these are symbolic and culturally imbued ideological representations embodied by inanimate objects, i.e. utensils, jewelry, seeds, hair, figurines etc. and include body parts of humans or animals. However, where the entire person or animal is entombed within a structure, new significance may be associated with the entirety of the body itself. I would posit we take a more careful examination of contexts to ascertain the possibility that a sacrifice may have taken place, even hurriedly if necessary, and the victim used to infuse the structure or space with an intent and power distinctly different from the symbolic gesture of a votive deposit.

The fact that the wall in the 4040 area was notably unstable, may indicate the inhabitants were motivated

with an urgency to strengthen it quickly and permanently, and this would imply an active course of action rather than a passive one associated with votive deposits.

I posit the pivotal factor involved with contextual reading of foundation rituals, whether they involved ritual killing or represent a votive deposits, would be indicated by immediacy and intentionality of the ritual act. Empowerment and urgency toward specific outcomes links ritual behavior with active machinations of religious magic, the hallmark of ritual death. Toward that end, the likelihood of sacrifice would be greater where these factors are in place.

This paper is not an attempt at definitive labeling of controversial or specialized child burials as sacrifices; rather, it is an attempt to address the need for archaeologists to look more closely at the archaeological record and its contextual values for a richer understanding of children in the religious development of a community.

In closing, the significance of children and children’s bodies in the religious and ritual fabric of Çatalhöyük is difficult to deny. The extent to which we explore the implications at this and other archaeological sites is limited only by our willingness to examine contextual clues despite an absence of clear forensic evidence for ritual death.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the Çatalhöyük Research Project and members; the National Science Foundation which financially supported my graduate program, enabling me to spend more time in research; to Luiz Oosterbeek and the UISPP 2006 Congress and Krum Bacvarov, organizer of the “Babies Reborn” session of the Congress.

References

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ANDREWS, P., T. MOLLESON & B. BOZ 2005. The Human Burials at Çatalhöyük, in I. Hodder (ed.) Inhabiting Çatalhöyük reports from the 1995-99 seasons, 4: 261-278. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

BARTHA, E. 1983. The objects and requisites of foundation sacrifice. Muveltseg es Hagyomany 21: 167-175.

BAR-YOSEF, O. & F.R. VALLA (eds.) 1991. The Natu-fian Culture in the Levant. Ann Arbor: International Monographs in Prehistory, Archaeological Series 1.

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BROWN, S. 1991. Late Carthaginian Child Sacrifice. Sheffield: Academic Press.

CESSFORD, C. & S. FARID 2006. Çatalhöyük Exca-vation Reports, 3. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara Monographs (forthcoming).

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GREEEN, M.A. 2001. Dying for the Gods: Human Sacrifice in Iron Age & Roman Europe. Stroud: Tempus.

HAUPTMANN, H. 1999. The Urfa Region in the Neolithic of the Lake District, in M. Özdoğan & N. Başgelen (eds.) Neolithic in Turkey: The Cradle of Civilization: 65-86. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayinlari.

HODDER, I. 2006. The Leopard’s Tale: Revealing the Mysteries of Çatalhöyük. London: Thames & Hudson.

HODDER, I. & C. CESSFORD 2004. Daily Practice and Social Memory at Çatalhöyük. American Antiquity 69/1: 17-40.

JAMES, S.E. 2002. Mimetic rituals of child sacrifice in the Hopi Kachina cult. Journal of the Southwest 44/3. Tucson: University of Arizona.

KENYON, K.M. 1957. Digging up Jericho. New York: Praeger.

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MATTHEWS, W., C. FRENCH, T. LAWRENCE & D. CUTLER. 1996. Multiple surfaces: the micromorpho-logy, in I. Hodder (ed.) On the Surface: Çatalhöyük 1993-95, 1: 301-342. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

MELLAART, J. 1963. Excavations at Catal Hüyük, 1962: Second preliminary report. Anatolian Studies 13: 43-103.

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MOSES, S. 2006. Children and Childhood in Tradition and Ritual at Çatalhöyük, in From Earth to Eternity: Çatalhöyük. Istanbul: Yapi Kredi.

ÖZDOGAN, M. 1999. Northwestern Turkey: Neolithic Cultures in Between the Balkans and Anatolia, in M. Özdoğan & N. Başgelen (eds.) Neolithic in Turkey: The Cradle of Civilization: 203-224. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayinlari.

PERLÈS, C. 2001. The Early Neolithic In Greece: the first farming communities in Europe. Cambridge: University Press.

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SCOTT, E. 1991. Animal and Infant burials in Romano-British villas: a revitalization movement, in P. Gar-wood, D. Jennings, R. Skeates & J. Toms (eds.) Sacred and Profane: Proceedings of a conference on Archaeology, Ritual and Religion (Oxford University Committee for Archaeology Monograph 32): 115-121. Oxford: Oxford Committee for Archaeology.

SKEATES, R. 1991. Caves, Cult and Children in Neolithic Abruzzo, Central Italy, in P. Garwood, D. Jennings, R. Skeates & J. Toms (eds.) Sacred and Profane: Proceedings of a conference on Archaeo-logy, Ritual and Religion (Oxford University Committee for Archaeology Monograph 32): 122-134. Oxford: Oxford Committee for Archaeology.

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DES MORTS PEU FIABLES: LES SEPULTURES NEOLITHIQUES D’IMMATURES EN GRECE1

Maia POMADÈRE Ecole française d’Athènes, Greece, [email protected]

Abstract: The number of sub-adult burials is very scarce in the Greek Neolithic. Therefore, it must be borne in mind that those we know are probably exceptional, and that we should be very cautious about their interpretation. This paper presents some recurrent child mortuary practices that appear to be very similar to the adult mortuary practices until the Late Neolithic. The data available rule out any possibility to interpret children’s status in Greek Neolithic society. Keywords: Funerary practices, children, Greece, Neolithic

Résume: Le nombre de sépultures d’immatures connues pour le Néolithique grec est encore très faible. Il s’agit donc souvent de tombes potentiellement exceptionnelles, ce qui exige une grande prudence dans leur interprétation. Quelques pratiques récurrentes dans le traitement funéraire des immatures peuvent toutefois être mises en évidence, surtout à partir du Néolithique Récent: des indices d’une différenciation fondée sur l’âge apparaissent alors sur certains sites. Les données funéraires ne permettent toutefois pas de restituer la place des enfants dans la société néolithique. Mots Clefs: Pratiques funéraires, enfants, Grèce, néolithique

INTRODUCTION1

L’étude du traitement funéraire des enfants pendant le Néolithique en Grèce est actuellement fondée sur des données excessivement limitées. Environ 200 sépultures d’immatures sont recensées pour la très longue période néolithique (ca. 6500-3300/3100), et elles se concentrent essentiellement aux Néolithique Récent et Final (ca. 5300-3300/3100). Ces tombes sont en outre inégalement réparties dans l’espace égéen, leur carte résultant des dis-parités et hasards des recherches archéologiques (fig. 6.1).

Peut-on bâtir un raisonnement archéologique sur le traite-ment funéraire des immatures à partir d’une documenta-tion aussi faible? Les études sur les pratiques funéraires proposent souvent des conclusions qui semblent bien audacieuses et définitives en regard du corpus. L’objet de cette communication est donc de présenter les données archéologiques et de s’interroger sur la validité des interprétations ou sur les présupposés qui y sont parfois attachés.

La question essentielle que je me pose au sujet du traitement funéraire des immatures est celle de sa spécificité: les enfants morts faisaient-ils l’objet des mêmes pratiques funéraires que les adolescents et les adultes? La détermination d’une éventuelle différencia-tion en fonction de l’âge dans le recrutement funéraire est fondée sur le postulat que les immatures devraient former environ 50 % d’une population funéraire, selon le schéma de mortalité archaïque auquel se conforment les popula-tions anciennes (Sellier 1996). 1 Je me suis permis d’emprunter ce titre à J. Guilaine (introduction à Chambon 2005). Cet article s’inscrit dans une étude diachronique menée dans le cadre d’une thèse de doctorat d’archéologie intitulée “Les enfants du Néolithique à la période géométrique dans le monde égéen”, sous la direction de R. Treuil, université de Paris I-Sorbonne. J’adresse mes remerciements à ce dernier, ainsi qu’à V. Chankowski, pour leur relecture et leurs remarques.

Les individus que nous considérons comme “immatures” étaient âgés de 12/14 ans au plus lors de leur décès. La classe d’âge des nouveau-nés (0-1 ans) est distinguée de celle des petits enfants (1-5 ans) lorsque les données le permettent2. Ces dernières ne sont pas assez précises pour opérer d’autres subdivisions: il est ainsi impossible de repérer une différenciation du traitement funéraire des périnataux (6 mois lunaires gestationnels à un mois civil après le terme), bien que cette distinction soit poten-tiellement significative pour l’interprétation.

PROBLEMES ET LIMITES METHODOLOGIQUES DE L’ETUDE DES SEPULTURES D’IMMATURES EN GRECE

Le manque de représentativité des données funéraires

La faiblesse du nombre de sépultures n’est pas spécifique aux immatures: on connaît moins de 500 tombes pour l’ensemble du Néolithique en Grèce (Cavanagh & Mee (1998, 6) en recensaient 400, sans prendre la Crète en considération). Ce nombre est bien entendu infime par rapport à la population de morts “réelle”3. La question de l’invisibilité des tombes néolithiques a ainsi été soulevée à plusieurs reprises (Treuil 1987, 11-14; Cavanagh & Mee 1998, 6; Perlès 2001, 273). La géomorphologie de certaines régions grecques, et surtout les hasards des fouilles, expliquent partiellement ces faibles effectifs. Dans le Nord de la Grèce, plusieurs mètres d’alluvions recouvrent ainsi vraisemblablement les ensembles funé-

2 Par nécessité, ces regroupements sont fondés sur les catégories utilisées dans les études paléoanthropologiques portant sur le monde égéen, en particulier Triantaphillou 2001, 36 & 2005, 68. La classe des petits enfants correspond à celle des “infants”. 3 C. Masset a démontré qu’un village de 200 habitants dont l’espérance de vie avoisinerait 25 ans, utilisant un cimetière pendant 500 ans, “produirait” 800 décès par siècle. On attendrait donc 4000 inhumations pour ce seul village (Masset 1987, 115).


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Fig. 6.1. Sites mentionés dans le texte

raires situés dans les plaines. Les seuls cimetières identifiés y furent découverts fortuitement, lors de travaux de drainage profonds (Gallis 1982, 10; Treuil 1987, 12-13; Alram-Stern 1996, 113). En outre, un très faible nombre de sites néolithiques a été fouillé de manière systématique et exhaustive. La nature des explorations archéologiques et de la sédimentation naturelle ne constituent toutefois pas des facteurs d’explication suffisants à l’échelle de la péninsule, ce d’autant moins que les fouilles se sont multipliées ces dernières années. Un choix culturel, délibéré, doit donc être postulé: la majeure partie des morts néolithiques est invisible parce qu’ils n’étaient pas enterrés (ou pas de manière définitive)

et/ou qu’ils ne reçurent pas de sépulture matériellement formalisée.

L’échantillon funéraire disponible pour la Grèce néolithi-que correspond donc à une part infime de la population de cette période. Le problème de sa représentativité se pose de manière encore plus aiguë dans le cas spécifique des tombes d’enfants: il est en effet avéré que leurs cadavres reçoivent en général des aménagements funéraires peu visibles, moins profondément enfouis et moins protec-teurs que ceux des adultes (Bello et al. 2006, 29 et 31-32). De plus, l’état de préservation des ossements est proportionnel à l’âge: les squelettes de la classe des 0-4

M. POMADERE: DES MORTS PEU FIABLES: LES SEPULTURES NEOLITHIQUES D’IMMATURES EN GRECE

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ans se désintègrent plus rapidement que ceux des sujets plus âgés (Bello et al. 2006, 36). L’interprétation de l’absence des sépultures d’enfants doit donc prendre en considération des facteurs géographiques, archéologiques et culturels, mais aussi l’action taphonomique et la conservation différentielle des ossements. Le choix et la hiérarchisation de ces critères pour chaque site sont nécessaires, mais le plus souvent subjectifs en raison de l’insuffisance des données contextuelles.

L’INSUFFISANCE DES EXAMENS ANTHROPOLOGIQUES EN GRECE

L’anthropologie physique, indispensable pour raisonner sur le paramètre de l’âge au décès et le recrutement funéraire, est un domaine d’étude relativement récent en Grèce, et encore peu développé. J.L. Angel, pionnier dans cette discipline, a examiné une quantité importante de matériel osseux issu de fouilles américaines diverses dès les années 1950-1960. Mais l’anthropologue était alors guidé, comme tous ses collègues à l’époque, par un questionnement spécifique, lié à la recherche de l’origine des Grecs. Il a ainsi parfois limité son étude à l’observation de la morphologie des crânes, ignorant les petits ossements parmi lesquels les chances de rencontrer les restes d’immatures étaient plus élevées. Les premiers examens anthropologiques systématiques d’échantillons funéraires datent des années 1980 en Grèce, et il ne s’agit pas encore d’une pratique ré-pandue4. Or, de nombreux sites grecs furent fouillés dès la fin du XIXe s. ou dans la première moitié du XXe s. Les conditions de fouille alors en usage et le désintérêt pour les vestiges osseux ont ainsi conduit à la perte presque totale d’informations pour plusieurs gisements funéraires, malgré les observations ponctuelles de certains archéologues.

Avant d’examiner et d’interpréter les données archéo-logiques, il faut donc être conscient que, le plus souvent, seules des sépultures “marginales”, potentiellement exceptionnelles, nous sont parvenues (Chambon 2005, 24-27).

L’addition de ces données ponctuelles ne permet pas de restituer les modes de sépultures, et encore moins les rites funéraires pour l’ensemble du Néolithique: les données fragmentaires mises “bout à bout” risquent de créer un ensemble composite, qui estompe artificiellement les contrastes et les ruptures régionales et chronologiques. S’il me semble nécessaire d’exprimer ces précautions, ce n’est pas pour abandonner toute tentative d’interpréter les tombes d’enfants. Il est en effet possible de faire émerger certains traits récurrents du traitement funéraire des immatures; en inférer des conclusions sociales semble en revanche prématuré. 4 Les fouilles de sauvetage qui se multiplient ne permettent pas au service archéologique grec d’assurer ce type d’examen pour toutes les opérations.

LES SEPULTURES D’IMMATURES NEOLITHIQUES EN GRECE

Néolithique Ancien

Pour le Néolithique Ancien, l’habitat de Néa Nikomédia concentre la moitié des effectifs d’immatures, en dépôt primaire et secondaire (ca. 40 sujets : Angel 1973, 103 et 105 individus au total sont recensés, dont 35 en position primaire). Le nombre d’enfants ensevelis dans cette zone (22, dont 9 nouveau-nés) est sensiblement identique à celui des adultes. La représentation des hommes et des femmes y est aussi numériquement comparable. Cela infirme l’idée de I. Hodder selon laquelle les sépultures en zone domestique étaient essentiellement destinées aux femmes et aux enfants, et auraient ainsi reflétées leur relation privilégiée à l’espace domestique (Hodder 1990, 51). Deux sépultures triples sont rapportées: la première rassemble deux enfants et un nouveau-né, la seconde deux enfants et un adulte. Dans ce dernier cas, les squelettes étaient soigneusement disposés, l’adulte semblant enlacer l’un des deux immatures qui lui faisaient face. L’inven-teur a identifié l’adulte comme une femme, mais l’exa-men anthropologique n’a pu confirmer cette détermination (Rodden 1962, 286, Pl. XLII5). La disposition volontaire de ces corps suggère seulement l’existence de relations familiales entre ces défunts. Ces deux occurrences de sépultures multiples pourraient être le résultat de morts simultanées, dues à des épidémies, qui touchent naturelle-ment surtout les immatures6.

Le traitement funéraire des enfants et des adultes observé à Néa Nikomédia, très peu différencié selon l’âge et le sexe, est comparable à celui de Karanovo7 en Bulgarie ou de Menteşe dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Anatolie (Bacvarov 2000; Bailey 2000, 122; Alpaslan-Roodenberg 2001; Roodenberg et al. 2003, 22). Sur les autres sites grecs, où les surfaces fouillées sont réduites, seules une à quatre sépultures d’immatures sont attestées dans les zones habitées, à Argissa en Thessalie, Axos Giannitsôn en Macédoine, Aghios Pétros dans les Sporades et Lerne dans le Péloponnèse. Un groupe de six nouveau-nés et petits enfants découvert dans l’habitat le plus ancien de Cnossos a d’abord été interprété comme un “dépôt de fondation”, mais les indices matériels manquent pour étayer cette hypothèse rituelle (Evans 1964, 138): une septième sépulture d’immature, située à quelques mètres, pourrait indiquer qu’il s’agit de simples sépultures en contexte d’habitat, comparables aux autres occurrences égéennes. Il s’agirait toutefois du seul site sur lequel les ensevelissements en zone domestique étaient réservés aux 5 Les examens anthropologiques n’étaient pas encore réalisés lors de la rédaction de son rapport. 6 Angel, qui avait repéré de nombreuses cribra orbitalia sur les crânes des adultes et des immatures, les mettait en relation avec des anémies, selon lui causées par la malaria (1973, 103-104). Les sépultures multiples n’étaient donc pas “réservées” aux enfants, comme le postule Fowler 2004, 40 ; elles ne traduisent que leur surmortalité. 7 À Karanovo, les immatures ne sont prédominants que pendant la première phase d’occupation (NA) (Bacvarov 2000).


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enfants, même si la faible superficie explorée empêche d’en être assuré.

Sur le continent, hors de Néa Nikomédia, des sépultures isolées d’adultes apparaissent aussi sporadiquement près de bâtiments (A Sesklo, Souphli Magoula et Képhalov-rysso en Thessalie). À l’exception de Cnossos, aucune différentiation funéraire n’est perceptible en fonction de l’âge: enfants et adultes reposaient en général dans des fosses simples ou des fosses à détritus en remploi, et le mobilier était absent ou indigent. L’usage d’un récipient en terre-cuite comme contenant funéraire n’est attesté que pour un nouveau-né, à Axos Giannitsôn. Comme à Anza, cette pratique est exceptionnelle (Chrysosomou 1996, 162-164; Gimbutas 1976, 412). Si elle ne s’y applique qu’à des nouveau-nés, c’est peut-être en raison, d’une part, de la faible production céramique et, d’autre part, des dimensions réduites des vases en terre cuite du Néolithique Ancien ; leur hauteur ne dépasserait normale-ment pas 30 cm (Perlès 2001, 214 et 217).

Un seul ensemble funéraire aménagé hors de l’habitat est documenté: la petite nécropole de Souphli Magoula rassemblait 15 tombes à incinération et deux inhumations (Gallis 1982; certaines sépultures devraient peut-être être rattachées au NM, Perlès 2001, 274; Cavanagh & Mee 1998, 8). Les immatures (un petit enfant, un enfant inhumé de 6-8 ans et un adolescent) sont sous-représentés, mais l’âge au décès de cinq sujets ne put être déterminé et pourrait expliquer ce biais (Xirotiris dans Gallis 1982, 199). Le dépôt de biens ou d’offrandes semble en revanche conditionné par l’âge, puisque seul l’adolescent et les adultes étaient accompagnés de récipients et d’ossements animaux, probables restes d’offrandes alimentaires.

NEOLITHIQUE MOYEN

La documentation est extrêmement lacunaire pour le Néolithique Moyen. Un seul site a fourni plus d’une sépulture d’immature: dans la grotte de Franchti, 16 enfants furent inhumés dans des fosses ; des ossements humains désarticulés appartenant à une vingtaine d’individus étaient par ailleurs dispersés sur le site, dans la grotte et sur la paralia (Jacobsen & Cullen 1981; Cullen 1999; Vitelli 1993, 43; une partie des sépultures pourrait être rattachée au Néolithique Ancien). Alors que les immatures sont bien représentés dans les inhumations primaires, dont ils constituent la moitié, ils sont peu nombreux au sein de l’échantillons d’ossements dispersés. Ces derniers résultent-ils d’une pratique funéraire secondaire volontaire ? Si c’est le cas, les enfants en étaient peut-être exclus, mais il est plus vraisemblable que leurs ossements plus fragiles se soient dissous lors de leur exposition à la surface du sol. Le même facteur d’explication est valable pour Néa Nikomédia au Néolithique Ancien, où aucun ossement de nouveau-né n’est recensé parmi les ossements dispersés dans l’habitat (Angel 1973, 103). Il est au moins assuré qu’une partie

des immatures a fait l’objet d’un traitement funéraire primaire semblable à celui d’adultes. En outre, seuls deux défunts avaient reçu un mobilier, parmi lesquels un nouveau-né accompagné d’un bol de marbre miniature, un objet rare et certainement luxueux à Franchti.

Non loin, dans la grotte de Prosymna, un immature se trouvait parmi les six sujets partiellement incinérés et en dépôt secondaire. Les restes osseux n’ont pas été examinés par un anthropologue (Blegen 1937, 27). Enfin, en Grèce septentrionale, deux petits enfants ont été inhumés dans l’habitat de Liménaria (Thasos) et dans celui de Makri en Thrace (Malamidou & Papadopoulos 1993, 564-565; Touchais 1998, 902). Ces dernières ne reflètent pas non plus un traitement spécifique en fonction de l’âge, si l’on prend en considération les tombes d’adultes isolées aussi recensées dans d’autres habitats du Péloponnèse et de Macédoine (Treuil 1983, 428-429; Pappa 1993, 304). Hors de Franchti où cette pratique paraît plus répandue, une petite fraction d’immatures et d’adultes était donc ensevelie dans les zones domestiques, comme au Néolithique Ancien. Les critères présidant au choix de ces défunts nous échappent complètement.

NEOLITHIQUE RECENT

Au Néolithique Récent, des sépultures isolées d’enfants proviennent des habitats d’Alepochori en Laconie, de Sarakinos en Eubée, d’Elatée en Grèce centrale, et de Rachmani en Thessalie. Au moins quatre immatures, ainsi qu’un à trois adultes, furent inhumés dans la zone d’habitat de Lerne (Caskey 1958, 136; 1959, 205). Les tombes d’un petit enfant, d’un adolescent et de deux adultes proviennent de l’habitat de Stavroupolis, à Thessalonique (Triantaphyllou 2002, 836-838; 2004, 614). Une sépulture secondaire plus élaborée, réunissant un enfant et un adulte sous un petit tumulus, a été mise au jour dans l’habitat d’Haghia Sophia en Thessalie (Milojčić et al. 1976, 6-7; le tumulus d’argile était sur-monté d’une cuvette contenant des cendres). Enfin, huit sépultures d’enfants à incinération et une à inhumation se trouvaient dans l’habitat de Dimini (Hourmouziadis 1982, 81; Adrymi-Sismani 1989, 226). Il s’agit du seul site pour lequel on peut supposer que l’ensevelissement était réservé aux jeunes enfants dans l’habitat, les adolescents et adultes étant manifestement ensevelis ailleurs; une unique tombe, d’adulte, est rapportée pour l’habitat de Pevkakia (Weisshaar 1989, 11). En Égée orientale, cette différenciation spatiale apparaît à Bakla Tepe, près d’Izmir, où un grand nombre de sépultures, appartenant exclusivement à des nourrissons, est localisé dans l’habitat8.

Des ossements disloqués, formant des petits effectifs, ont par ailleurs été découverts dans les zones domestiques de plusieurs sites de Macédoine (phase du NR II à Makri-gialos, avec 12 individus; une dizaine d’individus à 8 http://www.geocities.com/irerp_tr/bakla.html.


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Stavroupolis) et dans les grottes habitées de Kitsos en Attique (18 individus), de Skoteini à Tharrounia en Eubée (14 individus), et de Kalythies à Rhodes (20 individus). Les immatures sont représentés dans des proportions variables, formant seulement 17 % de l’échantillon à Makrigialos mais 55 % à Kitsos ; à Skoteini, ils sont prédominants, puisque neuf des 14 sujets identifiés étaient des immatures (Stravopodi 1993, 381). Le mode de sépulture pratiqué n’est pas clair. Comme à Franchti au NM, il n’est pas toujours sûr que l’on soit en présence d’un rite funéraire secondaire: la perturbation involontaire de sépultures antérieures par les habitants pourrait expliquer la fragmentation et la dissémination des ossements. A Kalythies seulement, la prédominance des petits ossements (provenant des mains et des pieds) et de dents de 13 sujets adultes suggère la pratique d’un dépôt secondaire des sépultures à l’extérieur de la grotte, après la “vidange” de leurs squelettes, peut-être à l’occasion d’un changement de fonction du lieu. Selon cette pratique, seuls les os longs et ceux du crâne auraient été collectés pour être déposés ailleurs (Halstead & Jones 1987, 138-139). Halstead et Jones proposent à partir de l’examen des restes fauniques une occupation saisonnière de la grotte (1987, 143-145). La présence de quelques os longs de jeunes enfants (au moins 7 individus) indique qu’ils ne firent pas l’objet du même traitement et furent laissés dans la grotte. Doit-on l’interpréter comme le témoignage d’une pratique différenciée, traduisant une relation particulière entre les sépultures d’enfants et l’espace domestique? Ou bien montre-t-elle seulement que leurs petits ossements, désarticulés, n’ont pas été reconnus comme des restes humains lors d’une réoccupation de la grotte?

La grotte d’Alepotrypa (Magne messénien) et des fossés creusés autour de l’habitat de Makrigialos au NR I comprenaient les ossements de plusieurs dizaines d’individus, le plus souvent désarticulés. Il s’agit alors d’ossuaires séparés de l’habitat. Les immatures y sont relativement bien représentés. Ils constituent 20 % des effectifs à Makrigialos et 50 % à Alepotrypa. Le mode de dépôt, primaire ou secondaire, n’est pas toujours clair, mais les enfants, même nouveau-nés, y recevaient apparemment un traitement funéraire comparable à celui des adultes.

Les nécropoles de tombes construites, séparées de l’habitat, se développent au Néolithique Récent, mais trois d’entre elles seulement fournissent des données sig-nificatives. Celle de Képhala, sur l’île de Kéa, est composée de tombes à sépultures collectives ou individu-elles, primaires ou secondaires, comprenant une soixan-taine d’individus. Des immatures de tous âges y sont recensés (30 % de la population funéraire), et reposaient le plus souvent avec des adultes, ou dans des tombes identiques, mais plus petites. Deux nouveau-nés font partie des effectifs, bien qu’Angel n’ait pas observé tous les petits fragments d’ossements, ce qui conduit naturelle-ment à une sous-représentation de cette classe d’âge (Coleman 1977, 44-51 et 64; Angel 1977, 134). En

revanche, seul un enfant de moins de 6 ans est rapporté pour la petite nécropole de Tharrounia, en Eubée. Les immatures de plus de 6 ans sont bien représentés et forment 25 % des effectifs, comptant 25 individus (Sampson 1993, 239; Stravopodi 1993, 384). La sous-représentation des jeunes enfants doit y être mise en parallèle avec la découverte des ossements d’immatures dans la grotte située à proximité, évoquée plus haut. Elle pourrait traduire une différenciation des espaces funéraires, sans codification stricte car “l’âge-limite” semble flou. Des “pré-adolescents” étaient aussi inhumés dans la grotte (Stravopodi 1993, 381).

Enfin, dans la nécropole thessalienne à incinération de Platia Magoula Zarkou, les immatures, parmi lesquels sept petits enfants, représentent au moins 25 % de la population funéraire (Gallis 1982, 215). Ce pourcentage est relativement important, si l’on considère que l’âge au décès de 39 individus seulement put être déterminé, pour 67 tombes fouillées. Le regroupement de deux à six urnes cinéraires contenant des individus d’âges divers était peut-être fondé sur leurs relations familiales.

À l’exception de Tharrounia, les immatures semblent donc bien intégrés dans ces espaces funéraires formels et distincts de l’habitat. On connaît trop rarement l’habitat et le cimetière d’un même site pour esquisser un tableau général des pratiques. Toutefois, on ne distingue nulle part une différenciation aussi stricte que sur le site de Bakla Tepe, près d’Izmir, où la nécropole était exclusivement réservée aux tombes d’adultes9.

La spécificité des sépultures d’enfants se manifeste essentiellement au NR par le type de tombe et le traitement des corps: le dépôt du cadavre dans un vase devient une pratique spécifique aux jeunes enfants et nouveau-nés dans le Sud du monde égéen, même si ce mode de sépulture ne concerne jamais l’ensemble de cette classe d’âge. Des sépultures à enchytrisme apparaissent dans les habitats comme dans la nécropole de Képhala. Il s’agit généralement de récipients issus de la vaisselle domestique et commune, mais certaines sépultures sont remarquables: dans la grotte d’Alepochori, un nouveau-né reposait dans un vase de céramique fine, lui-même placé dans une jarre dont l’ouverture était soigneusement obturée. Les autres sépultures mises au jour dans la grotte ne sont représentées que par des ossements humains désarticulés (Kontaxi et al. 1989, 25). À Platia Magoula Zarkou, où les restes osseux brûlés se trouvaient normalement dans des jarres ou des bols, la sépulture d’un enfant fut déposée dans un vase zoomorphe. Ce récipient portait des marques d’usure et de cassure antérieures (Gallis 1982, 99-101). Il constitue pour cette période le seul objet – non périssable – qui paraît avoir été fabriqué pour l’enfant et utilisé par lui, peut-être dans ses jeux, avant sa mort. En revanche, à Képhala comme à Platia Magoula Zarkou, ni les figurines ni les vases 9 Le rapport en ligne ne précise pas le nombre de sépultures: http://www.geocities.com/irerp_tr/bakla.html.


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miniatures ne peuvent être corrélés aux sépultures d’enfants, contra Fowler, qui établit des corrélations entre le type de mobilier et l’âge des défunts, en se fondant sur des données incertaines ou erronées (Fowler 2004, 58-59).

Sur plusieurs sites, le traitement du corps par l’incinération paraît réservé aux immatures: à Dimini, où l’on ignore tout du mode de sépulture des adultes, l’incinération des seuls enfants dans l’habitat pourrait contribuer à biaiser notre impression. En outre, il ne semble pas que les restes osseux aient fait l’objet d’une analyse scientifique, ce qui pose même la question de l’identification d’immatures. En revanche, à Makrigialos et à Alepotrypa, où plusieurs dizaines de sépultures ont été identifiées, respectivement un et deux petits enfants seulement furent incinérés. D’autres immatures d’âge comparable étaient inhumés, ce qui indique que l’incinération ne dépendait pas seulement du critère de l’âge, mais aussi d’un choix familial ou du statut social de cette dernière, ou encore des causes du décès. À Stavroupolis, la seule incinération est celle d’un adulte, ce qui montre que le facteur de sélection prédominant n’était pas l’âge. Il est en outre peu probable que le critère déterminant dans le Sud du Péloponnèse corresponde exactement à celui qui a prévalu pour l’enfant incinéré en Piérie. Le caractère exceptionnel de la sépulture à incinération d’enfants d’Alepotrypa y est par ailleurs souligné par les biens associés: les ossements étaient recouverts de fragments de vases en céramique fine, brûlés, et de perles en pierre et en os finement travaillées. Cette sépulture reflète donc probablement des gestes rituels complexes. Hormis ce cas, les défunts étaient le plus souvent ensevelis au Néolithique Récent sans aucun bien en matériau non périssable, et les enfants ont globalement reçu encore moins de mobilier que les adultes.

CONCLUSIONS

Cette revue des rares sépultures d’immatures néolithiques appelle quelques remarques. En premier lieu, les pratiques funéraires sont peu différenciées en fonction de l’âge dans les espaces funéraires les plus représentatifs. La variabilité du traitement des enfants morts s’accroît au Néolithique Récent. La sous-représentation ou l’absence de jeunes enfants parmi les échantillons de sépultures secondaires du NR pourrait s’expliquer par la dissolution de leurs ossements, mais l’exemple de Kalythies montre qu’un traitement différencié était parfois appliqué. De même, l’usage de contenants funéraire en terre cuite ou de l’incinération pour certains nouveau-nés et petits enfants au NR est déterminée par leur âge, mais aussi par d’autres critères (affectifs, rituels, pathologiques ou économi-ques?). Le dépôt de mobilier, très sporadique, est le plus souvent conditionné par l’appartenance au groupe d’âge des adolescents et des adultes: seuls ces derniers étaient parfois ensevelis avec des objets personnels ou avec des offrandes. Cela suggère que les enfants ne possédaient pas

de biens, ou que l’absence “d’identité sociale” reconnue pour ces individus conduisait à les ensevelir plus simplement.

Le don ponctuel d’objets de valeur à de jeunes enfants suggère un système héréditaire de transmission du statut, même si on ne peut exclure d’autres critères d’explication. Il semble que les enfants étaient bien insérés, et relativement tôt, dans le groupe social, mais leurs tombes ne permettent pas de cerner la place qu’ils occupaient dans la société néolithique. Les rares dépôts funéraires associés ne témoignent pas de l’existence d’une culture matérielle enfantine spécifique. Dans l’état actuel de la documentation, le traitement funéraire relativement indifférencié en fonction de l’âge, par rapport à des régions environnantes (Bulgarie et Anatolie), évoque une société moins hiérarchisée, mais il ne peut être directement mis en relation avec une organisation sociale particulière.

L’immense majorité des adultes et des enfants nés et morts pendant la période néolithique, aujourd’hui invisib-les, faisait-elle aussi l’objet d’un traitement funéraire indifférencié? Nos conclusions partielles, forcément prématurées (sic), seront certainement modifiées par les résultats de fouilles futures, dont on doit espérer qu’elles seront exhaustives, incluront le tamisage de tout le sédi-ment issu des tombes, et la présence d’un anthropologue sur le terrain. Alors seulement disposera-t-on de morts plus fiables.

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A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST

Krum BACVAROV National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia,

[email protected]

Abstract: Appearing in the early – although probably not the earliest – phases of southeast European neolithization, jar burial developed in several territorially and chronologically restricted “waves”: Neolithic core area in the Struma and Vardar river valleys and the west Rhodope Mountains in the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, and later, late/final Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and/or early Bronze Age – depending on local terminology – examples scattered from Argolis in Greece to the Great Hungarian Plain and dating from the second half of the 6th to the 3th millennium BC, with huge chronological gaps within. However, their central Anatolian and Levantine parallels give a solid base for the expanding of our understanding of this obviously cross-cultural phenomenon. Key words: Southeast Europe, Anatolia, Levant, jar burial, neolithization

Résumé: Les sépultures en vases apparaissent pendant les phases si non les plus anciens, au moins anciens de la néolithisation de l’Europe du sud-est. Elles se développent en certaines ‘vagues’ qui sont territorialement et chronologiquement restreintes: le noyau néolithique comprend les vallées des rivières Struma et Vardar et les parties ouest des Rhodopes. Sa position chronologique date au début de VI millénaire BC. Plus tard, pendant le Néolithique récent/finale et/où Chalcolithique et Bronze Ancien (selon la terminologie locale), les exemples de ces sépultures se dispersent de l’Argolide en Grèce jusqu’à la grande plaine hongroise. Les termes chronologiques de ce processus sont: de la deuxième moitié du VI millénaire BC au III millénaire BC avec un grand intervalle intermédiaire. Ces sépultures trouvent des parallèles en Anatolie centrale et au Levant, ce qui donne une base assez solide pour étendre notre compréhension sur ce phénomène intra culturelle. Mots-clés: l’Europe du sud-est, Anatolie, Levant, sépultures en jarre, néolithisation

INTRODUCTION

Southeast European later prehistory yielded a relatively scanty mortuary record but one that demonstrates the relevance of certain phenomena to the general understanding of prehistoric development. Appearing in the early phases of southeast European neolithization, although certainly not the earliest ones, jar burial developed in several territorially and chronologically restricted “waves”: a Neolithic core area in the Struma and Vardar river valleys and the west Rhodope Mountains in the early sixth millennium BC, and later, late/final Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and/or early Bronze Age – depending on local terminology – developments scattered from Argolis in Greece to Transdanubia in Hungary and dating from the late sixth to the third millennium BC, with huge chronological gaps within. Their Anatolian and Levantine parallels give a solid ground to the expanding of our understanding of this obviously cross-cultural phenomenon.

This paper considers the appearance of early jar burial tradition on the background of southeast European neolithization, and traces it back to the primary distribution zones, following the directions of its early developments, in a chronological framework spanning the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and the early Bronze Age, in terms of southeast Balkan chronology, i.e., the time from the early sixth to the mid-third millennium BC. For the purposes of this paper, the term “jar burial” is defined as primary burial in a ceramic vessel, not to be mistaken with the contemporaneous secondary and cremation burials that can also use ceramic containers.

SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN JAR BURIAL RECORD

The earliest jar burials thus far found in southeast Europe – and throughout Europe, for that matter – come from early Neolithic sites in the Struma and Vardar valleys as well as the West Rhodope Mountains, which seems to be the area of neolithization of the southeastern Balkans (Nikolov 2007).

Kovačevo (see Fig. 7.1 for all sites mentioned in the text)

This stratified site in the Struma River Valley covers an area of ca. 7 hectares. It has been excavated since 1980s by a joint Bulgarian-French team (Lichardus-Itten et al. 2002). The cultural deposits extend to a depth of ca. 2.00 meters. The partially destroyed upper layers – Kovačevo III and II – contain late Neolithic and early Bronze Age material. The lower four layers – Kovačevo Ia-Id – belong to the early Neolithic and represent a southwestern variant of the Karanovo I culture. Later periods – Iron Age, Roman, Middle Ages etc. – are sporadically present. Different periods could be distinguished within Kovačevo II and III, based on typological observation, since there was no stratigraphic evidence to separate them on the site. The four early Neolithic periods are established on the grounds of stratigraphic evidence. Several 14C dates are available from the early Neolithic layers, the earliest being 6075-6005 cal BC for Kovačevo Ia, and the latest being 5800-5630 cal BC for Kovačevo Id (Reingruber & Thissen 2005).

Five burials were found in the Kovačevo I layer, generally belonging to the southwestern variant of the Karanovo I


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Fig. 7.1. Map showing the location of the sites mentioned in the text: 1 Tel Qatif; 2 Teluliot Batashi; 3 Nahal Zehora II; 4 Tel Te’o; 5 Tel Dan; 6 Byblos; 7 Tell el-Kerkh; 8 Tell Kurdu; 9 Tell Halula; 10 Tell Hazna II; 11 Tell Sotto; 12 Tell Hassuna; 13 Kösk Höyük; 14 Pınarbaşı-Bor; 15 Berikldeebi; 16 Alepochori; 17 Lerna; 18 Kephala; 19 Rachmani; 20 Mandalo; 21 Anzabegovo; 22

Kovačevo; 23 Rakitovo; 24 Yunatsite; 25 Nova Zagora; 26 Galabovo; 27 Dyadovo; 28 Ezero; 29 Karanovo; 30 Kran; 31 Durankulak; 32 Mórágy-Tűzkődomb; 33 Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur; 34 Polgár 7

culture; two more came from the layer, which the excavators define as middle Neolithic. The burials belong to just born or even stillborn infants and children up to 6.5 years. They had been interred between houses in a flexed or crouched position on the side or in a semi-seated position, and were aligned with their heads to the east, west or north. In three of the burials, it is assumed that children had been wrapped up in a thick fabric, most probably a leather bag or a mat. Various contexts in the site yielded separate fragments of human bones.

Two jar burials were found in the early Neolithic Kovačevo Id layer. The first burial belongs to a stillborn

infant, probably a boy, buried in a pot (ca. 30 cm high) covered with a clay lid. The skeleton was complete; the boy has been buried in a highly flexed position on the right side, with the head aligned to the north.

The second child burial still has to be published. It probably belongs to a very young infant, also buried in a clay pot.

Rakitovo

This stratified site in the west Rhodope Mountains was completely excavated in 1974-1975. It covered an area of

K. BACVAROV: A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST

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ca. 3300 square meters. The destroyed upper layers belonged to the late Neolithic Karanovo III-IV period and probably to the early Neolithic Karanovo I culture. Both lower layers have been preserved, extending to 0.54 m and 0.80 m depth, respectively. Both of them belonged to the Karanovo I culture (Raduncheva et al. 2002).

The only jar burial was found in Layer II, under the floor of house # 16, by the western wall. It belonged to a neonate, buried in a fine-ware necked jar. The soil matrix in the jar yielded grave goods, which is very rare for an early Neolithic infant burial: lumps of red ochre and a flint blade.

Anzabegovo

This stratified site in the Vardar River Valley was excavated by Milutin Garašanin and Marija Gimbutas in 1969-1970 (see Gimbutas 1976; Garašanin 1998, among others). Three early Neolithic layers (Anza III-I) were revealed yielding painted pottery. Anza IV layer is generally simultaneous to Vinča A. The 14C dates from Anza III-I outline a time framework between 6110 and 5460 cal BC, the relevant dates for Anza Ic showing a development right after 5900 cal BC (Reingruber & Thissen 2005).

The three early Neolithic layers and the Vinča А layer yielded skeletal remains of at least thirty four individuals – in most cases, separate bones – belonging to seventeen new-born babes and children, five juveniles, and twelve adults. Five inhumations in crouched position were excavated under house floors in M. Garašanin’s trench. Infant bones were found in a pit from the Anza Ic layer; the same layer yielded a grave of two young females buried in crouched position one on the other.

A jar burial was found in the Anza Ic layer. It belonged to a neonate buried in a necked jar, whose four handles have been broken together with the bottom, most probably intentionally.

These four early Neolithic jar burials have been followed, after a chronological gap of several hundred years, by certain southeast European later Neolithic developments.

Ezero

This prehistoric tell has been excavated since 1952, most recently by a joint Bulgarian-Russian project in the 1960s and early 1970s (Georgiev et al. 1979). Featuring a base of 200 X 145 meters and 10 meters high, it was occupied in the late Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Layers IV and III belong to the late Neolithic Karanovo II-III, Karanovo III, Karanovo III-IV and Karanovo IV periods. Two 14C dates are available from the relevant Karanovo III layer, 5280-5070 and 5430-5280 cal BC respectively (Görsdorf & Bojadžiev 1996, 137ff).

A jar burial was found in the Southwestern trench, layer IV, horizon V (Karanovo III period), in a shallow pit under a house floor. The skeletal remains belonged to a neonate, covered by a deep dark-burnished bowl with channeling. This burial yielded a shell and a retouched flint blade.

More jar burials have been found in the Early Bronze Age layer; they will be considered separately.

Durankulak

The prehistoric cemetery at Durankulak yielded more than 1200 burials. It was excavated by Henrieta Todorova in the 1980s and 1990s and belongs to Hamangia I-II, III and IV, Varna I and II-III cultures (Todorova 2002).

Two jar burials were found there belonging to the Hamangia III phase (4950/4900-4650/4600 cal BC), which has been defined as early Chalcolithic and thus contemporaneous with Maritsa I-III, Dikilitash II, Sitagroi III, classical Dimini, Boian-Vidra etc.

The first burial belonged to an infant put in two necked jars lying horizontally, with the mouths pushed close to each other. Six clay vessels have been deposited upon the burial with their bottoms up. More sherds covered the surface under the burial.

The second infant has been buried in a conical bowl, put in a larger bowl and covered with a clay lid. A cattle skull was accompanying this burial.

Mórágy-Tűzkődomb

This prehistoric cemetery in southern Transdanubia was excavated by István Zalai-Gaál in the 1980s and belongs to the Lengyel culture (Zalai-Gaál 2002).

Two jar burials were found in the so-called Gräbergruppe-B1. Both belong to boys (0-5 months) buried in high-pedestalled bowls, crouched on the right side, with their heads aligned to the west or southwest and facing to the south or northeast respectively. One more high-pede-stalled bowl contained the skull of a girl (0-5 months).

Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur

This Lengyel culture cemetery in southeastern Trans-danubia is still being excavated by István Zalai-Gaál, in the framework of M6 motorway salvage project. One jar burial has been found thus far containing the remains of an infant, unfortunately destroyed almost completely by a bulldozer (Zalai-Gaál, pers. comm.).

Polgár 7 (Polgár-Kengyel-kőz)

This stratified site in the Great Hungarian Plain was excavated by Pál Raczky in 1994, in the framework of


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M3 motorway salvage project. The remains belong to the Alföld Linear Pottery Culture.

A jar burial was found in one end of a big – and perhaps ritual – ditch near a long house of the AVK. The skeletal remains belonged to an infant, buried in a ca. one meter high necked knobbed jar (Raczky, pers. comm.).

Mandalo

The tell site of Mandalo, Central Macedonia, is situated about twenty kilometers NW of the ancient Pella, in the foothills of Mount Paikon; it was excavated between 1981 and 1988 by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Ephoreia of Classical and Prehistoric Antiquities of Edessa on a large area covering more than 50% of the site. It was occupied in the final Neolithic and early Bronze Age (Papanthimou & Papasteriou 1993; Papa-efthymiou-Papanthimou & Pilali-Papasteriou 1997). Two burials were found in the final Neolithic layers (14C dated to 4600-4000 cal BC: Kotsakis et al. 1989), a formal inhumation under a house floor and a child burial in an open bowl covered with another bowl (both undecora-ted).

Rachmani

This Thessalian tell was excavated by Wace and Thompson in 1910. The cultural deposits extend to a depth of more than 8 meters and yielded four layers, belonging to the Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (Wace & Thompson 1912). Two infant jar burials were found there, in layers II and IV respectively.

Lerna

This low tell in the foothills of Mount Pontikos, near the Lerna Lake, on the western coast of Argolis, was excavated by John L. Caskey in the 1950s and yielded layers from the early, late, and final Neolithic as well as the early and middle Bronze Age (Caskey 1957).

Five burials came from the early Neolithic layer, all of them representing formal inhumations in pits and containing articulated skeletons in crouched position on their sides. A black burnished clay vessel was found near the head of a five year old child.

The final Neolithic of Lerna II yielded a neonate burial in a patterned beaker found in a layer consisting of successive floors of Neolithic houses.

Alepochori

The Kouveleiki cave is located some 5 km to the south of Alepochori village in Laconia. Deep archaeological deposits were accumulated in the both chambers of the cave: the dates of 4947-3362 BC for the inner chamber, and 4922-4360 BC for the outer chamber generally refer them to the final Neolithic (Kontaxi et al. 2001).

The only jar burial belonged to an infant in a carinated pot with two vertical lugs inserted in an open-mouth jar tapering down to its bottom, with four horizontal lugs on the belly. The bottom has been pierced after firing, most probably in relation to its funerary use.

Kephala

The site and cemetery of Kephala are located on a head-land on the northwest coast of the Cycladic island of Keos; they represent the best evidence for initial settlement of the island during the second major colonization of the Aegean in the Final Neolithic (3300-3200 BC). They were excava-ted in the 1960s by a team from the University of Cincin-nati and by John Coleman in the 1970s (Coleman 1977).

Four infant jar burials were found in the cemetery, all of them disturbed by later interments. One of these burials belonged to two infants put together in a large jar. Two female figurines were discovered as grave goods in another jar burial.

The latest chronological “wave” in the jar burial develop-ment refers to the Early Bronze Age and was restricted to a relatively small area in Upper Thrace, with only one example found in the neighboring region of Thessaly. However, these were the most numerous cases of jar burials in the later prehistory of southeast Europe.

Yunatsite

This prehistoric tell has been excavated by several teams since 1939, including two joint projects, Bulgarian-Russian and Bulgarian-Greek, the latter still carrying out active research there. With a base covering 120 x 115 meters and a relative height of 12 meters, the tell yielded material da-ting back to the Middle Ages, the late Thracian period, the late and early Iron Age, the middle and early Bronze Age, and the late Chalcolithic (Katincharov et al. 1995). 14C dates between 3010 and 2350 cal BC came from the relevant EBA horizons XVII-X (Görsdorf & Bojadžiev 1996, 158ff).

At Tell Yunatsite, a total of twenty-eight infant burials were found in the Early Bronze Age horizons, which refer to EBA I and II, twenty-two of them being jar burials, all related to houses (see Mishina, this volume). Nineteen jar burials represented single burials of infants, while three burials contained the bones of two babies each. Various vessel types were used as burial containers: jugs, bowls, pots with or without lugs, or even bottom parts of broken vessels. Among these, jugs clearly dominated; pots were used more rarely. Single infants were buried in amphoras and bowls. All these types are represented in the household ceramic assemblage of Tell Yunatsite. Some burial vessels were closed with lids.

Kran

This small tell site in Upper Thrace, with a base of 80 x 70 meters and 5 meters high, is still being excavated


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yielding material from the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (Karastoyanova 2004). Five jar burials of babies/fe-tuses have been found under house floors in the EBA III layers (Nikolov et al. 2005, 36f; Nikolov, pers. comm.). Jugs ca. 45 centimeters high as well pots as have been used as burial containers; a flint artifact was found in the filling of one burial pit.

Karanovo

This is one of the biggest southeast European tells, with a preserved base measuring 250 x 180 meters and cultural deposits extending to a height of 12.40 meters. It has been excavated since 1936, more recently in the framework of a Bulgarian-Austrian joint project. Cultural deposits from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age have been revealed. The latter yielded six jar burials of new born babies and fetuses, all of them under house floors referring to the EBA III period (Hiller & Nikolov 2002, 11, Abb. 17; Hiller et al. 2005, 13, Abb. 10-11). One of the burials contained a small flint artifact; in the same burial, the mouth of the ceramic vessel was sealed with a conical bowl and the pit was topped by seven stones, arranged with their flat sides up, after which its opening has been plastered.

Dyadovo

The tell site of Dyadovo has been excavated since 1977 by two joint teams, Bulgarian-Dutch-Japanese and Bulgarian-Japanese, the latter still continuing the excava-tions. With a base of 220 x 150 meters, the tell is 18 meters high, yielding material from the Middle Ages, Roman period, Iron Age, Bronze Age, and Copper Age (Leshtakov 1994). The Early Bronze Age layer contains ten horizons belonging to the EBA III Ezero phase. The results of these recent campaigns have not yet been published but the preliminary reports mention several jar burials of infants in the EBA settlement area (e.g. Katincharov et al. 1986, 42).

Ezero

Since this tell site has already been considered in my paper, I will detail here only the evidence from the Ezero phase of the EBA III period. During the first excavations at Tell Ezero in the early 1950s, at least four infant burials have been found, at least two of them being jar burials; the uncertainty coming from the unrecorded and unpublished excavation project. Big pots have been used as burial containers – 36 and 37 centimeters high respectively – one of which featuring an intentionally pierced bottom, most probably related to the ritual meaning of its secondary function.

The excavations of the joint Bulgarian-Russian team revealed ten infant burials in the EBA horizons, at least three of them being jar burials of infants disposed of in contracted positions (Katincharov 1979, 491, obr. 210). Big ceramic pots have been used as burial containers,

with diameters exceeding 30 centimeters, lying on their sides – and sometimes supported with stones – in pits made under house floors and sometimes even under heating installations. The pits’ filling included ashes as well as coals and burnt animal bones. At least in one case, the pot has been sealed with a badly fired clay plate.

Nova Zagora

This is the only EBA stratified site that yielded jar burials. The excavations in the late 1980s and early 1990s covered an area of 1,625 square meters in the NE part of the site. The partially destroyed cultural deposits extend to a depth of ca. 1 meter and included four building horizons dating back to the EBA III period (mid-3rd millennium B.C).

Six jar burials of babies have been found under house floors or between houses belonging to all four horizons (Kancheva-Russeva 2000). Although five of the ceramic vessels ware too fragile to be preserved, it is clear that big pots ca. 30 centimeters high had been used as burial containers.

At one more tell site in Upper Thrace, Tell Galabovo, featuring late Chalcolithic, Early, and Middle Bronze Age layers, a jar burial of a baby was found in the late 1980s, interred under an EBA III house floor, near an oven (Panayotov 1991, 34f).

Concluding this general consideration, I should remind of the jar burial from the Thessalian tell of Rachmani, coming from the EBA horizon IV.

DISCUSSION

As seems obvious from the evidence available, the early development of jar burial can be divided into three chronologically differentiated ‘waves’ alternating with periods when this specific ritual has not been practiced. The area of the Struma and Vardar river valleys, and the west Rhodope Mountains in the early 6th millennium BC – or the early Neolithic according to the southeast Balkan periodization – was the only place in Europe where jar burial was practiced, at three sites, which shared similar cultural developments and ‘Neolithic packages’, whatever the latter term could possibly mean. Moreover, one of the most authoritative neolithization models considers this very territory as the point of first Neolithic penetration as well as a contact zone between these early settlers and their new neighbors in the second phase of the local early Neolithic (Nikolov 2007). It is thus possible to relate the earliest jar burials in southeast Europe – whose appea-rance logically followed the phase of early experimenta-tion with ceramic production and use – to these mutual exchange processes and to trace them back to their hypothetic point of origin. In Western Anatolia, however, which is considered as the home of early Neolithic painted pottery cultures in the central Balkans, no jar burials have been found, the closest parallels being the


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central Anatolian tell sites of Kösk Höyük and Pınarbaşı-Bor, defined as late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic according to the Anatolian periodization (Silistreli 1989; Öztan 2003). Is this perhaps due to the excavation strategies leaving ‘blind spots’ in our knowledge of the Neolithic development or there is another reason associated with the directions and routes of the early neolithization? One can find certain hints in the Levan-tine influence on life and death at Kösk Höyük most clearly expressed in the local variant of the ‘skull cult’, which was observed at that Anatolian tell (Bonogofsky 2004).

To the southeast, another huge territorial gap in jar burial practice had been followed by three infant graves at Tell Kurdu in the Amuq valley, coming from the Halaf-related Amuq C phase and dating between 5900 and 5700 cal BC., i.e., more or less simultaneously with the southeast European and central Anatolian finds (Yener et al. 2000, 43; Özbal et al. 2004, 50, 70ff).

In the easternmost and southernmost parts of the study area respectively, two territories can be outlined. First, these are the sites – besides Tell Kurdu – at Tell el-Kerkh, Tell Halula, Tell Hazna II, Tell Sotto, and Tell Hassuna, in the northern Levant (Tsuneki et al. 1997, 9f, Pl. 2/1; Tsuneki et al. 1999, 18ff; Anfruns & Molist, 1998; Munchaev et al. 1993, 27f, ris. 2/2; 3; Bader 1989, 132ff; Lloyd & Safar 1945, 264, 267f), yielding jar burials related to certain cultural developments starting with the pre-Hassuna culture; the coarse ware thick-walled jar (with a rim diameter of more than 50 centimeters and same as high) of the burial from Tell Hazna II belongs to the most common ceramic ware for the earliest phases of Pottery Neolithic in Mesopotamia, which seems to suggest that this is one of the earliest examples of jar burial. The one year old child was buried in a highly contracted position on the right side, with the head aligned to the east. The skull was lying with the face down and according to the excavators had been detached from the body before the burial. This jar burial yielded grave goods: a small clay cup, a half of a polished stone vessel, and over two hundred beads of stone, copper and shells, most probably making up one complete necklace. The jar had been probably covered with a discoid lid of unbaked clay, fragments of which were found inside.

The second area of interest, generally covering the southern Levant, includes the somewhat later Néolithique Ancien layers at Byblos (Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 26; see also Orrelle, this volume) as well as the Pottery Neolithic and Wadi Raba layers at Tel Dan, Tel Te’o, Nahal Zehora II, Teluliot Batashi, and Qatif, that yielded jar burials of infants and fetuses (Gopher & Greenberg 1996, 68; Bar-Gal & Smith 2001, 164ff; Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 27; Epstein 1984, 210f).

It is thus reasonable to assume that jar burial originated in the northern Levant, sometime in the pre-Hassuna period,

and for a relatively short time influenced culture develop-ments as far as the central Balkans; the appearance of this mortuary practice in the southern Levant followed soon after. The absence of relevant remains in western and eastern Anatolia – bridged by the two central Anatolian sites of Kösk Höyük and Pınarbaşı-Bor – could also hint at southeast European autonomy; however, this can hardly be substantiated since the four burials in the Struma and Vardar river valleys, and the west Rhodope Mountains share common diagnostics with their Anatolian and Levantine parallels. What is more plausible is that the idea of burial of fetus/infant/child in a ceramic pot, as an element of the social reproduction and cohesion networks, was transferred along the neolithization routes and its expressions were triggered by certain stimuli, most probably natural events, as is demonstrated by the burials’ contemporaneity as well as the sites’ clustering both in southeast Europe and central Anatolia.

In the later Neolithic and Chalcolithic, jar burial has been further developed, reoccurring at various settlement sites as well as at cemeteries in southeast Europe, sending distinct echoes as far as southern Transdanubia (Fig. 7.2). Burial in a ceramic container was to gradually become a dominating burial practice in Anatolia and the Levant, elaborated in such forms as the pithos burial of adults, e.g., at Ilıpınar in Anatolia, and at Byblos in the southern Levant. To the north, in the southern Caucasus, a baby jar burial was found at Berikldeebi, in the Kura River Valley, Kareli district, in a pre-Kura-Araxes culture context (Glonti & Dzhavahishvili 1987, 85).

The early development of burial in a ceramic vessel climaxed in the Early Bronze Age, almost completely covering Anatolia as well as the Levant, in both its forms, pithoi- and jar burials. To the north, in the southern Caucasus, a few burials in ceramic vessels appeared at sites belonging to the Kura-Araxes period in Georgia and Dagestan. In southeast Europe, however, the jar burial area drastically shrank down to a small region in Upper Thrace – with one Thessalian exception (Fig. 7.3) – although the number of graves at the various sites much exceeded the earlier cases, demonstrating once more close relations to Anatolia and the Levant, also evidenced by direct ceramic imports as well as local imitations (Leshtakov 2002).

The southeast European burial patterns, however, strictly stuck to the original idea of intramural inhumation of fetuses/babies only, and never adopted later elaborations as the Anatolian pithoi burials of adults or the Palestinian ceramic ossuaries; this fact seems to support the theory of the Neolithic origins of this burial practice – repeatedly stimulated by new eastern impulses – together with some more details such as the occasional flint artifacts found as grave goods, perhaps related to the ritual of cutting the baby’s umbilical cord, or the intentional piercing of the burial vessel’s bottom or damaging its mouth rim, both occurring since the first appearance of jar burial in southeast Europe as well as in the Levant.


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Fig. 7.2. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the later Neolithic and Chalcolithic: 1 Alepochori; 2 Lerna; 3 Kephala; 4 Rachmani; 5 Mandalo; 6 Ezero;

7 Durankulak; 8 Mórágy-Tűzkődomb; 9 Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur; 10 Polgár 7

Acknowledgments

Last but not least I would like to thank the following colleagues who generously supported my project with unpublished material or information: Gassia Artin, Zvonko Beldedovski, István Zalai-Gaál, Stoilka Ignatova, and Pál Raczky. Special thanks are due to Joni Apakidze for sharing with me some of his extensive knowledge on the Caucasian prehistory. Thank you to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; it was during my AvH research

fellowship at the University of Saarland that this paper has been completed.

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INFANT JAR BURIALS – A RITUAL ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY AGRICULTURE?

Estelle ORRELLE University of East London, UK, [email protected]

Abstract: Jar burials of infants exposed in Pottery Neolithic sites in the Southern Levant, share common features with ethnographic data from Africa and the New World, and later historical data on burials of ritually killed infants. Features of the various analogies are analyzed to see whether they allow similar implications to be made for the Neolithic data to suggest that human sacrifice was associated with this period of early agriculture. Using a methodology for research into symbolic subjects which pursues ontological and not scientific truths, mythical, ethnographic and historical evidence is assembled and weighed up against this, and various other hypotheses. Key words: jar burial, infants, Neolithic, southern Levant, sacrifice

Résumé: Des sépultures d’enfants en récipients céramiques ont été exhumées dans les gisements de l’époque néolithique céramique du Levant Sud. Elles partagent des traits communs avec des inhumations modernes d’Afrique et d’Amérique, et avec celles d’enfants immolés (sacrifices) pendant les périodes historiques. Une analyse est faite pour constater si ces caractéristiques permettent une interprétation semblable des données néolithiques, c’est-à-dire si l’on peut proposer qu’il y avait immolation de victimes humaines pendant cette première époque de l’agriculture. Une méthodologie de recherche des sujets symboliques, du point de vue ontologique, pèse le pour et le contre des témoignages mythiques, ethnographiques et historiques pour tester l’hypothèse. Mots Clefs: sépultures en jarres, très jeunes enfants, néolithique, sud Levant, sacrifices

Infants buried in jars are known from many places and periods in the world. In the southern Levant, they first appear in the Neolithic and continue to appear during the following Chalcolithic period (e.g. Azor: Perrot & Ladiray 1980), the Early Bronze Age (e.g. Tell Te’o: Eisenberg et al. 2001), and were common Middle Bronze Age mortuary practices (Ilan 1995, 126). They appeared in Mesopotamia in the late fourth or early third millenni-um BC becoming quite usual in third and second millen-nia Mesopotamia and Syria (e.g. Dornemann 1979, 138).

Modern examples of this burial rite for fetuses and infants can still be found today in parts of Africa. A useful source for analogy is the Sudan, where jar burials of children and infants were found both in the Neolithic site of El Kadada dated to a little later than the Near Eastern material (Geus 1984) and in modern times. I will draw analogies from Sudan and other African and New World sources. The long history and global distribution of this burial form makes comparisons with a larger context useful.

THE SAMPLE

This paper focuses on an assemblage of twenty six burials of infants and children exposed in sites of the Pottery Neolithic Period of the sixth and fifth millennium BC in Lebanon and Israel. Found in the Neolithic levels at Byblos, and from Wadi Raba culture sites in Israel, they span much of the PN sequence of Israel and neighboring countries.

Some thirty jar burials were recorded in the three Pottery Neolithic levels of Byblos in Lebanon (Dunand 1973). Data is available on 18 of these, and they are included in

this study. The Wadi Raba examples include one from the Wadi Raba site of Tel Dan (Gopher & Greenberg 1987), one from the Qatifian site Qatif Y-3 (Epstein 1984), and five from Tell Te’o (Eisenberg et al 2001; Kahila Bar-Gal & Smith 2001). The only known fetus burial, recorded in the Neolithic of the Levant, was found in the Wadi Raba site of Nahal Zehora II in the Menashe Hills (Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 27).

In pre-state societies, the passing of children makes little disturbance in public life and it is assumed that they will have rudimentary graves (Barley 1995, 179). A new elaborate burial rite for infants in a period known for few known onsite burials seems to require explanation.

These Neolithic jar burials have not been subjected to detailed research, but some regarded them as burials of a few selected infants who died natural deaths, carrying possible implications of ascribed status (Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 28; Gopher 1995). Other hypotheses hint at unnatural deaths such as sacrifice of the firstborn, male infanticide with motivations of lineage (Kahila Bar-Gal & Smith 2001, 169).

Interpretations offered for infant jar burials from later periods include womb simulations indicating symbolism of passage rites, rebirth and interconnection of death and fertility (Middle Bronze period: Ilan 1995, 135) and a sacrificial rite of the firstborn (Middle Bronze Age Gezer: McAlister 1912, 402, 405-6).

This paper examines the Southern Levantine Neolithic jar burials to evaluate claims for natural or unnatural death, and what the elaborate ritualization of burial of pre-social subjects could imply for the period.


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To test these hypotheses I follow what von Gernet calls the “New Analogy”, the provision of richer analogical inferences by triangulation, whereby explanation can derive strength from the combined exploitation of diverse and independent lines of evidence linked by structuring principles to assess the strength of different hypotheses (von Gernet 1993; Wyle 2002; Postgate 1994).

In areas of research that engage with symbolic origins, a method must be applied, whose “truths” are ontological in nature. For these subjects, archaeological theory must overcome the basic contradiction between the epistemo-logy of discovery defining science, and the ontology of meaning underlying the symbolic aspect of the world. The paralyzing demands for certainty born out of the strict deductivism of New Archaeology, whose results are often acknowledged to be trivial, must be exchanged for making fuller and more systematic use of analogies. Analogies should be drawn from a rich knowledge of cultural subjects which anticipate underlying structures in ritual, in particular anthropological studies of religion and ritual. These demonstrate the conservative nature of ritual forms making it likely that meanings or the germ of an original intent may be retained over time and in different places. This challenges archaeological skepticism about constancy of meaning over time and place.

Analogical inference is always insecure and so analogical conclusions must be treated as tentative, being assessed for closeness of fit with an archaeological subject, checked for “degrees of likelihood” associated with a range of interpretive options (Ascher 1961, 323). Archa-eologists must choose “between a significant pursuit based on a faulty method or one which is methodo-logically sound but trivial in purpose” (Wylie 2002, 144; De Boer & Lathrap 1979, 103; Klejn 1977, 6-11).

I will suggest that in this case study, the degree of corroboration and good fit that exists between clusters of analogies and the archaeological subject can help identify common determining structures underlying the formal analogy and allow a degree of reconstructive inference.

SOURCES

In view of the ontological nature of proof, both earlier and later source analogies can be brought in support of hypotheses. Mythical evidence from the area represents earlier sources while historical and ethnographic the later. Analogies for this burial form from Africa and the New World and historical data from Iron Age Europe, help to distinguish rites of unnatural deaths from those of natural deaths.

ANALYSIS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

Typology, decoration and context of vessels of this assemblage of 26 jar burials were analyzed for possible

correlations with the skeletal contexts with a view to discerning qualities which might assist an understanding of the logic active in vessel selection.

Two jar shapes were recorded, a globular and an ovoid (elliptical) shape. The globular shape came from earlier sites of Byblos NA and Tell Te’o; the subsequent Byblos NM vessels were both globular and ovoid, while the ovoid is the only recorded shape for the later Byblos (NR) and the Wadi Raba sites Tel Dan, Qatif and Nahal Zehora II burials. Thus vessel shapes revealed a trend from an earlier globular shaped vessel to a later elliptical ovoid shaped vessel for these burials. Some vessels were found whole, while in some, large sherds used could be reconstructed into whole vessels. In others large sherds of more than one vessel were used to house the infant skeletons.

Decorative and typological features of the jars were found to be rare to the assemblages. Some burial vessels had rare handle types (e.g. Tell Te’o: Sadeh 1994, 85-6, 92); one had unique decoration of red stripes over white wash/slip (Tell Te’o: Sadeh 1994, 82, 86). Rare incised bands of cardium shell combing were found on some of the Byblos jar burials (e.g. Dunand 1973, 100: burial T986); others had two or four handles removed. The homogeneity of shapes and these rare features of vessels could indicate a choice of special vessel.

Modification to necks was noted in several vessels. Jagged mouths and missing notches on the rim of drawings of jar burial vessels at Byblos suggest neck removal or possible intentional notching. (e.g. Byblos NA: Dunand 1973, Pls. XLI and LXXVI, Fig. 4). The “modifications” may be related to reconstruction short-comings, but the standard of vessel reconstruction for Byblos seems to be competent, and notching appears too on other burial vessels (e.g. Pl. XXXIX). There is an example too of a broken off rim with filed down neck at Tell Dan (Gopher & Greenberg 1987, 4: 8, 11). Modifica-tions to vessel necks and the use of large sherds were thought to be connected to neck size to facilitate the insertion of the infant body into the jar. There were, however, many other wider necked vessels such as kraters in the pottery assemblages which could have fulfilled the purpose; thus modification to facilitate insertion may not have been relevant.

Context

The jars were deposited in relation to structures, on and below limestone surfaces, in corners, by entrances, under thresholds, by walls (Dunand 1973), beneath a paved area and in relation to posts and circular space (Epstein 1984). The fetus jar burial was deposited near a wall (Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 27).

Most were laid on their sides, but some were placed upright and some were inverted, placed with the mouth face down.

E. ORRELLE : INFANT JAR BURIALS – A RITUAL ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY AGRICULTURE?

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Inclusions

No inclusions were reported in these infant burial jars but sheep bones were found close to a jar burial of a child at Byblos (NR T1332) possibly related to it, and bird bones were found in a bowl close to an earth burial Byblos (NM T1141).

No signs of disease or violence were reported on the ske-letons. However, only two of them were stated to be com-plete; many were incomplete or consisted of odd bones.

The age of the subjects buried ranged from fetus to 10 years old, but the main categories were newborn and extremely young infants. Infant remains from Tel Te’o analyzed so far for ancient DNA were found to be males (Smith et al. 1999; Kahila Bar-Gal and Smith 2001). The Nahal Zehora II fetus was calculated at a gestational age of some 24 weeks (Avi Gopher pers. comm).

WOMB METAPHOR

The jars used to bury infants can be envisaged as wombs as was suggested for the Middle Bronze Age burials (Ilan 1995). Jar shapes, especially the earlier globular shape could be analogous to full term pregnant bellies and by the same logic, jar openings could be regarded as the birth canal and cervix.

The pot as womb analogy is not uncommon in ethnography in Africa, some African peoples likening the openings of some vessels to vulvas (Evers & Huffman, 1988, 739).

If this symbolic system operated in the Neolithic, we can anticipate that like a human cervix, the mouth of the vessel might open widely for a full term birth and close again after delivery. The neck or birth canal would shorten for the birth and then return to normal.

I tested information for 22 burials to see whether a correlation between the openings and necks of vessels used and infant ages could be established. In the result, the expectations for correlations of ages and neck ope-nings were met for about 16 of them. Vessels with wide apertures, non-existent or removed necks were associated with burials of neonates and very young infants sugges-ting a very recent birth (this worked better for the Wadi Raba culture than for Byblos), while long necks and nar-row openings – a post-birth state – were often the choice for older infants and children. This may provide a hint that a womb metaphor was involved in the burial vessels.

ETHNOGRAPHY

Ethnographic data of modern jar burials offered further hints about burial location, vessel type and the womb metaphor.

In a community from Northern Sudan, a fetus is placed in a pot and buried in relation to the house enclosure. A stillborn baby who has not drawn breath is buried just outside the outer wall. Only if the delivery of a fetus required a midwife to open up the woman (draw blood? “modify” the cervix?), the ritual disposal of the fetus is called for. The vessel which is used to bury fetuses is one used to mix a staple food; it is non-porous and watertight, like a womb should be; a broken vessel is a womb whose contents have escaped (Boddy 1982).

In another African example from Zimbabwe, a premature or aborted baby is buried in a jar in the sand of a dry river-bed. The first rains swell the river, washing the sand from the jar and the baby out of it. The jar is likened to a womb that has not yet given birth, and cannot become pregnant again until it goes through this birth process. Here the jar used is the first pot used in the process of brewing beer (Barley 1994, 158, note 74; Aschwanden 1982, 285).

In the pre-literate Olmec culture in Mexico (ca 1200-400 BC), fetus effigies and disarticulated fetus femurs and skulls, deposited in ritual locations, were thought to represent fetuses of women who had died in pregnancy or labor, or had been cut out of women as sacrifices. Researchers link the archaeological evidence with modern Mesoamerican folklore where the human gestation cycle correlates with the life cycle of maize and the ritual calendar. Sacrifices of different aged humans were made, to coincide with stages of development of maize, the fetus representing the vital phase equivalent to the quickening of the fetus in the womb (Tate & Bendersky 1999; Frazer 1987, 380). The sacrifice of a fetus would ensure rainfall, crucial at this stage to germinate the maize.

Amongst the Kgatla of south eastern Botswana, the body of a miscarried embryo, or preferably of twins, was an essential ingredient in rainmaking “medicine”. Kept in a small new pot it must be buried inside a hut or in some other shady spot; exposure to the sun would stop the rain and cause drought (Schapera 1971, 48-50; Frazer 1987, 209). A link between vessel rim modification and death was described for the Thonga of South Africa; here a mother is informed of the death of a son during initiation by a notch being cut on the pot she uses to bring him food (Barley 1994, 107).

CULTURAL INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

The analysis of the pottery containers of the burials, revealed a hint of a womb analogy and selection for vessels. Vessel selection does not appear to have been made for ease of insertion, but rather, the womblike appearance and cervical nature of opening suggest that perhaps a particular kind of vessel was chosen whose shape and neck type were significant. Large sherds may indicate a broken womb, and a notched rim could signal intentional cutting to remove the infant hinting that


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notches and rim modifications in the archaeological material were significant.

Deposition was related to structure and the skeletons, like the vessels, were both whole and fragmented (and male?). These facts relate the archaeological assemblage to a wider net of historical and ethnographic analogies and associated symbolic structures.

In the ethnographic contexts rules governing selection of vessel and contexts of burial locations were found to relate to drought prevention and rainfall. In addition they were connected to production cycles of elite beverages. The womb analogy was present in some accounts and related to rebirth. Age is a factor in the manner of burial and in two source cases, intentional drawing of blood or “violence” accompanied ritual burial.

Context

Mortuary ritual theories regard burial location as an act of classification and a statement of social position and the deposition location of a ritualized death may provide clues as to intention. (Barley 1995, 132 and 143).

In historical sources, the same structure-related locations as occur in the PN subject carry an implication of unnatural death as foundation deposits or offerings. This was claimed for burials in the Pre Pottery Neolithic in Israel, e.g. for Jericho (Kenyon & Holland 1981, 48, 305, Pl. 170b), Kfar Hahoresh (Goring-Morris 2000, 128), and for Ain Ghazal, (Rollefson 2000, 170).

Historically, “foundation deposits” or offerings repre-sented a donation of energy for the gods in return for benefits protection or thanks. By definition they relate to sacrificed objects or persons which have been ritually killed, and deposited in a liminal context at the foundation or termination of a structure. Deposition locations of these infant bodies in the Neolithic sample in peripheral contexts such as between floors, thre-sholds, entrances and boundaries indicate a choice of such traditionally significant liminal contexts (e.g. Hum-phrey & Vitebsky 2003, 128; Bloch & Parry 1982). The deposition of infants, who had died natural deaths, in these significant locations, is not recorded historically. Thus contexts of the Neolithic jars match those of sacrificial rituals.

Limestone surfaces as found in Pre Pottery Neolithic B site of Kfar Hahoresh (Goring Morris 2000, 114-5) were regarded as sealing or separating devices hinting at notions of pollution and sanctity (Goring-Morris 2000, 126), and I suggest that burial contexts in relation with these floors carried liminal symbolic significance of this kind in the Pottery Neolithic period.

The inverted position of jars too relate to sacrifice to divinities – probably chthonic – and to the dead (Åström 1987, 13), while the vertical position of subjects could

attach to status (Parker-Pearson 1999, 77; O’Shea & Zvelebil 1984; Eliade 1974, 355; Barley 1995, 119).

A link is found too with the notion of sacred space. In symbolic terms, a jar is a circular micro-context, which carries implications of sacrality, perhaps a sacral womb. Indo European versions of creative flood myths describe the miraculous preservation and renewed creation in a pot after a catastrophe (e.g. Shulman 1988, 303-9). Burial in the earth too might imply a liminal context of preserva-tion and concealment (e.g. Humphrey & Vitebsky 2003, 128; Bloch & Parry 1982; Smirnov 1989).

Conkey has drawn attention to the wider social formations within which symbolic artifacts engage, and the multiscalar nature of context (Conkey 1997). Thus these burials might be said to have several levels of meaningful contexts, the primary sacral micro context of a symbolic womb jar, placed in earth below the surface and a secondary structure related context of foundation sacrifice. An even greater macro context too provides significant meaning to the phenomenon.

The evidence of domesticated faunal and botanical remains from some of the sites, e.g. Nahal Zehora II and Tell Te’o indicate a context of early cultivation.

The sacrifice of humans in relation to the growth of agricultural crops, sometimes referred to as fertility rites, is a common practice recorded all over the world, in ethnographic accounts and myths to do with the origins of agriculture. “All over the world human sacrifice seems to be closely linked with the mystery of food-production” (Merrifield 1987, 23; Frazer 1987, 425-447). Although Clark amongst others has pointed out that “we know from our knowledge of living people that a great diversity of cultural expression may be found among communities subject to the same economic limitations and occupying similar if not identical environments” (1953, 355), in this case, economic and climatic conditions represent another match between the ethnographic sources and Neolithic subject and one can anticipate that common ritual needs existed between the two. The unpredictability of rainfall in areas of the Levant could well provide deterministic explanation for the practice of rituals for fluid preservation, and rainmaking devices through specialized agents. Traditionally, the most reliable device for assuring seasonal regeneration was to placate the divine forces with the killing of a human victim and it would be most surprising not to find versions of such “fertility rites” in the context of early agriculture in the Levant.

While the development of symbolism and rituals relating to fluid preservation are understandable devices in marginal regions such as the Southern Levant with its record of fluctuating climatic condition, the questions of how bodies of fetuses might solve the problem, or why the rainmaker needed fetuses to work his magic, or why the blood signal was associated with the selection for ritual treatment must be answered. Bloody sacrificial acts


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transformed infants into powerful forces whose proper deposition could prevent drought. The subjects of the African jar burials are not stated to be sacrificed infants, but the elaborate rules surrounding the suitable locations for their deposition and its connection to controlling the weather hints at sacrificial origins of these elaborate customs.

Can we therefore infer for the Neolithic material that they were scheduling sacrifices and that unnatural deaths of fetuses and neonates were related to procuration of rainfall?

Historical Sources

Like the Neolithic jar burials, sacrificial burials were historically characterized as having few or no grave goods (Brown 1991, 17). Further conditions for recognition of sacrifice were “separation”, evidence for a supernatural recipient, and violence (e.g. Green 1998, 185; Merrifield 1987, 65; Hughes 1991, 3).

The notion of separation has the specific sense that in the course of giving sacrifice, proximity to the supernatural occurs. Any person or artifact that has approached or touched the divine, partakes itself of that divine quality. This quality is sanctity, and a difference is created between sacred and profane, the Hebrew word kadesh, separate. In Latin, sacrifice derives ultimately from the Latin sacer (holy) and facere (to make), and this implies a ritual act of the highest order in which the offering becomes sanctified. The act of separation is significant in separating the sacred from the profane. Intentional earth burial of infants, in elaborated containers, in liminal contexts can be interpreted as early manifestation of separation of a sacral kind.

The archaeological requirement of evidence for violent death is problematic. Single bones or partial skeletons hint at pre or post-mortem mutilation or dismemberment. The bones were preserved, closed in jars, and so tapho-nomic causes can be ruled out. Complete bodies with no signs of violence may have been subjected to forms of violent killing such as drowning or suffocation which leave no traces on the body; some “gods” might demand perfect whole victims and this creates an objective difficulty in recognizing violent death. Egyptian and Indo European creation myths describe the ritual killing and dismemberment of an original victim and the dismem-bered bodies can provide evidence of reenactments of such rituals, and be considered as indirect indications of violent acts.

Supernatural Recipient

“In any consideration of sacrifice as a concept, the issue of the recipient is crucial” (Green 2001, 22). The presence of human figurines in archaeological assemblages can assist a reconstruction of the ideological context in which anthropomorphic divinity was venerated. In historical

periods, archaeologists and theologians rely both on textual and visual sources to recognize deities (Keel & Uehlinger 1998, xi). In addition, Boyer has described criteria for the recognition of gods which are universally recognized as being in anthropomorphic form with coun-ter intuitive features (Boyer 2001). The rich repertoire of this kind of anthropomorphic imagery in the Neolithic suggests that supernatural recipients were present.

Thus, to some extent, the historical requirements of recognizing sacrifice in the archaeological record appear in the PN. The identification of a supernatural recipient, acts of “giving” which involve the killing of animate and inanimate, and their subsequent separation are met by the figurines, dismembered skeletons, jar contexts and earth burial.

Indications of Religion

The cultural symbolic aspects of the Neolithic data have implications for the period for identifying features of religion. Repetitive symbolic aspects relating to rebirth, liminal deposition locations and hints of sacral space suggest formulaic ritual behavior orchestrated and carefully managed by professional religious officials. The characteristics of sacrificial ritual seem to be present. The same features over such a large area and period may reveal a cultural koine, or interaction sphere with a common belief system for the Pottery Neolithic period as was described for the PPNB (Cauvin 1989; Bar-Yosef & Belfer-Cohen 1989).

In most historical analogies quoted, patterns of ritual behavior surrounding the deposition of dead fetuses and infants indicated that they were an active mechanism in disaster control; the Iron Age sacrifices were supported by textual evidence and the African examples by live reports. If the motivation for sacrifice was anxiety about rainfall, then a link with status might be established. Rainmaking was a heavy responsibility for decision makers, but also brought status. In fragile African cultivation communities, the survival importance of rainfall meant that a successful rainmaker could qualify for the role of king. Historically, royal and elite families donated victims for sacrifice. A frequent theme in classical textual references to child sacrifice is that the initiative was taken by the ruling class (Mosca 1975, 16; de Vaux 1964, 84 note 111; Quintus Curtius Hist. Iv iii. 23. trans. H. Bardon) or ritual leaders (Green 2001, 194). The “voluntary” auto sacrifice, an apparent altruistic act saving the community from disaster enhanced a leader’s power, or if it failed, his or her death. The status lay with the patron of the act, the cost of the gesture. In addition, participants in a sacrificial act acquired divinity.

Can we infer some form of elite auto sacrifice for the Neolithic remains? Was the potency attached to these infant burials that could in some way influence the powers that controlled the weather, or the future of a structure, a source of status?


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If “selection” for male victims is found to operate, as the sex testing so far reveals, this would have implications for the hypothesis of male infanticide, or sacrifice of the firstborn male. Proving ritual killing is notoriously difficult but the clustered interrelated symbols of a ritual which link the Neolithic and ethnographic data tend towards such an explanation.

In a period of early agriculture, evidence for unnatural death could be interpreted as religious sacrificial ritual associated with crops. In the Pottery Neolithic period context of elaborate pottery vessels, one may even hypothesize that an elite beverage culture was present suggesting that crops were grown for this purpose.

Finally, the different possible interpretations for this cluster of symbols must be weighed against the different possible hypotheses to explain elaborated infant burial; that it represents sentimental natural burial, rebirth, burial of high status infant or unnatural death of ritually sacrificed infants.

The special vessels and womb metaphors might support the first explanation of sentimental burial. The symbol of the inverted womb discharging its contents through a vulva aperture can be seen as a metaphorical birth process and links to ideas of death and rebirth (Hertz 1960, 81; Bloch & Parry 1982).

When combined with special locations, and selection for males, one may, at a stretch be looking at privileged burial of a natural death. If ascribed status was the motivation behind the jar burials, one must ask what the elaborated burial of a dead infant might signal? How would the elaboration of the loss of a child of a socially powerful group member enhance his status? If the burials were involved in some way with territorial rights, why were fetuses, infants and children accorded this rite and not adults? Finally, the possibility of mutilation and dismemberment and the selection of “cut” infants for ritual burial requires that one must consider the option of ritual killing.

If the burials represents ritually killed infants, sacrificed to avoid a disaster such as drought, this pseudo-altruistic voluntary act (Merrifield 1987, 65; Green 2001, 67) could bestow honor and status on a lineage head. Neolithic hierarchy might be supported by divine favor acquired through ritual and social means, as a forerunner of divine monarchy (Quigley 2005).

The model attempts to describe how socio-economic and political motivations might be enmeshed in a religious rite. It provides a key to explaining the possible relationships between hierarchy and mortuary ritual practice and indicate very early presence of agricultural ritual.

This symbolic device for solving problems of rainfall and fluid preservation expressed in ritual was the product of

the new mythico-religious cosmology. A hypothesis such as this, where economic, political and religious elements, status, religion and society are inextricably meshed, provides compelling Neolithic structure with which to unravel the significance of these burials.

This Neolithic assemblage, known but neglected for some 30 years, when placed in its cultural ontological context reveals how apparently unrelated observations and ideas from the sources seem to link up with the archaeological data to expand the interpretive potential which might apply. Implications have been voiced here which extend beyond the conventions of the archaeological discipline and the expectations of a conservative audience. To ignore this greater context, however, in spite of its insecure nature, is to lose the interpretative potential from multivariate symbolic contexts and the important matches between source and subject, which are revealed when archaeological data is correlated with ethnographic historical and mythical sources.

Ideas presented here drawn from such similarities encouraged the drawing of inferences; if caution demands that these inferred ideas be described as speculations, then in the spirit of interpretive archaeology, this detailed informed speculation is offered to support an interpret-tation, which gives greater weight to one hypothesis but that embraces all the others.

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THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS” AT BYBLOS

Gassia ARTIN Université Lyon 2, CNRS UMR 5133, “Archéorient: Environnements et Sociétés de l’Orient Ancien”,

Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux, Lyon, France [email protected]

Abstract: Excavated by Maurice Dunand between 1925-1973, Byblos represents a key site for the study of the Chalcolithic in the central and northern Levant. One of its major interests is its “necropolis”1, which has yielded 2097 inhumations in jars. Despite the remarkable character of this funerary assemblage and the abundance of data collected during the excavations, only about 24% of the burials were published. This new analysis involves a detailed study of the unpublished records and a geospatial analysis of the evolution of the “necropolis” in relation to the associated settlement. This involved a systematic and comprehensive study of funerary contexts, human remains and grave goods. The results suggest multiple phases of inhumation and chart the spread of both the “necropolis” and settlement during the Chalcolithic2. Key Words: Byblos, Chalcolithic, Central and Northern Levant, jar burials

Résumé: Fouillé par Maurice Dunand entre 1925 et 1973, Byblos nous a livré, une importante installation “énéolithique” dont une des grandes richesses est sa “nécropole” comprenant 2097 inhumations dans des jarres. Malgré le caractère remarquable de cet ensemble funéraire et l’abondance des données recueillies pendant la fouille, seule 24 % des tombes ont été publiées. L’exploitation et la relecture critique des données inédites, par des méthodes nouvelles étayées par des outils informatiques nous a permis de présenter les différentes caractéristiques inédites des trois composantes de l’ensemble funéraire (les structures funéraires, les restes humains et le mobilier d’accompagnement) et d’en faire une étude archéo-anthropologique. D’autre part, l’analyse spatiale de la distribution des tombes, de leur contenu et des relations des tombes avec les structures d’habitat nous a permis d'établir une sériation chrono-spatiale de la “nécropole” et de l’“installation”. Mots-clés: Byblos, énéolithique, Levant Central et Levant Nord, sépultures en jarre

INTRODUCTION12

Byblos is located 40 km north of Beirut on the Lebanese coast, and occupies rocky promontory 30 metres above sea level. The excavations at this site were mainly directed by the archaeologist Maurice Dunand between 1925 and 1973. In the course of his work, he excavated an extensive “necropolis” and settlement from the period he defined as énéolithique, which he divided on the basis of ceramics and architecture into the énéolithique ancien and the énéolithique récent (Dunand 1973)3. The “necropolis” and settlement are very important, being one of the few excavated examples from this time in the central and northern Levant.

The énéolithique layers of Byblos are characterised by inhumations in jars, and an exceptionally rich and varied corpus of grave goods. Despite the remarkable quality of the énéolithique material, the “necropolis” remains relatively unknown. Only 24% of the burials have been 1 “Necropolis” is the term used by Maurice Dunand who directed the majority of Byblos excavations. 2 This article is based on research undertaken as part of my PhD at the University of Lyon in France (2005), which focused on reinvestigating the archaeological material from the énéolithique “necropolis” at Byblos. 3 Today, the term Chalcolithic is more frequently used than énéolithique to describe the period which dates to approximately 6100-5000 14C BP or 5000-3800 cal. BC. Unfortunately, dating Byblos and its various chronological phases has been controversial, due to the absence of radiocarbon analysis, and to the lack of related studies. For this reason, I have retained the term énéolithique for the purpose of this study.

described in publications. Furthermore, the analysis of the site proposed by Dunand (1973), and by other individual studies is partial, as only certain elements of the énéo-lithique have been studied. Statistical, qualitative and spatial analyses of the data are absent, thus past interpret-tations and synthesises are too general and incomplete to be of value to the scientific community.

To undertake an exhaustive study of the fourth millennium layers of Byblos, it was vital to examine the archives of the original excavations, including all the unpublished data. In this way, the mass of information from the past was not to be lost or left unevaluated. These records were critically re-evaluated where necessary, and at the same time, the various terminologies were standardised. The re-evaluation of the archives permitted the confirmation or reconsideration of past hypotheses, and where appropriate, the development of new ones.

THE RECORDS

The unpublished records include the Fonds Dunand archives, the personal records of Jean Lauffray (the architect who worked with Dunand), and the archaeo-logical finds, which have been scattered in different university, museum and institute collections.

The Fonds Dunand were saved from destruction in the Lebanese war and are now housed in the Faculté des Lettres at the University of Geneva. These archives are


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the most complete and important source of information that we have of the Byblos excavations (1926-1975). These records include excavation notes, arranged into boxes and drawers without having been classified. Thus, the utilisation of these archives becomes complicated. Furthermore, the Fonds Dunand in Geneva are not exhaustive because certain documents that belonged to other excavation members are missing. For example, the notes about the énéolithique “necropolis” and the topographic accounts have not been found. Many documents may in fact have been lost for a thorough inventory was never taken.

The Byblos archaeological finds are housed at Musée National de Beyrouth, Dépôt de la citadelle de Byblos, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in Paris, Département d’Anthropologie de l’Université in Geneva, and the Institut de Préhistoire Orientale in Jalès (France). However, the archaeological material in the Musée National de Beyrouth was often inaccessible, either due to looting during the war or to the limited access to the collections. Director of Antiquities’ fear of losing artefacts because of theft hindered access to the material during the first few years of my work4.

METHODOLOGY

The choices regarding my methodology and the quality of results that could be obtained were constrained by the limitations of the available records.

My primary concern was the controversial methods used during the original excavations. This methodology used a grid system of 10 metres to divide the entire area. The site was excavated in uniform 20 cm spits, without consideration for the archaeological stratigraphy or natural topography. Unfortunately, these methodological problems could not be resolved through further excavation due to the condition of the site. The very dispersed, incomplete and inconsistent nature of the documentation as a whole was additional constraints to this study.

The methodology of this research consisted of the creation of two bodies of data from the available documentary sources and archaeological material. The first corpus included all archaeological and palaeoanthro-pological information, and the second all the geo-spatial data. The archaeo-anthropological corpus incorporated all the information regarding the burials and their associated grave goods and human remains, while the geo-spatial corpus integrated the spatial parameters relative to the burials and the habitation structures.

The available documentation was computer analysed using FileMaker™ for the text, and MapInfo™ for the 4 An authorisation was eventually given in 2000-2001, which allowed me to examine a certain number of the archaeological items.

geo-spatial disposition of the “necropolis”. The use of these two programmes made it possible to investigate the varying characteristics of the three elements, which compose the funerary material (funerary contexts, human remains and associated grave goods) and to conduct an archaeological-anthropological study. In addition, the spatial analysis of the distribution of burials, their contents as well as the relation between burials and habitation structures made it possible to establish the chrono-spatial development of the “necropolis”. However, to understand more clearly the organisation and development of the occupation at Byblos in the énéolithique, the site had to be divided into sectors or zones, which take account of the morphology of the terrain.

At the centre of the area is a small valley, which in later periods contained a well and a “sacred pool”. There may have been a well or a spring there in the énéolithique, but no evidence has ever been reported. For the purpose of my study I drew three concentric circles around this central feature and subdivided the area contained within these circles into zones (Fig. 9.1). Thus zones A and B are divisions of the inner circle, which has a diameter of about 80 m. Zones C, D, E, and G are divisions of the middle circle, which has a diameter of about 200 m. Zones I and M are divisions of the outer circle, which has a diameter of about 350 m. The final two sectors are two hills, which are contained within the area of the circles. Zone F is the higher hill (colline haute) to the north of the well, and zone H is the lower hill (colline basse) to the south.

ANALYSIS OF FUNERARY CONTEXTS

A rich variety of funerary contexts were found at the Byblos énéolithique “necropolis”. The site has 2097 burials, 2059 of which are jar burials5. The information gathered allowed us to quantitatively analyse the characteristics of the three main groups of material: funerary contexts, human remains, and grave goods.

Funerary contexts

The énéolithique “necropolis” is characterised by 98% of jar inhumations. The remaining 2% of the sample consist of inhumations in other types of vessels as well as plain burials, both at the site and in nearby caves (Fig. 9.2).

The form, dimensions, position and orientation of the various inhumation types were not systematically recorded in the publications and archives, and to date, no typological archaeometric studies of the jars have been undertaken. 5 The exact number of burials is never given in publications and excavation reports. This is not surprising as the authors of these records do not indicate their source, and they never had access to the Fonds Dunand to complete and verify their findings.

G. ARTIN: THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS” AT BYBLOS

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Fig. 9.1. Geo-spatial corpus: topographic distribution (Artin 2005)

Fig. 9.2. Funerary contexts: jar burials (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)

From the available data, a variety of shapes can be observed, amongst which are the ovoid, globular and elongated jars. Their lengths vary between 0.20 and 1.95 m. The majority (67%) were positioned horizontally, but the orientation varied considerably.

Human remains

An anthropological study of the human remains was impossible as most of the bones had been lost. To

complicate matters even further, the records for Byblos are incomplete in the areas of funerary anthropology and palaeontology. Taphonomic studies of human remains from the Chalcolithic sites in the Near East were rarely done (Le Mort & Rabinovich 1994 & 2002), so the present study is based on the analysis of documentary sources indicated in the corpus.

63% of the jars contained human remains. Individual burials represent the standard burial type with multiple graves comprising only 6% of the total number found6. However, the lack of information and the unavailability of the osteological material for future study prevent one from establishing any relationship between individuals within multiple burials. 35% of the skeletons in jars were oriented with the skull to the opening. The skeletons were also positioned facing both right and left, and 21% were in a contracted position (Fig. 9.3).

The fact that 45% of the sample are identified as adults (buried in 581 jars) and 39% as immatures (children) (buried in 499 jars) suggests that there was no age based selection for this “necropolis”. We can thus assume that 6 37 children and 54 adults were interred in burials classified as multiple. Only 20 graves contained both adults and children. An identical number of adults were buried with other adults. Unfortunately, the sex of the individuals buried in the multiple graves is not known.


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Fig. 9.3. Human remains (burial No. 801) (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)

all members of the population were buried in the same intramural “necropolis”. The same spatial distribution of both adult and child burials reveals that there was no spatial separation by age into separate burial zones. However, the methods used to determine age mentioned in the documentary sources were based on a crude empirical system, and differ greatly from today’s methods.

The notes concerning Byblos give only a rough estimation of age based on the size of the bones found. It is therefore impossible to classify the remains according to normal age groups. For this study, three categories were chosen: adults, immatures (children), and human remains that are too poorly preserved to be categorised. The remains considered to be immature are those described as being a “young child,” a “very young,” a “newborn,” an “infant,” an “8 year-old child,” a “child a few months old,” a “very small child,” a “child a few years old.” The imprecise nature of dating this information made further division of human remains into more specific groups impossible.

Hypotheses or conclusions concerning the individual’s sex have been avoided, as the categories “male” and “female” were arbitrarily assigned and represent only 3% of the total number of human remains found7.

Grave goods

In general, the burials yielded abundant grave goods, with an average of 3 objects per burial. According to the 7 The sex of 62 individuals was identified from a total of 644 adults (Özbek 1976).

available records, a total of 3652 objects were found. The grave goods are extremely diverse, and included cera-mics, metal and stone artefacts. The lithic industry included stone implements and weapons (either flaked or polished), the bone industry included tools made of bone and/or ivory, and the art objects and ornaments (non-functional items) included human or animal figurines, as well as amulets, necklaces, bracelets, beads, and pendants made of different material (Fig. 9.4).

Fig. 9.4. Grave goods in a jar (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)

Only a small percentage of animal and plant remains are mentioned in the Fonds Dunand archives.

Ceramics

Ceramics are the most abundant artefact type; they are present in almost 56% of the jars. These ceramic grave goods, as defined by Dunand, include several series of pots, goblets, bowls, and cups. The fact that the jars were protected contributed to the good preservation of the ceramic ware.

Ceramics were found in inhumations in all zones of the site.

Metal artefacts

This category includes all metal objects (88% made of copper, 11% of silver), with the exception of ornaments; they represent 1% of the inclusions found in jars. This artefact type varies, from the first metal hooks made of copper to daggers, which were found in large numbers.

A total of 44 metal objects were discovered, and very few of them came from non-funerary contexts of the same period at Byblos. It is interesting to note that metal artefacts were absent from zones C, H and K.


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Stone artefacts

Stone artefacts, which include the heavier items, are rare and constitute only 1% of the total grave goods found. 26 stone objects were discovered; they were made from either limestone or basalt, and were, for the most part, distributed in the south-western zones and more rarely in the central and northern zones. The most frequently found stone artefacts were cups, mace-heads, goblets, bowls and polished pebbles. Many different types of stone were used, but the majority of the artefacts were made of limestone.

Lithic industry

Of the 209 lithic objects found in burials, the majority were made of flint and 8% of obsidian. Although these grave goods were found across the site, they were somewhat rarer in the northern and eastern sectors.

Lithic industry comprises 6% of the grave goods discovered. In spite of the abundance of polished axes and adzes in domestic contexts, flint weapons were rarely discovered in burials. Flint flakes were frequently found, but only a small number of tools were discovered in jars.

Bone and ivory artefacts

The bone and ivory artefacts were completely absent from the central and the northern zones, and represent only 1% of the grave goods discovered. Amongst the bone artefacts that were re-worked, there were awls (found in abundance), blades, pins and goblets (somewhat rarer). The bone artefacts represent 91% of the objects belonging to this category, while only 9% were made of ivory.

Art objects and ornaments

1271 art objects and ornaments made from silver, limestone, cornelian, bone, ivory, shell and obsidian were recovered from 255 burials. This category of objects was frequently found throughout the entire site, and adds up to a total of 35% of the grave goods discovered. It is interesting to note that various elements of adornments are frequently found, and in particular discoid, biconical and spherical beads, rings and pendants. The majority are made of silver; artefacts made of gold are very rare.

The art objects are represented by some small sculptures, notably figurines made of stone or ivory. The glyptics includes several clay cylinders and stone or ivory seals.

SPECIFICITY OF THE BYBLOS BURIALS

From the funerary contexts, human remains and the grave goods just mentioned, certain associations within the entire sample become evident. By compiling the available evidence from the analysis of funerary contexts, the following preliminary observations can be made:

First of all, the inhumations in non-typical jars contained exclusively infant burials. Unfortunately, the sex of infants could not be determined. In 9 of the burials, various jar shapes were used (baratte8, bocal9, cratère10, jatte, pot, vase tripode). In each case, the atypical jar shape was reserved for newborn and infant burials. This tradition is common in the Neolithic (Dunand 1973).

Next, the vast majority of infant burials were found in small jars (between 0,20 and 0,70 m high) that had been interred in a vertical position. This differs from the majority of adults who were buried horizontally, for the most part, in larger jars. These receptacles were rarely found in a vertical or inclined position. We can deduce from these findings that jars of different sizes were used according to the age of the deceased, and that the position of the containers depended on their size and weight. The vertical position was reserved for the smallest individuals.

Finally, the funerary material found in the Byblos burials consists of commonly used objects (tools, “vaisselle”, ornaments), and ceramic artefacts made for burial purposes (Dunand 1973; Balfet 1962; Epstein 2001). The presence of this type of inclusions suggests that the deceased were not always buried with their personal belongings.

Certain authors of the Byblos inventory description cards consider burials containing jewellery and ornamental headdresses as having belonged to women, while male burials included “weapons” and “daggers”. M. Chehab (1950) believed that burials containing a large number of grave goods (especially metal objects) had belonged to chiefs. Can we speak of social hierarchy if we only take into consideration the presence or absence of metal to arbitrarily attribute grave goods to one sex or the other?

Ceramic grave goods were frequently associated with metal and stone goods, and were discovered, for the most part, in multiple burials. Art objects and other ornaments were often found in child inhumations (Figs. 9.5 and 9.6).

If we consider the differences in the nature and quantity of grave goods found in the burials, it may seem that certain individuals had a higher status than others in Byblos’ énéolithique society. However, one has to be cautious with this hypothesis as the site was occupied for a millennium. During this period, new materials and techniques were introduced while others were abandoned. Certain objects were also made especially for burial with their owner. Thus, the establishment of a hierarchical order based on grave goods is very problematic. 8 The baratte (burial No. 1735) is displayed in case No. 2, first floor of the Musée National de Beyrouth. 9 Word used by M. Dunand (1939, 379 & 1973, 281). It is not listed in Dictionnaire illustré multilingue de la céramique du Proche-Orient ancien (Yon 1981). 10 The cratère (burial No. 1329) is on display at the Musée de la Citadelle de Byblos, which opened in 2001.


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Fig. 9.5. Metal artefact (burial No. 1669) (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)

SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF FUNERARY CONTEXTS

The analysis of chrono-spatial data provided information on two research areas: the spatial development of the “necropolis”, and the relations existing between burials and habitation structures.

In the absence of stratigraphical and chronological data, and with the impossibility of making any qualitative analysis, the reconstruction of the site’s development is based on the quantitative study of grave goods, and the pattern of the construction of habitation structures throughout the site. The quantitative study of grave goods, based on the observation of rarity of certain materials, enables us to understand the development of the “necropolis”.

The stone goods were present in abundance in zone L (in the south-west), which corresponds to the ancient area of the site. The presence of this artefact type fades away progressively to the east and south, and disappears completely in zone C (in the hills and to the north). In addition to this, no goods made of bone were found in

Fig. 9.6. Ornaments (burial No. 92) (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)


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zones A, B and C (the central zones). These facts reveal that the inclusion of bone and stone artefacts in funerary contexts was abandoned prior to the spread of the “necropolis” to the centre and to the north. This phenol-menon coincides with the development and inclusion of a new material, metal. It appears that the “necropolis” developed gradually from south-west to north-east, going around the central zones A, B and C (fig. 9.1).

The occupation of the space by burials and habitation structures has the same chronological progression throughout the site. Spatial occupation and the use of the site appear to have started in the west and progressed to the east, with a tendency to occupy the flat areas. The site’s occupation terminated in the north (fig. 9.1).

After having studied the plans closely, analysing (a) the distribution of habitation structures, (b) the burials for which geographic coordinates are available, and (c) the burial below the floors of the habitations, we come to further interesting conclusions.

First of all, only 5.5% of the burials were situated under the house floors (sous les logis is the term utilised by Dunand to designate houses). An equal number of adults and immatures (children) were buried there. This observation contradicts the hypothesis that the under floor burials were reserved for children only. Secondly, only 4% of the other burials were found within 2.5 metres of habitation structures. This distance is double the average length of the jars from Byblos.

We can say that only 10% of the burials were under the habitation structures or in their immediate vicinity and that the inhabitants of Byblos normally buried their dead at least some distance from their houses. It is highly probable that certain areas of the settlement were forgotten or abandoned after having been occupied by burials or habitation structures. The growth of the site was at times limited, or even diminished. These facts reveal the complexity of the énéolithique “necropolis” of Byblos.

CONCLUSION

Byblos differs from other sites in central and northern Levant, but similar sites probably exist, and their

discovery would modify our hypotheses. Even though we lack certain information which would contribute to our understanding, Byblos stands as one of the most important discoveries of human occupation in the region during the 4th millennium. Hopefully in the future, a comprehensive qualitative study of material from Byblos will be made, which will give us a much better understanding of this formative period in the eastern Mediterranean.

References

ARTIN, G. 2005. La “nécropole énéolithique” de Byblos: nouvelles interprétations. Thèse de Doctorat, Université Lumière Lyon 2.

BALFET, H. 1962. Céramique ancienne au Proche-Orient, Israël et Liban, VIIe-IIIe millénaires: étude technique. Paris: Thèse de 3e cycle.

CHEHAB, M. 1950. Tombes des chefs d’époque énéolithique trouvées à Byblos. Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth 9: 75-85.

DUNAND, M. 1973. Fouilles de Byblos, tome V. L’architecture, les tombes, le matériel domestique des origines néolithiques à l’avènement urbain. Paris: Maisonneuve.

EPSTEIN, C. 2001. The Significance of Ceramic Assemblages in Chalcolithic Burial Contexts in Israel and Neighboring Regions in the Southern Levant. Levant 33: 81-94.

LE MORT, F. & R. RABINOVICH 1994. L’apport de l’étude taphonomique des restes humains à la connaissance des pratiques funéraires: exemple du site chalcolithique de Ben Shemen (Israël). Paléorient 20/1: 69-98.

LE MORT, F. & R. RABINOVICH 2002. Taphonomy and Mortuary Practices, in Y. Goren & P. Fabian (eds.) Kissufim Road. A Chalcolithic Mortuary Site. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 16.

ÖZBEK, M. 1976. Hommes de Byblos. Étude compa-rative des squelettes des âges des métaux au Proche-Orient. Thèse de 3e cycle. Université de Bordeaux.

YON, M. 1981. Dictionnaire illustré multilingue de la céramique du Proche-Orient ancien. Lyon: Maison de l’Orient.

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MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE

Yavor BOYADŽIEV National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, [email protected]

Maria GUROVA National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, [email protected]

Abstract: Prehistoric Bulgaria is well known thanks to the spectacular finds of the Chalcolithic cemeteries. Varna cemetery is the wealthiest, with the pronounced social differentiation and hierarchy of the deceased manifested. The cemetery of Durankulak has always been somewhat in the shadow of its famous counterpart near Varna, although it offers certain purely cognitive advantages. The complete analysis and publication of the cemetery, with its exhaustive catalog of the grave goods, reveal a spectrum of problems and one of them is the grave goods differentiation related to the sex and age of the deceased. This article is focused on the flint artifacts as gifts at the baby and child burials. Keywords: cemetery, grave-goods, neonatus, infans, flint artifacts, Hamangia and Varna cultures

Résumé: La Bulgarie préhistorique est bien connue grâce aux trouvailles spectaculaires de ses nécropoles chalcolithiques et surtout celle de Varna, où le contexte funéraire manifeste une forte différentiation sociale et hiérarchique des défunts. Malgré le fait d’avoir toujours été un peu éclipsée par la célébrité de Varna, la nécropole de Durankulak présente certains avantages proprement cognitifs. Une étude et une publication complète, accompagnées d’un catalogue exhaustif des sépultures, permettent de relever une problé-matique nuancée, dont une partie consiste en une différentiation du mobilier en relation avec l’âge et le sexe des inhumés. L’article aborde ce problème du point de vue des artefacts en silex, présentés comme mobilier funéraire dans les sépultures enfantines. Mots Clefs: nécropole, mobilier funéraire, neonatus, infans, artefact en silex, cultures de Hamangia et Varna

INTRODUCTION

Dans notre lecture et notre compréhension du passé, l’analyse exhaustive du mobilier funéraire permet de concevoir le concept épistémologique de “sacré” versus “profane et domestique”. La présence des objets en silex parmi le mobilier funéraire révèle autant leur statut sym-bolique secondaire que l’importance de les considérer au même titre que les autres offrandes et objets personnels des dépôts rituels. Les sépultures des nouveau-nés et des enfants représentent une catégorie intéressante à cause du statut particulier que les défunts ont eu comme vivants au sein du réseau familial et du système social. D’autre part, il y a une tentation perpétuelle de dévoiler autant que possible les croyances méconnues de la vie après la mort, toujours séduisante et jamais perceptible. Les besoins spi-rituels des nos ancêtres, concrétisés par des rites funéraires variés, représentent un domaine compliqué, où la lecture de faits archéologiques peut facilement être suivie d’interpré-tations spéculatives et non pertinentes. Il faut souligner l’importance des études complexes du mobilier et des pratiques funéraires issues de nécropoles préhistoriques, afin d’éviter une précarité gnoséologique, consistant en des reconstructions basées sur des données archéologiques insuffisamment fiables (c.-à.-d isolées et anecdotiques).

DURANKULAK – UN PHENOMENE ARCHEOLOGIQUE

Sur le territoire de la Bulgarie, il y a 11 nécropoles préhistoriques (avec plus de 10 sépultures) – datant surtout

du Chalcolithique. Dans la plupart d’entre elles, le nombre des tombes d'enfants est considérablement inférieur au nombre des tombes d’adultes (tableau 10.1). Il y a une exception – le cimetière de Demir baba où, parmi 10 tombes au total, 7 contiennent des enfants. A l'autre extrémité se trouve le cimetière d’Omurtag, où aucune inhumation d’enfant n’est attestée. Par principe, la détermination précise de l’âge des enfants décédés est assez rare et la distinction des groupes Infans I et Infans II varie d’une nécropole à l’autre. En règle générale, les données anthropologiques fiables sur les nouveau-nés (jusqu’à 1 an) sont plutôt exceptionnelles. Cette situation factuelle est en totale contradiction avec la mortalité ordinaire des enfants à cette époque-là, qui est au plus haut chez les nouveau-nés et diminue graduellement avec l’âge. La nécropole de Durankulak nous offre une réponse plausible à ce paradoxe, issue du contexte même du terrain – l’utilisation d’une structure sépulcrale en pierre qui matérialise la fosse primaire. Cet aménagement des sépultures, y compris de nouveau-nés, en vigueur pendant la culture Varna, permet de constater la présence de tombes même s’il n’y a ni squelette, ni mobilier funéraire: un fait qui est très important relativement aux nouveau-nés et aux enfants dont les ossements sont les plus vulnérables aux altérations post-dépositionnelles. Ce fait et cette démarche d’identification des sépultures de nouveaux-nés expliquent le fait que dans le tableau 10.1 le nombre de ces sépultures est si élevé.

Il convient de présenter ici dans un cadre général ce réel phénomène archéologique. Cette nécropole, en effet, est l’unique dont les restes archéologiques aient été complè-


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Tableau 10.1. Tableau général des sépultures d’après l’âge et le mobilier en silex: total - ◘ silex -▲

Durankulak Varna I Devnia Goliamo Delchevo Vinitsa Targovi-

shte Polianitsa Radingrad Dеmir baba Balbunar

tombe ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲

noveau-né 125 17 2 1

Inf I 43 2 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1

Inf. II 28 6 1 1 0 6 1 6 1 1

enfant 80 5 10 2 3 2 2 1 8 1 5 3

Juv. 74 3 19 3 1 1 2

Adult. 667 140 66 24 5 4 14 3 25 2 8 1 8

indeterminé 110 61 47 6 4 2 1 6 1 7 10 5 3 1 19 6

detruit 87 37 6 2 4 4 1 4 1 3 2 1

cénotaphe 53 20 49 32 4 1 3 7 3

total 1190 191 295 146 26 13 30 5 53 9 11 1 23 2 21 6 10 2 24 7

tement étudiés et publiés (Todorova 2002). Bien qu’elle ait été éclipsée par la célébrité du cimetière de Varna (où le contexte funéraire manifeste une forte différentiation sociale et hiérarchique des défunts), la nécropole de Durankulak possède quand même certains avantages proprement cognitifs. Située près de la frontière roumaine sur le littoral bulgare, elle illustre une séquence très importante du Néolithique récent jusqu’au Chalco-lithique final, qui permet d’observer et de reconstituer de manière diachronique les pratiques funéraires (avec leurs caractères variables) de la communauté locale, dont le site d’habitat se trouve à 200 m au nord. Cela représente un intervalle de temps de presque un millénaire, et une bonne illustration du développement des cultures Hamangia et Varna, qui se présentent de la manière suivante:

Hamangia ancienne (phases I, II) – Néolithique récent;

Hamangia III – début du Chalcolithique;

Hamangia IV – Chalcolithique moyen, période de tran-sition évolutive;

Varna – Chalcolithique final.

Le cadre chronologique absolu des étapes culturelles est présenté ci-dessous:

Hamangia I-II 5250/5200 - 4950/4900 cal. BC

Hamangia III 4950/4900 - 4650/4600 cal. BC

Hamangia IV 4650/4600 - 4550/4500 cal. BC

Varna I 4550/4500 - 4450/4400 cal. BC

Varna II-II 4450/4400 - 4250/4150 cal. BC (Bojadžiev 2002a, 67)

SEPULTURES DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: PROBLEMATIQUE

De la nécropole de Durankulak proviennent les restes de squelettes en différents états de conservation: depuis les

ossements bien préservés jusqu’à ceux complètement détruits. On peut distinguer 3 groupes de sépultures:

I. Les squelettes suffisamment bien conservés pour une expertise anthropologique fiable. D’après l’âge des défunts, on peut les déterminer comme:

– Neonatus – nouveau-nés 0 - 1 an;

– Infans I – enfant d’1 jusqu’aux 7 ans;

– Infans II – enfant de 7 jusqu'aux 14 ans.

II. Les sépultures dont les restes osseux ne permettent pas une expertise anthropologique, et dont l’âge est intégré dans la catégorie globale “enfants”.

III. Il y a une autre catégorie de tombes ne possédant aucune trace de squelette. L’indication que dans un tel cas il s’agit de tombe porte sur 2 faits du terrain:

a/ la présence de la structure sépulcrale. Dans le paléosol loessique les fosses primaires ne sont pas visibles. Ces structures (agencements) en pierre sont traitées comme indices de sépultures; elles apparaissent à la fin de la culture Hamangia et représentent une pratique ordinaire pendant la cul-ture de Varna (Bojadžiev 2001, 109-112; 2002b). Le plus souvent, il s’agit de dalles en pierre posées horizontalement au dessus de la sépulture, mais dans certains cas plus rares, ces dalles sont attestées en position verticale, entourant l’espace d’inhumation.

b/ la présence du mobilier funéraire – offrandes et objets personnels. L’absence de restes humains pourrait être expliquée soit par le squelette com-plètement détruit, soit par une sépulture symboli-que (cénotaphe). La distinction entre cénotaphe et bébé (squelette disparu) est possible, mais cela varie en fonction du contexte culturel. En ce qui concerne Hamangia, il faut savoir que le mobilier funéraire est relativement pauvre et ne révèle pas de manière bien marquée l’âge et le sexe. Le mobi-lier des enfants et des adultes n’est pas clairement

Y. BOYADŽIEV AND M. GUROVA: MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE

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Fig. 10.1. Durankulak, sépultures de nouveau-nés avec du mobilier funéraire. L’illustration est faite par M. Gurova (adaptée du catalogue publié dans H. Todorova 2002, 2/2)

distinct, parfois les offrandes liées aux enfants dépassent en quantité et valeur celles des adultes (Bojadžiev 2003, 51; 2004, 73-74). Pour cette raison la distinction claire bébé/cénotaphe est très difficile et incertaine au sein de cette culture. A l’inverse, cela ne pose pas grand problème de les distinguer parmi les sépultures de Varna, où le mobilier est beaucoup plus différencié en fonction de l’âge et du sexe. Un élément complémentaire de

comparaison provient de la dimension d’agence-ment des dalles de pierre (respectivement – de la fosse primaire).

Malgré les circonstances et les obstacles mentionnés ci-dessus, l’analyse du contexte funéraire à Durankulak montre que les enfants ont été inhumés dans la nécropole comme les autres membres de la communauté, mais le nombre et la densité des tombes d’enfants varient d’une


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phase à l’autre. Par ex. le nombre des sépultures d’enfants enregistrées à Hamangia I-III est de 29 (5,8 %), et il augmente progressivement pendant les périodes suivantes de Hamangia IV et Varna. A la différence de Hamangia, durant la phase Varna les ossements de nouveau-nés sont sûrement attestés et identifiés, mais les cas semblables ne sont pas nombreux. L’analyse des sépultures en total montre un taux très élevé de sépultures d’enfants – 40%. Il faut pourtant souligner que la plupart d’entre eux ne possèdent aucun reste osseux et que l’identification re-pose sur les données contextuelles – caractère du mobilier et agencement de la structure sépulcrale (Bojadžiev 2003, 56-57).

Presque la moitié des sépultures enfantines contiennent un certain spectre d’offrandes dans lequel on peut distinguer les catégories suivantes:

– objets considérés comme habituels et ordinaires pour un enfant – les récipients en argile qui sont présumés comme contenant de la nourriture1 et effets personnels, comme de la parure par. ex.2

– à côté de ces objets il y du mobilier qui peut être moins naturellement attribuable aux enfants – ce sont éléments des outillages en silex, pierre taillée et os, parmi lesquels il y a des outils utilisés.

En règle générale les artefacts en silex sont (après la poterie bien sûr) parmi les objets les plus répandus comme mobilier funéraire d’enfants. C’est la raison pour laquelle on va se concentrer ici sur cette catégorie de mobilier. En effet, M. Gurova a eu la possibilité d’effectuer une étude tracéologique du mobilier en silex de la nécropole Durankulak, dont les résultats mettent en évidence une information supplémentaire sur la sélection (consciente ou aléatoire) des artefacts en silex de leur contexte inhérent et domestique et leur transition postérieure au “fonctionnement” sacré des offrandes funéraires3.

MOBILIER FUNERAIRE EN SILEX

Les artefacts en silex sont rarement isolés dans le mobilier de la nécropole. C’est également valable pour les tombes d’enfants/nouveau-nés. Les combinaisons d’offrandes et d’effets personnels sont les moins nombreuses pendant les phases anciennes Hamangia I-III. Dans certains cas exceptionnels il n’y a que du silex (Gr 76: Hamangia I-II et Gr 782: Hamangia III), de même que Hamangia IV (Gr 701). La tombe № 154 constitue un cas intéressant où une lame retouchée et utilisée est accompagnée d’une dent de Cervidae. Les plus nombreuses sont les combinaisons avec de la céramique. Pendant la phase Varna la diversité 1 Malheureusement, il n’y a pas d’analyse de résidus sur les poteries, qui permettraient d’éclaircir ce problème. 2 La distinction offrande/effets personnels qu’on utilise est d’après J. et M. Lichardus (Lichardus & Lichardus-Itten 1985). 3 L’analyse tracéologique a été effectuée à l’aide des microscopes MBS 10 (x 100) et METAM P1 (x 400).

du mobilier funéraire augmente sensiblement, parallèle-ment à l’accroissement général du nombre des sépultures et de leur représentativité (sur le plan du mobilier et des pratiques funéraires).

A Durankulak il y a 7 tombes identifiées par un anthro-pologue comme tombes de nouveau-nés (№ 525, 531, 719, 724, 876, 1194, 1194A), mais aucune d’elles ne contient d’artefacts en silex. Il n’y en a pas non plus parmi les tombes d’Infans I (1-7 ans), au nombre de 43. Le second groupe d’Infans II (7-14 ans) contient certaines sépultures avec du mobilier en silex (№ 154, 236, 358, 433, 559 et 649) qui représentent un taux de 20% de la totalité des tombes de ce groupe (Fig. 10.2).

En règle générale il faut souligner le fait que les sépultures des groupes Infans I et surtout Infans II sont les plus significatives du point de vue de la compréhension (et de l’interprétation) adéquate des sépultures d’enfants. A cause du squelette conservé (dont la position est d’habitude allongé sur le dos - pour les garçons, et replié sur le flanc droit – pour les filles) on peut concevoir la sépulture comme un ensemble clos et intact, offrant une image fidèle du rituel funéraire et de ses suggestions symboliques et spirituelles. D’autre part (et on aborde ici le problème qui mérite la discussion épistémologique) la démarche interprétative doit se limiter à la considération et à la corrélation des faits étudiés (dans ce cas les sépultures) pour qu’ils gardent leur valeur adéquate au sein du contexte funéraire global.

Le tableau 10.2 montre le ratio 4/2 des tombes des différentes phases en faveur de celles de Varna. L’analyse des artefacts en silex révèle un petit assemblage hétérogène: les produits de débitage (lames et éclats bruts) aussi bien que les outils retouchés sont présents. Les fonctions déterminées sont variées autant du point de vue des matières travaillées que de la cinématique d’opéra-tions, mais néanmoins la découpe prédomine parmi les gestes effectués. Il n’est pas exclu, mais il n’est pas certain non plus, que ces outils aient été utilisés par les défunts de leur vivant.

Les artefacts en silex sont attestés dans 8 sépultures sans ossements humains, mais les petites dimensions des structures sépulcrales en dalles de pierre incitent à les considérer comme des sépultures de nouveau-nés (№ 415, 573, 700, 701, 716, 782, 234, 5664) (Fig. 10.1).

Il est évident à l’examen du tableau 10.3, que dans le cas de nouveau-nés il n’y a pas différence prononcée en comparaison des données déjà présentées pour les enfants du IIème groupe: il y a une variété de types d’artefacts aussi bien qu’une variété de fonctions. D’autre part il faut souligner que les tombes attribuées aux phases de Hamangia et, surtout Hamangia IV prédominent considé-rablement par rapport aux sépultures de phase Varna, un 4 D’après les dimensions des agencements de pierres, les 2 dernières sépultures appartiennent probablement à des individus dont l’âge dépasse 1 an.


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Fig. 10.2. Durankulak, sépultures de l’Infans II avec du mobilier funéraire. L’illustration est faite par M. Gurova (adaptée du catalogue publié dans H. Todorova 2002, 2/2)


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Tableau 10.2. Sépultures d’enfants (Infans II 7-14 ans)

tombe artefact en silex fonction période

154 lame retouchée – fragm. raclage de bois Hamangia I-II

649 éclat brut non identifiée- poli naturel Hamangia III

358 grattoir sur LR outil combiné tritranchant: découpe de roseaux;

raclage de bois; assouplissement de peau

433 lame brute – fragm. lame brute – fragm.

découpe de tissus carnés x 1 sans traces d’utilisation

Varna I

559 lame brute – fragm. découpe de tissus carnés x 2 Varna II-III

236 grattoir sur lame raclage de bois Varna

Tableau 10.3. Sépultures de nouveau-nés déterminées d’après le contexte funéraire


716 lame retouchée – fragm. non identifiée - poli naturel

782 lame tronquée armature de faucille x 1 Hamangia III

234 lame brute – fragm. découpe de tissus carnés x 1

566 lame tronquée Indéterminée - altération naturelle

701 grande lame brute outil combiné bitranchant: découpe de roseaux et de tissus carnés

415 éclat brut sans traces d’utilisation

Hamangia IV

700 grattoir semi-circulaire grattage de peau Varna I

573 lame brute – fragm. non identifiée – poli naturel Varna

fait qui ne corrobore pas le ratio diachronique des autres catégories de sépultures (y compris de celles d’enfants). L’explication repose probablement sur des difficultés réelles de distinguer les sépultures de nouveau-nés, dénuées d’ossements. De même, il n’est pas exclu que pendant les phases les plus anciennes de la nécropole, il y ait eu une affinité spéciale des objets en silex comme objets funéraires pour l’inhumation de nouveau-nés.

Cinq sépultures (№ 76, 217, 218, 365, 423) avec des artefacts en silex sont interprétées comme tombes d’enfants “lato sensu” sur la base des dimensions de la fosse sépulcrale, de la présence de petits fragments osseux (y compris de dents) et du caractère du mobilier funéraire disponible (tableau 10.4).

Dans le contexte de la nécropole sont attestés 9 cas de découvertes d’artefacts en silex, soit isolés (№ 50A et 837A), soit en combinaison avec d’autres types de mobilier: poteries (№ 2A, 510A, 476A, 764A), parures (№ 39A, 614A), les deux (№ 571A). Malgré l’absence d’indices sûrs (ossements et construction sépulcrale), ces tombes sont interprétées dans la publication comme nouveau-nés/enfants (Todorova et al. 2002). D’un autre côté, il n’est pas exclu que certaines d’entre elles (et surtout les tombes de la phase Hamangia) soient des cénotaphes (Bojadžiev 2004).

Malheureusement, cela ressort de l’examen du tableau 10.4, l’information tirée des objets en silex de ces groupes

de sépultures reste incomplète parce que un certain nombre des pièces n’ont pas été mis à disposition pour l’étude.

CONCLUSION

Pour concevoir de manière adéquate les rapports entre les sépultures d’enfants et les connotations fonctionnelles des silex présents comme mobilier funéraire, il convient de rappeler en bref les conclusions tirées de l’étude tracéologique d’assemblages entiers en silex (Gurova 2002, 252).

– Dans un aspect diachronique la situation pendant les phases Hamangia I-III est très semblable. Hamangia IV est marqué par une réduction quantitative du silex, et une augmentation du nombre de pièces utilisées. La phase Varna montre un nombre sensiblement accru de sépultu-res contenant du silex, de pièces déposées et de spécimens utilisés (Gurova 2002, 252).

Dans cette optique les résultats issus des tombes d’enfants (malgré leur aspect un peu partiel) montre une augmen-tation progressive du nombre de silex ayant servi comme mobilier funéraire H I-III: H IV: V respectivement 8: 9: 12.

– Parmi les fonctions déterminées sur le total de silex de la nécropole les plus fréquentes sont la découpe de tissus


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Tableau 10.4. Sépultures d’enfants identifiées sans certitude


76 grattoir sur éclat sans traces d’utilisation Hamangia I-II

423 lame retouchée x 2 sciage de bois

365 lame brute non analysée Hamangia IV

218 burin sur cassure sans traces d’utilisation Varna I

217 grattoir semi-circulaire sans traces d’utilisation Varna II-III

614A lame retouchée x 2 non analysée Hamangia I-II

476A lame? non analysée

764A lame brute – fragm. non analysée HamangiaIII

39A lame brute – fragm. non analysée

510A lame brute – fragm. non analysée

571A lame tronquée? non analysée

Hamangia IV

837A lame? non analysée Varna

2A lame retouchée x 2;

lame brute raclage de bois;

découpe de tissus carnés x 2 Varna II

50A perçoir non analysée indéterminé

carnés; armature de faucille et pointe de projectile (flèche).

Les fonctions attestées sur les silex de tombes d’enfants sont assez variées et sans aucune prédominance marquée. Il y a 2 cas avec des pièces représentant des outils combinés avec des fonctions clairement multiples et sophistiquées. Les pointes de projectile sont totalement absentes, parce qu’elles ne sont attribuables qu’aux sépultures masculines.

– Parmi le mobilier de la nécropole sont attestés les soi-disant “outils/nécessaires de tailleurs de vêtements” à priori attribués à une activité assez particulière et plutôt féminine. Ils consistent en 3-4 types d’objets: poinçon (parfois aiguille) en os, artefact en silex, petit galets (lissoirs) en pierre et coquillage, mets dans un vase céramique. L’analyse plus détaillée de cet outillage a montré la variabilité fonctionnelle des éléments en silex que n’indique pas une cohérence entre l’idée du départ et la situation révélée (Gurova 2006, 4-5).

Même parmi les tombes d’enfants il y a 3 de ces “nécessaires de tailleurs de vêtements”, dont un possède un artefact en silex.

L’analyse des artefacts en silex met aussi en évidence le fait qu’il n’y a pas une préférence prononcée vis-à-vis des types de pièces en silex sélectionnées pour être déposées dans les tombes d’enfants. En générale les silex-offrandes ne varient pas considérablement en fonction de l’âge et du sexe des défunts. Il y a quand même 2 exceptions: les pointes de projectile et les grandes (super lames) qui n’existent pas parmi le mobilier des enfants.

Il n’y a pas non plus un rapport direct entre les silex–offrandes et leur valeur utilitaire et domestique. Pour qu’ils aient été introduits dans le contexte mortuaire, ils ont évidemment été chargés d’une connotation spirituelle et symbolique.

Le mobilier funéraire (considéré de manière égale dans un sens quantitatif et qualitatif) permet de supposer que les enfants ont été l’objet de rites cérémoniels de la même manière que les adultes. Ce fait les rend, malgré leur mort prématurée, respectés et considérés comme les membres normaux des réseaux familiaux et sociaux auxquels ils appartenaient. C’est une conclusion assez générale et peu spectaculaire, mais elle est pertinente, parce qu’elle ne cherche pas à révéler les valeurs symboliques exagérées des faits extraits de leur contexte.

DISCUSSION

Les problèmes du culte et de la religion ont été depuis toujours abordés par les archéologues. Néanmoins, une analyse véritablement épistémologique, effectuée récem-ment par T. Insoll, montre que l’archéologie de la religion doit surmonter beaucoup de préjugés et de difficultés méthodologiques (Insoll 2004). C’est le cadre le plus général de la problématique.

Depuis des décennies, dans les recherches sur les pratiques funéraires, il y a un malentendu qui demeure et qui se reproduit: c’est la détermination des sexes. Les déterminations qui s’appuient sur la composition du mobilier sont qualifiées d’“archéologiques” et elles s’op-posent aux déterminations anthropologiques (Jeunesse 1997, 95). Ce problème entraîne beaucoup de consé-


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quences nuisibles, mais il persiste toujours et, dans un certains sens, il semble être inévitable et insoluble.

En ce qui concerne le cas concret de notre recherche sur Durankulak, on a déjà mentionné le problème des données archéologiques et de la pertinence des interprétations élaborées sur leur base. Pour illustrer ces effets consécutifs, on va avancer ici un simple exemple.

Si on prend le pourcentage des artefacts en silex des différents groupes de sépultures d’enfants, les résultats apparents sont assez bizarres: un taux élevé et inattendu de nouveau-nés (proche de celui des adultes), aucun exemple parmi les Infans I, tandis que pour les Infans II le taux est le plus élevé parmi tous les groupes d’âge. Ces pourcentages ne peuvent pas être admis comme réels à cause des difficultés, déjà mentionnées, liées à la distinction adéquate les sépultures de bébés. Une partie d’entre elles sont probablement des enfants d’âge supérieur à un an. Il n’est pas exclu non plus qu’une autre partie constitue en effet des cénotaphes. Troisièmement, le groupe d’enfants “lato sensu” pourrait contenir un bon nombre d’Infans II, ce qui va mener à une réduction du taux de sépultures avec du silex parmi ce groupe.

Encore plus graves et frappants deviennent ces différences et inconvénients si on prend les autres nécropoles où le sépultures au total et celles d’enfants sont très peu nombreuses. Dans les cas pareils, chaque tentative de tirer des comparaisons et des conclusions valables à partir des données empiriques non fiables risque de créer une image inconsciemment spéculative et irréelle, ce qui ne fait pas partie des objectifs proprement scientifiques de notre recherche.

Bibliographie

BOYADŽIEV, Y. 2001. Погребални съоръжения в праисторическия некропол при село Дуранкулак, Годишник на Археологическия институт с музей 1: 95-128.

BOYADŽIEV, Y. 2003. По въпроса за местополо-жението на детските гробове през неолита и халколита, Добруджа 21: 48-62.

BOJADZIEV, J. 2002a. Die absolute Chronologie der neo- und äneolithischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak, in H. Todorova (Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak: 67-69. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

BOJADZIEV, J. 2002b. Die Grabanlagen der prähisto-rischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak, in H. Todorova (Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die Prähisto-rischen Grä-berfelder von Durankulak: 71-80. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

BOYADZHIEV, Y. 2004. Über die frühesten symbo-lischen Bestattungen, in V. Nikolov & K. Bacvarov (Hrsg.) Von Domica bis Drama. Gedenkschrift für Jan Lichardus: 73-77. Sofia: Archäologisches Institut mit Museum

GUROVA, M. 2002. Mobilier en silex de la nécropole Dourankulak – analyse fonctionnelle, in H. Todorova (Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die prähistorischen Grä-berfelder von Durankulak: 247-256. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

GUROVA, M. 2006. Prehistoric flints as grave goods/ hoards: functional connotation, Archaeologia Bulga-rica 1: 1-14.

INSOLL, T. 2004. Archaeology, Ritual, Religion. London & New York: Routledge.

JEUNESSE, C. 1997. Pratiques funéraires au Néolithique ancien. Sépultures et nécropoles des sociétés danubiennes (5500/-4900 av J.C.). Paris: Editons Errance.

LICHARDUS, J. & M. LICHARDUS-ITTEN. 1985. La protohistoire de l’Europe. Le Néolithique et le Chalcolithique. Paris: Presse Universitaire de France.

TODOROVA, H. (Hrsg.) 2002. Durankulak, 2/1,2. Die prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

TODOROVA, H., T. DIMOV, J. BOJADŽIEV, I. VAJSOV, K. DIMITROV & M. AVRAMOVA. 2002. Katalog der prähistorischen Gräber von Durankulak, in H. Todorova (Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/2. Die Prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak: 31-125. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

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LATE NEOLITHIC BOYS AT THE GOMOLAVA CEMETERY (SERBIA)

Sofija STEFANOVIĆ Belgrade University, Serbia, [email protected]

Abstract: The aim of the sex and age-at-death determination of seven subadult skeletons from the late Neolithic cemetery at Gomolava was to see if these biological categories had been critical for the subadult burials there. The results point to the sex as possible choice criterion for subadult burials because at Gomolava only boys are buried. The age did not determine access to burial since these subadults were of different age, from newborn babies to seven years old boy. The age could have been a possible burial location determinate for all of the children except one boy were buried out of the cemetery’s center. Key words: Vinča culture, Gomolava, subadults, sex, age, kinship

Résumé: L’analyse du sexe et de l’âge de sept squelettes d’enfants trouvés dans la nécropole du néolithique tardif à Gomolava avait pour but d’établir si ces catégories biologiques ont été importantes pour la sélections d’enfants qui devaient être enterrés dans cet endroit. Les résultats montrent que le choix d’enfants probablement dépendait de leur sexe, parce qu’à Gomolava n’ont été enterrés que des garçons. L’âge ne représentait pas une condition restrictive pour obtenir un site funéraire car les garçons avaient des âges différents, les plus jeunes étant des nouveaux nés et les plus âgés ayant sept ans. L’âge pouvait être important quand il s’agissait d’obtenir un site funéraire sur une position spécifique sur la nécropole car tous les garçons, sauf un, ont été enterrés en dehors de l’espace central. Mots-clés: Vinča culture, Gomolava, enfants, sexe, âge, parenté

INTRODUCTION

At the late Neolithic cemetery of Gomolava, near the village of Hrtkovci in Srem, twenty-seven inhumations have been excavated, the most of them in contracted position on the left side (Fig. 11.1). For now, this intramural cemetery of the Vinča culture is believed to date back to the first half of the fifth millennium cal BC. Using anthropological analysis as well as ancient DNA technique we defined the sex and age at death of 19 male adults and 6 boys, while it was not possible to sex one adult individual and one subadult (Zoffman 1987; Čuljković 2000; Čuljković et al. 2002).

Fig. 11.1. Burials at the Gomolava cemetery (Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)

This paper examines the age at death and sex of the subadults from the Gomolava cemetery to answer the question if these biological categories are the critical conditions for the presence of subadults there (Table 11.1). The spatial distribution of subadult burials is also examined within this cemetery, i.e. their relation to the adult burials. In addition, possible kinship among the buried individuals at Gomolava is examined too.

Table 11.1. Gomolava cemetery: child burials

Burial number Age Sex Grave goods

3/75 newborn ? no grave goods

6 newborn ♂ no grave goods

8 1 year ♂ 4 ceramic vessels, 7 copper beads

9 3 years ♂ no grave goods

10 7 years ♂ 2 ceramic vessels, clay amulet?

14 1 year ♂ 2 ceramic vessels, 2 bone beads

19 newborn ♂ no grave goods

THE CEMETERY AT GOMOLAVA

Now we know of many Vinča settlements in Serbia but only two cemeteries of this culture have been excavated, the extramural cemetery at the settlement of Žanićeva dolja in Botoš, near Zrenjanin, and the intramural cemetery at Gomolava site. The Neolithic burials at Botoš were discovered by chance in 1925; 17 graves were examined archaeologically (Saria 1925). The human bones were very brittle; therefore they were not preserved for anthropological analysis but left buried at the site (Grbić 1934). Three excavation campaigns were conduc-


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ted at Gomolava, in 1953-1957, 1965-1969 and 1969-1985. The first two burials were discovered in 1973 and the other 25 were excavated between 1975-1977. Some information of the Gomolava cemetery was reported in a few papers by Bogdan Brukner (Brukner 1975, 1978, 1980, 1988 & 1990; Brukner & Petrović 1977) but it was not published completely. Zsuzsanna Zoffman (1973 & 1987) has done the first anthropological determinations and her results about the age at death of subadults and adults are used in this work as is Dušan Borić’s analysis of the social aspects of burial practice (1996), in relation to the distribution of grave goods in subadult burials. Recently Biljana Čuljković DNA sexed 25 skeletons from Gomolava using the PCR technique; her results are especially precious when sexing subadults, which is very hard to do by standard anthropological methods (Čuljko-vić 2000; Čuljković et al. 2002). Besides, she investigated three Y bound STR loci (Short Tandem Repeat) that are important when following up with kinship degree in paternal line.

‘MALE DEATH’ AT GOMOLAVA

The analysis of Gomolava human bones was aimed at sexing subadult skeletons because standard sexing techni-ques are not reliable for them. Since secondary sex characteristics appear only after the age of puberty, it is very hard or almost impossible to determine the sex of subadults. This problem was overcome using the ancient DNA technique since the sex of 6 subadults was deter-mined. In addition, the sex of all other adult individuals at Gomolava was tested by this analysis. Ancient DNA analysis allows precise sex determination by amplification of DNA sequences specific for X and/or Y chromosomes (Hummel & Hermann 1991; Faerman et al. 1995; Stone et al. 1996). Skeletons of 25 individuals were available for the ancient DNA analysis using molecular-biological methods. The results demonstrate that all adult individuals are male (only the sample from burial No. 12 was unavailable). Besides, this analysis helped to sex 6 subadult skeletons as boys (the sample of the newborn baby from burial No. 3/75 was not available). This result is very interesting for it appears that only males had access to burial at the Gomolava cemetery. The sex-based selection has been strictly applied both for adults and subadults. Since sex – maleness – was a significant criterion to be met by the individuals who were to be buried there, the next relevant question is if age was also a criterion giving burial access to that cemetery?

AGE AT DEATH, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND GRAVE GOODS FOR THE BOYS

Former determinations by Zoffman revealed adults bet-ween 20-60 years old. It means that there were probably no age criteria for adults because individuals of different age were buried at Gomolava. Of the subadult skeletons, three are newborn babies (Burials Nos. 3/75, 6 and 19),

two are infants about one year old (Burial No. 8, Fig. 11.2), one is a boy three years old (Burial No. 9, Fig. 11.3) and one is seven years old (Burial No. 10, Fig. 11.4). To conclude with, since both adults and subadults of different age were buried at Gomolava, it seems that age as a biological category did not affect someone’s chance for burial at the cemetery. But if age was not the condition, which determined the presence of children, one could ask if they were treated differently in any way than adults because of their age? To answer this we need to consider the spatial distribution of these graves and their relation to the adult burials. Speaking about boys’ burials, it was not possible to establish for sure the position of burial No. 3/75; we can only say that it was somewhere in the cemetery’s periphery. Even such evidence is good enough to demonstrate that this burial was found out of the center of the cemetery. The plan of the cemetery shows that five boys were buried out of the center of the cemetery, maybe because of the different treatment in comparison to adults (only burial No. 6 was not in the outskirts). Although the age of the deceased was not critical to give them burial access to the cemetery, the spatial distribution points to the age as the significant factor of a “central” burial.

Fig. 11.2. Burial No. 8, 1 year old boy, buried with 4 ceramic vessels and 7 copper beads

(Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)

Grave goods are missing in the burials of newborn babies as well as in the burial of a three years old boy (burial No. 9). Burials Nos. 8, 10 and 14 have the same grave inclusions as the adults at Gomolava. The grave goods in burial No. 8 consist of four ceramic vessels and seven copper beads; burial No. 10 yielded a clay amulet and two

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Fig. 11.3. Burial No. 9, 3 years old boy, buried without grave goods (Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)

Fig. 11.4. Burial No. 10, 7 years old boy, buried with 2 ceramic vessels and 2 bone beads

(Photo: courtesy B. Brukner)

ceramic vessels; and burial No. 14 included two ceramic vessels as well two bone beads. In these burials, the subadults were treated as ‘future adults’ and this suggests that the treatment of boys as future adults could have been the reason of the burial access of boys to this intramural and in a way ‘exclusive’ funeral site.

KINSHIP

The small number of individuals buried at the intramural cemetery of Gomolava could point to their exclusive right within the community of the living. Besides, the selection of deceased to be buried there because of their biological sex as well as the lack of age limits made us believe that these individuals could have represented a kinship group; thus it was decided to test this hypothesis using ancient DNA analysis. After all samples were identified as males, three Y bound STR loci that are used in the population genetics to follow the male migrations, were also analyzed (Čuljković 2000); polymorphological loci bound

to Y chromosome for their exclusively paternal line of inheritance and the lack of recombination in certain sequences are of special interest for the anthropological, archaeological, forensic, genetic, and demographic studies (see Kayser et al. 1997; de Knijff et al. 1997; Abbey 1999). The special advantage of the use of Y bound gene loci in the population studies lies in the fact that haplotypes of Y chromosomes are inherited without recombination so it is possible to follow very long ancestor/descendent lines in human communities. This technique is of great importance when investigating kinship relations and there is a lack of samples of several generations of individuals, because it is possible to follow the male line inheritance using Y chromosome bound loci. The analysis of STR loci DYS 393, DYS 19, and DY 390 was conducted with Gomolava samples and it revealed the same profile for the all three analyzed bound STR loci. Therefore these results need additional research on larger number of loci to confirm the preliminary result that the population buried at Gomolava is mono-morphological regarding Y markers. This result is indicative for the existence of a common ancestor from whom men at Gomolava inherited this haplotype.

DISCUSSION

The sexing of Neolithic children at the Gomolava cemetery demonstrated that biological sex had played an important role in funerary practices. In other words, for this cemetery, maleness was the basic condition both for subadults as well as adults to be given a burial access. Especially significant at the Gomolava cemetery is that all of the subadults buried are boys, i.e. sex might have filled an important role in funerary practices even for non-adult individuals. Of course, this small sample is not enough for more general conclusions about the Vinča culture. In any case, such sex differentiation in the funerary practices even for subadults shows that biological sex might have had its own cultural meaning since the very birth of the child. The biological category of age, however, was not a burial determinate, as at the Gomolava cemetery both adults as well as subadults of different age were buried, from newborn babies to seven years old boy. According to the age as a biological category, all subadults except the newborn from burial No. 6 were buried out of the cemetery’s center, i.e. males were differentiated by spatial location. Boys’ location within the cemetery makes the difference in comparison to adults. The fact that boys are buried in the periphery does not necessarily mean that they were treated as less important than adults; they were simply treated differently according to their age. The analysis of three Y bound STR loci indicated this population as mono-morphological regarding Y markers. Of course, this should be confirmed with more detailed analyses; for the time being, the significant point is that it was perhaps a common ancestor from whom Gomolava men possibly inherited this haplotype. This opens the possibility that all of these men belonged to a kinship group, and it seems that it was this kinship which secured


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the burial access to the intramural cemetery. If we assume that a kinship group is buried at Gomolava and that it can be traced back to a common male ancestor, it is note-worthy that subadult males were also considered members of the group. Their age, especially that of the three newborns, suggests that boys by their birthright became members of certain kinship groups. This hypothesis un-derlines the necessity of more detailed, first of all genetic, research on kinship in prehistory. Until now, the archaeo-logical models of kinship groups were mostly based on ethnographic parallels (Longrace 1966; Ember 1973) or on biodistance analyses, which examine the metric/non-metric characteristics of skeletons to deter-mine the genetic distances (Conner 1990; Konigsberg 1990; Scuilli 1990).

The presence of newborns’ skeletons demonstrates that not only male activities took place at the settlement of Gomolava, which could have justified the exclusive presence of male burials at the cemetery. In addition, it confirms the presence of women as well in the community of the living, and suggests that delivery itself probably happened in one of the houses near the cemetery.

Finally, the evidence from Gomolava points at the burial access of subadults (in this case males) to an ‘exclusive’ intramural cemetery, and actually suggests that Neolithic people considered them equal to adults, at least to a certain degree.

In spite of recent research on various aspects of attitudes toward subadults in the past (Sofaer Derevenski 1997; Scott 1999; Politis 1999; Joyce 2000), it was not used enough as a reconstruction tool for past cultures. In any case, this academic bias, termed by some authors as ‘adultism’, should be gradually overcome.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the late Professor Bogdan Brukner for our discussions about Vinča culture and for all his support. This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection, Republic of Serbia (Project No. 147011).

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EMBER, N. 1973. An archaeological indicator of matri-local versus patrilocal residence. American Antiquity 38: 177-182.

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SOFAER DEREVENSKI, J. 1997. Engendering children, engendering archaeology, in J. Moore & E. Scott (eds.) Invisible people and processes. Writing gender and childhood into European archaeology: 192- 202. London & New York: Leicester University Press.

STONE, A.C., G.R. MILNER, S. PÄÄBO & M. STONEKING 1996. Sex determination of ancient human skeletons using DNA. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 99/2: 231-238.

ZOFFMAN, S. 1973. Aufarbeitung des in die Vinča-Kultur dateren anthropologischen Materials aus Hrtkovci-Gomolava. Rad Vojvođanskih muzeja 21-22: 167-173.

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CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC OF ROMANIA:

THE PROBLEM OF “INSIDE” AND “OUTSIDE”

Raluca KOGĂLNICEANU “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi, Romania, [email protected]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to discuss certain theories about the place of children in society according to the mortuary practices. Large burial samples were taken into consideration, from the Early Neolithic to Late Chalcolithic, belonging to the Starčevo-Criş, Hamangia, Boian, Gumelniţa, Sălcuţa and Bodrogkerestúr cultures. For the time being, we can say that there is not enough evidence to support the theories, elaborated as a result of the analysis of particular cases that suggest the exclusion of children up to a certain age from the standard mortuary practices of a community. Key words: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Romania, mortuary practices, children

Résume: Le but de cet étude est de mettre en discussion quelques théories concernant le lieu occupé par les enfants dans la société, en vertu d’une analyse des pratiques funéraires. Plus grands groups de tombes ont été inclus dans l’étude, à partir du Néolithique tôt jusqu’au tard Chalcolithique appartenant aux civilisations de Starčevo-Criş, de Hamangia, de Boian, de Gumelniţa, de Sălcuţa et de Bodrogkerestúr. À ce moment nous pouvons dire qu’il n’y a pas assez de preuves pour soutenir la généralisation des théories (qui stipulent l’exclusion des enfants jusqu’à un certain âge des pratiques funéraires habituelles d’une communauté) formulées après l’analyse de quelques cas particuliers. Mots clés: Néolithique, Chalcolithique, Roumanie, pratiques funéraires, enfants

It is difficult to find hints about children in society using exclusively archaeological data. Usually, there are not clear clues in the living space about the role of children in society; these clues could more easily be found in the mortuary space, respectively in cemeteries. When children were brought into discussion, however, such cases were mostly taken into consideration that regard their status of marginalized, socially disabled persons or objects related to the negotiation of the social power (see Chapman 1983 and 1997; Hodder 1990, 51; Scott 1999, 90-102). This attitude tries to demonstrate that children were something else than the rest of the community members; it made us try an analysis of larger burial samples that would allow more relevant and nuanced observations than the analysis of more or less isolated cases could have made possible.

HISTORY OF RESEARCH

The problem of child burials has been approached in the Romanian archaeological literature from two directions. Only a few archaeological studies that treated exclusively the subject of children can be mentioned, published by Eugen Comşa (1988-1989), Dragomir Popovici (1996) and Monica Bodea (1997). In all these, the main object of analysis is represented by the child burials that can be considered, in our opinion, as exceptional, such as burials between houses (Comşa 1988-1989), burials of sacrificed children (Popovici 1996) or children buried inside houses and especially near the hearth (Bodea 1997). The possible explanations for this exceptional burial treatment were, in their turn, love of the mother (Comşa), possible existence of certain rules and traditions that forbid the burial of non-initiated individuals in cemeteries (Comşa and Bodea),

and foundation offerings (Popovici). Although they bring an important contribution to the understanding of children’s life and death in prehistory, these studies are somehow limited, lacking a wider angle and an analysis of such features on a larger scale. One cannot find in any of these articles a comparison with other child burials belonging to the same culture that could be considered as “normal”. Fortunately, child burials have always been recorded when discovered (they are easily identifiable even if bioarchaeological determinations are missing), sometimes accompanied by observations and commenta-ries about their spatial location with respect to the other surrounding features / burials.

The second approach is reflected in the bioarchaeological studies. Although an exclusive research on children has not yet been made, we have to include here the general study of the Iaşi Anthropological Center which gives a useful review of the data available (Necrasov et al. 1990).

Unfortunately, either bioarchaeologists were not given access to a large part of the human bones discovered or, in case this happened, the lack of communication between the research parties involved (archaeologists and bio-archaeologists) resulted in a publication that makes difficult, if not impossible, to consider this material in the present study.

METHODOLOGY

Terms used

We termed as children both Infans I (0-7 years) and Infans II (7-14 years) groups because of the lack of


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Fig. 12.1. Map of the archaeological sites mentioned in the text: 1 Trestiana; 2 Cernavoda; 3 Andolina; 4 Vărăşti; 5 Sultana; 6 Gumelniţa; 7 Chirnogi; 8 Radovanu; 9 Popeşti; 10 Căscioarele; 11-12 Cernica and Glina; 13 Dridu;

14 Gârleşti-Gherceşti; 15 Ostrovul Corbului; 16 Iclod; 17 Gura Baciului; 18 Cămin; 19 Urziceni

bioarchaeological determinations in many of the cases; the “archaeological” use of the terms a (very) small child or an older child makes a more subtle analysis impossible at this point.

We termed as burial the disposal of a body in a grave, excluding the special cases such as the remains of foundation offerings as well as disarticulated human remains scattered in the settlements.

Method of analysis

We consider that a thorough analysis could be done if information is available about both settlements and cemeteries at the level of the same culture, correlated, where possible, with bioarchaeological determinations. However, we will not exclude completely the contexts that do not fulfill this basic condition. The analysis of child burials should answer, in our opinion, the following questions:

• What is the ratio between child and adult burials and what is the ratio between child burials and expected/ normal child mortality?

• What is their spatial location with respect to the other burials in a settlement or cemetery?

• Is there any difference in depth, burial position, orientation or grave goods between the child and adult burials?

Following this methodological introduction, we divided the analysis in two parts. The first part is concerned with the facts per se and consists of a review of the analyzed burials (Fig. 12.1) whereas in the second part we will consider the evidence according to the above principles.

THE DATABASE

Early Neolithic

The most representative Early Neolithic burial sample belongs to the Starčevo-Criş culture (over 60 burials). Many of these assemblages are isolated or in small number at the respective sites and are not statistically relevant (Comşa 1974; Ursulescu 1978). None the less,

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two larger groups can be divided from the rest, namely those at Gura Baciului (Cluj County: Lazarovici & Maxim 1995) and Trestiana (Vaslui County: Popuşoi 1992 & 2005), both of them in the living space of the settlements.

The Gura Baciului sample consists of 10 burials, all of them found inside the settlement; bioarchaeological determinations are available only for a part of these burials. From those that have been sexed and/or aged, one is a double burial of a woman and a child; two belong to children and three to women.

The Trestiana sample includes 11 burials, inside the settlement and between houses: two double burials of two men and of an adult with child, six individual burials of two men, two women and two undetermined, and three child burials.

Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic

Hamangia culture

A large cemetery belonging to this culture, with more than 400 burials, has been discovered at Cernavoda (Con-stanţa County), unfortunately yet unpublished completely. Only the annual excavation reports have been at our disposal (Morintz et al. 1955; Berciu & Morintz 1957 & 1959; Berciu et al. 1959 & 1961) as well as some summarized data published in works of synthesis (Berciu 1966; Haşotti 1997). From a bioarchaeological point of view, the distribution in age groups is as follows: Infans I 2.34%, Infans II 2.88%, Juvenis 2.88%, Adultus (20-30 years) 11.69%, Maturus (30-60 years) 63.67%, Senilis (over 60 years) 2.52% (Necrasov et al. 1990).

The settlements that used this cemetery have been identified in its immediate vicinity and are only partially excavated. No information of any burials in the living space has been given in the annual excavation reports.

Boian culture

A cemetery consisting of 378 burials attributed to the beginning of this culture, have been excavated at Cernica – Bucharest (Fig. 12.2); the settlement that used this cemetery was situated at a distance of about 200 m from it. No burials have been found in the settlement (Comşa & Cantacuzino 2001; Kogălniceanu 2005, 288-295). Since the Cernica evidence, due to the complete publication of the cemetery, can be discussed in detail, we will consider it in the second part of this study. The distribution in age groups of the individuals buried at Cernica is given in Table 12.1 (see also Kogălniceanu 2005, 288-295).

Two more Boian cemeteries have been identified and excavated, referring to a later phase of this culture, both in the Călăraşi County: Sultana-Valea Orbului (Şerbănescu 2002; Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2005 & 2006) and Popeşti (Şerbănescu 1999). They were only partially published and the burials were only partially aged and sexed.

At least 190 burials have been discovered at Sultana up to now (Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2006) and the excavations still continue. 106 burials have been determined bio-archaeologically (Şerbănescu 2002, 70f), the distribution in age/sex groups being as follows: Infans I 22.56%, Infans II 4.70%, Juvenis 4.70%, men (adults and matures) 42.30%, women (adults and matures) 28.20%, Senilis 1.88%. Of 31 deceased found and aged and sexed in 2004 and 2005, ten were children (both Infans I and Infans II) (Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2005 & 2006). The insufficient archaeological data prevent us from a more detailed analysis.

At Popeşti, 16 burials have been discovered belonging to a later phase of the Boian culture. The distribution in age groups is as follows (Şerbănescu 1999): Infans I 6.25%, Infans II 12.50%, Juvenis 12.50%, Adultus 31.25%, Maturus 37.50%. Again, the insufficient archaeological data and the lack of correlation with the bioarchaeological evidence do not allow a more detailed analysis.

The following three burial groups belong to the final phase of the Boian culture:

At the migration period cemetery at Andolina, Călăraşi County (Comşa 1974b, 203-206; 1998b, 21) seven Neolithic burials have been discovered a few hundred meters from a Neolithic settlement. This burial group included six adults and a child. The child had no grave goods; no information is available on its position and the depth of the grave pit. Only two of the adults had grave goods.

Fourteen burials have been excavated at Vărăşti, Călăraşi County, one in a Boian settlement whereas the other thirteen at its periphery. From the latter, eight are adults and five are children. All the individuals have been buried in a crouched position on the left side. The orientation of the skeletons as well as the hands position varied. Only three burials had poor grave goods: two had shell beads while the third had a copper needle (Comşa 1974b, 206-211; 1998b, 21f).

Eight child burials have been excavated between houses in the settlement at Glina – Bucharest. All the deceased were crouched on the side (most of them on the left). Their orientation varied but the most were aligned with heads generally to the east. This burial group has been referred to the Vidra phase of the Boian culture (Comşa 1974b, 202f; 1998b, 20f).

The Iclod group

The recent excavations at Iclod, Cluj County, yielded a complicated situation including two settlements and two cemeteries (Lazarovici 1991). The operations there were marked with letters from A to C. In operation B, there were both settlement and cemetery while in operation A, there was only cemetery, followed by a thin layer that indicated a temporary settlement. In operation C, only a


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Fig. 12.2. Cernica (after Comşa & Cantacuzino 2001)


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Table 12.1. Cernica: sex and age groups distribution

Sex Age Women Men Indeterminate Total

Infans I - - - - 9 3.09% 9 3.09%

Infans II - - - - 9 3.09% 9 3.09%

Juvenis 8 2.74% 6 2.06% 1 0.34% 15 5.15%

Adultus 45 15.46% 23 7.90% 5 1.71% 73 25.08%

Maturus 68 23.36% 93 31.95% 4 1.37% 165 56.70%

Senilis 4 1.37% 10 3.43% - - 14 4.81%

Indeterminate - - - - 6 2.06% 6 2.06%

Total 125 42.95% 132 45.36% 34 45.36% 291 100%

temporary settlement has been discovered. The operation A cemetery yielded about 40 burials while the operation B cemetery included about 170 burials, and the number could still grow since the excavations go on (Lazarovici 1991; Maxim et al. 2006). The children (Infans I and II) at cemetery A represent 12.14% while at cemetery B (at least considering the first 40 burials, which have been sexed and aged) they are 7.3% (Georgescu & Georgescu 1999).

Late Chalcolithic

Gumelniţa culture

Numerous burials belonging to this culture have been found. In the present study we will use the following samples that we consider as statistically relevant due to the larger number of burials in each of them:

A settlement and a cemetery belonging to the transition phase from the Boian to the Gumelniţa culture have been excavated at Radovanu, Călăraşi County (the first prehistoric cemetery in Romania, purposefully looked for, discovered and excavated) (Comşa 1998a). Seventeen burials have been discovered at the cemetery and six more at the settlement. The repartition on age groups is illustrated in the table below:

Table 12.2. Radovanu: age groups distribution

Settlement Cemetery Total

Children 6 5 11

Adolescents + adults - 11 11

Indeterminate - 1 1

Total 6 17 23

Usually, the burials had no grave goods. The depth of the grave pits at the cemetery was not always given but it varies between 0.7-1.00 m; most pits are about 0.80 m deep.

Another burial group, considered as a cemetery, was excavated at Dridu, Ialomiţa County. It contained nine individuals, none of them child (Necrasov & Cristesco 1961).

Twenty-eight burials have been excavated at Căscioarele – D’aia Parte, Călăraşi County (Şerbănescu 1998), belonging to a Gumelniţa A1 phase cemetery. Only half of them have been aged and sexed; the age groups are distributed as follows: Infans II 1, adults 13 (seven men and six women) (Cantemir & Bălteanu 1993). The insufficient archaeological information does not allow us to make a more detailed analysis but it should be pointed out that the excavations still go on.

A Gumelniţa culture cemetery with 62 burials (unclear phase) has been discovered at Chirnogi – Şuviţa Iorgu-lescu, Călăraşi County. The age groups distribution is as follows: Infans I 3, Infans II 1, Juvenis 6, Adultus 11, Maturus 37, and Senilis 4 (Bălteanu & Cantemir 1991).

Another cemetery from an unclear phase of this culture has been excavated at Gumelniţa, Călăraşi County, and consists of eight burials. Of these, only one belonged to a child and the grave pit was somewhat shallower (0.40 m), while the other grave pits, with only one exception, varied between 1.20 and 2.65 m (Lazăr 2001).

Finally, a large cemetery, whose utilization covered more than one phase of the Gumelniţa culture, has been excavated at Vărăşti, Călăraşi County (Comşa 1995) (Fig. 12.3). Due to its complete publication we are able to analyze the situation at this site in more detail. The distribution of the age groups at the cemetery is as follows: children 26.28%, adults 73.18%1.

Sălcuţa culture

A cemetery belonging to the third phase of this culture has been found during rescue excavations at Gârleşti- 1 The percentages were calculated by us according to the data given in Comşa 1995.


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Fig. 12.3. Vărăşti (after Comşa 1995)

Fig. 12.4. Gârleşti-Gherceşti (after Nica 1993)

Fig. 12.5. Ostrovul Corbului (after Roman & Dodd-Opriţescu 1989)

Gherceşti, Dolj County (Fig. 12.4). The settlement has been identified in the vicinity; no burials are mentioned in the inhabited area (Nica 1993).

Another cemetery from the final phase of this culture has been discovered at Ostrovul Corbului, Mehedinţi County (Fig. 12.5), demonstrating a mixture of influences, most of them of Sălcuţa and Bodrogkeresztúr type (Roman & Dodd-Oproţescu 1989). The human bones are still being analyzed, but some preliminary data are available, with the reservation that these can suffer some changes in the future2. We will only mention that of 53 Chalcolithic 2 We thank Alexandra Comşa (V. Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Bucureşti) and Georgeta Miu (Anthropological Center at the Romanian

burials, 18 belong to children; two more could be added to them with some reserves.

Bodrogkeresztúr culture

A cemetery belonging to this culture has recently been identified at Urziceni, Satu Mare County. Only 40 graves have been excavated and up to the present moment they are only partially published, with little information about the position of the deceased in the grave pits. Of the information published, we can use the following data in this study: one double burial has been excavated contain- Academy, Iaşi) for their kind amiability and generosity to give us information about material currently under study.


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ning the skeletons of an adult and a child; another burial belonged to a child. Grave no. 25, which contained the skeletal remains of a child, had only a piece of pottery (“milk pot”) as grave goods, while all the other burials contained between two and fifteen objects. The double burial had three pottery vessels (Virag 2004 & 2006).

THE ANALYSIS

Considering the three directions of analysis that must be followed when comparing child and adult burials, we will try to see to what degree we could speak of children as a category that is excluded from or included in the usual mortuary practices. Before that, however, we should point out that since the age determinations have not always been done in the same way, we will use only two terms, child (both Infans I and Infans II) and adult (the rest of the age groups).

Fig. 12.6a clearly demonstrates that the percentage of children in the Early Neolithic burial sample is fairly high (approximately one third). The transition to cemeteries is not attested for this period; all burials were found between houses in the living space. The large percentage of children makes us believe that the exclusion of non-adults or non-initiated individuals from the common mortuary practices was not practiced at that moment. In addition, the comparative analysis of burial depth and grave goods of these two burial samples does not give arguments in favor of the theory that special attention was paid to the deceased children.

In the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, a certain change in mortuary practices can be noticed. At this chronological point, one of the most important events took place, the appearance of cemeteries as spaces dedicated exclusively to the burial of the deceased and their separation from the space of the living. The first large prehistoric cemeteries in Romania discovered so far are those at Cernavoda, Cernica and Iclod, briefly described in the first part of the study.

In the case of Cernavoda cemetery, we can only mention the fact that the percentage of children has decreased with respect to the previous period, being only 5.22%. Since this cemetery has not yet been published entirely, we cannot make any further observations.

At Cernica, a cemetery that is approximately contempo-rary with Cernavoda, the situation is similar, the percent-tage of child burials (5.44%) being quite small. We have more information about this cemetery that allows us a more detailed analysis. Thus, marking the child burials on the cemetery plan (Fig. 12.2), we noticed no special groupings. Moreover, the burials of women who died in childbirth and were buried together with the fetus are not situated at the cemetery’s periphery or in some particular area as would have been expected if some kind of exclusion of children from the usual mortuary practices

has been in practice. It is true, though, that we cannot know with great precision if, at the moment of burial, one grave or another was or was not situated at the periphery of the already existing burial group. The evidence from the Cernica cemetery did not make possible any relevant observation about the dynamics of this assemblage.

The depth of child burials differed in no way from the adult burials, varying between 0.7 and 1.13 m (with only one exception, T 294, 0.48 m deep).

Only six of twenty-one child burials (28.57%) yielded grave goods whereas the percentage of the adult burials with grave goods is 31.50%. The comparison of these percentages demonstrates that in this respect children have not been treated in a way meant to distinguish them from the adults. We should point out, however, that none of the child burials contained animal bones as remains of food offerings in contrast to some of the adult burials (Comşa & Cantacuzino 2001).

An increase of the percentage of child burials could be noticed in the following phases of the Boian development, varying between 14.28% and 27.26%. The burial samples from the site of Vărăşti, which yielded a large number of child burials (38.46%: Comşa 1974b, 206-211; 1998b, 21f) and Glina, consisting exclusively of children (Comşa 1974b, 202f; 1998b, 20f) could be easily distinguished from the other samples.

The site of Iclod is still being excavated, as said previously, and the published material is replete with significant ambiguities and gaps, so we will not go into details in this study. We would only like to emphasize the increased percentage of child burials that does not support the hypothesis of the exclusion of this age category from the common mortuary practices of the entire community.

The burial sample from Radovanu belongs to the transi-tion phase from Boian to Gumelniţa culture (Comşa 1998a). The situation at this site is rather special since burials were found both in the living space and in an area reserved exclusively to the dead of that community, a cemetery adjacent to the settlement. The fact that only child burials were excavated in the settlement could suggest, at first glance, the existence of certain mortuary practices specific for the non-adults, but this hypothesis is contradicted by the large percentage of children buried in the cemetery, almost a third of the total number of dece-ased buried there. Age determinations could have yielded valuable information such as, for example, regarding a possible age limit that marked the transition from burial in the living space to burial in the cemetery (this hypothesis suggests that after certain age, one acquired new social power, including the right to be buried in the cemetery). Since no age determinations have yet been made, we can only argue here that the evidence from this site does not corroborate the exclusion theory. No major differences between child and adult burials (depth and position of burial, grave goods) could be found.


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Fig. 12.6. a) Percentages of child and adult burials at the sites mentioned in the text: 1 Gura Baciului; 2 Trestiana; 3 Cernavoda; 4 Cernica; 5 Sultana; 6 Popeşti; 7 Andolina; 8 Vărăşti (burials of the Boian culture); 9 Glina; 10 Radovanu (cemetery); 11 Radovanu (settlement); 12 Dridu; 13 Chirnogi; 14 Vărăşti (burials of the Gumelniţa culture); 15 Gârleşti-Gherceşti; 16 Ostrovul

Corbului (Black and white: percentage of burials in a cemetery; textured black and white: percentage of burials in a settlement)

Fig. 12.6. b) Comparison between child and adult burials’ percentage in the burial groups and cemeteries (Neolithic and Chalcolithic)

The burial contexts at Dridu (Ialomiţa County), Căscioa-rele – D’aia Parte (Călăraşi County), Chirnogi – Şuviţa Iorgulescu (Călăraşi County), and Gumelniţa (Călăraşi

County), all of these sites belonging to the Gumelniţa culture, do not offer a good discussion platform due to the insufficient archaeological and bioarchaeological data.


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The fact that only adult burials have been discovered at Dridu could mean nothing more than a research gap. At Chirnogi, notwithstanding their percentage decrease, the cemetery yielded child burials and therefore there are no reasons to argue that they had been excluded from the mortuary space.

The only site of the Gumelniţa culture that allows a more detailed analysis is the Vărăşti cemetery (Fig. 12.3). Children are well represented in this burial sample, constituting almost a third of the total number. This aspect alone invalidates the hypothesis of their treatment in a different manner from the rest of the community members. The depth of the child grave pits varies from 0.32 to 1.46 m, more or less the same as the adult burials. This is also the case with the burial position. For what regards the grave goods, we can make the following observations: of the total child burials only 9.09% (three of thirty-three) were furnished with grave goods, compared to 19.51% (24 of 124) of the adult burials. The decreased percentage of child burials with grave goods is counterbalanced by a child burial (T 100) that contained gold adornments and is considered as one of the “richest” graves in the cemetery.

Finally, the cemeteries of Gârleşti-Gherceşti (Dolj County), Ostrovul Corbului (Mehedinţi County) and Urziceni (Satu Mare County) belong to the Late Chalcolithic as well, but to a phase later than the Gumelniţa culture.

The burials at Gârleşti-Gherceşti (Fig. 12.4) are not so numerous, but being published in detail together with a plan of the excavated area, they allow more significant observations in the present study. Of the total 15 burials excavated, five belong to children, representing 33.33%. Although seemingly they had a peripheral position with respect to the other burials, as the excavator noticed (Nica 1993, 10), this could easily not be the case. The excavated area consisted of two long and narrow trenches with two contiguous short sides; the burials were discovered in the entire area and not as some nucleus. This makes us believe that the cemetery had a larger area on both sides of the excavated trenches, and the fact that the child burials are at their extremities could be the result of the limited excavation area. Neither the depth of the graves nor the body position offer arguments in favor of a possible “marginalization” of children. Moreover, the only two burials with grave goods belong to children (T 9 and T 10) and contain copper adornments.

The percentage of child burials at the Chalcolithic cemetery of Ostrovul Corbului (Fig. 12.5) is quite high, reaching a third of the total burials. No preference for any part of the cemetery could be observed; the child burials were found in the entire excavated area. The excavators made an interesting observation regarding a woman’s burial in the northwestern part of the cemetery (T 22); this was the deepest and richest grave in the cemetery (Roman & Dodd-Oproţescu 1989, 13 and 17). This observation

made us pay special attention to the depth of the grave pits. Unfortunately, it is mentioned in the very beginning of the excavations report that all the altimetry data have a fixed reference point (Roman & Dodd-Oproţescu 1989, 14), and therefore we do not have any information about the “real” depth of the grave pit. We can only say that, considering the depths in various parts of the cemetery (and not in general), we could not notice any special difference between child and adult burials. This is the case also with the body positions, which vary according to the orientation (or vice versa). The grave goods were usually rich, without any differentiation according to age groups.

The Bodrogkerestúr cemetery at Urziceni is chronologi-cally the latest in our burial sample. Recently discovered and still being excavated, it was published without a spatial plan as well as without complete descriptions of the burials or age and sex determinations, thus making it impossible to try a detailed analysis. One of the few observations that we can make at present is that the number of child burials in this cemetery is insignificant compared to the total adult burials (two of forty).

CONCLUSIONS

The comparative analysis of child and adult burials yielded the following conclusions:

1. The percentage of child burials in larger and more coherent burial groups generally fits in the normal infant mortality limits (15-30%: see Scott 1999, 90). The Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic – reflected in the cemeteries at Cernavoda and Cernica – are the only periods, for which a general tendency towards a low representation of children in cemeteries or burial groups could be noticed.

2. Neither the analyses of spatial distribution nor the other elements of mortuary practices taken into consi-deration (grave depth, body position, and grave goods) generally support the hypothesis that non-adults were given a special treatment.

3. Wherever age determinations were available, it could be noticed that both Infans I and Infans II categories were represented in cemeteries and burial groups, which again questions the hypothesis of an age limit that would allow the access to mortuary space.

4. Following the percentage of child burials in time (Fig. 12.6b), one notices that their presence in cemeteries or burial groups is quite numerous and fairly constant, the exception being the Late Neolithic. The cemetery at Chirnogi seems to be out of this pattern as well, but it is possibly due to some shortcomings of the excavation methods. The underrepresentation of children in the Late Neolithic burial sample can be explained in two ways. We are dealing here either with a decreased infant mortality or this situation is directly related to the major change in mortuary practices which happe-


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ned in that very period (the separation of the world of the dead from the world of the living and the first appearance of cemeteries). We tend to consider the latter hypothesis as more plausible.

Summing up all said, we believe that there is insufficient evidence to support the theories about the exclusion of children from the usual mortuary practices. When there seems to be a case of such attitude, it was rather an exception from the rule than a valid general attitude. The single child burials in settlements have given ground to certain theories but it is not reasonable to apply them a priori to all of the mortuary practices of the Charpato-Danubian Neolithic and Chalcolithic.

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COMŞA, E. & G. CANTACUZINO 2001. Necropola neolitică de la Cernica. (Biblioteca de arheologie LV) Bucureşti: Editura Academiei.

GEORGESCU, L. & E.M. GEORGESCU 1999. Conside-raţii antropologice şi demografice privind populaţia din necropolele “A” şi “B” de la Iclod, Acta Musei Meridionalis 9: 357-363.

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KOGĂLNICEANU, R. 2006. Înmormântări de copii în contexte intramurale şi extramurale din neoliticul şi chalcoliticul României: problema “interiorului” şi “exteriorului” in N. Ursulescu (ed.) Dimensiunea europeană a Civilizaţiei eneolitice Est-Carpatice: 191-214, Iaşi: Editura Universităţii Al. I. Cuza.

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LAZĂR, C. 2001. Date noi privind unele morminte gumelniţene, Cultură şi Civilizaţie la Dunărea de Jos 16-17: 171-183.

MAXIM, Z., D. BINDEA & G. LAZAROVICI 2006. Iclod, com. Iclod, jud. Cluj. Punct: Pământul Vlădicii, in Cronica Cercetărilor Arheologice din Romania, Campania 2005, http://www.cimec.ro/arheologie/ cronicaCA2006/.

MORINTZ, S., D. BERCIU & P. DIACONU 1955. Şantierul arheologic Cernavoda, Studii şi Cercetări de Istorie Veche 6/1-2: 151-163.


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POPOVICI, D. 1996. Date noi cu privire la sacrificiile umane din arealul Gumelniţa (abstract), in Lucrările simpozionului de arheologie: 76. Târgovişte: Univer-sitatea Valahia.

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SCOTT, E. 1999. The Archaeology of Infancy and Infant Death. Oxford: B.A.R. S819.

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URSULESCU, N. 1978. Mormintele Criş de la Suceava – “Platoul Cimitirului”, Anuarul Muzeului Judeţean Suceava 5: 81-88.

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THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE, TURKEY

David E. HOPWOOD Binghamton University, SUNY, U.S.A., [email protected]

Abstract: Burial practice patterns can provide insight into how individuals and communities negotiated their relationships between the living and the dead. Seven child and infant burials from the multi-period mound site of Kenan Tepe, Turkey were analysed to examine the variety of burial practices carried out and to address questions regarding the nature of the relationship between the Kenan Tepe residents and their dead. During the time of occupation at Kenan Tepe at least three different methods of interment were practiced. Further, changing burial patterns at Kenan Tepe indicate a shift towards a less intimate relationship with the dead. Key words: Burial practices, pot burial, UTARP, Mesopotamia

Résumé: Les tendances dans la pratique funéraire peuvent fournir l’aperçu comment les individus et les communautés ont négocié leurs rapports entre les vivants et les morts. Sept sépultures d’enfants et de bébés du site multi-période du Kenan Tepe en Turquie ont été analysées afin d’examiner la variété des pratiques d’inhumation effectuées et d’adresser des questions quant à la nature du rapport entre les résidants de Kenan Tepe et leurs morts. Pendant le temps d’occupation à Kenan Tepe au moins trois méthodes différentes d’inhumation ont été pratiquées. En outre, les modèles d’inhumation changeants à Kenan Tepe indiquent un changement vers un rapport moins intime avec les morts. Mots-clés: Pratiques funéraires, sépulture en jarre, UTARP, Mésopotamie

The site of Kenan Tepe is located in the Diyarbakır province in southeastern Turkey. It lies approximately 20 kilometres west of the Tigris-Batman confluence along the northern bank of the Tigris River (Fig. 13.1) (Parker et al. 2006). Members of the Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (UTARP) have been conducting excava-tions at Kenan Tepe since 2000. This work has revealed that Kenan Tepe is a multi-period mound with occupation phases occurring during the Late Ubaid period, the Late Chalcolithic period, the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Bronze Age and finally the Early Iron Age (Parker et al. 2002; 2003; 2004; forthcoming). The site consists of a main mound where the majority of the occupation occurred and a large lower city that stretches out to the east of the main mound and overlooks the Tigris River (Fig. 13.2) (Parker et al. 2006). The lower city was the primary area of occupation during the Late Chalcolithic period.

Since 2000, UTARP team members have uncovered several burials throughout the site, seventeen of which were analysed during the 2006 season. The condition and biological profile of these burials are detailed elsewhere in Parker et al. (2008, forthcoming). In this paper I will focus on the seven burials of infants and young children that were excavated in 2005 (Table 13.1). These burials came from three separate occupation phases: the Late Ubaid period (circa 4600 BCE), Phase 5 of the Late Chalcolithic period (3360-3020 BCE), and the transition between the Late Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age. The span of this temporal sequence provides an opportunity to examine and understand how the practice of child and infant burial changed over time at Kenan Tepe. Further, it is possible to examine how members of the Kenan Tepe community negotiated their relationship with the dead by taking a close look at the changing burial patterns. By shifting the placement of the

dead within the site the inhabitants of Kenan Tepe would have altered the perception of their own social geography and how they defined their own social world (Panelli 2004).

Table 13.1. Infant and child burials excavated from Kenan Tepe

Skeleton Time Period* Age Burial Context

G-7-25-5 LC 5/EB 1 3-5 years Pot




F-7-7200-1 LC5 1.5-2 years Mud brick pit

F-21-6-8 LC5 2-4 years Pot

D-8-54-1 UB 3-9 months Plaster pit

* EB = Early Bronze (3000-2800 BCE), LC5 = Late Chalcolithic Phase 5 (3360-3020 BCE), UB = Ubaid (4600 BCE)

UBAID BURIAL PRACTICES

Excavation at Kenan Tepe has determined that Ubaid occupation only occurred in a limited area on the central mound. Restricted to a small area of less than 1 hectare in Areas D and E of the excavation (see Fig. 13.2), the Ubaid settlement was located on the eastern face of the mound on what was likely a low natural hill (Parker, forthcoming). Ubaid occupation at Kenan Tepe is tentatively assigned to four phases based on carbon-14 dating. This occupation is discussed in detail in Parker (forthcoming) and Parker et al. (2005 & 2006), and consists of three large cell-plan structures that are


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Fig. 13.1. Location of Kenan Tepe in southeastern Turkey

D.E. HOPWOOD THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE

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Fig. 13.2. Topographic map of Kenan Tepe showing the location of areas and trenches

associated with an array of domestic remains, including ceramics, lithics and animal bones.

Within Area D, a single burial of a three to nine month old infant was the only Ubaid child burial recovered from Kenan Tepe. Area D contains two of the Ubaid cell-plan structures, as well as the remains of an additional do-mestic structure. These buildings were likely part of do-mestic residences as the structures and their surrounding surfaces have produced a number of domestic remains in situ (Parker et al., 2005 & 2006; Parker, forthcoming). The infant was discovered buried underneath the floor surface of the additional Ubaid structure, encased in a plaster pit and covered with a shallow bowl (Fig. 13.3).

The skeleton was highly fragmented, particularly the skull, and all elements had deteriorated appreciably.

Characteristically, burials from the Ubaid are found along the edges of a settlement, in an abandoned building or in a cemetery outside of the village (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003; Thuesen 1996). However, it was not uncommon for child burials from the Ubaid period to occur within the settlement. At the Ubaid site of Tell Abada in central Iraq, 127 urn burials of children were found below the surface of house floors. No adult burials had yet been found, but these were likely located off site somewhere in the surrounding plain (Jasim 1985). Further, the residents of Tell Abada conducted separate age-based burial practices.


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a b

Fig. 13.3. Plaster-lined Ubaid infant burial and the shallow bowl that was used to cover the child

Very young babies, and those that were likely stillborn, were interred in circular or oval pits and covered with a bowl, whereas older children were placed within burial jars (Jasim 1985, 35). In these instances the majority of the infants were buried beneath floor surfaces, although two infants were buried just outside of a building.

The burial of the Ubaid infant at Kenan Tepe bears some striking similarities to the burials at Tell Abada. As with the Tell Abada infants, the Kenan Tepe infant was placed in an oval pit and covered with a bowl. Further, as with all Tell Abada child and infant burials, the Kenan Tepe infant was buried underneath the surface of a floor. Unfortu-nately it is not possible to determine whether the Ubaid residents of Kenan Tepe practiced differential burial treatment based on age, similar to that observed at Tell Abada, due to the absence of other child burials.

During the Ubaid period, as well as the later Chalcolithic and Early Bronze periods, it was very rare for children, particularly infants, to be interred with grave goods (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003; Stein 1999 & 2001). In contrast, the Ubaid infant from Kenan Tepe was buried with several stone and shell beads as well as a well-used and reused grinding stone (Fig. 13.4). The presence of the large grinding stone is significant, as it suggests a

connection, even in death, between the infant, the mother and the household (M. Hopwood 2007). Inferences based on the ethnographic record have been made connecting food processing tasks and tools to the domain of women’s activities (Murdock & Provost 1973; Peterson 1994 & 1999). Further, ethnoarchaeological and bioarchaeological studies of activity markers on bone have indicated a connection between ground stone food processing activities and women’s activities in the Levant (Peterson 1994, 1997 & 2002). At Kenan Tepe, once a grinding tool had outlived its intended use, it was reused within the site. Reused ground stone tools were then employed as surface or wall cobbles, door sockets, or in building foundations (M. Hopwood 2007). However, in this instance, although heavily worn, the grinding slab had not been worn through or broken and was still a viable tool. Rather, this slab was intentionally placed with the child when it was buried within the home.

Fig. 13.4. Ubaid infant burial with associated grinding stone

By placing the burial within the home the infant would always remain a presence in the household, just as placing the grinding slab with the infant maintains the infant’s connection to the mother. This burial practice works to maintain an intimate relationship between the living members of a household and the dead. The dead, in this case the infant, remain a tangible presence in the everyday lives and memory of the household members. As the occupation of Kenan Tepe shifts to the Late Chalcolithic period we see how a slight shift in the practice of child burial alters the social geography of the site and in doing so the negotiated relationship between the living members of the community and the dead.

LATE CHALCOLITHIC BURIALS

The Late Chalcolithic occupation at Kenan Tepe is concentrated in the lower town, located on a flat terrace northeast of the main mound. Excavation in this area has


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revealed occupation spanning from Phase 3 of the Late Chalcolithic period through to Phase 5 (ca. 3600-3000 BCE) (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). This area of the excavation has been divided into seven levels that roughly correspond to separate occupation layers (Parker et al. 2003, 2005, 2006 & 2008, forthcoming; Creekmore, in press). In 2005, UTARP team members excavated contexts spanning from Level 1 through to Level 5 that date between ca. 3360-2890 calibrated BCE (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). This work uncovered the burials of an infant, aged between one year and six months to two years old and a young child between the ages of two and four years old. The infant was discovered in very poor condition and only a few of the cranial elements were identifiable along with the teeth. The remaining skeleton was present, but highly degraded. Similarly the child burial was heavily fragmented and aside from the teeth few elements were identifiable.

The two burials were recovered within the confines of the lower village from Level 4 of Area F, but were placed outside of any structure unlike the earlier Ubaid burial (D. Hopwood 2007; Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). Level 4 occupation, dated between 3360-3020 BCE, is composed of five separate building phases (A-E) primarily distinguished by pebble surfaces and plaster floors and a series of small overlapping walls without stone founda-tions (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming).

The infant burial was associated with a Phase B multi-roomed structure that opened onto an outside courtyard, under which the infant was discovered. This structure was composed of multiple connecting walls forming two magazine-type rooms roughly 1 m wide by 2.5 m long. It is likely that this structure was used to house animals or for storage based on its poor construction and lack of domestic remains. It is possible that an adjacent structure, which requires further excavation, served as the primary living space (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). Conver-sely, the older child was placed more to the edge of the settlement in an open area. Little has been discovered in this area, but some domestic remains have been unco-vered including a broken spindle whorl, part of grinding stone and part of a fishing net weight.

The two children were buried in distinctly different manners from each other. The infant was placed in an ovoid pit that was lined on the north, east and south sides by three separate unburnt mud bricks (Fig. 13.5). The bricks were poorly preserved and likely the burial contained a fourth brick on the west side that did not survive. As is common with infant burials the grave was also barren of burial goods. In contrast to the infant burial, the young child was interred within a jar, but was also lacking any grave goods. The burial jar had no special treatment and it is not clear if the jar was made strictly for the purpose of the child burial or was reused as a burial vessel. At the Late Chalcolithic site of Hacınebi Tepe, Şanlıurfa province, Turkey, young children and infants were interred in pots that were both used only for burial

and others that were recycled cooking vessels (Stein 1996 & 1999). Unlike the Hacınebi Tepe pot burials, which were capped with platters or bowls (Stein 1999), excavation of the Kenan Tepe, Late Chalcolithic period, pot burial found no evidence of a lid or cover for the vessel. This suggests that either the covering did not preserve or the burial was not capped.

Fig. 13.5. Mud-brick lined burial of the Late Chalcolithic infant

The distinction between the two burials is interesting in light of their age difference. As mentioned earlier, at the Ubaid site of Tell Abada infants and young children were subject to different burial practices. Infants were interred in simple pits and covered with a ceramic bowl, whereas, older children were placed within urns. A similar differentiation is also seen at the early third millennium site of Tell al-Raqa’i in Syria. In this instance infant burials from level 2 of the site were never associated with grave goods, whereas, children older than a year were associated with a range of goods (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003; Dunham 1993). Although the sample is small, these examples provide good evidence of age-based burial practices, which may have been present at Kenan Tepe during the Late Chalcolithic period. However, there is also evidence that suggests that the difference in burial treatment between these two individuals was related to status rather than age. This interpretation is based on the presence of a larger mud-brick lined burial of an adult during this same period (D. Hopwood 2007). The adult burial is clearly distinguished from other simple pit inhumations present at the site during the Late Chalcolithic period and contains features that indicate it contained an individual of higher status than the other adult burials. Further, the adult burial is in close proximity to the infant, which is suggestive of a shared relationship. Although rare, ascribing social status to infants is not unknown in the Late Chalcolithic period. At Hacınebi Tepe an infant was discovered buried with a miniature ceramic vessel, a copper ring and two silver earrings, clearly suggestive of an inherited elite identity


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(Stein 1997 & 1999). Although there were no grave goods associated with the Kenan Tepe infant, the similarity and proximity to the adult burial suggests that this infant may have belonged to a family of higher status.

The burials of the infant and child demonstrate a shift away from the practice of burial within the home. By placing the burials outside the home, yet within the community, this practice alters the relationship between the living and the dead. Whereas, in the Ubaid period the placement of the infant within the walls of the home suggests a more personal and intimate relationship, the shift to extramural burial in the Late Chalcolithic period would have resulted in a more communal remembrance of the deceased. The dead now become part of the commu-nity and the group consciousness, rather than that of an individual family. This pattern of shifting the geography of the community to reduce the intimacy of the relation-ship with the dead is further elaborated upon during the Late Chalcolithic period/ Early Bronze Age transition.

LATE CHALCOLITHIC/EARLY BRONZE BURIALS

Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze occupation is present on both the main mound and the upper levels of Area F in the lower town. This occupation is represented by the presence of mud-brick walls, cobblestone surfaces, ovens and an array of domestic artifacts from Area F, as well as the presence of a massive fortification/retaining wall that was constructed in order to encircle the LC 5/EB 1 occupation located on the main mound (Parker et al. 2005; Creekmore 2007, in press).

In 2005 four pot burials were uncovered in Area G (see Fig. 13.2), located on the northern side of the main mound and to the west of the lower town. This area is notable for its lack of any domestic remains and absence of building or wall construction. Area G is offset from the areas of occupation on both the main mound and the lower town.

The Area G burials are all of young children. Burials G.7.25.5 and G.7.28.6 consist of a three to five year old child and a child between the ages of two and four years old. Their skeletons were discovered in relatively good condition with the majority of elements identifiable. Both children were placed into their burial jars in a flexed position with their heads oriented towards the opening of the jar (Fig. 13.6). Burials G.7.38.2 and G.7.41.2 were both of young children between the ages of one and two years old. Unlike the previous two burials, both skeletons were in poor condition and highly fragmented. It was not possible to determine the position of the burial in either of these cases, but it is likely based on the G.7.25.5 and G.7.28.6 burials that these children would have been similarly flexed and oriented.

The pots used to inter the children were all of a similar make and design. They were relatively large and thick

vessels made of a coarse chaff-tempered fabric. They exhibited no special treatment or design and were likely constructed specifically for the purpose of the child burials. Similar to the jar burial from the Late Chalcolithic period none of these jar burials appear to have been capped.

Fig. 13.6. Flexed burial of G.7.25.5

In contrast to many child pot burials from Late Chalcolithic period or Early Bronze Age sites, three of these individuals were associated with burial goods. Although not richly adorned, burial G.7.25.5 contained two ceramic vessels, a bowl and a burnished pedestal bowl (Fig. 13.7). These vessels were placed outside the burial pot in the northern corner of the burial. Similarly, burial G.7.28.6 contained a single ceramic bowl under the northern corner of the pot (Fig. 13.8). These vessel forms are not uncommon at Kenan Tepe and in particular the pedestal bowl is associated with LC 5/EB 1 transitional occupation elsewhere on the site (Creekmore 2007, in press). The third burial, G.7.41.2, contained a copper alloy pin within the burial jar. It is possible that this pin was simply used to hold together swaddling that the child could have been wrapped in, however, metal is rare at this site and its presence is interesting.

It is notable that the location of these four burials differs from the inhumations discussed earlier. These children were interred in an area specifically dedicated to the burials. As mentioned earlier no construction had occurred in this area. There were no walls, domestic structures or tombs, nor was any domestic debris found. It appears that these children were buried away from the main living space, in an open air cemetery. This pattern was not unusual for an Early Bronze occupation. In general, during the Early Bronze Age, children, as well as adults, were no longer buried within domestic structures and burials took place away from the living space (Alpaslan-Roodenberg 2002; Peltenburg 1996). However, the placement of these burials continues the trend of shifting burial practice at Kenan Tepe. With the move-


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a b

Fig. 13.7. Burial goods associated with the G.7.25.5 burial

ment of burials now outside the confines of the living area, the dead are removed from the everyday perception and consciousness of the Kenan Tepe residents.

DISCUSSION

The span of Kenan Tepe’s temporal sequence, encom-passing occupation from the terminal Ubaid period to the transition between the Late Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age, has provided an opportunity to examine changes in the burial practice of children, as well as to comment on the shifting relationship between the living and dead at Kenan Tepe. Albeit a small sample, analysis of the child burials have demonstrated that over the course of Kenan Tepe’s occupation three separate and

a b

Fig. 13.8. Bowl found against northern corner of the G.7.28.6 burial

distinct burial methods were practiced. In the Ubaid period the single infant present was encased in a plaster pit and covered with a shallow bowl. Due to the lack of remains it is not possible to determine if other burial methods for children were carried out at this time. However, if the practice at Kenan Tepe is indeed similar to that observed at Tell Abada, it is possible that older children would have been buried within pots. During the Late Chalcolithic period two distinct burial methods were present. An infant was buried in a mud-brick lined pit, whereas, an older child was interred within a ceramic jar. Although, this differentiation suggests a practice of age-related burial similar to that seen at Tell Abada and Tell Raqa’i, the similarity and proximity of the mud-brick lined burial to that of a similar adult burial of higher status also implies that the difference in burial practice might be related to status and not to age. Finally, during the LC 5/EB 1 transition it appears that all child interment was carried out within burial jars.

In addition to the various burial methods, the changing burial practices at Kenan Tepe have implications for how residents would have perceived their social geography


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within the site and the negotiated relationship between the living and the dead (Boyd 1995). According to Parker Pearson (1999, 140) “where to put the remains of the dead is generally not a matter of functional expediency. The place of the dead in any society will have significant and powerful connotations within people’s perceived social geographies”. The shifting pattern of child burial at Kenan Tepe provides partial evidence for how the social geography within the site was constructed, negotiated and changed over time. The Ubaid period at Kenan Tepe represents a time when even after death a connection was maintained between the child and the household for both the dead infant and the mother. By placing the burial within the home the infant always remains a presence in the household, whereas, placing the grinding slab with the infant maintains the connection to the mother.

The transition to the Late Chalcolithic period at Kenan Tepe is accompanied by a change in burial location and with it a shift in the relationship between the deceased and the living. Burials are now moved outside of the home, but they still remain within the domestic area. This slight change in burial practice alters the deceased’s direct connection to the home but maintains their memory within the community (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003). There is still a personal connection to the dead, but now there is an immediate representation of them on the community landscape and therefore the community’s consciousness.

Finally, at the transition between the Late Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age, burial practice once again shifts and with it the relationship negotiated between the living and the dead. The location of LC 5/EB 1 transitional burials continues the trend of moving the dead away from the living space. No longer are the dead directly associated with the community as they have been moved away to an area specifically for burials. In this manner burials are no longer encountered in daily life. The dead have been removed from the living. This shift in burial practice and placement potentially underscores a larger shift in the place of the dead in the everyday consciousness of the community. By moving the dead away from the living space they are removed from the immediate memory of people (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003). The dead are now only remembered when one chooses to do so, rather than on an everyday basis.

CONCLUSION

Burials represent a unique cultural artifact that archaeo-logists have used to examine a number of questions relating to a communities social structure. Binford (1971) and Saxe (1970) spearheaded the theoretical position that individuals will represent their social position in life with their treatment in death. However, burial practices are also a direct reflection upon how individuals and a community as a whole negotiated the relationship between the living and the dead (Boyd 1995). Changes in

burial practice at Kenan Tepe provided an opportunity to understand how the alteration of the burial landscape can shift the social geography of a community and in doing so, their negotiated relationship with the dead. The sample size from this site is small and the interpretations derived from this analysis must be considered with this in mind. However, although not discussed here, when the adult burials from Kenan Tepe are also considered the same pattern observed for the infant and child burials holds true (Hopwood, in prep.).

The examination of the child burials at Kenan Tepe revealed a trend towards a less personal and more distant relationship with the dead. There is a shift from an intimate relationship between the home and the deceased in the Ubaid period, to a more general awareness and memory of the dead within the community during the Late Chalcolithic period. Finally, this relationship transitions to a point where the dead are no longer part of the everyday consciousness of the community as they have been removed from the domestic area of the settlement during the Late Chalcolithic period/ Early Bronze Age transition.

Acknowledgments

This paper would not have been possible without the support of Bradley Parker and Lynn Swartz Dodd. They provided me with the opportunity to travel to Bismil, Turkey to study the burials from Kenan Tepe, as well as provided several helpful comments of earlier versions of this paper. I am grateful to Susan Pollock, Marie Hop-wood, Catherine Painter and Jenni Henecke for comments and suggestions on earlier drafts. Finally, thank you to the UTARP team for all their assistance.

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CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS

LIFE STAGE

Marc OXENHAM Australian National University, Canberra, [email protected]

Hirofumi MATSUMURA Sapporo Medical University, Hokkaido, Japan, [email protected]

Kate DOMETT James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, [email protected]

NGUYEN Kim Thuy NGUYEN Kim Dung NGUYEN Lan Cuong

Institute of Archaeology, Hanoi, Vietnam, 61 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Hanoi

Damien HUFFER Australian National University, Canberra, [email protected]

Sarah MULLER Australian National University, Canberra

Abstract: This paper looks at a late Neolithic cemetery site dated to approximately 3500 years BP in northern Vietnam. The purpose is to: (1) use the techniques of mortuary archaeology to shed light on the role of children and adult attitudes towards children at this site; and (2) assess the level of health and well being of the children. Mortuary methods included an examination of a range of traits including burial position and orientation as well as the number and manner of grave furniture in respect to age-at-death and sex where possible. In terms of health, measures or signatures of cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia and oral health were investigated. It was found that many of the non-surviving children at Man Bac suffered from physiological insult and severe dental caries. Fertility was elevated in comparison to other prehistoric Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages and the number of living children at Man Bac, at any given time, was likely elevated. Despite high infant mortality, all individuals, regardless of age, received some form of basic mortuary treatment. The nature and type of mortuary treatment at Man Bac suggests children were recognised as members of the community, with economic and social value. There is some indication that different developmental and/or social stages were recog-nised through mortuary treatment and that childhood may have finished rather early, in terms of chronological age, at Man Bac. Key Words: Vietnam, Neolithic, childhood, health, mortuary, behaviour

Résume: Cet article concerne un cimetière du Néolithique tardif dans le nord du Vietnam vers 3500 BP. Son but est d’employer les techniques de l’archéologie mortuaire pour (1) clarifier le rôle des enfants et les attitudes des adultes envers les enfants sur ce site et (2) juger du niveau de santé des enfants, L’analyse mortuaire examine la position de l’enterrement et son orientation, ainsi que le type et la quantité du dépôt funéraire vis-à-vis de l’âge du défunt et de son sexe, si possible. Pour étudier la santé, nous avons examiné les mesures ou signatures des cribra orbitalia, l’hypoplasie de l’émail dentaire et la santé orale. On constate que beaucoup des enfants décédés à Man Bac ont subi des insultes physiologiques et de sévères caries dentaires. Le taux de fertilité étant assez élevé par rapport à d’autres ensembles de squelettes préhistoires en Asie du sud-est, il y a eu sans doute à Man Bac, à tout moment donné, un assez grand nombre d’enfants. Malgré le taux élevé de mortalité infantile, tous les individus, de n’importe quel âge, ont reçu un traitement mortuaire de base. La manière et le type du traitement mortuaire à Man Bac laissent penser que les enfants étaient membres à part entière de la communauté, des points de vues économiques et sociaux. Il ya quelque indications que le traitement mortuaire tenait compte de certaines étapes de développement physique et/ou d’étapes sociales; à Man Bac l’enfance a pu se terminer assez tôt, par rapport à l’âge chronologique. Mots Clefs: Vietnam, Néolithique, enfance, santé, funéraire, comportement

INTRODUCTION

Kamp (2001, 1) asked “where have all the children gone?” in reference to a lack of archaeological studies that focused on children in the past. From a bioarchaeo-

logical perspective, the children have always been there and have formed an important, and highly visible, portion of the data set both globally (see contributions in Cohen & Armelagos 1984, published over two decades ago) and, more recently, in Southeast Asia (see contributions in


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Oxenham & Tayles 2006, for example). However, despite a recent increase in the number of volumes focusing on the archaeology of children (e.g. Sofaer Derevenski 2000; Wileman 2005; Ardren & Hutson 2006) the emphasis on mortuary studies in Southeast Asia, represented by Thailand for the most part, has remained fixed on aspects of social organisation (see for example Higham & Kijngam 1984; Higham & Thosarat 1998 & 2004; Talbot 2002). Nonetheless, the tide seems to be turning with Bacus’ (in press) analysis of gender in prehistoric Thai-land and now with this current examination of aspects of childhood in northern Vietnam. Much is now known regarding aspects of adult health and disease in prehistoric and proto-historic northern Vietnam (Oxenham et al. 2005 & 2006; Oxenham 2006), but very little is known of childhood health and well being during this period of time. Excavations of a late Neolithic cemetery site in northern Vietnam has now provided the opportunity to learn more of a very poorly sampled period of Vietna-mese prehistory in the context of childhood behaviour, attitudes towards children and child health and well being.

The aim of this paper is to: (1) examine aspects of mortuary behaviour, particularly in terms of what this can tell us of the role of children and adult attitudes towards children in late Neolithic Man Bac, Vietnam; and (2) discuss biological characteristics of the human sample, again focusing on the children, in order to explore aspects of childhood well-being, or palaeohealth, at Man Bac.

BIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT

The following account is based on preliminary analyses reported on by Dung (2005). The site of Man Bac is located next to Bach Lien Village, Yen Thanh Commune, Yen Mo District, 20°08’00” North and 109°59’017” East. Man Bac was identified by Colani in 1916 (see Trinh 2004) and was first excavated by a Vietnamese archaeo-logical team in 1999 where a 5x5m pit to approximately 2m in depth revealed three clear stratigraphic layers, two upper occupation and one lower burial level that con-tained six inhumations. A subsequent 5x6m excavation directly west of the first by the same team uncovered 12 inhumations. Work at the site continued in 2004/5, again to the west of the previous excavation, with a consortium of Vietnamese, Japanese and Australians uncovering a further 30 inhumations in a 6x6m pit. Preliminary analyses suggest that two distinct cultural phases are associated with three stratigraphic levels: phase one with the upper level and phase two with the second occupation level and the lower, third, burial level. Further, Dung (2005) believes that these occupation layers were of a relatively brief duration.

The site is best seen as an example of the late Neolithic/ early Bronze Age in the region (referred to as the Phung Nguyen) with some material cultural evidence suggesting links to the previous established Neolithic Da But period culture. Further, pottery styles and motifs have been

interpreted as indicating the inhabitants of Man Bac maintained connections with surrounding coastal cultures such as the Ha Long and Hoa Loc groups. An enormous array and variety of objects have been excavated to date. For the 2004/5 season alone, 394 stone artefacts (including adzes, axes, chisels, blades, grinding stones, net sinkers, nephrite beads and rings), 100 complete ceramics (in the form of cooking pots, bell-mouthed vases, footed bowls and cups) and 50.000 pottery sherds were recovered.

Work on the faunal remains from the 2004/5 season indicates a subsistence base rich in both terrestrial and aquatic resources. Sawada and Vu (2005) have identified a range of fish species with Black sea bream (Acantho-pagrus sp.) followed by Perch (Percichthyidae indet.) being particularly common and indicating fishing beha-viours that concentrated on bay and coastal regions. A wealth of terrestrial remains including rhinoceros, various forms of deer, rat, dog, serow and pig indicate both rich terrestrial resources and ability to successfully target such mammals. Sawada & Vu (2005) also suggest there is evidence for the domestication of pigs, at least, based on the high number of juvenile Sus remains. Presumably some form of horticulture or agriculture was practiced at Man Bac although the direct floral evidence for this is currently lacking. The remains and associated material culture of the three excavation seasons, 46/48 inhuma-tions, forms the focus of this study. Huffer (2005) in a Masters thesis has already examined aspects of social organisation at Man Bac and found the community to have had limited social differentiation and been more heterarchical in structure, as opposed to hierarchical or ranked. Huffer also suggested that social differentiation was more strongly expressed in terms of age, rather than sex or gender. The current paper will add further mortuary dimensions to our understanding of the Phung Nguyen Culture in northern Vietnam generally and Man Bac in particular.

METHODS

Given the emphasis on the archaeology of childhood in this paper, the mortuary analysis focused on: (1) the spatial distribution of graves by age class and the (2) type and relative frequency of preserved grave inclusions by age class. Given the high proportion of subadult remains at Man Bac the chief biological discriminator was age rather than sex, which cannot be reliably determined in individuals under 15 years without DNA typing.

Adult age-at-death was determined using appropriate osteological methods (Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994). Sub-adults were aged predominantly through observations of the dentition alone. The dentition, both calcification and eruption, is the most reliable way in which to estimate the age-at-death of subadults, particularly those aged less than 15 years. Published standards from White (2000) and Buikstra & Ubelaker (1994) were used to establish dental

M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

<1 1 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 20 20+

age class (years)

% in

divi

dual

s

Fig. 14.1. Age specific mortality at Man Bac (all excavation seasons, n=46)

age. It is appreciated that these published standards have been derived from non-Asian populations and are used in the absence of more population specific information. Scheur & Black (2000) provide detailed information regarding the development of individual skeletal elements and these were used to estimate the age-at-death of MB05 B7 (MB: Man Bac; 05: year of excavation 2005; B7: burial number 7) as a possible 38 week foetus or stillborn. It was not necessary to use diaphyseal lengths from published standards to estimate age-at-death in other individuals as most had a reliable dental age. Those individuals who also had diaphyseal lengths measured were used to assist in the aging of other individuals without dentition. This created a ‘population-specific’ set of standards rather than relying on age estimates from diaphyseal lengths of unrelated populations. Epiphyseal fusion stages were predominantly from Scheur & Black (2000) and were useful for aging older children and adolescents. There were two individuals (MB05 B6 and MB05 B22) who had neither dentition nor diaphyseal lengths with which to estimate age-at-death. For these individuals, sections of their long bones were compared to similar bone sections in individuals aged by their dentition.

Three palaeodemographic measures of fertility were calculated for the complete sample. The juvenile/adult ratio (JA: ratio children aged 5 to 15 years to adults 20+ years old), and mean childhood mortality (MCM) both increase with increasing fertility, while the D20+/D5 ratio (proportion of those living beyond 20 years to all those that made it to at least 5 years) decreases with increasing fertility. Details and assumptions underlying these palaeodemographic measures, that have previously been

used on Southeast Asian assemblages (see Pietrusewsky & Douglas 2002; Domett & Tayles 2006) can be found in Jackes (1992; see also Chamberlain 2006).

When recording signatures of physiological well-being, all cranial material with at least the preservation of the anterolateral and anteromedial portions of the orbital roof of at least one orbit was assessed for cribra orbitalia (CO). Lesions were recorded as active or remodelled after Webb (1995, 90). All visible teeth were macroscopically assessed for signs of linear enamel hypoplasia (defects corresponding to the DDE index type 4, Federation Dentaire International 1982), severity was recorded using Duray’s (1996) categories and only deciduous teeth results are reported here. Oral health was assessed by way of macroscopic examination of the teeth and surrounding boney tissues. Ante mortem tooth loss and changes to the alveolar bone were assessed for any signs of infection and/or remodelling. Carious lesions were assessed after the protocol outlined in Hillson (2001).

RESULTS

Health Analysis

Palaeodemography

Figure 14.1 summarizes the age specific mortality distribution of Man Bac. Over 54% of the sample is aged less than 5 years at death while nearly 33% are adult (older than 15 years at death). The absence of individuals aged 10 to 14 years reflects the very low risk of death in this age category (Chamberlain 2006, 62). A comparison


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Table 14.1. Demographic attributes of several Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages

date (years BP)1 subsistence12 <5 5-9.9 10-14.9 15-19.9 20+ JA Ratio D20+/D5+ MCM DRMan Bac 3500-4000 A?/F 54,3 13,0 0,0 15,2 17,4 0,78 0,500 0,417 4,48Khok Phanom Di 3500-4000 A/F 48,1 4,5 3,2 5,2 39,0 0,20 0,750 0,091 1,30Early Non Nok Tha 4800-3400 M 27,7 4,8 2,4 2,4 62,6 0,12 0,867 0,047 1,27Early Ban Chiang 4100-2900 M 20,6 5,4 2,2 7,9 64,5 0,12 0,851 0,052 0,52Late Non Nok Tha 3400-2200 M 5,0 5,0 2,5 1,3 86,3 0,09 0,908 0,032 0,30Ban Lum Khao 3000-2500 M 32,7 10,3 4,7 4,7 47,6 0,30 0,708 0,108 1,38Late Ban Chiang 2900-1800 M 17,4 6,5 0,0 10,9 65,3 0,10 0,842 0,055 0,48Noen U-Loke 2300-1700 A/H 43,0 2,8 2,8 3,7 47,7 0,11 0,709 0,058 1,451Adapted from Oxenham et al. (2006)2A: agriculture; H: horticulture; M: mixed; F: foraging/hunting

Table 14.2. Early childhood caries (≤3 years) experience in prehistoric Southeast Asiadeciduous teeth individuals

site n obs3 % n obs %Man Bac 71 6(5) 8,5 6 3 50,0

Ban Na Di1 46 9(7) 19,6 4 1 25,0

Ban Lum Khao1 133 3(3) 2,3 12 2 16,7

Khok Phanom Di2 62 3(2) 4,8 6 2 33,31Domett (2001, & unpublisged data); 2Tayles (1999), Sian Halcrow pers. comm.3 Number of affected incisors/canines in parentheses

with other skeletal assemblages in the region (Table 14.1) indicates that Man Bac has an elevated level of sub-five year old mortality. Khok Phanom Di, Noen U-Loke and Ban Lum Khao are similar to Man Bac in terms of high young child mortality. Ban Chiang and Non Nok Tha have depressed levels of young child mortality which suggests they may be unrepresentative and of limited comparative value. An examination of a range of palaeodemographic indicators (Table 14.1) suggest that there was an excep-tionally high rate of fertility at Man Bac as indicated by a low D20+/D5+ ratio, and relatively high juvenile: adult (JA) and mean childhood mortality (MCM) ratios. The closest assemblage to Man Bac in terms of these measures of fertility is Ban Lum Khao, followed by Noen U-Loke and also Khok Phanom Di which shows somewhat elevated levels of fertility. A further demographic indicator is the dependency ratio, which indicates what can be termed a “hard life’ at Man Bac with a high number of children per adult. Noen U-Loke, Ban Lum Khao and Khok Phanom Di also show elevated dependency levels.

Oral Health

A little over half the entire assemblage of children (18/31, 58%) aged 10 years or younger has been assessed for various aspects of health. Of these 18 children, six were less than a year old and none of their teeth had erupted, while 3/18 were aged between 1 and 3 years and did not have assessable teeth. Of the remaining nine children, six were aged 1 to 3 years and three between 3 and 10 years old. Of these nine children four displayed carious lesions and three of these were aged 1 to 3 years (1/2 of this age class).

Table 14.2 summarizes caries in the limited samples of young children in Southeast Asian prehistoric sites. While the Man Bac data set is still incomplete, this table indicates that Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is elevated at Man Bac. Further, only Man Bac children display carious lesions that cause massive crown destruction (Fig. 14.2). This illustration also displays staining to what would have been exposed enamel during life (the unstained band of enamel near the neck of the teeth in this photo would have been covered by soft tissue during life and prevented sta-ining of the protected enamel). Two of the three children with massive crown lesions displayed this staining.

Fig. 14.2. Massive carious lesion to right dm1 and note also focal demineralisation of left d12

(MB05 B18, 18 month old infant)


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Table 14.3. Frequency of cribra orbitalia in Man Bac children ≤ 10 years old at deathage n slight/mild severe active remodelled total%

< 1 year 4 1 0 1 0 25,01 to <3 years 4 2 1 3 0 75,03 to 10 years 3 0 1 1 0 33,3total 11 3 2 5 0 45,5

Fig. 14.3. Distribution of burials by age for the three excavation seasons at Man Bac

Physiological Health: Cribra Orbitalia and LEH

Table 14.3 summarises the evidence for cribra orbitalia in the sample. Of the 11 children with assessable orbits, 45.5% displayed active (no sign of remodelling) lesions. Two infants, approximately 18 months old, had severe forms of this lesion (the same two individuals with massive deciduous tooth lesions) while the remaining cases were mild. In comparison with other Southeast Asian Assemblages the frequency of cribra orbitalia in subadult remains is not unusual. At Khok Phanom Di 75% (10/14 individuals) of subadults aged from 1 to 14 years displayed cribrotic lesions, while most (7/8 individuals) aged between 6 and 14 years had lesions. However, no (0/63) infants less than one year old displayed lesions (Tayles 1999). At Ban Chiang the overall frequency of cribra orbitalia was 40% (6/15 individuals) in children aged 7 years or less, while no children (0/4) aged less than 2 years old had lesions (Pietrusewsky & Douglas 2002).

Enamel hypoplasia was not evident in any of the nine individuals and 78 deciduous teeth observed so far. Observations in the deciduous dentition would coincide

with events during the last five months in utero through to one year of age (Goodman et al. 1984). These findings are comparable to other Southeast Asian subadult assembla-ges where no signs of enamel hypoplasia were found at Nong Nor, Ban Lum Khao and Ban Na Di (deciduous tooth sample sizes were 86, 182 and 69 respectively; Domett 2001). While linear defects were not seen at Khok Phanom Di, Tayles (1999) recorded 7%, 14/200 deci-duous teeth, with hypoplastic defects.

MORTUARY ANALYSIS

Burial Distribution and Orientation

Figure 14.3 shows the distribution of all burials for each of the three excavation seasons. The squares represent putative clusters, defined by way of spatial proximity to other burials. An untested hypothesis is that such clusters may represent groups of related individuals that were interred beneath elevated houses. Of these nine potential clusters, all include an adult and a range of younger individuals. The majority of burials (95%, 40/42), where position could be assessed, were extended with arms at sides. Two burials (an adult male > 40 years and a young

<1 year

1-4 years

5-10 years

15-17 years

18-20 years

21+ years

Unanalysed burial

Putative burial cluster


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Table 14.4. Distribution of Man Bac grave goods by age-at-deathIndividuals with Individuals with Individuals with non-ceramic grave goods by type

age n grave goods1 ceramics non-ceramics shell stone tool bone tool pellet bead<1 10 6/10 (60) 6/6 (100) 3/6 (50) 2/10 (20) 1/10 (10)1 to 4 15 8/15 (53) 6/8 (75) 3/8 (38) 1/15 (7) 1/15 (7) 1/15 (7) 1/7 (15)5 to 9 6 6/6 (100) 6/6 (100) 3/6 (50) 2/6 (33) 1/6 (17) 1/6 (17)10 to 14 0 0/0 (0) 0/0 (0) 0/0 (0)15 to 20 7 7/7 (100) 7/7 (100) 1/7 (14) 1/7 (14) 1/7 (14)20+ 8 7/8 (88) 6/7 (86) 4/7 (57) 2/8 (25) 1/8 (13) 1/8 (13) 1/8 (13)Total 46 34/46 (74) 31/34 (91) 14/31 (45) 7/46 (15) 4/46 (9) 2/46 (4) 3/46 (7) 2/46 (4)1observed/n (%); shell refers to ornaments and/or implements; pellets are clay (projectile?) balls; beads are worked nephrite

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

<1 1 to 4 5 to 9 15 to 19 20+

age class (years)

% c

eram

ics

3+ ceramics

2 ceramics

1 ceramic

0 ceramics

Fig. 14.4. Frequency of ceramics per grave by age class

adult aged 15, likely male) were flexed and one child (possibly two) was interred in a ceramic pot. For those burials where an axis of orientation could be determined 88% (37/42) were placed in an east (head) to west (feet) direction while the remaining burials were oriented approximately, or slightly varying from, north (head) to south (feet).

General Mortuary Treatment

Of the 46 individuals examined here, 34 (74%) possessed some form of grave good. Of all those individuals with grave goods, 91% (31/34) had at least one ceramic object while 65% of these cases (20/31) only possessed ceramics. Of all burials with ceramics, 90% (28/31) had at least one redware vessel. The positioning of ceramic goods did not vary by age or sex with placement by the head (55.6%) being most common, followed by positi-oning by the torso (28.9%), between the legs (8.9%) and finally at the feet (6.7%).

Of all individuals with grave goods, 41% (14/34) were interred with at least one non-ceramic object. Further, 71% (10/14) of these people had only one type, 21% had 2 types and 7% had 3 types of non-ceramic artefact. Among individuals with non-ceramics, 37.5% of indivi-duals had some form of shell, 25% had stone artefacts with bone artefacts, clay pellets and stone beads each being found in 12.5% of interments.

Mortuary Treatment by Age

Table 14.4 summarises mortuary goods by age class. It can be seen that, with one exception, all individuals 5 years or older have some form of grave good. Children aged less than 5 had a 50:50 chance of receiving a grave good. The number of ceramics placed in graves increases with increasing age-at-death (Fig. 14.4). An exception to this trend is seen in burial 3 (six month old infant: Fig. 14.5) that was interred with two small red ware pots and a clay pellet. There are only three other children,


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Fig. 14.5. Six month old infant (MB05 B05) with two small pots (a clay pellet, ~1cm diameter, was also recovered amongst broken pottery in this grave)

Fig. 14.6. Close up of the hands of an 8 to 9 year old child (MB05 B25) grasping large bivalve shell

aged between 7 and 10 years, that possessed two cera-mics.

Table 14.4 also summarises the distribution of non-ceramic grave furnishings by age. Shell was found in all age classes except one (15-20 years), tools (bone and stone) were not found with very young children and only children aged less than 5 years and a single adult male aged approximately 20 years had clay pellets. Further, nephrite beads were only found with young children and mature adults. An 8 year old child is unique (Fig. 14.6) in

being the only individual to have what may be “shell knives” (large elongated bivalve shells) and be actively engaging with a grave good (grasping these “knives”). With the exception of two mature adults (MB 05 B28 and B29), this child has the “richest” grave in terms of the number and variety of material culture.

Regarding grave morphology, only children received some form of obvious encasement or grave demarcation and this was rare: one clear stone circle (18 month old infant) and one probable deliberate multiple stone place-


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ment (less than 12 month old infant); one pot burial (approximately 2 year old child). The use of some form of burial wrapping cannot be ruled out for many burials but appears unlikely when examining the position of feet and hands. As many of the younger children were positioned with splayed knees it is improbable that they were wrapped before burial.

DISCUSSION

Health

Early childhood caries (ECC) was clearly an important health issue at Man Bac. There is an enormous literature concerning ECC which has variously been referred to as nursing-bottle or baby-bottle caries, rampant caries and labial caries (Slavkin 1999). From this literature a number of potentially relevant factors associated with increased risk of ECC are discussed here. The risk of developing ECC is greatly increased with increased levels of mutans streptococci (Milgrom et al. 2000; Thorild et al. 2002). While cariogenic bacteria can readily be transmitted from mother to child (Caufield et al. 1993) the successful transmission and subsequent colonization of the child’s oral cavity by these organisms is complex and ultimately related to a number of factors reliant on diet (Boggess & Edelstein 2006). A recent study of a semi-urban/rural community in Myanmar found an increased risk of ECC associated with children that had been fed pre-masticated rice by their mothers (van Palenstein Hilderman et al. 2006).

Fluoride is a well known caries prophylactic (Leverett 1982) and high rates of caries have been associated with low levels of fluoride in the ground water (e.g. Sealy et al. 1992). The ground water fluoride levels are not known for Man Bac and neither is it known if this community relied on ground water or rain water, as is common in modern rural communities in Thailand (Vachirarojpisan et al. 2004). Other studies of prehistoric populations (Kelley et al. 1991; Larsen et al. 1991) have also indicated the generally cariostatic nature of a marine diet. The analysis of faunal remains from Man Bac suggests an important marine component to the diet (Sawada & Long 2005). Even discounting fluoride, protein rich marine diets have been associated with the likely prophylactic effect of increased levels of tooth abrasion (Sealy et al. 1992; Littleton & Frohlich 1993) as well as increased oral cavity alkalinity (Littleton & Frohlich 1993) inhibiting bacterial activity (Powell 1985). Nonetheless, infants as young as two years may not have been consuming the portions of a marine diet that contain stored fluoride (the bones of fish) or benefiting from coarse foods and attendant natural abrasion.

There is a large modern clinical literature looking at the relationship between ECC and bottle feeding; either bottled formulae or fruit juices and other forms of sweetened liquids taken through an artificial teat or straw

(e.g. Dennison 1996; Milnes 1996). While bottle feeding would seem unlikely 3500 years ago in northern Viet-nam, there is some evidence that breast feeding may in-crease the risk of ECC, although a recent comprehensive review of the literature disputes this (Ribeiro & Ribeiro 2004). While human breast milk has a very low cario-genecity (Ribeiro & Ribeiro 2004), prolonged breast feeding, in conjunction with night time feeding, has been linked to an increased risk of developing ECC in one Burmease study at least (van Palenstein Helderman et al. 2006). Prolonged breast feeding, including night time feeding with children sleeping next to mothers, is common in modern Southeast Asia (van Palenstein Helderman et al. 2006).

Levels of oral hygiene also have an effect on the risk of developing ECC but is difficult to isolate from other factors such as feeding habits (see above), development of the child’s immune system and so forth (Seow 1998). The reddish staining observed on the teeth of both of the most severely affected infants appears to be associated with the carious lesions. While the staining is clearly ante mortem, without further study it is not possible to determine if the staining occurred before, and thus contributed to the development of the lesions, or after the lesions appeared. The deciduous dentition at this age (both children were around 18 months old) would still be going through the process of re-mineralisation and de-mineralisation and would be at a relatively greater risk of discolouration from certain foods and medications (such as tetracycline staining in recent times). The colour of the staining resembles the effects of betel nut (Areca catechu) con-sumption in later Bronze Age communities in the region (see Oxenham et al. 2002). A vast range of medical conditions have attracted the use of betel nut (Perry 1980, 302), which may have included feeding infants with extremely painful massive carious lesions the juice of pre-masticated Areca catechu.

A further factor, not discussed above, is increased risk of ECC through predisposing conditions such as deciduous tooth enamel hypoplasia. It was pointed out earlier in the paper that no evidence for deciduous tooth enamel hypoplasia was observed. However, in the case of the two infants with severe lesions, the massive crown destruction may have disguised the presence of enamel hypoplastic lesions. ECC aside, deciduous enamel hypoplasia would develop between approximately 5 months in utero and one year. If illness, stress or malnutrition was present among the sampled children, it may have been acute rather than chronic. Deciduous tooth enamel hypoplasia is rare in Southeast Asian assemblages and it may be that the stresses associated with weaning, solid foods and various other factors that increase the risk of disease in infants were not occurring until after the first year of life.

While only 11 children 10 years of age or younger could be included in the study of cribra orbitalia, nearly half had lesions and these were all active. Moreover, half of the children aged 3 years or younger also had active lesions.


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These rates are similar to that seen in children at Ban Chiang and Khok Phanom Di and suggest the non-sur-viving children in Southeast Asia were under considerable physiological stress at the time of death. Cribra orbitalia is often associated with anaemia (e.g. Stuart-Macadam 1985), a condition with multiple potential aetiologies, a range of inflammatory conditions (e.g. Wapler et al. 2004), or scurvy (e.g. Ortner et al. 1999). Intriguingly, the two most severe cases of cribra orbitalia were associated with the two infants with the most severe carious lesions. The synergistic effects of the disease conditions respon-sible for ECC and cribra orbitalia in these two children, at the very least, may have played a role in their eventual deaths.

The high proportion of subadults in the sample influence the palaeodemographic indicators in suggesting very high levels of fertility at Man Bac, greater even than seen at roughly contemporaneous sites such as Ban Lum Khao and Khok Phanom Di in Thailand. Competing reasons for apparently high subadult mortality include sampling bias, an epidemic or disease that targeted children at Man Bac, or a culturally mediated form of infant mortality such as infanticide. Sampling bias seems unlikely given that children, even the very young, do not appear to have been buried in separate locations and skeletal preservation was excellent at the site. Epidemics and increased childhood mortality due to some unknown disease factor cannot be tested at present. An epidemic scenario, at least, does not appear to be consistent with the time and energy spent on child burials (all buried in possible family clusters, and receiving site specific normative body positioning and orientation). However, the observation that approximately half of the burials of children aged five or younger do not possess grave goods could be interpreted as lowered mortuary investment in a high risk-of-death age class.

It has been suggested that in the past infanticide is more often the rule, rather than the exception (Williamson 1978, 61). Scrimshaw (1984) distinguishes between more overt forms of infanticide (deliberate killing) and more passive forms (include a range of infant neglect strategies that can take years to reach a conclusion). While the latter would be very difficult to observe archaeologically, the more overt type “almost always occurs at birth or very shortly thereafter” (Scrimshaw 1984, 449). Given that only a single neonate (MB05 B07) has been recovered from Man Bac, the overt form of infanticide, at least, does not appear to have occurred.

It is proposed that high rates of infant mortality at Man Bac say more about fertility than sampling error, epidemics or infanticide. Increasing levels of fertility are seen in many sites around the globe with the adoption of agricultural subsistence economies (e.g. Bocquet-Appel & Naji 2006). While there is no direct evidence for rice agriculture at Man Bac, long-grain rice has been recove-red from other Phung Nguyen sites in the region (Nguyen et al. 2004). The high rate of fertility at Man Bac was perhaps tempered by an extremely high dependency ratio,

which suggests a rather difficult life. However, such a conclusion needs to consider the observation that in many agricultural societies children are, more often than not, cared for by other children (Zeller 1987), thus freeing the time of parents and other adult care givers for other tasks. The costs associated with more children may not have been that great at Man Bac, and indeed, the benefits in terms of the economic contribution of the children may have tipped the balance in favour of higher fertility. Lillehammer’s (2000, 23) observation is relevant here: “[i]n such a young population children could be raised in a world of children, take care of other children and contribute to society through child labour”.

Mortuary

Carr (1995, 165) found intra-cemetery grave location is often reflective of kin relations. The apparent clustering of inhumations as well as the observation that at least one adult and a range of younger age categories form these clusters, suggests family groupings, perhaps beneath domestic, mortuary or other structures at Man Bac. Three more basic aspects of mortuary treatment at Man Bac include: (1) the orientation of the body (generally head to the east and feet to the west); (2) supine burials with arms at sides for the most part; and (3) the inclusion of the default grave good, a ceramic that was often in the form of a redware pot. Body orientation and positioning are often, ethnographically, associated with philosophical and/or religious beliefs (Carr 1995). The ubiquity of pottery may also have a more fundamental eschatological meaning as well, rather than being a signifier of individual identity or some aspect of social organisation at Man Bac.

The number of ceramic objects and other, non-ceramic, material culture were perhaps used to denote aspects of identity. For instance, adult males (outnumber females 7:4) are not uniquely distinguished by any form or quantity of grave furnishings. Nephrite beads are not found in adult female burials and are only seen in the richest male grave and the 2 to 3 year old child interred in a pot (MB05 B01). Further, clay pellets were found in the same male grave and the graves of two young children (MB05 B01 and B03) but not in adult female graves. Adult females, on the other hand, are interred with a range of non-ceramic objects absent in adult male graves but seen in children’s graves, shell artefacts being the most common. Intriguingly, one adult female and an unsexed 16 year old subadult possess the only two worked bone implements used as grave furnishings, while another adult female and a 5 year old child are the only individuals to possess nephrite adzes.

In the absence of DNA sexing of the children it is difficult to discuss the possible implications regarding the children and gender. Nonetheless, it seems apparent, with the current sample at least, that some females and some children were interred with similar types of objects, particularly shell ornaments and apparent implements


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(nephrite adzes and bone tools for instance), while nephrite beads and clay pellets are found in the graves of children and an apparently high status male. If it is accepted that modes of production are generally passed on along gender lines in small scale societies (Goody 1989; Grimm 2000), it may be that females controlled both the economic activities, and the reproduction or transmission of associated skill sets, associated with nephrite adzes, bone implements and perhaps shell implements (only one child has what may be interpreted as shell implements: see below) and shell ornaments at Man Bac.

What the association between nephrite beads and clay pellets with a high status male and two children is remains more ambiguous. The small (approximately 1 cm diameter) spherical clay pellets were ubiquitous in the upper layers and have been excavated in many other sites in prehistoric Thailand. Ethnographically, such pellets are used as projectiles in a bamboo bow for the hunting of small animals such as birds (Higham & Kijngam 1984, 197). The jar burial child (MB05 B01) was too disturbed to determine exactly how the pellet related to the rest of the material culture of this burial. However, with the other child, aged 18 months (MB05 B03), the pellet was associated with broken pottery. Crawford (2000) has recounted several Anglo-Saxon examples of possible rattles where children were interred with pots containing nails or stones. At the least, it is worth considering the types of objects children may collect or use in play. Crawford (2000, 174) notes “that where Anglo-Saxon children do use material objects as the focus of play, these items are requisitioned from their environment or from the adult world”.

One of the most interesting burials is the 8 to 9 year old child (B24) interred with two globular pots at the head, a cowrie necklace, a large bivalve (perhaps knives) grasped in each hand and placed on what appears to be a compact bed of crushed shell (for rather obvious reasons this child was nicknamed the ‘shell child’). Because this individual is unique it becomes particularly difficult to interpret. Carr (1995, 174) notes there is a shift from personal identity to social categories in mortuary treatment with increases in socio-political complexity. The mortuary treatment of the shell child may be more an expression of important aspects of the child’s identity than anything else. No other interment at Man Bac has provided an example whereby the deceased had been positioned in a way that suggests active engagement with a piece of material culture. Without exception, material culture is positioned by or on the body in a passive manner (adze placed on the chest or pot placed between the legs for instance).

Why was this child singled out for such treatment? What is this staged engagement with these “knives” supposed to represent? These questions are, of course, impossible to answer but open to speculation. Minimally, it is argued here, the shell child was an active social and perhaps economic agent in this community. Children clearly

participate “in social and economic life” (Sofaer Dereven-ski 2000, 11) and are not simply passive and dependent consumers. Zeller (1987) summarises a number of ethno-graphic studies of agricultural, pastoral and hunter-gatherer communities and finds substantive economic contributions can begin as early as 3 years of age, although the period between 6 and 10 years appeared to be more important or common in terms of initial eco-nomic contributions. In such a context, an 8 to 9 year old child might conceivably be seen as an accomplished craft-sperson in their own right, if aspects of his/her economic prowess are being observed here.

Both gender and vertical social position can be signified by the type of grave furnishing placed with the deceased (see Carr 1995, 169), although the type of artefacts, and particularly the quantity, are weakly associated with vertical rank (Tainter 1978; Carr 1995). That this inter-ment is unique may be reason enough to see the child as having some form of exceptional status in the community, or within her/his family at least, while the presence of so much shell suggests the child may have been female. Whether such an individual was still a child is difficult to assess. In 7th century Anglo-Saxon Britain, for instance, children were legally adult at 10 years old (Crawford 1991).

If we focus on children’s interments it can be seen that their graves are characterised by the exclusion and inclu-sion of a range of objects, some shared with adult females as already mentioned. With one possible exception only children’s (all less than 3 years at death) interments can lack any form of grave good. The possible exception (B10, adult male approximately 40 years at death) was poorly preserved and its lack of grave furnishings may be more a feature of taphonomic process than a lack of mortuary treatment. In fact 11/25 children, all aged 2 years or less, lack grave goods of any form. The lack of non-perishable grave goods with many children less than 2 suggests an important threshold or social milestone is achieved once a child turns 2 years of age.

While half of the children aged 2 years or younger did not receive non-perishable grave furnishings, very young infants, the six month old infant B3 for instance, could be afforded potentially specially produced miniaturised ceramics as grave furnishings. Further, only young children, albeit rarely, received any clear form of grave boundaries, whether in terms of encasement in a pot or demarcation of the grave using stones. Such children could be interpreted in the context of ascribed status, but this seems unlikely as the only reasonably clear form of vertical differentiation seen at Man Bac is age-based, with a correlation between an increasing number of ceramics and increasing age-at-death. Over compensated parental grief is often the competing alternative in such cases (e.g. Parker Pearson 1999, 77-78), but is impossible to verify. It is worth noting that both social factors and philo-sophical/religious factors are commonly associated with formal grave demarcation (Carr 1995). Again, in lieu of


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any other evidence suggesting the presence of anything other than some form of age-based vertical differentiation at Man Bac, formal grave demarcation (by way of stone arrangements or pot burials) may be saying more about aspects of the eschatology of the Man Bac community than anything else.

The reasons for the increased energy expenditure in some children’s graves and minimal mortuary treatment in others are unclear. Nonetheless, it is clear that children of all ages were recognised as worthy of mortuary ritual and thus arguably recognised as individuals, people or at least members of the community. In what is otherwise a relatively egalitarian community, differential mortuary behaviour may be indicative of choice in individual mortuary treatment open to parents and/or carers of deceased children, in the sense of Hodder (1982, 186). As long as certain conventions, perhaps burial in a certain orientation and within a family cluster, were maintained relatives of dead children may have had considerable flexibility in what was interred, if anything at all, with their young.

CONCLUSIONS

The aim of this paper was to explore aspects of how children were perceived some 3500 years ago in northern Vietnam and also to examine facets of the health of these same children at Man Bac.

Interpretations of the health of children at Man Bac must be tempered by the observation that we are looking at the children that didn’t make it into adulthood. Presumably those children that did survive into later life were somewhat healthier than the ones that have left their remains at an arrested period of development: death in childhood. Nonetheless, it seems apparent that physiolo-gical insult manifesting as cribra orbitalia was a serious health risk associated with childhood at all ages, while the lack of deciduous enamel hypoplasia perhaps indicates some forms of physiological insult were not occurring until at least after the first year of life. One of the greatest, specific, health risks was in the form of early childhood caries. The aetiology of ECC is complex and the risk factors associated with this disease at Man Bac are un-clear. However, in some individual cases extreme forms of ECC and active cribra orbitalia no doubt contributed to poor health, and perhaps even an early death. Many of the children of Man Bac seem to have experienced sub-optimal levels of well being.

The large number of children at Man Bac has been interpreted as suggesting high levels of fertility, which is consistent with a community either transitioning into an agricultural mode of subsistence or intensifying their agricultural base. The costs associated with caring for the extra number of children alive at any given time in this community was likely offset by the economic contributions of these children. Further, it is likely that

children at Man Bac were raised in a community of many other children that both cared for and took care of each other.

In terms of attitudes towards children, everyone received some form of basic mortuary treatment regardless of age. That everyone buried at Man Bac had access to such rights, and that some children (as young as six months old) received special treatment suggests that children had value or at least were worthy of recognition: in other words, children were also people. While all children received some form of mortuary treatment, by their second birthday it was necessary for all children to receive some form of non-perishable material culture. This may be indicative of a special social and/or developmental milestone in childhood.

In terms of gender, adult females and some children could share certain forms of material culture, especially shell. Whether this means that children were seen as having gender is difficult to determine. Some children may have received ‘female’ grave inclusions because they were themselves female, or simply because they were not perceived of as having gender and could thus be buried with a range of otherwise adult gender-specific material culture. Perhaps more important is that some of the arte-facts interred with children have economic connotations and suggest that children had an economic role in the community. The case of the 8 or 9 year old shell child is also suggestive of both economic value and a further social and/or developmental stage: it may well be that childhood finished rather early at Man Bac.

In summary, many of the non-surviving children of Man Bac had demonstrably sub-optimal health prior to their eventual death. The high level of fertility suggests many children were alive in the community at any given time. Many of these children were likely economic and certainly social contributors to the community. Mortuary treatment of children reflects the esteem in which they were held and also, in some cases, certain life stages through which they passed.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Sian Halcrow, University of Otago, for providing comparative data on childhood oral health in prehistoric Thailand. Part of this research was made possible by way of a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 15405018), a Toyota Foundation Grant (D006-R-35), and a National Australian University FRGS (2004/5) Grant.

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A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA

Tatiana MISHINA Archaeological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, [email protected]

Abstract: The prehistoric tradition of burying infants within the settlements is well known from the wide territory of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and southeast Europe. In the Balkans, this phenomenon has been known as early as the Neolithic; it has been also found in Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age contexts. The early Bronze Age layers at Tell Yunatsite in Bulgarian Thrace have yielded a total of 26 infant burials, all of them within the settlement’s area. The burial rite follows two patterns: jar burials (22), and pit burials (4 burials). They are considered according to a number of criteria: location within the settlement, association of the burials with certain part of the house, their relation to the features of the house interior, burial construction, and age details. Keywords: burial patterns, Early Bronze Age, Bulgarian Thrace

Résumé: La tradition préhistorique d’enterrer des enfants dans les territoires des sites est bien connue au territoire vaste de Messopotamie, Anatolie et Europe de sud-est. Aux Balkans, ce phénomène est connu dès le periode Néolithique; on l’a aussi trouvé aux contextes chalcolithiques et du Bronze ancient. Les couches du Bronze ancient a Tell Yunatsite en Thrace bulgare ont revelées 26 sépultures d’enfants et tous sont au territoire du site. Le ritual d’enterrement avait deux moyens differents: enterrement en vase (22) ou enterrement dans la cavitée d'un tombe. Les sépultures ont été analyzés selon les indices plusieurs: location au territoire du site, l’association avec une certaine partie de la maison, les relations avec certain attributes d'intérieur de la maison, construction et l’age. Mots Clefs: rites funéraire, Bronze ancien, Thrace bulgare

The tradition of burying infants within the settlement area and often in the houses is a steady phenomenon, practically spread over universally. It was preserved for a very long time. In the Balkans, it is known from the Neolithic, and then was widely spread in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Intramural burials are rather common for the Early Bronze Age (EBA) sites in Thrace. Besides at Tell Yunatsite (Ivantchik 1994; Katincharov & Matsanova 1993; Mishina 2005), they are known from a number of sites: Ezero, Nova Zagora (both burials of adults and infants), Karanovo, Dyadovo, Galabovo, Ognyanovo (Detev & Matsanova 1977, 52f; Georgiev et al. 1979, 491ff; Katincharov et al. 1985, 68; Katincharov 1987, 63ff; Panayotov 1991, 34f; Nikolov et al. 2002, 24ff; Kancheva-Russeva 2000, 31ff), between others.

However, the rite of burying infants within the settlement territory has not been yet unanimously explained. It seems as if such interpretations can hardly be suggested at all. It is also possible that these burials represent ‘foundation offerings’ (Katincharov 1979). As a rule, children were buried when the houses have still been used. Such burials have also been explained with the ‘dead cult” (Bibikov 1953). The ‘dead cult’, however, more likely suggests a relation of the living community members to their adult dead but not to infants. These burials have also been explained with the fertility cult (Antonova 1990, 106f). Alternatively, it was suggested not to interpret them as burial contexts at all (Boyadzhiev 2001, 22).

Only one cemetery simultaneous with these EBA intramural burials was excavated, near Tell Bereketska yielding a total of seventy four burials. This site was investigated long ago, which is the reason for the rather

limited information one can find in the recent publication (Kalčev 2002).

All the above-mentioned sites are situated in Central Thrace, east of Yunatsite, and are encompassed in the Ezero culture area. Unfortunately, it is difficult to use them for a detailed comparative analysis, since the available data are insufficient. This is especially true when speaking of burial pits because they have very rarely been established. This situation is mirrored by the recent compendium on the EBA burials from Bulgaria published by M. Menkova (2003, 136).

In this paper, the author will consider the infant burials yielded by the EBA layers at Tell Yunatsite in Bulgarian Thrace.

Balkan tells are characterized by more or less clearly cut stratigraphic sequences, which is very important for stratigraphic reconstructions. At Tell Yunatsite, cultural deposits of the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze and Early Iron Age were revealed. The EBA horizons overlay the layer of buried soil and the Chalcolithic deposits, and are overlaid by the layer of the Iron Age (Fig. 15.1).

Within the Yunatsite culture area (the western part of Bulgarian Thrace), the eponymous site at Yunatsite is so far the only one where such a numerous sample of intramural burials was excavated. They could be divided into two unequal groups. Only two adult burials have been found (Mishina 2002), while the cultural deposits of Tell Yunatsite yielded a total of twenty-eight infant burials. Twenty-six of them are considered here because their stratigraphic position is reliable enough. For the time


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Fig. 15.1. Horizontally compressed scheme of the central cross-section

being, this sample of infant burials is the most numerous in Bulgaria.

All infant burials – coming from the EBA horizons from XVI/XVII to X – are analyzed according to a number of criteria, taking into account the stratigraphic data (Fig. 15.2).

No infant burials were found in horizon IX and further upward. At Tell Yunatsite, this is an important, most probably, transitional phase from EBA II to EBA III (according to the Bulgarian chronology). All infant graves have been attributed to EBA I and II, respectively. We cannot rule out the fortuity of this situation because at some sites in Thrace, infant burials have been also found in the EBA III layers (Tell Karanovo).

Generally speaking, the pattern of infant burials’ distribution by horizons from XVI/XVII to X seems constant and steady. This fact points to certain stability of life at the EBA settlements; possibly, the population did not suffer from mass diseases and epidemics. The number of infant burials in the horizons of different dates is not

the same. It varies from three to five burials per horizon. Burials were not found in all excavated houses. Of forty-seven investigated houses, seventeen yielded burials (somewhat over one third). On the other hand, one house could contain several burials (Fig. 15.3).

Spatial distribution of intramural burials at archaeological sites has long ago become a research subject. Different criteria have been used to find a relation between the sex and age of the dead, on the one hand, and their location within the site, on the other hand (Binford 1968; Antonova 1990, 86-89, 104-110; Bacvarov 2003, 111). When discussing this aspect we should take into account the spatial structure of Tell Yunatsite, with the houses forming a curve. The spatial structure of all horizons up to horizon IX is similar. The latitudinal or longitudinal orientation was not relevant when discussing burials’ distribution; only the reference points related to the house interior have been taken into account.

In order to establish which sections of the house have mainly been used for burials, house interior was divided into several zones:

T. MISHINA: A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA

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Fig. 15.2. Distribution of infant burials by horizons

Fig. 15.3. Houses with/without infant burials by horizons

Near the short wall 9 burials

Near the long wall 7 burials

Near the partition wall 2 burials

In the corner 5 burials

In the central part of the house 1 burial

No relation with the stratigraphy has been revealed: burials were located near the long walls of the houses in all horizons where they have been found. It was established that the graves have mostly been arranged in the peripheral sections of the house: near the walls and in the corners. Obviously no strict regulations existed

concerning the spatial distribution of infant burials (Fig. 15.4); therefore, infants did not have a central status in family/community, but nevertheless they held a very important place.

At first it seems that no specific features could be found in the spatial distribution of burials within houses, as for some ritual details such as burying infants in vessels – jar burials – or just in pits. Still, some characteristics may be pointed out. First, the only burial in the central part of the house was deposited in a pit. Second, almost all pit burials (three of four) were overlaid by house floors. Third, the jar burials were located near the house walls only.


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Fig. 15.4. Location of burials in the houses

Fig. 15.5. Houses with double burials

In the most cases of a burial cluster in one house, the spatial distribution shows that the burials were not simultaneous. This is completely clear because the burials

are situated at some distance from each other; certain opposite symmetry could be found in their spatial distribution (Fig. 15.5). These ‘symmetrically arranged’


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burials were placed near the long wall of the house close to each other or at a distance but on the same line. They also could have been deposited near the same long or short wall, near the opposite short walls or rather far from the long wall, approximately parallel to the burials.

No superimposed burials attributed to the same horizon have been discovered. It means that the inhabitants of this house knew of the earlier burials. At the same time, infant burials were often disturbed by the post-holes of later ho-uses belonging to upper horizons/settlements. Obviously, the memory about the burials’ location was preserved during the life-cycle of one settlement, i.e. during the life-time of one generation of its inhabitants only.

The most of the burials had no surface indications. There are eleven such cases. Five burials were found under houses, four of them near or under the oven (Fig. 15.6). Noteworthy, as late as the end of nineteenth century in south Europe, infants were often buried near the ovens. An infant was considered “socially inferior and related to its mother only. This relation was preserved in the afterlife as well. Even in the nineteenth century, the southern Slavs practiced infant burials not in coffins but in vessels, which symbolized mother’s womb” (Lozakova 1989, 27f).

Fig. 15.6. Burial # 13, near the oven

Five burials had got surface marks. These were as follows: two flat stones placed over the grave (1); an area covered with small pebbles (2); an enclosure built of seven posts and two big flat stones (1); an area separated from the house interior (Fig. 15.7). A wide set of surface marks were used to indicate burials within the house; their character was probably determined by various factors but it is clear that special attention has been paid to the burial location.

Infants were buried in pits or in vessels deposited in pits. Four burials were performed in pits, without vessels (Fig. 15.8). Pits were used for burials both of infants under 1 year of age and somewhat older. No connection was

Fig. 15.7. Burial # 17, with surface marking

Fig. 15.8. Burial # 25

established between the age of the dead and the type of burial context. The orientation of the dead varied; most probably, it was determined by the location of the burial within the house. The position of the infants buried in pits was various as far as the house interior is concerned. Thus, one infant was buried with its head aligned to the house wall, and the rest were buried along the long axis of the house. This group comprised one infant buried in the central part of the house, and two more by the walls. The latter were in various positions with regard to the wall: one with its face and the other with its back turned to it.


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Fig. 15.9. Burial # 41, slanting pit

Fig. 15.10. Burial # 45, slanting pit


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Fig. 15.11. Types of burial vessels

Another group, rather numerous (22), includes jar burials in pits. Six jar burials were performed in oval pits, and only one in a rectangular pit. Two pits have not been dug vertically but with certain obliquity (Figs. 15.9 and 15.10).

At Tell Yunatsite, no special vessels were produced for burials (Fig. 15.11). For this purpose, various types of vessels were used: jugs, bowls, pots with or without lugs, or even bottom parts of broken vessels. Among these, jugs clearly dominated (10), and were in use from horizon XVI/XVII till X. Pots were used more rarely (5) during the same period. Single infants were buried in amphora-like vessels, and in bowls (Fig. 15.12). All these types are represented in the household ceramic assemblage of Tell Yunatsite. Some burial vessels were supplied with lids (Fig. 15.8). Those were found in six cases when jugs had been used for containers. Bowls or big potsherds were used as lids (Figs. 15.11 and 15.13). Besides, the field logs suggest that not all of the vessels were discovered full of soil. This fact may point to non-preserved lids, first of all made of some other, most likely, organic material. In this sense I should also stress on the variability of mortuary practices.

No special shapes of burial vessels existed; it was the size of the container that mattered. All the above-mentioned vessels were of big size. Certain authors have pointed to

the “special types of coffin-vessels used for infant burials”. Bulgarian ethnographer Lozakova argued that burials of the discussed type had been practiced in the Balkans until the late nineteenth century. Such vessels symbolized mother’s womb. In this sense, the usage of vessels was evidently related to the idea that the infant, who had not passed the first stage of initiation, was regarded as unborn yet, and as such closely related to the mother. Burial rite brought it back to its origins (Van Gennep 1960).

The data available on the burial vessels’ context at Tell Yunatsite has also been considered. In most cases, the spatial distribution of burials in jugs and pots is identical. Single burials in bowl or amphora have parallels in the more numerous groups. As for the burials outside of the houses (in the ‘yards’), the dead were deposited in pots or in a vessel of unclear shape. Thus, it may be argued, that no correlation existed between the type of the vessel used as burial container, and the burial’s location within the house.

Nineteen jar burials represented single burials of infants. For the first time in this sample, three burials contained the bones of two babies.

The infants’ position in the vessels could rarely be esta-blished. As a rule, skulls were discovered on the top of


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Fig. 15.12. Burial # 10, in a bowl with a lid

the heap of other bones uncovered in disorder on the bottom or at the vessel’s side. This position is typical of jugs and high pots used as containers, and could conventionally be termed as ‘contracted/sitting’. Most probably, the infants were put in high vessels their feet down, in contracted position similar to that of an embryo (with contracted legs, and arms bent in the elbows).

The only burial in a bowl covered with another bowl belonged to an infant six months old (burial # 10). The body was laid on its side in strongly contracted position, which was determined by the necessity to put it in the bottom of the bowl. Obviously, position of the dead

depended on their age and the shape of the vessel; it was also important to imitate the position of an embryo.

No reliable data exists on the presence of grave goods in the jar burials. As with the infant burials in pits, single artifacts recovered from burial vessels could have been accidental; for instance, two flint blade fragments in burial # 45. Equally arbitrary is the attribution of several beads found close to the disturbed burial # 8. It is noteworthy that the infant jar burials from the tells at Ezero, Dyadovo and Galabovo as well as from the sites at Nova Zagora and Ognyanovo did not contain grave goods.


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Fig. 15.13. Typological distribution of burial vessels

Of special interest is the fact that these burial phenomena coexisted for centuries with the universally spread Christian ritual standards. And this is only a particular case, a detail of a general picture, since infant jar burials deposited under house floors were practiced for millennia parallel to various models of burial rites performed for other age groups. They appeared in the early farming sites of the Near East.

CONCLUSIONS

From this consideration it becomes clear that, on the one hand, the intramural infant burials from Tell Yunatsite form a group with variable burial rites. Burials were performed both in pits and jars; the positions of the dead varied; various types of ordinary vessels were used as burial containers; the location for burial in the house was not strictly regulated. Jar burials are considered as an exception from the general burial practice of the time known from a number of sites. (Thus, at the simultaneous cemetery at Tell Bereketska, seventy-two burials of adults have been excavated; they demonstrate absolutely standard and steady burial rite, which included standard orientation and position of the dead (contracted on their sides); all burials contained fixed set of grave goods.)

These considerations seem to be true exactly of infant burials, which should be interpreted separately from the other age groups, as it was already demonstrated. The age group under discussion (infants and children under eighteen months) held special social status. Actually, it was a status of non-persons, which well corresponds to the view formulated by Leach (1976). Infants had not yet passed the ‘separation/socialization rite’, and therefore for certain period they were perceived as ‘socially inferior’ individuals, having not passed the first rite of passage, as Van Gennep argued. The burial of an infant, who had not achieved the first stage of initiation, was probably con-sidered a private business of its mother (relatives/family). These persons performed the traditional rite aimed at pro-viding new births, which is clear from the vessel’s symbo-lism of a womb, and the embryo-like position of the dead.

On the other hand, the jar burials from Tell Yunatsite evidence of certain regulation of the burial practice,

although its many aspects remain unclear because of numerous information gaps. Like many other sites, all infant burials at Tell Yunatsite were performed within the settlement area, mainly in the houses. Within the houses, burial vessels were disposed in secluded places, not to be disturbed. Various types of ordinary vessels were used as burial containers, mostly jugs and pots. One cannot rule out that the choice of vessel type was determined by the dead infants’ sex. Vessels were sealed with lids. No grave goods were given to the infants.

The separate position occupied by infant burials in general burial practices is a specific ritual phenomenon, which may be extrapolated to all archaic farming societies. It emerged in these cultures, coexisted with various systems of world-outlook and corresponding forms of burial rite; in traditional farming societies, it has survived till now. In certain regions, this rite sporadically manifested itself among Christian population, which obviously should be regarded as an archaic element of the traditional culture. The ubiquitous presence of the discussed phenomenon in human culture points to the fundamental nature of this archetype. That is why intramural infant burials must be regarded separately from the burials of other age groups characterized by changing burial rite reflecting transformations in their world-outlook. The burial rites performed for infants, who had not received certain social status, remained unchanged for millennia. No doubt, different cultural traditions had some specific ritual details. To bring them to light, however, new research is necessary.

References

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GEORGIEV, G.I., N.Y. MERPERT, R. KATINCHA-ROV & D. DIMITROV. 1979. Езеро: Раннобронзо-вото селище. София: Българска академия на науките.

IVANTCHIK, A. 1994. Die Grabriten auf dem Tell Yunacite (Westbulgarien) und das Problem der Indo-germanisierung des Balkans. Thetis 1: 17-22.

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NIKOLOV, V., S. HILLER & T. KANCHEVA. 2002. Българо-австрийска експедиция на тел Караново, in Археологически открития и разкопки за 2001 г.: 13-14. София: Археологически институт с музей.

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VAN GENNEP, A. 1960. The Rites of Passage. London: Routledge.

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PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

Marina V. ANDREEVA Archaeological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, [email protected]

Abstract: This paper considers the individual and collective burials of the East Manych catacomb culture dating back to the second half of the third millennium BC (the Middle Bronze Age). 440 individual and 60 collective burials were analyzed, the major part of these being dug in kurgans of the earlier Pit Grave, North-Caucasian or Early Catacomb cultures. Using the categories of infants, children, pre-adults and adults, four groups each of individual and collective burials were created. Key words: Catacomb culture, East Manych, pre-adult burials, adult burials, infanticide

Résume: Cet article considère les sépultures individuelles et collectives de la culture des sépultures à catacombes de Manych-Est remontant à la deuxième moitié du troisième millénium avant J.-C. (l’âge de bronze moyen). 440 sépultures individuels et 60 collectifs ont été analysés, la plupart de ces dernières étant creusées dans les kurgans des cultures précédentes de Yamnaya, Nord-Caucasienne ou Pré-Catacombes. En utilisant les catégories d’enfants en bas âge, d’enfants, de pré-adultes et d’adultes, quatre groupes, chaqun d’enterrements individuels et collectifs, ont été créés. Mots Clefs: Culture des sépultures à catacombes, Manych-Est, sépultures de pré-adultes et d’adultes, infanticide

INTRODUCTION

The archaeological cultures in the steppe and forest-steppe zone of Eastern Europe in the Bronze Age are known mainly because of the research on materials from kurgan (barrow) cemeteries containing individual and collective burials of all ages and both sexes. Unfortuna-tely, the large-scale kurgan excavations carried out in 1970s and 1980s, which yielded thousands of Bronze Age burials, rarely included qualified bioarchaeological research. Recent investigations gradually fill in this gap. Using accumulated archive data, however, archaeologists often have to work with approximate age determinations and rarely can be quite sure about the sex of the buried individuals.

The starting points for a reconstruction of the social relations according to cemetery evidence are as follows:

– All common cemeteries (where rest the skeletal remains of all social groups of the respective society) of traditional societies were family based;

– Steppe kurgans in the Eneolithic and Bronze Age were not only cemeteries but also ancestor sanctuaries as well as territory markers of clan/lineage pasture grounds that claimed them as “ancestors’ lands”;

– Deposing of several bodies in one grave can be regarded as representation of close family relations.

This paper considers the individual and collective burials of the East Manych catacomb culture (the name is derived from the River Manych, left tributary of the Lower Don, important river way of the steppe region north of the Caucasus). Burial sites of this culture, left by nomadic pastoral tribes, are found in the steppes of Kalmykia and Stavropol krai; according to the series of calibrated radiocarbon dates, they date back to the second half of the third millennium BC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The database compiled for investigation of general ritual characteristics includes 581 East Manych burial assembla-ges (459 individual burials, 65 collective burials and 57 cenotaphs) coming from 248 barrows at 27 sites. All assemblages from these sites referred to as East Manych were included in the database.

The major part of these assemblages was dug in kurgans of the earlier Pit Grave, North-Caucasian or Early Cata-comb cultures. The density of East Manych assemblages in kurgans is not high; it averaged to 2.6 burials per kurgan (from 1 to 12). The burials were made in various directions from the center, mostly in the eastern side of the barrow. The low density and the diversity of age-and-sex combinations of the deceased in the same kurgan as well as the variability of kurgan plans do not give us any chance to associate any kurgan with certain family group.

The burial structures were dug in the sub-soil or in the mound itself. Two structure types, catacombs and pits, were used simultaneously. The deceased were buried on the left side, in a contracted position, with their heads to the south. The burial chambers contained handmade pottery and incense-cups, bronze knives, awls and in a number of cases, stone tools (pestles and anvils). Rare and prestigious things were represented by wooden wagons, bronze hooks, adzes and axe-adzes, stone axes and mace heads, personal adornments as bronze and gold temporal rings, beads and pendants made of various materials, mainly of glass, bronze and bone.

This research is based on 440 individual and 60 collective burials1. 1 The general selection contains 19 individual burials with unspecified age; for 5 collective burials, the contemporaneity of the skeletal remains disposed of in one burial structure but in different chambers, or in a chamber and entrance shaft of the same catacomb, cannot be proved.


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Fig. 16.1. Individual burials: 1 Chograi – VIII, к.30 b.9; 2 Chograi – II, к.10 b.3; 3 Veselaya Rosha – III, к.15 b.9; 4 Chograi – VIII, к.30 b.2; 5 Zunda Tolga к.1 b.1; 6 Chograi – IX, к.9 b.4; 7 Arharinsky к.28, b.5

The age of only 81 of 440 skeletons (18.4%), coming from individual burials, and 15 skeletons of a total of 127 (11.8%), coming from collective burials, was determined (mostly by the bioarchaeologist G.P. Romanova). As for

the rest, the archaeologists who had excavated them, determined their age using such terms as baby, child, pre-adult, juvenile or adult. I had to use the generalized determinations of both archaeologists and bioarchaeolo-

M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

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gists. This is stressed by the commonly accepted terms used in this paper: infant, 0-2 years; child, 3-7 years; pre-adult, 8-15 years, adult, older than 15 years. When possible, more accurate data are used2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

I. Individual burials (Fig. 16.1)

According to these categories, four groups (selections I-IV) of individual burials were created (Table 16.1, Diagram 1).

Table 16.1. Individual burials age selections

Selection Age Number %

I infant 11 2.5%

II child 42 9.5%

III pre-adult 52 11.8%

IV adult 335 76.1%

Total: 440 100.0%

0,0% 20,0% 40,0% 60,0% 80,0%

Adults

Pre-adults

Children

Infants

Individual

Collective

Diagram 1. Age groups ratios in individual (440

individuals) and collective (127 individuals) burials

The first thing to mention is that individual infant burials are practically absent while children are poorly repre-sented. Even taking into account both poor state of preservation of young children and inadequate excavation techniques, this difference is too large to be considered accidental. Besides, it is noteworthy that infant mortality rate must have been much higher than it is demonstrated by individual burials. Obviously “standard” burial prac-tices required no deposition of infants in the kurgan until they reached certain moment of socialization and cones-quent separation from their mothers as individuals (for instance, Caucasian Alans reserved certain cemeteries for 2 The number of sex determinations made by bioarchaeologists is even more meager: 53 assemblages in the selection of individual burials (12.1%) and 15 in the selection of collective burials (11.8%).

young children only; see Korobov 2003, 165f). Such a natural socio-biological border could have coincided with the end of breast feeding. This moment is known to be celebrated by special rituals (feasts) in many traditional societies, especially those related with the pastoralist economy. Also, the discussed border could coincide with the moment when a child is able to walk independently.

As far as children (selection II) are concerned, the small size of this group makes us assume that only a part of them was buried in the kurgans individually. To make this situation clear, it would perhaps be necessary to consider the child sex determination in particular.

The infant and child burials are distinguished from the pre-adult and adult ones by some particular features:

1. Individual infant/child burials never occupied central position in a kurgan. These graves are usually smaller than pre-adult/adult graves, according to the bodies’ size.

2. As a rule, infant/child burials were not the only burials in a barrow. Deposition of infants and children was therefore regulated by the presence of a burial of senior person who can be termed “a child’s guide” (to designate this specific function we use the original meaning of the Greek word pedagogue). This child’s guide could have been buried in the same burial structure together with the guided child or in a separate structure1 but in the same barrow. The role of a child’s guide most often was played by a bearer of the East Manych cultural tradition, but it could have been played also by a representative of an earlier cultural phase, if accompanied by children graves of the same culture.

3. On rare occasions, a special cemetery of 2 to 5 burials of children and/or pre-adults was created in the barrow. It could have belonged entirely to the East Manych culture or it could have been a multicultural unit, comprising burials of different chrono-cultural phases.

4. The grave goods also vary; infant and child remains were accompanied mainly by pottery vessels and in-cense-cups. Bronze tools and prestigious things appear only in some pre-adult and adult burials (Table 16.2).

So, the dependent status and stressed identity of mortuary ritual of the younger age groups seem obvious.

II. Collective burials (Figs. 16.2-5)3

The bulk of double burials and all of the graves conta-ining larger number of deceased (over a half of all burials) clearly belong to individuals of different generations (adults with infants and children) (Table 16.3).

The number of adults in one burial does not exceed two. Double burials of adult and infant, adult and child or two 3 More detailed analysis of collective burials see in Andreeva 2005.


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Table 16.2. Grave goods in individual burials (number of burials)

Selections Total

I. Infants II. Children III. Pre-adults IV. Adults Grave good categories

% % % %

%

Vessels 11 100.0% 20 47.6% 27 51.9% 192 57.3% 250 56.8%

Incense-cups 3 27.3% 11 26.2% 15 28.8% 84 25.1% 113 25.7%

Knives 0 0.0% 2 4.8% 8 15.4% 71 21.2% 81 18.4%

Awls 0 0.0% 2 4.8% 6 11.5% 52 15.5% 60 13.6%

Pestles 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 1.9% 25 7.5% 26 5.9%

Temporal rings 0 0.0% 1 2.4% 2 3.8% 12 3.6% 15 3.4%

Hooks 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 1.9% 8 2.4% 9 2.0%

Wagons 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 4 7.7% 9 2.7% 13 3.0%

Burials total 11 42 52 335 440

Table 16.3. Collective burial age selections

Primary group Age Number % Selection

2 individuals

1 infant + adult 11 18.3% A

2 2 children 2 3.3% -

3 child + pre-adult 3 5.0% D

4 child + adult 16 26.7% B

5 2 pre-adults 4 6.7% D

6 pre-adult + adult 4 6.7% D

7 2 adults 14 23.3% C

3 individuals

8 2 infants + adult 1 1.7% A

9 infant + 2 adults 1 1.7% A

10 2 children + pre-adult 1 1.7% D

11 2 children + adult 1 1.7% B

12 child + pre-adult /

adult + adult 1 1.7% B

4 individuals

13 3 infants + adult 1 1.7% A

Total: 60 100.0%

adults represent steady series. The remains of infants are not found together with non-adult individuals; child rema-ins are always found together with skeletons of older indi-viduals (pre-adults or adults). Four selections can be made:

Selection A: burials containing adults accompanied by infants (14 burials, including 11 double and 2 triple burials as well as one containing 4 skeletons; primary groups 1, 8, 9, 13) (Fig. 16.2);

Selection B: burials of adults accompanied by children (18 burials, including 16 double and 2 triple burials; primary groups 4, 11, 12) (Fig. 16.3);

Selection C: double burials of adults (14 burials, primary group 7) (Fig. 16.4);

Selection D: double burials containing the remains of pre-adults in various combinations with pre-adults, children or adults (12 burials, primary groups 3, 5, 6, 10) (Fig. 16.5). Selection D, unlike the first three selections, clearly displays its mixed and, so to say, buffer nature. It would be reasonable to resume this discussion, however, only having considered the specific features of collective burials of adults with infants and children, on the one hand, and double burials of adults.

Collective burials in one burial chamber are represented mainly by double burials (90%) whereas 5 assemblages containing 3 skeletons in one chamber each and the only assemblage with 4 skeletons taken together make up 10% of this selection.

It should be noticed that first and foremost, kurgan collective burials from the Early and Middle Bronze Age are represented practically in all cemeteries and are an integral part of their structure though they neither define nor distort it in any obvious way. On the other hand, it is of importance that the ratio of collective burials in the whole database of East Manych burial assemblages is very similar at various sites; it approximately corresponds to the average ranging from 8% to 13%. Therefore, the natural death of these individuals is disputable, as far as the primary burials are concerned.

Of the specific features of collective (double) burials, I should point to the relatively high ratio of secondary (partial, disarticulated; see the terminological discussion in Smirnov 1997) burials of adult individuals: 12% against 2.5% in the individual selection. No partial burials of pre-adults in East Manych contexts, both collective and individual, are reliably recorded, perhaps partly because of the meager field logs. The discussed practice was applied to only one of the dead deposited in double


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Fig. 16.2. Double adult/infant burials (selection A): 1 Chograi – IX к.01 b.04; 2 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.54 b.06; 3 Arharinsky к.31 b.01; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.04 b.01; 5 Arharinsky к.02 b.05; 6 Elystinsky к.12 b.03;

7 Elystinsky к.08 b.06; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.34 b.04


154

Fig. 16.3. Double adult/child burials (selection B): 1 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.34 b.06; 2 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.36 b.05; 3 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.54 b.04; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.04 b.07; 5 Elystinsky к.13 b.04;

6 Elystinsky к.02 b.08; 7 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.36 b.03; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) - II) к.33 b.03; 9 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.11 b.02


155

Fig. 16.4. Double adult/adult burials (1-7, selection C) and adult/pre-adult burial (selection D): 1 Chograi – VIII к.09 b.03; 2 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.22 b.06; 3 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.37 b.06; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.23 b.03; 5 Lola

– I к.04 b.07; 6 Chograi – IX к.05 b.05; 7 Vostochny Manych (left) – к.07 b.05; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.43 b.01


156

Fig. 16.5. Double burials of pre-adults (1-5, selection D); collective burials of 3-4 individuals (6 and 8, selection A; 7, selection B): 1 Veselaya Rosha – III к.24 b.07; 2 Veselaya Rosha – III к.07 b.13; 3 Ostrov к.03 b.27; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.45 b.01; 5 Veselaya Rosha – III к.06 b.07; 6 Lola – I к.04 b.08; 7 Veselaya Rosha – III к.05 b.02; 8 Veselaya Rosha – I к.03 b.03


157

burials (three of seven assemblages contained burials of adults accompanied by infants; four graves contained skeletons of two adults). Taking into account the sharply increased share of disarticulated skeletal remains in the selection of collective burials, it seems possible to suggest, at least hypothetically, that dismemberment of the dead bodies – or the exhumation of burials described by the excavators as disturbed – was due to the intention to deposit these human remains in a future collective burial.

Collective burials were performed in the traditional burial structures, catacombs and pit graves both dug in the subsoil or kurgan mound. The strict observation of the collective burial rituals seems to be made clear from the fact that their structures were dug in the subsoil more often than the individual burial structures. These two burial patterns do not differ in any substantial way from each other, such as location in the mound (mainly its eastern half), and orientation of the dead (mainly to the south and east).

Compared to the age of the deceased in individual burials, a trend to a sharp and clearly deliberate departure from the collective burial practice for the younger individuals is obvious (Diagram 1). The above circumstances are rather convincing evidence of the existence of ritual standards regulating the division of groups buried in one chamber as well as of the domination of vertical (generation) relations between the deceased.

Selections A and B

Of special interest is the unusually high percentage of collective burials containing remains of adults accompa-nied by infants up to 2 years (14 assemblages or 24.4%) compared to the percentage of individual infant burials (11 assemblages or 2.5%).

The comparison of selections A and B to the individual infant and child burials yielded the following conclusions:

1. The variability of infants’ and children’s positions in the burial chambers against the background of the steady adults’ position (Figs. 16.2-3) is a convincing evidence that it was the remains of the adult individual that were considered as structure forming in the burial chamber space.

2. As it was made clear by the analysis of individual burials, it was not the presence of infants in the collective burials that was the reason for the expanded repertoire of prestigious grave goods categories (Table 16.4, Diagram 2); on the contrary, the prestigiousness of funerary ritual involved deposition of newborns’ remains in the kurgan.

3. Bioarchaeological determinations of the age and sex of deceased, buried in the same chamber together with infants (5) and children (2), are not numerous, but the data obtained disprove the common illusion of the

assemblages under investigation as obviously female, or the mother and child/children cliché (Table 16.5).

4. Developing further the already proposed interpretation model for the above burial structures as wagon houses in which the closest relatives sojourn, I suggest here to consider the simultaneous double burials of individuals belonging to different generations, deposited together in the same chamber, as symbolic manifestations of an ancestor-descendant relations type.

5. The obviously intentional burial of members of generations as “distant” as infants and senile in the same graves makes their closest biological relationship (parent – child) doubtful; they could hardly have been brothers or in-laws as well. What we have here is possibly the practice of adoption, which must have been widely spread in a society based on blood relationships and having a rather low life expectancy (especially as far as women are concerned). Anyway, when investigating the bearers of the East Manych burial tradition, one should not reject a priori the possibility of adoption practices as well as institutiona-lized class relationships as an alternative of the biological kinship.

Selections C and D

What is most important about selection C, which includes double burials of adults, is that neither archaeologist nor bioarchaeologist has ever recorded a single case of burial of two individuals of the same sex together in the same chamber. On the contrary, 6 burials contained the remains of male/female pairs; the sex of the deceased in 3 burials was determined by a bioarchaeologist and the rest were determined by an archaeologist (Table 16.6).

In the rest of the burials, the sex of one or both individuals has not been determined. Noteworthy, the deceased buried together in the same chamber fall within the same age group. At the same time, no triple burials of individuals belonging to the same age group (in the wide meaning assumed here) have been recorded in the studied East Manych selection. Therefore for the time being, despite the insufficient data, the rare examples of double burials representing pairs of adults (male and female) may be considered as evidence of the dominating standard of pair (monogamous?) marriage.

Both males and females buried according to the standard ritual practice could have been deposited in the burial structure in an identical position: contracted on the left side in front or behind the partner, i.e. “one behind the other”; contracted on the left side near the partner’s disarticulated remains arranged in a “heap” or “package” (the sex of not a single individual of all four burials with disarticulated remains has been determined); contracted on the right side, with the face turned to the partner lying on the left side. This latter type of spatial interrelation of skeletal remains deserves special attention since it well correlates, on the one hand, with a certain burial structure


158

Table 16.4. Grave goods in collective burials (number of burials)

Selections Total

A B C D Grave goods categories

% % % %

%

Vessels 14 100.0% 11 61.1% 10 71.4% 10 83.3% 46 79.3%

Incense-cups 5 35.7% 2 11.1% 5 35.7% 6 50.0% 19 32.8%

Knives 6 42.9% 4 22.2% 4 28.6% 3 25.0% 17 29.3%

Awls 7 50.0% 1 5.6% 4 28.6% 2 16.7% 14 24.1%

Pestles 2 14.3% 2 11.1% 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 6 10.3%

Temporal rings 3 21.4% 0 0.0% 1 7.1% 0 0.0% 4 6.9%

Hooks 3 21.4% 0 0.0% 1 7.1% 1 8.3% 5 8.6%

Wagons 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 4 6.9%

Burials total 14 18 14 12 58

vess

els

ince

nse-

cups

kniv

es

awls

pest

les

tem

pora

l rin

gs

hook

s

wag

ons

0,0%

20,0%

40,0%

60,0%

80,0%

100,0%

Individual

Collective

Selection A

Diagram 2. Grave goods in individual, collective and selection A burials

Table 16.5. Bioarchaeological determinations of age and sex (selections A and B)

Adults Selection Assemblage4

Sex Age 1st infant 2nd infant 3rd infant

A VR-I к.03 b.03 male ? 1-2 years 1-2 years newborn

A VR-III к.21 b.15 male ? 1,5 year newborn -

A Ch-II к.18 b.09 female ? baby - -

A Ch-IX к.01 b.04 male Mat-Sen 3-9 months - -

A Ch-VIII к.12 b.01 female Adult-Mat newborn - -

B VR-I к.07 b.08 male > 55 years 4-5 years 5-6 years -

B Spas. к.01 b.08 female? Adult inf 1 - -

4 VR-I, III: Veselaya Rosha – I, III; Ch-II, VIII, IX: Chograi – II, VIII, IX; Spas.: Spasskoe.


159

Table 16.6. Sex-and-age determinations made by archaeologists and bioarchaeologists (selection C)

Archaeologists Bioarchaeologists Assemblage5

Sex/Age Age Sex Age

VML-I к.07 b.05 male + female ? + ? - -

VML -I к.22 b.06 male + “adult” ? + ? - -

VML -I к.50 b.03 “adult” + female both “young” - -

VML -II к.23 b.03 “adult” + female ? + ? - -

VML -II к.37 b.06 “adult” + “adult” both Juv - -

Gr-I к.03 b.02 - - male? + ? > 45 years + 20-25 years

Gr-I к.08 b.02 “adult” + “adult” ? + ? - -

Lola-I к.04 b.07 male + female both middle-aged - -

SP-I к.03 b.05 - - male + female both 40-50 years

Ch-IV к.04 b.05 “adult” + female ? + ? - -

Ch-IX к.05 b.05 - - male? + female? Juv + Juv

Ch-V к.02 b.01 “adult” + “adult” ? + ? - -

Ch-VI к.02 b.09 male + female ? + ? - -

Ch-VIII к.09 b.03 - - male + female Ad-Mat + Juv

type – a pit grave dug in the subsoil or mound – and on the other hand, with prestigious grave goods categories. Developing further the hypothesis of a wagon symbolism in the mortuary practices of the catacomb cultures in the North Caucasus piedmont, one may suggest that pit graves represented counterparts of an open carriage (cart) and that catacombs symbolized a carriage whose cover had been taken off and put on the ground. Burials in an open carriage suggested particularly spectacular rituals whereas symmetrical depositions of two deceased partners were considered as an imitation of marital rituals. This has been evidenced by numerous mutual correlations between the burial and marital rituals (as rites of passage) studied in the folklore and ethnography of many peoples, for example, the Eastern Slavs (Bayburin & Levintov 1990).5

When considering selection D, one should pay special attention to the relatively small number (4 burials of 13) of “pre-adult and adult” combinations in the same assemblage. Comparing it to the above interpretations, it seems reasonable to suggest that unlike children, pre-adults did not need a child’s guide; moreover, they apparently could have played this role themselves. On the other hand, in the selection under study, collective burials of infants and pre-adults are virtually absent. Thus, in the framework of standard mortuary practices, pre-adults seem as if linked mainly to individuals of their age as well as to infants; the situation seems to remind of those specific and scanty “children – pre-adults” cemeteries consisting of 2-5 burials in a barrow. 5 VML-I, II: Vostochny Manych (left) – I, II; Gr-I: Grushevka – I; SP-I: Suhaya Padina - I; Ch-IV-VI, VIII, IX: Chograi - IV-VI, VIII, IX.

CONCLUSIONS

The deposition of children in kurgans was obviously only possible if there had been older child’s guides (adult men or women, seniors from pre-adult to senile) buried together in the same grave or separately but in the same kurgan. Infants were usually buried in kurgans in the same grave with an adult. On the contrary, pre-adults didn’t need a child’s guide and sometimes – although rarely – they could have been buried individually in a central grave. If this was the case, they could have been accompanied only by child and pre-adult burials. Ritual limitations of the above younger groups’ access to the cemetery may be interpreted as the “socialization” stages of an individual.

The evidence of a male/female structure of collective adult burials allows us to suggest the existence of a pair (monogamous?) marriage, which, in its turn, can witness to the existence of a nuclear family. However, the collective burials reflect parent/child relations more often than husband/wife relations. This can be considered as an evidence of a low degree separation (ideological and probably economic) of nuclear families inside the extended family.

The steady percentage of collective burial in various cemeteries (about 10%) shows the regularity of this mortuary practice. Since the simultaneity of articulated burials demanded simultaneous deaths (only 10 of a total of 53 were double adult burials and the rest contained younger individuals), we should consider these assem-blages as sacrificial. It is disputable of these deaths were natural. On the other hand, the possibility of infanticide


160

cannot be ruled out. Notwithstanding the absence of exact demographic data, it is now clear that a population explosion happened in the Middle Bronze Age Whatever was the ideological meaning of these sacrifices, it served as the most efficient means of demographic control or some kind of extensive family/lineage planning.

References

ANDREEVA М.V. 2005. Синхронные совместные погребения восточноманычской катакомбной кул-ьтуры как источник палеосоциальных реконструк-

ций. OPUS: Междисциплинарные исследования в археологии 4: 68-93.

BAYBURIN, A.K. & G.A. LEVINTON 1990. Похороны и свадьба, in Исследования в области балто-славянской духовной культуры. Погребальный обряд: 64-99. Москва: Наука.

KOROBOV, D.S. 2003. Социальная организация алан Северного Кавказа IV-IX вв. Санкт-Петербург: Алетейя.

SMIRNOV, Y.A. 1997. Лабиринт. Морфология пред-намеренного погребения: Исследование, тексты, словарь. Москва: Восточная литература.

161

INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE (C. 2100-800 BC)

OF CENTRAL ITALY

Erik van ROSSENBERG Leiden University, The Netherlands, [email protected]

Abstract: Special treatment of the remains of children is a well-known feature in Central Italy from the Neolithic onwards. Here I will focus on the evidence for the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in two adjacent Central Italian regions (Abruzzo and Lazio). It will be argued that mortuary practice involving neonates, infants and children was connected with domestic symbolism, showing the enhanced cultural significance of infant/child burials. Investing child burials with domestic symbolism, burying communities singled out fundamental values in the social reproduction of households and local communities in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Central Italy. Key words: Central Italy, prehistory, child burials

Résumé: Le traitement spécial des ossements d’enfants est une caractéristique connue de la préhistoire en Italie Centrale. Cet article concerne des données de l’Age du Bronze et du premier Age du Fer dans deux régions limitrophes, notamment Abruzzo et Lazio (Italie Centrale). Les pratiques funéraires des enfants étaient liées au symbolisme domestique, montrant une signification culturelle élevée dans sépultures d’enfants. Avec ce symbolisme domestique dans les sépultures d’enfants, les gens de l’Age du Bronze et du premier Age du Fer en Italie Centrale mettaient l’accent sur des valeurs fondamentales de la reproduction sociale des communautés locales. Mots clés: Italie Centrale, préhistoire, sépultures d’enfants

INTRODUCTION

Special treatment of the remains of children is a well-known feature of prehistoric society in Central Italy from the Neolithic onwards. The inclusion of children in funerary and other ritual practices has increased their archaeological visibility, but leaves us with a number of questions. First of all, there is the issue that in most prehistoric situations burial was selective, i.e. we can assume that selection of individuals for burial took place. In general, the treatment of the majority of prehistoric people escapes us archaeologically. Therefore we should be aware that not only infant/child burials, but also adult burials represented a select group in prehistoric funerary traditions. The issue of selection brings us to the second question: To what extent do prehistoric burials have to be regarded as acts of structured deposition in a wider social and cultural context? To answer this question, burials should be compared with contemporary acts of deposition at other places in the framework of a cultural landscape approach.

With these two main questions in mind, the aim of this paper is to give a contextualized overview of the evidence for infant/child burials in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Abruzzo and Lazio, two adjacent regions in Central Italy, stretching from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian side of the peninsula. The chronological scope covers transformations from collective to individual burial, and from selective to non-selective burial. The limited space available here does not provide the opportunity to go into as much detail in the overview of the situation of non-selective burial in the Early Iron Age, as will be the case in the overview of the situation of selective burial in the Bronze Age. The emphasis in the

former case will lie on qualitative observations that can be used in comparison with the latter case.

INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN THE BRONZE AGE OF ABRUZZO AND LAZIO

In this section an overview of infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio will be presented for the four phases of the Italian Bronze Age. Given the circumstance of selective burial in this period, the approach adopted is a qualitative one – including wider contextual information – rather than a quantative one. In general, archaeological visibility of mortuary practice is low for the earlier phases of the Bronze Age.

Early Bronze Age (c. 2100-1700 BC)

In line with the overall scarcity of evidence for the Early Bronze Age, only a few burial contexts are known from Central Italy as a whole (Cocchi Genick 1998). This suggests that burial was very selective and/or took forms that are archaeologically invisible. In Lazio the Eneolithic tradition of collective burial in rock-cut chamber tombs (Dolfini 2006) may have continued into the first phase of the Early Bronze Age. Its use of man-made structures for repeated, collective burial including the deposition of ceramics, can also be found in a ritual structure at Fosso Conicchio that was used during the Final Eneolithic and the first phase of the Early Bronze Age. Among the disarticulated remains from this structure, two children have been identified (Table 17.1). In Abruzzo, on the other hand, predominantly natural places (i.e. caves) seem to have been used for repeated, collective burial and for the deposition of ceramics and foodstuffs (Cocchi Genick


162

Table 17.1. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Early Bronze Age

site context children adults references

Fosso Conicchio (Viterbo, Lazio)

structure used for ritual practices (including disarticulated human remains)

child (7-8y) adolescent (14-15y)

3 adults Fugazzola Delpino & Pellegrini 1999, 152-

154

Grotta Sant’Angelo (Civitella del Tronto,

Teramo, Abruzzo)

cave used for burial (disarticulated human remains) and domestic ritual practices

infant (3y) child (10y)

adolescent (15y) 1 adult

Mallegni & Ronco 1996, 266-267

Table 17.2. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Middle Bronze Age


Torre dei Passeri (Pescara, Abruzzo)

structure used for domestic ritual practices (including disarticulated

human remains) foetus/neonate (femur) adult (skull) Recchia 2003

Prato di Frabulino (Farnese, Viterbo,

Lazio)

rock-cut chamber tomb with disarticulated human remains

1 child (6-10y) 3 adults Casi et al. 1995

Crostoletto di Lamone (Ischia di Castro, Viterbo, Lazio)

cairn of stones with inhumations in an area used for ritual practice

1 child (at the feet of the adults)

2 adults Cocchi Genick 2002, 124-125

Felcetone (Ischia di Castro, Viterbo, Lazio)

rock fissure used for burial (disarticulated human remains) and

domestic ritual practices

2 “very young” individuals

12 adults (and adolescents?)

Rittatore 1951b, 164

Grotta Di Carli (Ischia di Castro, Viterbo,

Lazio)

cave used for burial (disarticulated human remains) and domestic ritual

practices 1 child (10y) 3 adults Allegrezza 2000

Grotta Misa (Ischia di Castro, Viterbo, Lazio)


practices 4 children 6 adults

Rittatore 1951a, 18

Grotta dello Sventatoio (Sant’Angelo Romano,

Roma, Lazio)


practices

3 young children (secondarily burnt pieces

of skull)

Angle et al. 1991/1992

Grotta Regina Margherita (Collepardo,

Frosinone, Lazio)


practices

1 neonate 1 child

1 adolescent 2 adults

Guidi 1981, 53-54

Grotta Vittorio Vecchi (Sezze, Latina, Lazio)

cave used for burial (disarticulated and articulated human remains) and

domestic ritual practices

11 children (a.o. 0-1y and 6-7y)

29 adults Guidi

1991/1992, 428-431

1998). In the assemblage from Grotta Sant’Angelo, disarticulated remains of three children have been identified (Table 17.1). In addition, a couple of man-made burial contexts have been found (Cocchi Genick 1998), which were exclusive to adults.

Despite the small size of this sample, we can make the following observations about child burial in the Early Bronze Age. In general, the majority of burial places were used repeatedly and incorporated practices of secondary burial, given the disarticulated state of human remains. These places were not only used for collective burial, but simultaneously for other depositional practices, arguably with a domestic connotation. Children have only been identified as disarticulated remains in such collective burial and/or ritual contexts. This shows that the remains

of children were primarily associated with secondary treatment in the context of domestic ritual practices that probably served a collective purpose.

Middle Bronze Age (c. 1700-1350 BC)

In line with the wider availability of evidence for the Middle Bronze Age in Central Italy (Cocchi Genick 2002), the number of burial contexts known from Abruzzo and Lazio has increased. As in the previous period, the majority of human remains have been found in a disarticulated state, in the context of collective burial places. Although there is some evidence for the continued use of caves for burial and domestic ritual practices in Abruzzo, no remains of children have been identified in these assemblages. The only instance of an infant/child

E. VAN ROSSENBERG: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE …

163

Table 17.3. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Late Bronze Age


Grotta Sant’Angelo (Civitella del Tronto,

Teramo, Abruzzo)

cave used for burial (disarticulated human remains) and domestic

ritual practices

infant (2-3y) child (6-8y) child (13y)

1 adult Mallegni & Ronco

1996, 267

Cavallo Morto (Anzio, Roma, Lazio)

urnfield comprising of at least 40 individual cremation burials

(17 of which could be analysed)

infant (1-2y) child (3-7y) child (4-5y)

child adolescent (<17y) adolescent (<17y)

11 adults Angle et al. 2004,

139-140

burial is represented by the femur of a foetus or neonate found in a man-made underground structure at Torre dei Passeri (Table 17.2). The ritual character of this structure is represented by a skull fragment of an adult male, and as wide a range of objects with a domestic connotation (e.g. miniature vessels and spindlewhorls) as in contemporary ritual cave assemblages (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 80f).

Burial evidence in Lazio is overwhelming for the Middle Bronze Age, and derives predominantly from caves that were used simultaneously for other depositional practices. The latter are mainly represented by offerings of foodstuffs, in combination with depositions of objects with a domestic connotation, such as ceramic vessels, spindlewhorls and quernstones and/or mullers (Cocchi Genick 2002, 125-148). The predominantly disarticulated state of human remains found in caves suggests that these bones represent instances of secondary burial or handling of human remains, in the context of domestic ritual practices. The disarticulated human remains amount to a minimum number of eighty individuals, among which approximately twenty-five children have been identified (Table 17.2). Children were also represented in other, less frequent types of burial, i.e. as disarticulated remains in a chamber tomb (Prato di Frabulino) and as a primary burial in the context of a cairn of stones (Crostoletto di Lamone) (Table 17.2).

The relative abundance of burial evidence, especially in Lazio, should not be interpreted in the sense that burial was less selective in the Middle Bronze Age than in the previous period. The peak in the use of caves for the (re)deposition of human remains – as part of a body of domestic ritual practices – may simply represent a case of increased archaeological visibility. Significantly, all Middle Bronze Age burial contexts in Abruzzo and Lazio can be regarded as collective places, and again the remains of children have been found exclusively at sites that were used simultaneously for burial and ritual practice (Table 17.2). The young individuals selected for burial included neonates (Torre dei Passeri, Grotta Regina Margherita, Grotta Vittorio Vecchi). In some cases there is evidence that the skulls of children were singled out for particular ritual practices, such as secondary burning (Grotta dello Sventatoio) and acts of structured deposition

in combination with ceramic vessels (Grotta Vittorio Vecchi). These instances highlight the secondary treatment of human remains – and children in particular – as part of a body of ritual practices that served a collective purpose.

Late Bronze Age (c. 1350-1200 BC)

For the Late Bronze Age only a limited number of burial places are known in Central Italy, which suggests that burial was selective, as in the previous phases of the Bronze Age. In Abruzzo, a number of caves remained in use as places for burial and other ritual practices in the Late Bronze Age, whereas in Lazio all caves had been abandoned at this stage (Guidi 1991/1992). The decrease in the use of caves has made mortuary practice of the Late Bronze Age archaeologically less visible than the previous phase. In Abruzzo, three children (2-3y, 6-8y and 13y) have been identified among the disarticulated remains of four individuals in the assemblage of Grotta Sant’Angelo (Table 17.3), buried before the cave was abandoned at the start of the Final Bronze Age. At the same time, a tradition of individual inhumation burials emerged in Abruzzo and continued in the Final Bronze Age. At Paludi di Celano a series of inhumations under barrows started with the burial of a young adult male (20-23y) in the Late Bronze Age (D’Ercole 2001).

After the abandonment of caves, the only burial evidence for the Late Bronze Age in Lazio is represented by an urnfield excavated at Cavallo Morto (Angle et al. 2004). Of the approximately forty cremation burials that were excavated at this site, seventeen could be analysed; four of these incorporated children and two incorporated adolescents (Table 17.3). Bronze objects were overrepre-sented in the burials of young individuals, with respect to the adult burials. Whereas only four out of eleven adult burials included a fibula and/or a razor, a fibula was included in the burials of three children and one ado-lescent (four out of six). Moreover, the fibulae in the three infant/child burials were complete, whereas those in the adolescent and adult burials were fragmented, possibly as a result of the actual cremation. The differentiation in the treatment of these grave goods coincides with the age gap between children and adolescents represented in this


164

cemetery (Table 17.3). This age-related phenomenon sets the infant/child burials apart as acts of structured depo-sition including complete valuable objects. As such, it might contradict the common notion in Italian prehistory that grave goods in individual burials have to be regarded indiscriminately as personal items and that wealth in child burials represents ascribed status, indicative of pronoun-ced social stratification (cf. McHugh 1999, 24ff. on wealthy child burials).

Given the socially disruptive implications normally attributed to the transition from collective to individual burial, here I will develop the argument by highlighting similarities with the situation in the previous period. The relative scarcity of burial evidence in the Late Bronze Age – both in terms of the total number of buried individuals and the number of burial places – shows that burial, as far as we know it, was selective. It seems likely that the limited number of new open-air cemeteries with primary, individual burials (i.e. inhumation in Abruzzo and cremation in Lazio) would have served a collective purpose as central burial places for a number of settle-ments (contra Angle et al. 2004, 125-128 on Cavallo Morto), similar to that of caves. As in selective burial in caves (Grotta Sant’Angelo), children were included in the new traditions of individual burial (Cavallo Morto). In fact, the proportion of children identified at Cavallo Morto recalls the proportion in cave assemblages of the previous period (i.e. approximately one third). Finally, there is circumstantial evidence that – as acts of structured deposition including metalwork – the primary infant/child burials at Cavallo Morto had domestic connotations similar to secondary burial as part of domestic ritual practices in caves, if we extrapolate the domestic connotation of bronze ornaments in contemporary acts of structured deposition in the context of settlements (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 79-82).

Final Bronze Age (c. 1200-1000 BC)

In the Final Bronze Age caves in Abruzzo were aban-doned as places for burial and other ritual practices, and a new regionally specific tradition of inhumation under barrows emerged (Cosentino et al. 2003). This concerned selective burial, as only ten primary burials are known in the region, half of which make up a small cemetery excavated at Paludi di Celano (D’Ercole 2001). In this series of six inhumation burials in tree coffins under barrows, two children have been identified (Table 17.4). On the basis of the assumption that ornaments were gen-der specific grave goods, all individuals in Final Bronze Age burials have been identified as female, including the two children from the cemetery at Paludi di Celano, who are regarded as girls. Given the domestic connotation of the deposition of ornaments in settlements in the Final Bronze Age (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 82), like in the previous period, we can argue that burials were acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation. Another element of the shift in location of burial and domestic ritual practices from caves to settlements in the

Final Bronze Age (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 82) can be found in the curation of disarticulated human skulls in settlements. One of two fragments from the settlement at Fondjò has been attributed to a child (Table 17.4).

Burial evidence for the Final Bronze Age in Lazio represents a tradition of cremation burials in cemeteries or urnfields (Di Gennaro & Guidi 2000, 111-114; Pacciarelli 2000, 202-216). Osteological analysis of cremated re-mains has been adopted in archaeological research only relatively recently, which limits the availability of infor-mation on age and sex of buried individuals to modern excavations. Infant/child burials have been identified both in smaller cemeteries (Le Caprine) and in nuclei of burials in larger cemeteries or areas reserved for burial (Monte Tosto Alto, Poggio La Pozza) (Table 17.4). From this limited sample, the striking pattern emerges that almost all of the infant/child burials can be characterised as elaborate, in the context of both multiple and individual burials (Table 17.4). They were invested with domestic symbolism (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86ff.), in the form of grave goods with a domestic connotation, such as pottery (e.g. storage vessels as containers of cremation burials; smaller accessory vessels), spinning and/or weaving equipment (e.g. spindlewhorl, bobbin, distaff) and, as argued above, bronze ornaments (e.g. fibulae, rings). Domestic symbolism was also highlighted in miniaturism (cf. Bailey 2005, chapter 2) of grave goods, such as accessory vessels and bronze objects (e.g. fibulae, knives), and the containers of the cremated remains (e.g. smaller urns), epitomized in the urns in the form of houses (so-called hut urns, e.g. Le Caprine). Finally, the majority of the children that were singled out for these burials seem to have belonged to a specific age group (<6y) (Table 17.4, cf. the age distribution of Cavallo Morto in the previous period, see Table 17.3). This age group may have had a domestic connotation in itself, if we assume that until the age of six to ten years children would have been confined to the settlement and thus linked metaphorically with the domestic sphere. Indivi-duals belonging to this ‘domestic’ age group, i.e. those who had died before they had been vested with a social persona beyond the domestic sphere, became incorporated in the larger social group in the act of burial, invested with domestic symbolism, in the context of a communal cemetery.

Here I will develop the argument that the category of “wealthy child burials” (cf. McHugh 1999, 24ff.) should be regarded as acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation. An important question that arises in the context of structured deposition is to what extent cremation burials should be regarded as primary depositions, or rather as final acts in a prolonged funerary sequence. Especially in the largest cemetery (Poggio La Pozza) there is ample evidence for secondary handling of cremated remains in the form of multiple burials (Table 17.4) and emptied burials (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86). In this respect, it should be appreciated that this particular cemetery was situated in a large area that provided a focus


165

Table 17.4. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Final Bronze Age


individual inhumation under barrow 5

infant (2-3y) with fibula D’Ercole 2001 Paludi di Celano

(L’Aquila, Abruzzo) (cemetery with at least

6 barrows) individual inhumation

under barrow 6 child (7-10y) with fibula and two

fingerings

D’Ercole 2001

Fondjò (Collelongo, L’Aquila, Abruzzo)

disarticulated human remains in settlement

context child (skull fragment)

adult (skull fragment)

Grifoni Cremonesi 1973, 521

Luni-Tre Erici (Blera, Viterbo, Lazio)

inhumation under house floor

child (10-12) Östenberg 1967, 42-

43

multiple cremation burial (in two urns)

“young child” with fibula (in one urn) adult (in

other urn) Bastianelli 1939,

45-47

individual cremation burial F1

child (5-9y) with fibula, ring and 10 amber beads (in the urn)

Peroni 1960, 345-

346, 351; D’Ercole 1998, 182, n.1

multiple cremation burial F2 (in one urn)

child (0-6y) with a.o. 2 bronze fibulae, 2 pendants, 2 spirals, wheel-shaped pin-head and 26 amber beads

(in the urn)

2 adults

Peroni 1960, 346-347, 351-352;

D’Ercole 1998, 182, n. 1

individual cremation burial F3

adolescent (13-21y) with accessory vessel

Peroni 1960, 347-

349, 353; D’Ercole 1998, 182, n.1

multiple cremation burial 6 (in one urn)

infant/child (0-6y) with bone disk fragment decorated with circles

adult D’Ercole 1995, 177-

178

individual cremation burial 13

infant/child (0-6y) with fibula and zoomorphic miniature vessel (with

bronze lid), and 2 rings on the lid of the urn

D’Ercole 1998, 183


infant/child (0-6y) D’Ercole 1998, 184


infant/child (0-6y) with ring and accessory vessel

D’Ercole 1998, 185

Poggio La Pozza (Allumiere, Roma,

Lazio) (cemetery with at least 40 cremation

burials)

multiple cremation burial 20 (in one urn)

infant/child (0-6y) with fibula and ring

adult D’Ercole 1998, 185-

186

individual burial infant (0-1y) with 2 small or

miniature vessels

Trucco et al. 2000, 488

Monte Tosto Alto (Cerveteri, Roma,

Lazio) (nucleus of at least 3 cremation burials

in a larger cemetery) individual burial

child/adolescent (12-15y) with fibula and chain of rings (in small urn), and

set of 5 small or miniature vessels

Trucco et al. 2000, 487-488

multiple burial 2 infant (c. 1y) in hut urn (incorporated in cremation burial of adult), with set

of 9 miniature vessels adult

Damiani et al. 1998, 204-205

individual burial 4 adolescent (female) with fibula, set of

5 miniature vessels and 7 bobbins

Damiani et al. 1998, 205-206 Le Caprine (Guidonia,

Roma, Lazio) (cemetery with 5 elaborate

cremation burials)

individual burial 5

infant (6m-2y) with miniature knife, large number of ornaments, 10 glass-paste beads, spindlewhorl, 4 bobbins,

bronze distaff, bone comb, ivory comb, bronze object decorated with two stylized birds (in miniature urn),

and set of 8 miniature vessels

Damiani et al. 1998, 206-208

for communal practices by a number of settlements (Di Gennaro & Guidi 2000, 112). Apart from burial, Final Bronze Age depositional practices included hoards or

depositions of metalwork – often predominated by orna-ments – contained in ceramic vessels (Fugazzola Delpino 1975). Such acts of structured deposition of objects in a


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ceramic container show a conceptual link with the urn as a container in cremation burials. On a smaller scale, similar depositional practices can be discerned in the cemetery at Le Caprine (Table 17.4), including a multiple burial, incorporating the cremated remains of an infant in a curated or redeposited ‘hut urn’, and a wealthy child burial with grave goods that show many similarities with contemporary hoards of metalwork (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 88). These connections underscore that cremation burials as depositions were comparable with contempo-rary, non-funerary acts of structured deposition. The selection of individuals from a ‘domestic’ age group, i.e. infants/children, and grave goods with a domestic connotation, made that elaborate burials represented com-munal values in social reproduction rather than personal status per se (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86). In this respect, the instance represented by the inhumation of an older child (10-12y) under a house floor (Luni-Tre Erici) (Table 17.4), deviating from the norm of cremation, highlights both the domestic connotation of burial and in contrast the elaborateness of cremation burials. In the context of communal cemeteries in the Final Bronze Age (Di Gen-naro & Guidi 2000, 112), elaborate infant/child burials were instrumental in community formation, articulating domestic with collective identities.

INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN THE EARLY IRON AGE (C. 1000-800 BC) OF ABRUZZO AND LAZIO

Traditionally, socially disruptive implications have also been attributed to the transformation of mortuary practice at the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition. In Abruzzo burial became less selective in the Early Iron Age than in any phase of the Bronze Age, whereas in Lazio burial seems to have become non-selective in the Early Iron Age. Consequently, larger cemeteries predominate the burial record for this period in Central Italy. Given the limited space available in this paper, the better known situation in Lazio will be presented in the form of established interpretations, whereas infant/child burials in Abruzzo will be discussed at more length. The emphasis in this section will lie on qualitative observations on infant/child burials in the Early Iron Age that can be used in com-parison with the Bronze Age case. With this particular focus, it shows that there were many similarities between mortuary practice in the Early Iron Age and in the Bronze Age, mainly in the connections between infant/child burials and domestic symbolism.

Abruzzo

Burial evidence for the Early Iron Age in Abruzzo represents a continuation of the tradition of individual inhumation burials under barrows, in a less selective manner, thus giving rise to a number of smaller and larger cemeteries (Cosentino et al. 2003). So far the largest cemetery has been excavated at Fossa, which consists of approximately fifty barrows dating to the Early Iron Age and the first phase of the Late Iron Age (Cosentino et al.

2001b). Among these at least fifteen infant/child and adolescent burials have been recognised (Table 17.5). On the basis of grave goods, age groups of children (<10y), adolescents (<18y) and adults (>20y) have been distin-guished. The distinction between the latter two categories seems to have been one of degree. Four adolescent burials have been attributed to young men (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 66f, 73f, 74-77 and 79ff), on the basis of weaponry (i.e. swords and spearheads) as a male gender indicator in adult burials. The treatment of swords in two child burials was different, i.e. one positioned with the point towards the face instead of the feet and the other (deliberately?) fragmented (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 92f. and 115f). This distinction suggests that adolescents would have been familiar with handling weaponry, whereas younger boys were not. One adolescent burial has been attributed to a young woman, with a necklace of amber beads and an ivory ornament (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 120ff), on the basis of the absence of weaponry and the presence of elaborate ornaments as female gender indicators in adult burials. Apart from the two swords mentioned, no gender indicators have been singled out to tell boys and girls apart on the basis of their grave goods. The predominance of ornaments, such as fibulae, brace-lets and rings, in infant/child burials however, does recall the later Bronze Age association between ornaments and this age group.

In the cemetery at Fossa the following chronological and spatial patterns can be discerned. Whereas in the first phase of the Early Iron Age only adults were buried (save one neonate), in the second phase child and adolescent burials comprised one third (Table 17.5). In the first phase of the Late Iron Age only children and adolescents (save one adult) were selected for an Early Iron Age type of burial under barrows (Table 17.5). In general, the smaller barrows of children and adolescent burials were situated in the spaces left open by the larger barrows of adult burials that had been built in the earlier phases of the cemetery. Given the occurrence of storage vessels in direct association with the earliest barrows, it has been argued that these spaces were used for ancestralising practices of communal and commemorative food con-sumption (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 197-203). Con-ceptualised as domestic and ancestral, these spaces were not inappropriate places for child burials, given their domestic connotation in the Bronze Age. The ancestral dimension is underscored by the fact that the majority of Late Iron Age interments – including child burials – took place in earlier barrows. One of the barrows that was selected as a focus for these later interments, had already provided a focus for the neonate burial in the first phase of the Early Iron Age (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 104 and 126).

Patterns similar to those discerned at Fossa (i.e. the long-term use of the same area for burial; the positioning of infant/child burials in particular plots; the reuse of earlier barrows for interments, or as a focus for infant/child burials) can be found in Iron Age cemeteries with a


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Table 17.5. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo: Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age (first phase)

site context children references

Early Iron Age (first phase), with 12 adult burials

neonate (0-3m) Cosentino et al.

2001b, 191, fig. 56

Early Iron Age (second phase), with 10 adult burials

child (3-5y), child (5-9y), child (5-9y), child (6-10y), adolescent (14-17y),

adolescent (15-18y)

Cosentino et al. 2001b, 191, fig. 56

Fossa (Casale, L’Aquila) (cemetery with approximately

50 inhumations under barrows, Early Iron Age & first phase of the Late Iron Age)

Late Iron Age (first phase), with 1 adult burial

2 infants, infant/child (2-4y), infant/child (2-8y), child (6-8y), adolescent (12-15y), adolescent (14-16y), adolescent (15-17y)

Cosentino et al. 2001b, 191, fig. 56

neonate (0-6m), with fibula, necklace, pendants and spirals (Early Iron Age)

infant/child (0-6y), with 4 fibulae, bracelet, 2 rings and necklace

(Early Iron Age)

neonate (0-6m), with small spearhead outside grave (Late Iron Age)

group of four elaborate infant/child burials in simple graves,

Early Iron Age-Late Iron Age (first phase)

child (5-6y), with 2 fibulae, necklace, and ring (Late Iron Age)

Cosentino et al. 2001a, 185-187,

190-191

Piani Palentini (Scurcola Marsicana, L’Aquila) (cemetery

with at least 13 barrows, Early Iron Age & first phase of the Late Iron Age)

elaborate child burial under barrow, Early Iron Age (final stage)

child (4-8y) with decorative belt, fibulae, necklaces, pendants, bracelets

Cosentino et al. 2001a, 196-199

earliest burial, Early Iron Age infant/child, with 2 fibulae

and necklace D’Ercole & Grassi

2000, 201

infant/child, with dagger, 2 fibulae, rings, bracelet, torques and 3 vessels

San Benedetto in Perillis (L’Aquila)

(small Iron Age cemetery with 7

burials)

2 elaborate infant/child burials, Late Iron Age (first phase) infant/child, with bracelet, ring, fibula,

and torques

D’Ercole & Grassi 2000, 201

Bazzano (L’Aquila) (large Iron Age

cemetery)

early (earliest?) elaborate burial under barrow (Early Iron Age-Late

Iron Age transition), in area used for neonate and infant burials,

Late Iron Age (first phase)

child (4-6y?), with bracelets, fibulae, dress-pin, sword and knife

Cosentino et al. 2001b, 215-217; Costentino et al. 2003, 435-438,

D’Ercole et al. 2003

Campo di Monte (Caporciano,

L’Aquila) (small Iron Age cemetery)

infant/child burials next to earlier barrows, Late Iron Age (first phase)

neonate 2 infants/children

D’Ercole & Grassi 2000, 199-201; Cosentino et al. 2001b, 220-222

earliest burial, Early Iron Age infant/child or adolescent,

with small fibula Cosentino et al.

2001b, 225 Campovalano (Campli, Teramo)

(large Iron Age cemetery)

elaborate child burial in barrow (possibly as act of reuse), Late Iron Age (first phase)

child, with a vessel containing spindlewhorl and 8 bobbins

Cosentino et al. 2001b, 225

elaborate child burial interred in earlier barrow, Late Iron Age

(first phase)

child (2-4y) with torques, rings, pendants, fibulae, knive, spearhead and 6

vessels

D’Ercole & Grassi 2000, 194-195

neonate (0-3m), with necklace, fibula, pendants, rings and small vessel

infant/child, with 2 vessels

group of three infant/child burials next to earlier barrow,

Late Iron Age (first phase) child (4-6y), with pendant, fibula,

knive and vessel

D’Ercole & Grassi 2000, 195

La Cona (Teramo) (large Iron Age

cemetery with several clusters of burials)

area reserved for elaborate infant/child burials, in association

with two interred storage vessels, Late Iron Age

(first phase)

2 neonates, child (6-8y), child (6-10y) Savini & Torrieri

2003


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smaller number of Early Iron Age burials (Table 17.5). Both in larger and smaller cemeteries infant/child burials were restricted to particular plots within the cemetery. They occurred under smaller barrows and in groups of graves situated in the spaces left open by earlier barrows (e.g. Fossa, Piani Palentini) in the Early Iron Age and the first phase of the Late Iron Age. In the latter phase they were situated either in connection with earlier barrows (e.g. Bazzano, Campo di Monte, La Cona) or in segre-gated spaces in a larger cemetery (e.g. La Cona). In the smaller cemeteries children (<10y) were singled out for elaborate acts of structured deposition that were mostly unparalleled in adult burials.

These elaborate burials probably coincided with the inception and lay-out of a cemetery (e.g. San Benedetto in Perillis, Bazzano) or a change in its use (e.g. Piani Palentini). At Piani Palentini the most elaborate child burial, dated to the end of the Early Iron Age, was situated in the part of the cemetery that became the focus for reuse, in the form of interments in earlier barrows, in the Late Iron Age. Given the reuse of the central graves under barrows in this period (Cosentino et al. 2001a, 184), this elaborate child burial could in itself represent the reuse of grave goods from an earlier burial. Its NE orientation marked the broadening of the range of orientations from ENE to ESE in the Early Iron Age to NE to SE in the Late Iron Age. At Bazzano the first child burial incorporated two orientations – the body to the SE and the sword to the S in line with a row of standing stones running from the edge of the barrow – that were followed in two rows of infant/child burials in the first phase of the Late Iron Age. A N/S orientation was rarely used and most likely had particular religious connotations, thus conceptually segregating this group of burials. This is not unlike the physically segregated group of infant/ child burials at La Cona, which incorporated an equally inferquent orientation of NNE.

In the case of Fossa it was argued that infant/child burials were connected with domestic concerns in the Early Iron Age, in the sense that commemorative practices of food consumption took place in the same spaces used for child burial in the cemetery. This commemorative ancestral dimension of these spaces may explain the absence of vessels as grave goods in infant/child burials in the Early Iron Age, as opposed to adult burials. Infant/child burials also included a range of ornaments as grave goods, arguably with a domestic connotation in the later Bronze Age. Commemorative practices of food consumption were also recognized in two storage vessels in the infant/child burial plot at La Cona, in the first phase of the Late Iron Age. Starting with this phase, vessels became normal accessories in infant/burials, as they had been earlier in adult burials. They can be regarded as a domestic dimension and should be seen in the light of the contemporary elaborate child burial at Campovalano with a vessel that contained spinning equipment (i.e. spindle-whorls, bobbins) as an act of structured depo-sition.

The majority of child burials in the Early Iron Age and the first phase of the Late Iron Age belonged to a specific age group (<6y). Only the largest cemetery excavated so far (Fossa) has provided a considerable number of burials of older children (<12y) and adolescents (<18y). These age groups are underrepresented in smaller cemeteries for which information is available on the age of buried individuals. One explanation is that burial was simply less selective at Fossa than in the other cemeteries. Another possibility is that the size of cemeteries was related to scales of social interaction and that we have to distinguish between smaller cemeteries with a local character and large cemeteries with a regional character. In that case, the fact that infants and young children (<6y) were selected for elaborate acts of burial in smaller cemeteries could have been connected with a threshold age of initiation into social life beyond the local, domestic sphere, as argued for the previous period. The elabo-rateness of child burials, as acts of structured deposition unparalleled in adult burials in local cemeteries, suggests that it was this young age group that was singled out to articulate domestic with collective identities in the Early Iron Age and the first phase of the Late Iron Age.

Lazio

In Lazio burial became more or less non-selective in the Early Iron Age, which gave rise to larger cemeteries, in some cases consisting of hundreds of burials. Given the wealth of burial evidence, the focus in this section will lie on established interpretations and, more in particular, previous studies on child burials in the region. Although this suggests that Early Iron Age burial in Lazio is well known, child burials remain underrepresented, with respect to adult burials, in the archaeological record. The debate on child burials focuses on the transition from the Early Iron Age to the Late Iron Age, when a tradition of infant burials emerged that was associated with houses in a number of settlement contexts (among other places, Rome) in the southern part of the region, and coincided with the disappearance of this age group from cemeteries (Bietti Sestieri & De Santis 1985, 39ff; Modica 1993). Before we turn to this later tradition of special treatment of infants with its obvious domestic connotations, I will illustrate the situation in the Early Iron Age and make comparisons with the situation in the Final Bronze Age, by taking one of the largest and best-published Iron Age cemeteries, Osteria dell’Osa (Bietti Sestieri 1992a & 1992b), as an example. In an attempt to explore the domestic aspects of burials in this cemetery on an earlier occasion (Van Rossenberg 2005c), I have given the wrong impression by presenting a number of elements that are specific to distinct phases of the cemetery, as if they occurred simultaneously. Here I will be more precise and elaborate on the Early Iron Age phases of the cemetery.

In terms of burial traditions in the Early Iron Age the Lazio region can be divided roughly into two parts, one to the north of the Tiber river, i.e. Southern Etruria, where


169

cremation predominated, and the other to the south, i.e. Latium Vetus, where inhumation and cremation co-existed, albeit the latter as a minority. For instance, at the Iron Age cemetery of Osteria dell’Osa approximately twenty cremation burials are outnumbered by some five hundred inhumation burials. The majority of the cremations can be dated to the first phase of the cemetery, in the first phase of the Early Iron Age. They were invested with domestic symbolism (Van Rossenberg 2005c, 130), epitomised by the house shape of more than half of the urns. Unlike the situation in the Final Bronze Age, in the Early Iron Age infants/children were excluded from cremation burials, save two adolescents or young adults (17-20y) (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 563 and 616). In comparison with the Final Bronze Age situation that showed an overrepresentation of infants (<6y) followed by an underrepresentation (or age gap) including adoles-cence (6-18y), the age distribution of young individuals buried in the cemetery of Osteria in the first phase of the Early Iron Age seems normal. The age distribution of child burials dated to this phase is as follows: seventeen infants (0-5y), eleven children (6-10y), eleven older children/adolescents (11-15y) and six adolescents/young adults (16-20y).

If we take a look at the spatial distribution of cremations and child burials in this first phase of the cemetery, both categories stand out. Half of the cremation burials can be found dispersed at the centre of the cemetery and seem to have served as a focus, surrounded as they are by inhumation burials. The other half make up a cluster in a relatively open space at the margin of the cemetery that was reserved for cremation burials and structured (re)depositions of cremation assemblages, consisting of the urn and miniature objects (metalwork and accessory vessels), placed in graves normally used for inhumation. Given the apparent significance of the handling of cremation assemblages, this area of the cemetery can be regarded as a focus for ritual practices with a domestic connotation. Some child burials (<10y) were situated at the margin of this particular area, but the majority were spatially clustered with the dispersed cremation burials at the heart of the cemetery. The paradox of the exclusion of children from cremation burials, on the one hand, and the spatial connection between cremations and child burials, on the other, highlights that they were equally con-ceptualised as acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation in the context of the cemetery. This is reinforced by the fact that elaborate child burials at Osteria included ornaments, for which a domestic connotation has been argued both in the Final Bronze Age and in the Early Iron Age in Abruzzo. Such a long-term and interregional perspective might argue against the interpretation proposed by the excavators (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 504) that ornaments were gender specific (female) grave goods in infant/child burials, rather than of a generic domestic connotation.

In the second phase of the cemetery a new type of burial for infants/children was introduced, in the form of

inhumations in large storage vessels, i.e. objects with an obvious domestic connotation. These vessels were placed horizontally in a grave and contained infants/children in a supine position, which restricted this burial practice to children with a particular height and age (<6y). The excavators argue that this practice was gender specific (boys) (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 503f), probably given the absence of ornaments, rather than of a generic domestic connotation (cf. above). In this second phase, the cemetery at Osteria expanded and new burial plots were laid out, while the old plots remained in use. Significantly, in the first phase, the first pair of burials in this new area had been an elaborate child burial (7-8y) and a structured (re)deposition of a cremation assemblage in a grave (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 634 and 698f), in this case associated with the laying-out of a new part of the cemetery (cf. child burials in Iron Age cemeteries in Abruzzo). This element of foundation underscores the domestic connotation and central position of cremations and child burials as acts of structured deposition in the cemetery at Osteria. With the expansion of the cemetery in the second phase and the rarity of new cremation burials, child burials became a focus in themselves and started to cluster in their own right. In the overall distribution of the first and second phases of the cemetery (i.e. the first phase of the Early Iron Age) child burials were situated on the reconstructed boundaries between groups of burials that are regarded by the excavators as family plots. Rather than at the margins of one group (i.e. a household or extended family), this would have situated child burials – as acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation – between groups, and thus at the centre of community formation in the context of the communal cemetery.

In the third phase of the cemetery (i.e. the second phase of the Early Iron Age), the emphasis in elaborate burials shifted from infants/children to adolescents, in the form of so-called weaver (or spinner) burials with large numbers of ornaments, spindlewhorls and bobbins. On an earlier occasion, I have argued for the conceptual complement-tarity between “weaver burials” and cremations as acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation (Van Rossenberg 2005c, 130), but presented these practices as if they were contemporaneous phenomena at Osteria (following the ‘synchronic’ approach of the first three phases in Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 491-513). One reason for this mistake is the persuasiveness of stereotypical gender identities, i.e. male cremations (or “warrior burials”) and female “weaver burials”, which are often generalised to such an extent that the limits of contemporaneity are stretched (Whitehouse 2001, 83-87). Here it should be stressed that both practices, one following the other, can be regarded as elaborate burials or acts of structured deposition with a domestic connotation (Van Rossenberg 2005c). In this respect, we also have to consider to what extent the expression of idealised gender identities may have been confined to the context of burial and was connected with particular age groups. In the cemetery of Osteria “weaver burials” predominantly represented older


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children (>12y) and young adults (<25y) (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 504ff). This shows a shift in focus at Osteria in terms of the elaboration of child burials from younger age groups (<12y) in the first phase of the Early Iron Age to older age groups (>12y) in the second phase of the Early Iron Age, probably in connection with the expression of age groups eligible for marriage. Significantly, the decrease in emphasis on infants/children (<12y) coincided with the emergence of the practice of infant/child burials in the context of settlements at the transition from the Early Iron Age to the Late Iron Age (Bietti Sestieri & De Santis 1985; Modica 1993).

As mentioned in the introduction of this section, the discussion of this category of burials focuses on the evidence from a number of settlements (i.e. Rome, Ficana, Lavinium and Ardea) in the southern part of Lazio (Bietti Sestieri & De Santis 1985; Modica 1993; Teegen 1997; Roncoroni 2000). In the north, in Southern Etruria, only one child burial has been reported from Tarquinia as a putative example of the settlement burial tradition (Teegen 1997, 238). However, this child (8y) was not buried in a settlement context in the second phase of the Early Iron Age, but in an area that had been in use as a communal cult place since the end of the Final Bronze Age (Bonghi Jovino 2005). In the context of ritual practices, four neonates were buried in the same plot in the Late Iron Age (Chiaramonte Treré 1995). This shows an interesting parallel with the situation in the south of the region, where the age groups buried in settlement plots changed from children (7-12y) at the end of the Early Iron Age, to neonates and infants (0-5y) in the Late Iron Age (Modica 1993, fig. 8). As at Tarquinia, the plots that were reserved for infant burials in the context of settlements in the south, were connected with domestic ritual practice, given the spatial association with houses. These plots provided a communal focus for additional burials and other domestic ritual practices, and were in some cases institutionalised at a later stage. For instance, the foundation of the sanctuary with domestic connotations at Satricum at the end of the Late Iron Age was spatially and conceptually associated with an earlier settlement burial plot (Teegen 1997, 240f), possibly similar to the strati-graphically more complicated situation of early settle-ments in Rome itself (Modica 1993; Roncoroni 2000). This shows that we should not underestimate the degree of conceptual continuity in the historical trajectory of particular ritual practices and places. It may also explain why there is an opportunity to prolong the tradition of early historic Roman attitudes to child burial (Norman 2002) into the Late, if not Early Iron Age (Modica 1993; Roncoroni 2000).

INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION

In adopting a long-term approach to child burial in Abruzzo and Lazio, the aim of this article has not been to retroject early historic sources back into the Bronze Age.

What has been shown, is that the treatment of the youngest age groups in a distinctive manner at death had a long history and can be recognised throughout the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, although the position of child burials in the cultural landscape changed continuously. Whereas in the earlier phases of the Bronze Age infant/child burial was connected with collective places of burial and ritual practice, with the emergence of individual burial traditions in the later phases of the Bronze Age special treatment of infants/children in the context of cemeteries can be recognised more easily. The latter practices show continuity in the selection of younger age groups (<6y or <10y) for elaborate burials in the context of communal cemeteries in the earlier phases of the Iron Age. As such, we should regard child burials as an opportunity to express central values in an act of structured deposition. Contrary to the simple notion of “wealthy child burials” as a reflection of personal status per se, I have argued that child burials were used to articulate domestic with collective identities. In this res-pect, child burials can be regarded as one of the signi-ficant locales where social and cultural reproduction took place, and where we can locate social and cultural change.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to thank Krum Bacvarov and Tatiana Mishina for inviting me to present a paper in the context of their workshop “Babies Reborn: infant/ children burials in prehistory”. My participation in the UISPP conference at Lisbon was made possible with funding by the Leids Universiteits Fonds (LUF) and the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. This paper is based on my PhD research “Social reproduction and transformation in cultural landscapes in the long term. The material conditions of social life in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Central Italy” in progress (2003-2007) at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. From its inception, this project has been funded partly by the Royal Dutch Institute at Rome with invaluable one- and two-month scholarships on a number of occasions. I’d like to thank Krum Bacvarov, John Bintliff, Quentin Bourgeois, Laura Crowley, Marjolijn Kok, Alice Samson and Hanna Stoeger for their comments upon reading drafts of this paper, although not preventing me from making my own mistakes. Finally, I would like to thank my supervisors John Bintliff and Harry Fokkens (Leiden University), and Peter van Dommelen (University of Glasgow) for their continuous support.

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D’ERCOLE, V., S. COSENTINO & G. MIELI. 2003. Alcune riflessioni sulle necropoli protostoriche dell’Abruzzo interno appenninico: il caso di Bazzano a L’Aquila, in COSENTINO (ed.): 533-547.

D’ERCOLE, V. & B. GRASSI. 2000. Necropoli proto-storiche abruzzesi a sud della Salaria, in E. Catani & G. Paci (eds) La Salaria in età antica. Atti del Convegno di studi, Ascoli Piceno – Offida – Rieti, 2-4 ottobre 1997 (Ichnia. Serie Seconda; 1): 193-265. Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider.

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FUGAZZOLA DELPINO, M.A. 1975. Ripostigli “proto-villanoviani” dell’Italia peninsulare, in F. Rittatore Vonwiller & G. Fogolari (eds) Popoli e civiltà dell’Italia antica. Volume quarto: 43-49, 57-60. Roma: Biblioteca di Storia Patria.

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GRIFONI CREMONESI, R. 1973. Prime ricerche nel villaggio dell’età del bronzo di Collelongo nel Fucino. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 28: 495-524.

GUIDI, A. 1981. Nuovi rinvenimenti in siti del passaggio alla media età del bronzo, in S. Quilici Gigli (ed.) Archeologia Laziale IV. Quarto incontro di studio del Comitato per l’Archeologia Laziale (Quaderni del Centro di Studio per l’Archeologia etrusco-italica; 5): 47-55. Roma: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.

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McHUGH, F. 1999. Theoretical and quantitative approaches to the study of mortuary practice (BAR International Series; 785). Oxford: Archaeopress.

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NEGRONI CATACCHIO, N. (ed.) 1998. Protovillano-viani e/o Protoetruschi. Ricerche e scavi. Atti del Terzo Incontro di Studi. Manciano-Farnese 12/14 maggio 1995. Firenze: Octavo.

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TEEGEN, W.-R. 1997. Mitttelitalienische Kindergräber des 9. und 8. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. und ihre Aussagemöglichkeiten - ein Arbeitsbericht, in K.-F. Rittershofer (ed.) Demographie der Bronzezeit. Paläodemographie - Möglichkeiten und Grenzen. West- und Süddeutscher Verband für Altertumsforsch-ung Jahrestagungen vom 24.-25. Mai 1988 in Ettlin-gen und vom 16.-21. Mai 1989 in Frankfurt a. M. - Kolloquium der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bronzezeit (Internationale Archäologie; 36): 238-257. Espel-kamp: Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH.

TRUCCO, F., G. MIELI & R. VARGIU 2000. La necropoli di Monte Tosto Alto: lo scavo 1997, in N. Negroni Catacchio (ed.) 2000. Preistoria e protostoria in Etruria. Atti del Quarto Incontro di Studi. Manciano-Montalto di Castro-Valentano 12/14 settembre 1997. L’Etruria tra Italia, Europa e mondo mediterraneo. Ricerche e scavi: 483-494. Milano: Centro Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia.

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A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA

Eileen M. MURPHY Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, [email protected]

Abstract: The cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg is located in the Autonomous Republic of Tuva in south Siberia. The paper will focus on information derived from a group of 3rd and 2nd centuries BC burials, attributed to the Scythian period, who were semi-nomadic pastoralists. An overview of certain findings derived from the osteoarchaeological analysis and of relevance to subadults will be provided. The adoption of a biocultural approach has enabled this information to be married with relevant archaeological and historical data. The paper will conclude by suggesting how a better understanding of prehistoric Eurasian nomadic children might be gained through the use of modern anthropological research in the area today. Keywords: Iron Age, Siberia, osteoarchaeology, biocultural, ethnography

Résumé: Le complexe funéraire d’Aymyrlyg est situé en République Autonome de Tuva en Sibérie du Sud. L’article se concentre sur les données obtenues à partir d’un groupe de sépultures de pastoralistes semi-nomades du 3ème et 2ème siècle avant J.-C., attribué à la période Scythienne. Une vue d’ensemble de certaines des trouvailles résultant de l’analyse ostéo-archéologique, et concernant le groupe juvénile, est fournie. L’adoption d’une approche bioculturelle a permis l’association de ces résultats avec de pértinentes données archéologiques et historiques. L’article conclu en suggérant comment on peut obtenir aujourd’hui, grâce à la recherche anthropologique moderne dans la region, une meilleure compréhension des enfants préhistoriques nomades d’Eurasie. Mots clefs: Age du Fer, Sibérie, ostéo-archéologie, bioculturel, ethnographie

INTRODUCTION

The paper will discuss findings derived from a study of a population of 809 Scythian period individuals that proved to include the remains of 171 subadults (i.e. those under approximately 17 years of age)1. The results obtained during this research programme have provided evidence for a wide variety of palaeopathological lesions, including those characteristic of developmental defects, infection, metabolic disease and traumatic injuries. A biocultural approach has been followed which has enabled the information derived from the human skeletal remains to be married with archaeological and historical data related to this culture. A summary of some of the main findings of the osteoarchaeological analysis of relevance to children will be provided (a more detailed discussion of the research can be found in Murphy 1998). This work has enabled many insights to be gained concerned the health and lifestyle of the subadults, and the attitudes shown towards them by their adult counterparts. The final section of the paper will discuss how we might gain a more holistic understanding of the children from pre-historic Eurasian steppe nomadic populations through recourse to modern ethnographic evidence.

It is first necessary to provide an overview of the archaeo-logical context to explain who was buried at Aymrylyg. 1 The following age-at-death categories are used throughout the text: infant (0-2 years); child (2-6 years); juvenile (6-12 years); adolescent (12-17 years). Age-at-death determinations were made on the basis of dental calcification (Moorrees et al. 1963; Smith 1991), dental eruption (Ubelaker 1989, 64), epiphyseal fusion (Ferembach et al. 1980, 530-2; Ubelaker 1989, 75) and diaphyseal lengths of the long bones (Ubelaker 1989, 70-1). Where possible, most emphasis was placed on the age determinations derived from the more reliable dental calcification and development methods (see Scheuer & Black 2000, 13 for further discussion).

The group under study derived from the Scythian period and form part of the broader Scythian World. This term is applied to a group of archaeological cultures dating from approximately the 7th to the 2nd centuries BC and located in the steppes, forest-steppes, foothills and mountains of the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the northern part of China (Clenova 1994, 499; Yablonsky 2000). The culture of the Scythian World in Tuva is called the Uyuk Culture, and it would have been bordered by the Pazyryk Culture to the west and the Tagar Culture to the north (Mandelshtam 1992, 179).

The material culture of the Eurasian steppe nomads and semi-nomads was markedly similar, as too were the political and economic practices which they each appear to have followed (Abetekov & Yusopov 1994, 23). The common material culture of the Scythian World is known as the Scythian Triad and consists of weapons, horse harnesses, and objects decorated in the Animal Style of artwork (Moskova 1994, 231). Other components of the Scythian World (such as dwellings, burial customs, ceramics and adornments) differ considerably, however, between the various cultures. Consequently, this is why it is not possible to envisage a single Scythian Culture but rather a variety of cultures of the Scythian World (Clenova 1994, 500-501; Yablonsky 2000).

Artefacts discovered in Tuva’s Scythian period funerary monuments indicate that the economy of these highland-steppe peoples was based upon semi-nomadic pastoralism augmented with land-cultivation, hunting and gathering (Murphy 2003a, 9-10). It is generally accepted that steppe nomads lived in portable felt tents known as yurts. The skilled carving and building techniques evident in the remains of their burial structures – log house tombs and stone cists – suggest, however, that permanent buildings


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Fig. 18.1. Map showing the location of the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tuva, south Siberia

may also have been used, possibly at the site of their winter camps. The important role that warfare played in society is betrayed by the great variety of weaponry contained within the tombs of the Uyuk Culture (Murphy 2003a, 11-12).

THE CEMETERY OF AYMYRLYG

The cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg is located in the Ulug-Khemski region of the Autonomous Republic of Tuva in south Siberia (Fig. 18.1). The burials originated from two main groups, with the majority of earlier interments dating to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, and attributed to the Scythian period. The burial ground was excavated between 1968 and 1984 by archaeologists from the Sayano-Tuvinskaya Expedition Team of the Institute for the History of Material Culture in St. Petersburg. The excavations were directed by Dr. A. M. Mandelshtam during the period between 1968 and 1978, and the research programme then continued under Dr. E. U. Stambulnik until the mid-1980s.

The interior structure of the Scythian period tombs most frequently encountered at Aymyrlyg were rectangular log house tombs. A considerable number of individuals could be buried within a log house tomb, with as many as 15 skeletons being recovered from individual examples.

These communal tombs are generally thought to have been family tombs. Large and small stone cists of Scythian period date were also commonly encountered at Aymyrlyg (Fig. 18.2). Interestingly, the majority of smaller cists have been found to contain the remains of subadults (Mandelshtam 1983, 33). Although a detailed statistical analysis of Scythian period mortuary practice at Aymyrlyg has not been undertaken, a variety of funerary rites appear to have been applied to subadults, with some having been buried within communal log house tombs, while others were interred individually within the smaller cists.

In terms of the grave goods recovered from the burials at Aymyrlyg a wide variety of weaponry (daggers, pointed axes, arrowheads), horse accoutrements (bits, cheek pieces, bridles), utilitarian tools (knives, awls, needles), pottery and wooden vessels, foodstuffs (joints of mutton, spoons in empty bowls), items of clothing (scraps of leather, fur, woollen fabric), jewellery (belts and belt buckles, earrings, bracelets, pendants), personal items (pins, combs, bronze mirrors) and possible ritual objects (two handled bronze pots, birch bark portraits) have been recovered. No attempt has yet been made to associate the artefacts with individuals of different age and/or sex. Indeed, it would be difficult to undertake a valid statistical analysis of the artefacts associated with specific skeletons within the log house tombs due to their communal nature.

E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA

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Fig. 18.2. (a) Infant buried within a stone cist of unknown context from Aymyrlyg, (b) Log House Tomb X. 1 from Aymyrlyg that contained the remains of at least two adults, both of whom displayed weapon trauma, as well as at least

three subadults. One of the subadults appears to have been an infant whose remains were placed in the bottom left corner of the tomb and it is considered possible that the baby’s cranium may also display weapon trauma (Both images

are courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture, St. Petersburg)

A perusal of the site archive indicates that subadults were buried with a variety of grave goods, however, including pots and wooden vessels. Some subadults were associated with a rich repertoire of items; a 6-7 year old juvenile recovered from Log House II. 8 (Sk. 4), for example, was associated with an iron pin, a bead, three gold plates, a wooden vessel, a clay jar, gold earrings, a bronze knife, a bronze awl and a bronze mirror in a leather bag. Such a finding may indicate that Scythian period subadults could hold a relatively high status position in society.

HISTORICAL SOURCES

The main historical sources which provide an insight into the lifestyles of the Scythian tribes are the Histories of Herodotus and the Pseudo-Hippocratic Writings by an unknown Greek doctor. Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, devoted Book IV of his Histories to discussing the Scythians, while the Pseudo-Hippocratic Writings include some interesting, and rather unflattering, views on the health of the Scythian populations in the treatise on Airs, Waters, Places, probably written in the second half of the 5th century BC. It is generally considered, however, that the descriptions of these authors were biased by alien sensitivities to the nomadic way of life (Rolle 1989, 54). Nevertheless, Herodotus’ work is considered to provide the most informative descriptions of the non-literate socie-ties of his time. There has been considerable disagreement over the reliability of his account but many 20th century archaeological discoveries have generally corroborated with his writings, especially his descriptions of the burial rites associated with the death of a ‘Royal Scythian’ and his accounts of female warriors (Murphy 2004).

Both of the above accounts indicate that the Scythians were nomadic and lived in wagons drawn by oxen and

enclosed by felt walls. The wagons were divided into two or three sections and built like houses, thereby providing protection against rain, snow and wind. The Scythian females lived in the wagons, while the males rode on horseback followed by their herds. They would stay in one spot and only moved on when there was no longer enough grass to feed their herds (Chadwick & Mann 1978, 163).

Pseudo-Hippocrates stated that the Scythians were the least prolific of all races, and attributed this to the harsh environment in which they lived. The people were all of similar physique since they ate the same sorts of food, wore the same clothes, breathed moist thick air, drank water from the snow and ice and did no hard work. Both males and females were described as being fat and hair-less, with the two sexes resembling one another (Chad-wick & Mann 1978, 164). Pseudo-Hippocrates was of the opinion they were flabby and stout because they were not wrapped in swaddling clothes as infants and were not accustomed to horse-riding when they were children. The writer also thought that they were too inactive as children, with the male children spending most of their time sitting in wagons, while the girls were described as being ‘amazingly flabby and podgy’. The Scythian people also had ruddy complexions because of the cold environment, which caused their fair skins to become reddened and burned (Chadwick & Mann 1978, 164-165).

It is clearly evident that the historical sources generally remain silent when it comes to the children of Iron Age Eurasia, and the nature of their role within society largely remains invisible within these accounts. The next section of the paper will provide an overview of some of the main lines of osteological and palaeopathological evidence from Aymyrlyg to see what insights this approach can provide about the children of Scythian period Tuva.


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DEVELOPMENTAL DEFECTS

Developmental defects are relatively common in modern populations, occurring with a frequency of between 1% and 5% in all live births. The defects occur with even greater frequencies in stillbirths and natural abortions, and are one of the highest causes of neonatal and infant death (Kennedy 1967, 1). The causes of developmental defects in humans are complex. They may occur as a result of specific dominant or recessive genes, arise sporadically or follow a familial tendency (Fraser 1959, 97-99). In addition, environmental factors such as maternal dietary deficiencies (e.g. hypovitaminosis A and lack of riboflavin) and excesses (e.g. a fatty diet) during early pregnancy can result in the occurrence of developmental defects (Seller 1987, 227). It is generally considered that the majority of defects arise from complex interactions between genetic predispositions and subtle factors in the intrauterine environment (Fraser 1959, 108).

Minor anomalies

Many Scythian period individuals displayed minor developmental anomalies, such as cleft neural arches, cranial-caudal border shifting and metopic sutures, all of which would have been of little or no consequence to the affected individual (Murphy 1998). It is possible that the relatively high levels of these minor anomalies are an indication that a small gene pool was present within the group. The practice of communal burial in the log house tombs of the Scythian period provided a rare opportunity for the examination of supposed familial groups within an archaeological population. Support for the assertion that sporadic congenital defects occur along familial lines (Barnes 1994, 293) may be found in the presence of specific defects among individuals buried within the same communal tombs.

Possible parent - child relationships may be suggested through the occurrence of cleft neural arch defects in a woman (Sk. 5) and a subadult (Sk. 6) from Log House Tomb I. 3 who both displayed clefting at the lumbosacral border. Clefting was also apparent at the lumbosacral border of a woman (Sk. 6 (i)) and two children (Sk. 5; no number) buried together in Log House Tomb II. 5, and clefting of the sacral vertebrae was evident in the remains of a man (Sk. 4) and a child (ii) from Log House Tomb XXI. 4. Both adults and subadults displayed clefting defects in these three tombs and it is possible that the skeletons were those of parents and their children.

Major defects

A number of Scythian period individuals displayed more serious defects that would have interfered with the day to day existence of the affected persons (see Murphy 2000 for a detailed description of these individuals). Although most of the individuals included in the discussion were adults when they died it is important to remember that such defects would generally have arisen before the

individuals were born and would in all likelihood have affected them throughout their childhood.

A 25-35 year old probable male (i), and a 35-45 year old probable female (iv) from Log House Tomb XXIII. 13 displayed hypoplastic mandibles and may have had abnormal facial appearances. The hypoplasia would pro-bably not, however, have caused major disability apart from eventual degenerative joint disease of the temporo-mandibular joints. A 17-25 year old possible female (D. 5. Sk. 6) and a 25-35 year old female (VI. 10. Sk. 1) displayed developmental dysplasia and congenital dislo-cation of the hip. Both individuals would have had abnormal gaits, and less efficient locomotory powers than most unaffected members of society. Three individuals (E. 1, 25-35 year old male; VII. B/E, 35-45 year old male; XXIII. 17, 35-45 year old female) with possible slipped femoral capital epiphyses may also have had gait disturbances and less powerful locomotory capabilities relative to the unaffected members of society.

Three individuals were identified as having had poly-tropic defects (i.e. defects which affected multiple parts of the body) and they would definitely have displayed abnormal facial characteristics. A 25-35 year old female (XXIII. 10. Sk. 2), with possible neurofibromatosis, would have had a dysplastic facies with a grossly enlarged and probably protruding eyeball. In addition, she would probably have had reduced vision in the affected eye. Other physical characteristics of neurofibromatosis include the occurrence of café au lait spots, skin tumours, kyphoscoliosis, pseudoarthroses as well as a large range of other abnormalities (Gorlin et al. 1976, 536-538). An 8-10 year old juvenile (IV. 2. Sk. 7), with possible Goldenhar syndrome, would have displayed unilateral hypoplasia of the left side of the skull. He or she may also have displayed abnormalities of the external ear and been deaf, had eye defects possibly including microphthalmia or anophthalmia, suffered from mental retardation, and had vertebral anomalies (Gorlin et al. 1976, 548-550). A 25-35 year old adult male (IV. 2. Sk. 3a), with possible frontometaphyseal dysplasia, would also have displayed abnormal facial characteristics. His facial features would have been coarse with large brow-ridges, widely spaced eyes and an asymmetrical face and chin. He may also have been deaf, had poor vision, had a short trunk with long extremities, elongated fingers and relatively immobile joints (McAlister & Herman 1995, 4207). It is unfortunate that in all three cases only the skull was preserved and it is therefore impossible to determine the full extent of skeletal involvement.

The appearance of individuals with major developmental defects in an archaeological population group can enable us to elucidate information about the society’s attitude towards these affected individuals (see Murphy 2000). The occurrence of adults with such prominent develop-mental defects in the group from Aymyrlyg indicates that even after the development of observable physical disa-bilities and disfigurements, presumably during childhood,


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the individuals were not deliberately excluded or killed. Indeed, the inclusion of a number of these individuals in communal graves with apparently unaffected people might suggest they were held in a similar regard to other members of society. At its most basic level clearly these individuals were allowed to reach adulthood, and some effort must have been made to enable them to survive. The historical and ethnographic sources stress the semi-nomadic nature of this society and it is probable the individuals would have spent a proportion of their time travelling in wagons across the steppes between their seasonal camps (Sélincourt & Burn 1972, 286; Chadwick & Mann 1978, 163; Vainshtein 1980, 51-52). Conse-quently, certain individuals with physical disabilities of their limbs would probably have needed assistance with the most basic of activities such as getting in and out of the wagons.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Periosteal new bone formation

Only a small number of adults and children from Aymyrlyg displayed signs of non-specific infection. The occurrence of skeletal indicators of infection is a sign of a long-term response to pathogenic attack and therefore reflects a vigorous immune response (Larsen 1999, 107). It is difficult to know if the lesions arose because the individuals were genuinely healthy or if many of them had succumbed to death as a result of infection before any lesions had a chance to develop in their remains. A total of 19 individuals displayed periosteal new bone formation on one or more bones2. No infants or children displayed signs of infection, with four 6-12 year olds and two 12-17 year olds displaying the lesions. This trend might be an indication that the youngest children were more likely to die as a result of the processes that caused the periosteal new bone formation before they had a chance to develop to the stage whereby they had affected the bone.

Tuberculosis

Four Scythian period individuals, including two sub-adults, displayed possible signs of tuberculosis3. Lytic lesions were evident in the proximal epiphysis of the right 2 An approximate prevalence of 2.3% (19/809) can be estimated for the prevalence of periosteal new bone formation among the Scythian period group. This does not take into account, however, the differential preservation of the individuals. The author is aware that periosteal new bone formation can also be due to inflammatory responses as a result of direct trauma (Ortner & Putschar 1981, 129-30), disease processes which cause physiological stress (Ribot & Roberts 1996, 70) or haemorrhaging diseases, such as scurvy (Roberts 1987, 14). A detailed discussion of the problems involved with the interpretation of periosteal new bone formation is beyond the scope of this paper but see Murphy (1998) for a more detailed discussion. 3 An approximate prevalence of 0.5% (4/809) can be estimated for the prevalence of possible tuberculosis among the Scythian period group. This does not take into account, however, the differential preservation of the individuals.

humerus of a 12.5-18.5 year old adolescent (X. 1. Sk. 2 (ii)). A 0.5-2.5 year old infant (XII. 4 (ii)) displayed thick plaques of periosteal new bone on the posterior surface of the right clavicle and on the anterior and visceral surfaces of all ribs and the heads of five right ribs had been subject to lytic destruction.

Given the semi-nomadic economy of this population, characterised by extensive pastoralism and secondary agriculture, the discovery of tuberculosis is not really unexpected (Khazanov 1984, 19). Archaeological and historical sources indicate that the Aymyrlyg groups would have kept herds of sheep, goats, horses and cattle (Mannai-Ool 1970, 91; Sélincourt & Burn 1972, 286). They would obviously have been heavily reliant on animal products for food and would have lived in close proximity to their livestock, thereby making them susceptible to catching the bovine form of the disease. Indeed, M. bovis infection is known to occur in all of the animals listed above (cf. O’Reilly & Daborn 1995; Moda et al. 1996). The human-to-human form of the disease is dependent on the existence of groups of individuals living in close proximity to one another (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 136). It is possible that the semi-nomads would have undertaken their migrations in small groups of several families, although the historical evidence for the succeeding Hunno-Sarmatian period indicates that people travelled together in close proximity in wagons and were capable of migrations which involved large numbers of people (Watson 1961). As such, the semi-nomadic lifestyle may also have been conducive to the spread of the M. tuberculosis form of the disease. A DNA study of Hunno-Sarmatian period individuals from Aymrylyg, however, has revealed that this group were definitely affected by the bovine form of tuberculosis (Taylor et al., 2007) and it remains to be ascertained if the same was true for the earlier Scythian period population.

METABOLIC DISEASE

Metabolic diseases are often regarded as indicators of stress. The metabolic lesions present in skeletal and dental remains are representative of an individual’s adaptive response to the physiological stressors which would have affected him or her during childhood when their body was still growing and developing (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 163). The body’s response to stress is dependent on several factors including the status of the individual’s immune system, genetic predisposition, age and sex. The soft-tissues of the body are generally more severely and rapidly affected by stress relative to the skeleton. Conse-quently, for the stress to have caused observable skeletal changes it has to have been severe and/or occurred over a long period of time (Martin et al. 1985, 230; Goodman et al. 1988, 177). A skeleton with no lesions characteristic of stress can either be indicative that the individual was healthy and not under physiological stress, or that he or she had been subject to constant stress and the body had not had the opportunity to recover from the insults


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(Roberts & Manchester 1995, 164). The metabolic lesions recorded for the Aymyrlyg individuals comprised cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasia.

Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis

Cribra orbitalia is the term used to refer to generally symmetrical lesions which have the morphology of small perforations of varying size and density and are apparent in the cortical bone of the superior aspects of the orbit. The occurrence of lesions of similar morphology in the skull vault, particularly the frontal, parietals and the occipital, is referred to as porotic hyperostosis. In addi-tion, in many cases the diploë reveals an increase in thickness (Stuart-Macadam 1991, 36). The occurrence of cribra orbitalia and/or porotic hyperostosis in adult individuals is likely to be indicative of childhood iron deficiency anaemia.

In total, 945 Scythian period orbits were examined, 18% (168/945) of which displayed cribra orbitalia. Sixteen percent (39/240) of observable subadult orbits displayed cribra orbitalia; it is evident that the greatest proportions of subadults with lesions were aged 0-2 years (6/20) and 6-12 years (19/98). It was possible to examine the crania of 473 individuals, 9% (41/473) of which displayed porotic hyperostosis. When the prevalence was calculated on the basis of age-at-death it was evident that the lesions were most prevalent in individuals aged between 12-25 years of age. Ten percent (12/121) of observable subadult vaults displayed porotic hyperostosis.

It has been suggested that diet plays a role in the development of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis although the occurrence of iron-deficiency as a cones-quence of inadequate diet in an otherwise healthy person is rare (Stuart-Macadam 1989, 213). Heme iron is present in high quantities in several foodstuffs, including red meat, poultry and shellfish, and is easily absorbed by the intestines (Mensforth et al. 1978, 17). Plants generally contain nonheme iron which is less readily absorbed. In addition, various components known as phytates and found in nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts), cereal crops (eg. maize, rice, whole wheat flour) and legumes (e.g. peas) inhibit the absorption of iron (Larsen 1999, 29). Con-sequently, the transition from hunter-gathering to agri-culture may have resulted in iron deficiency in the past as people came to rely more and more on plant foods. The archaeological, ethnographic and historical information indicates that the Scythian population from Tuva were principally pastoralists. As such, the products obtained from plant agriculture, hunting and gathering activities probably played a supplementary role in the diet to the meat and milk products of the pastoralist economy.

Although poor diet may have contributed to the occurrence of anaemia in the past it is probable that other factors were also involved. Children with low birth weights are susceptible to anaemia, and haemorrhaging disorders and chronic diarrhoea can also result in ana-

emia. In addition, excessive blood loss as a result of injury, parasitic infestation of the gastrointestine, and infection may have contributed to the occurrence of iron deficiency anaemia in the past (Hengen 1971, 67-70; Larsen 1999, 29-30).

Epidemiological studies have indicated that prolonged milk feeding and weaning diets based on maize or cereal gruels are commonly associated with a high frequency of anaemia in infants. This arises, at least partly, from the high phosphorous content of milk and cereal which inhibits the absorption of dietary iron (Mensforth et al. 1978, 18). In a semi-nomadic economy with a heavy dependence on animal products, animal milk would have probably formed a major component of the diet for children once they had been weaned from their mother’s milk. Young children in the first few years of life are particularly susceptible to environmental stressors since this is the stage in their life when they go through a period of greatly accelerated growth which leads to an increased demand for nutrients (Stuart-Macadam 1989, 219). If the Aymyrlyg children had a diet rich in animal milk it is possible the absorption of dietary iron would have been inhibited and that this would have caused some of them to suffer from iron deficiency anaemia.

Dental enamel hypoplasia

Enamel hypoplasia is one of the most common developmental defects of the tooth enamel. The defect arises as a consequence of the disturbance of ameloblasts during enamel matrix production (Hillson 1986, 130). Once a hypoplastic defect has occurred in the enamel it cannot be removed since enamel does not have the ability to remodel. Consequently, a hypoplastic defect acts as a memory to an incident of physiological stress which affected the ameloblast activity during the first seven years of an individual’s life (Dobney & Goodman 1991, 81). Modern clinical studies have indicated that hypo-plastic defects can arise as result of a variety of conditions including fever, starvation, congenital infections, low birthweight and parasitic infestation (Lewis & Roberts 1997, 581). The aetiologies of enamel hypoplasia can be categorised into two main groups, namely nutritional deficiencies and childhood illnesses such as measles or chickenpox (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 58). It was possible to study the dentitions of some 365 individuals from Scythian period Aymyrlyg for enamel hypoplastic defects, 28.2% (103/365) of which displayed the lesions.

Infants and children

Hypoplastic defects were present in 13% (8/60) of indivi-duals with observable deciduous teeth only4. Skeleton IV. 15. Sk. 1, a 4.5-5.5 year old child, had been subject to two incidents of physiological stress, the first at birth and the second during the first six months of life. The majority of 4 Enamel hypoplastic defects were calculated using the method of Goodman et al. 1980.


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the nine incidents of physiological stress occurred when the children were newly born (44%; 4/9), with 34% (3/9) of events happening during the first six months of life and 22% (2/9) occurring when the individual was in the late stages of being a foetus. Skeleton XII. 4 (ii), a 0.5-2.5 year old infant, displayed lesions of considerable severity. This individual also displayed lesions indicative of a systemic infection which may have been tuberculosis. It is possible that the systemic infection was the stressor responsible for the development of the severe hypoplastic defects apparent in the teeth of this individual.

Juveniles

Fifty-two percent (12/23) of individuals with an age-at-death less than 11-12 years and lacking fully developed observable permanent teeth displayed hypoplastic defects. A total of 17 incidents of stress were recorded. The defects appeared to have occurred at a number of ages, although the majority appear to have arisen when children were approximately 2-3 years (53%: 9/17).

Adolescents and adults

It was possible to examine the permanent dentitions of 282 adult and adolescent (c. 11/12-17/18 years) indivi-duals for hypoplastic defects, 29% (83/282) of which displayed evidence of having been subject to one or more incidents of physiological stress during childhood. A total of 150 incidents of physiological stress were recorded. In general terms, the commonest time for adolescents and adults to have been subject to such incidents was 2-4 years of age (64.7%: 97/150).

When the frequency of hypoplastic defects apparent in adults of both sexes was examined it was apparent that females (30%: 27/89) were affected to a slightly greater extent than their male counterparts (26%: 35/134). Individuals with no evidence for hypoplastic defects had a longer life expectancy than individuals with evidence of having been subjected to one or more incident of stress. In addition, individuals with evidence of having suffered a single incident achieved a greater longevity than those who had suffered from multiple incidents of physiological stress (Murphy 1998). It would seem, therefore, that individuals who had been subject to one or more incidents of childhood stress had a reduced life expectancy. Three processes have been suggested to account for this pattern. First, individuals who were subject to physiological stress as children probably continued to be susceptible to illness as adults. Second, individuals who had been affected by physiological stress as children may have been ‘biologi-cally damaged’ by these events. Third, poor social con-ditions could relate to the occurrence of both childhood stressors and reduced life expectancy (Goodman 1991, 283).

There are a wide variety of aetiological factors respon-sible for the development of enamel hypoplasia. These factors can be divided into two broad groups; those which

are due to nutritional deficiency (e.g. calcium deficiency or protein-carbohydrate malnutrition), and those which occur as a consequence of childhood illnesses, such as measles (Hillson 1986, 131). The Scythian period popula-tion were semi-nomadic pastoralists and, as such, would have relied heavily upon animal products for food, with plant agricultural foodstuffs being of secondary impor-tance in the diet. It is improbable, therefore, that the enamel hypoplasia would have been related to dietary deficiencies since foodstuffs derived from animals are rich in protein and iron.

A number of studies have implicated weaning stress as the cause of peak frequencies of hypoplastic defects among individuals of 2-4 years of age since weaning often represents a transition to a nutritionally inadequate diet, and this can be accentuated for the worst when the population is already marginally nourished (Huss-Ashmore et al. 1982, 447-8). However, more recent studies have shown that there are problems associated with this theory (Blakely et al. 1994, 373). An alternative explanation for the peak in frequency of hypoplastic defects in the 2-4 year age group has been proposed, however, and this argues that environmental disturbances may affect children’s tooth enamel (Lewis & Roberts 1997, 582). If we accept this theory then it is possible that the environmental factors associated with being a semi-nomadic pastoralist resulted in some children having been subject to physiological stress.

TRAUMA

Fractures

None of the Scythian period subadults displayed evidence for post-cranial fractures. Some 1.7% (8/473) of the Scythian period individuals displayed depressed fractures of the crania; three of these individuals were subadults. An 11.5-12.5 year old juvenile (II. 4. Sk. 3) displayed a healed depressed fracture at the midpoint of the frontal bone, while two adolescents (X. 3; X. 13. Sk. 6) displayed healed depressed fractures on their right parietals (Murphy 2003a, 45).

The majority of the depressed fractures apparent in the adult males and females were present on the left side of the frontals or parietals and this is of note since the head is often the main target for attack in interpersonal and intergroup violence (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 79). The left front-parietal region of the cranium is the site at which an injury would commonly be afflicted in hand-to-hand combat when faced by a right handed opponent (Wakely 1997, 26). It is probable, therefore, that most of the depressed fractures evident in the Scythian period crania had been deliberately inflicted, possibly by blunt implements. So, how should the injuries among the three older subadults be explained? Given the age of the subadults it is quite probable that all three would have been eligible to have engaged in warfaring practices,


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Fig. 18.3. (a) Cranium of a 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) that displayed a chekan injury on his/her left parietal (Photo E. Murphy), (b) An example of a bronze chekan axe recovered from Log House Tomb II. 6 at Aymyrlyg

(Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture, St. Petersburg)

although the possibility that the injuries were attained as a result of accidents cannot be excluded.

Weapon injuries

Twelve Scythian period individuals displayed evidence of weapon trauma which was probably inflicted using pointed axes (chekans), resulting in a prevalence of 2.5% (12/473) for these injuries. Two of the affected indivi-duals were subadults. A 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) dis-played a chekan injury on his/her left parietal (Fig. 18.3), while a 7-10 year old juvenile (VI. 9 upper (ii)) displayed a similar injury on his/her right parietal/frontal region. In both cases no signs of healing were apparent (Murphy 2003a, 69). Many of the adult males and females with similar injuries displayed multiple injuries. It is possible that an axe would have been able to perforate immature cranial bones with ease, causing irreparable trauma to the brain, thereby making it unnecessary to deal further blows. The occurrences of battle axe trauma in these two relatively young Scythian period individuals may indicate that not all of the individuals with weapon trauma were killed in battle but that some may have been killed when their camps or wagons were attacked by aggressors.

Decapitation and throat cutting

Skeleton D/G, a 5.5-6.5 year old child was the only Scythian period individual to display evidence for decapitation (Murphy 2003a, 70-4). The neural arches of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae displayed clear evidence of medio-lateral chopping. It is probable that the cut marks on the third and fourth cervical vertebrae had been attained in a single incident and that the head and neck had been severed from the remainder of the body as a result of these blows. The position of the chop marks on the vertebrae would tend to suggest that the decapitation had been undertaken from behind the individual. Unfortunately, the skull of the individual was not present and information concerning the archaeological context

was not available, but it is possible that he or she had been buried without their head.

Various explanations have been proposed to explain the presence of decapitated individuals in archaeological contexts. The beheading may have been carried out for punitive reasons, as part of a rite of human sacrifice, or for the purposes of obtaining the head of a vanquished enemy as a trophy of warfare (Taylor 2003).

This case was even more complicated because cut marks were present on the anterior surface of the first and second cervical vertebrae which may be indicative that the individual had his or her throat cut (Murphy 2003a, 74). We can therefore imagine the horrible scenario that the child first had his or her throat cut followed by decapitation. It is impossible, however, to discern with any degree of certainty whether this procedure was undertaken for ritual or aggressive purposes.

Trepanation

A Scythian period adult female displayed a typical trepanation, which appeared to have been undertaken when the woman was alive, presumably for therapeutic reasons. A 12-14 year old adolescent (II. 4. Sk. 6) also displayed a trepanation but in this case the morphology of the perforated area was quite different. The perforation was present on the coronal suture immediately to the right of the bregma, it had a smooth, bevelled margin with a thickness of 8 mm and measured some 18 mm by 8 mm. The bevelled margin had a glossy appearance which may indicate that it had been made using a metal implement. Alternatively, the polished margins of the perforation may be suggestive of wear (Owsley et al. 1994). A number of features tended to suggest that the perforation had been made post-mortem and as Dastugue & Gervais (1992) have suggested it is probably best to refer to the procedure as a decoupage post-mortem or a post-mortem cranial incision (Murphy 2003a, 76; Murphy 2003b, 213-15).


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Shallow scrape marks characteristic of defleshing were also present and the cranium had a generally weathered appearance.

It is possible that the procedure had been undertaken to retrieval a roundel of bone, although the roundel would have been extremely small. Nineteenth century ethno-graphic studies of the Dyaks of Borneo revealed that each village had a central house in which they kept the heads of their dead prisoners, suspended by a string which passed through a perforation in the superior aspect of the cranium (Gillman 1876). Given the presence of the child with evidence for throat cutting and decapitation among the group one cannot exclude the possibility that the adolescent’s head may have been suspended for either ritual or warfaring purposes, or even as a combination of the two.

DISCUSSION

The biocultural study undertaken for the population at Aymyrlyg has revealed a substantial amount of information about the younger members of its Scythian period society. Subadults were accorded a variety of forms of burial and were associated with a wide range of grave goods, some of which were clearly indicative of high status. Those with developmental defects do not appear to have been deliberately killed or excluded from society, and the presence of minor developmental defects in adults and children buried within the same communal tomb may be indicative of parent-child burials. The prevalence rates of non-specific and specific infections were low. When the prevalence rates of cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasia among the Aymyrlyg Scythian period population are compared with the results of Larsen’s (1999, 33-3, 50-6) survey of populations from different time periods and geographic regions it would appear that the Aymyrlyg individuals were not particularly susceptible to either childhood iron deficiency anaemia or childhood physiological stress. A small number of young children appear to have been killed during raids, while an equally small number seem to have been deliberately and methodically killed during warfare or for ritual reasons.

If we want to move beyond these osteoarchaeological facts, however, and gain a more holistic insight into what everyday life was like for a child living on the steppes 2000 years ago, then I believe we have to review the modern ethnographic record for the region. It would seem to be the case that anthropology has been slow to undertake specific studies of steppe children, and amongst the English-language texts there is a clear focus on the economic basis of these groups (e.g. Khazanov 1984). Although some of these studies make the occasional reference to children and the gender division of labour (e.g. Vainshtein 1980) the review did not find any texts which concentrated specifically on nomadic children. When perusing on the internet a series of travel

photographs taken by a 19 year old American student – Matthew Reichel – who had spent time during summer 2005 living amongst nomads of Mongolia it became obvious, however, that such photographs were a veritable mine of information. As a young person, lacking any archaeological or anthropological training or having any specific research questions, Reichel was able to capture perfectly the essence of day-to-day life amongst these nomadic people – particularly the children who made enthusiastic subjects for his photographs.

Clearly it is not possible to presume that the lives of people separated by some 2000 years would have been exactly the same. Researchers such as Roger Cribb (1991), who has studied nomads in the Middle East, however, have shown that there is much valuable infor-mation for archaeologists to gain by looking at the life of modern day nomads living in the same geographical area as an archaeological population under study.

To attempt such an exercise for the children of Aymyrlyg it is first necessary to consider the basics of nomadic life in the steppes – they lived in portable, but substantial, felt tents; they engaged predominantly in livestock husbandry and would have very much depended on their environ-ment for survival. How would children have fitted into this existence? Reichel’s photographs can provide some useful insights as to how the Aymyrlyg subadults may have occupied their days.

Young children in modern day Mongolian nomadic society spend most of their time either accompanying their mothers as they engage in their day-to-day chores or being looked after by their older siblings. This is also the impression that can be gained from Vainshtein’s account of twentieth century Tuvinian nomads (e.g. Vainshtein 1980, 90, plates 8 and 9), where the children appear to learn their daily work tasks from an early age. Vainshtein (1980, 66) records that women were largely responsible for milking animals. Interestingly, he notes that during migrations when the group arrived at their destination ‘a few women, helped by men and children, milked the cattle’ (Vainshtein 1980, 89). It is clearly apparent from Reichel’s photographs that girls of all ages help with milking the sheep and goats and with the preparation of mare’s milk for drinking (Fig. 18.4). Vainshtein (1980, 61, plate 2) recounts that sheep and goat shepherds were ‘usually very young’, while adolescent boys were largely responsible for the initial stages of breaking-in horses (Vainshtein 1980, 111). He reports that girls and boys as young as two or three years of age are taught to ride horses (Vainshtein 1980, 110). We can envisage, there-fore, that within nomadic society, including that of some 2000 years ago, younger people all would have contri-buted to the survival of the community and helped to ensure the continuity of their way of life.

It should not be forgotten that children need to have fun and play – the nomadic children of Iron Age Eurasia would have had the steppelands, mountains, forests and


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Fig. 18.4. (a) Young girls milking sheep at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia, (b) Girls taking turns to prepare Airag (fermented mare’s milk) to drink at the Altai Tavanbogd

National Park, Mongolia (Both photos are courtesy of Matt Reichel)

rivers as their playgrounds. During the summer months they would probably have spent much of the time outdoors – playing while they looked after younger brothers and sisters or watched livestock. In addition, there would undoubtedly have been time for mischief and indeed Reichel’s photographs indicate this is also the case with modern nomadic children. One little girl appears to have a broken arm and we can only surmise that she had suffered a fall – whether from her father’s horse or as a result of misadventure within a yurt we can only guess, but it is inevitable that Iron Age nomadic children would also have suffered from a myriad of bumps and bruises (Fig. 18.5). It is quite surprising, however, that so few of the Aymyrlyg subadults displayed traumatic injuries, although this may be a reflection of the largely invisible nature of minor injuries in skeletal remains. In addition, the paucity of fractures may be related to the rapid growth and healing of immature bone.

Fig. 18.5. Father and daughter on horseback at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park, Mongolia

(Photo courtesy of Matt Reichel)

CONCLUSIONS

To conclude, by collecting and combining ethnographic evidence with information derived from the archaeolo-gical and osteoarchaeological record it may be the case that a fuller picture can be advanced for what life might have been like for the children who lived in this region 2000 years ago. They would have helped the adults with their work, as they learned the techniques of economic survival necessary for their adult lives, but there would have been time for fun and adventures as they played on the steppelands. They would have enjoyed being part of the extended family, perhaps listening to their grand-parents’ stories inside the yurt of an evening (Fig. 18.6). Some of them would have fallen ill and died, but they would have been remembered buried in the communal tombs and cists along with their grave goods. The weaker children – even those with serious congenital defects – would have been looked after, to the extent that some of them made it through to adult life. On a darker note, some of the children would have been caught up in incidents of violence. But most importantly, we can imagine that they would have been loved, valued and cherished – just as their modern nomadic counterparts in the region are today.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Professors Yuri Chistov and Ilyia Gokhman, Department of Physical Anthropology, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, St. Petersburg, for granting me permission to examine the Aymyrlyg human remains. I am also grateful to Dr. Colm Donnelly, of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, for his com-ments on the text and to Will Adam of the aforementioned School for providing a French translation of the abstract and key words. Sincere thanks are also due to Matt Reichel who very kindly permitted me to include a number of his photographs within this article.


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Fig. 18.6. Grandfather and grandson inside a yurt at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia

(Photo courtesy of Matt Reichel)

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INFANT BURIALS IN IRON AGE BRITAIN

Belinda TIBBETTS University of Queensland, Australia, [email protected]

Abstract: Analysis of the method of burial and the spatial placement of infants in Iron Age Britain, concentrating on settlement and burial grounds in southern England, has revealed that infants were important within their communities and were regarded as a separate group from older children and adults in burial practice. Assessed were burial dimensions and skeletal orientation, relative care of burial, location of burial with respect to settlement areas, and evidence for regionalisation in burial practices. The resulting account of Iron Age infant burials will form the basis for an investigation of infant burial practices in Roman Britain. Key-words: Iron Age, Britain, infant, burial

Résumé: L’analyse de la méthode pour l’ensevelissement et le placement spatial de bébés dans l’Âge de fer la Grande-Bretagne, se concentrant sur les sites de cimetière et d’habitation dans l’Angleterre du sud, a révélé que les bébés étaient importants dans leurs communautés et ont été considérés comme un groupe séparé aux enfants plus vieux et aux adultes dans la pratique d’ensevelissement. On étaient évalué des dimensions d’ensevelissement et l’orientation squelettique, le soin relatif d’ensevelissement, l’endroit d’ensevelissement en ce qui concerne les régions d’habitation et l’évidence pour régionalisation dans les pratiques d’ensevelissement. Le compte s’ensuivent d’ensevelissements de bébé d’Âge de fer formera la base pour une enquête de pratiques d’ensevelissement de bébé dans la Grande-Bretagne romaine. Mots Clefs: L’Âge de fer, la Grande-Bretagne, l’enfant, l’enterrement

Burials are perhaps one of the most bountiful sources of information for an ancient society when no written language exists. One such society was that of the Iron Age inhabitants of the British Isles henceforth referred to as the IA Britons. Through the study of infant burial practices for this society, in community groups identified by settlements, it can be demonstrated that the differential treatment of this age group reveals significant information about how they were perceived by their community.

The sites used for this study are Gussage All Saints (Dorset), Owslebury (Hampshire), Danebury (Hamp-shire), Poundbury (Dorset), Suddern Farm (Hampshire), and Yarnbury (Wiltshire) (Fig. 19.1). These sites were chosen on the criteria of the accessibility of field reports and detailed records of infant burials. Only burial infor-mation gathered from published excavation reports has been included. The data collected includes the following categories relating to burials: age, orientation, body position, burial dimensions, grave goods, and number of individuals per burial. The other categories relate to the burials in the broader context of site location, burial location with respect to settlement, associated features, and care. Analysis was primarily aimed at identifying any patterns associated within the above categories that were evident upon visual examination of the raw data, and determining their significance for each site.

In some cases the excavation of sites took place in the early 20th century, which resulted in limited detail for burials other than those with significant grave goods. The publication of early excavations was often limited in their scope and interpretative analysis. Many of the study sites are located on farming land and have been partially destroyed through ploughing. Other aspects limiting the available information from burials are: acidity of soils affecting bone survival; modern structures situated over

Fig. 19.1. Sites mentioned in text

sites; time available for excavation; data collected during excavation and analysis of excavated material; and excavation method and purpose.

Site occupation is contemporary for all infant burials, with some sites being continuously occupied into the Roman period, as at Poundbury. The burials used in the present study date from the Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age. Placing infant burials within the chronology of a site relies heavily on datable finds within the burial and also in stratigraphy of associated structures. As the study sites had small, predominantly agricultural populations, it is


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Table 19.1. Incidence of burial type

Site Grave % (actual) Pit % (actual) Ditch % (actual) No. of burials

Yarnbury - - 100 (9) 9

Suddern Farm - 100 (13) - 13

Danebury - 92 (12) 8 (1) 13

Poundbury 100 (25) - - 25

Gussage All Saints - 82 (32) 18 (7) 39

Owslebury 100 (20) - - 20

TOTAL 38 (45) 48 (57) 14 (17) 119

considered that the burials reflect native practices; Roman influence becomes more evident by the late 1st or early 2nd century A.D. Populations of larger urban centres would be expected to display Roman influence earlier than their rural counterparts. Infant burials dating into the 1st century A.D. are considered to be continuous with those of the LIA.

The role of infants within social groups deserves greater attention than it has been afforded in the history of archaeology in this region. Evidence of their importance can be gathered through the study of infant burials. The most significant evidence that infants held some form of social status within IA society is that they were recognised in burial.

The type of burial afforded infants is analysed here for local and regional patterns. Of the 119 infant burials, all inhumations, used for this study, 48% were located in pits, 38% in specially dug graves, and 14% in ditches (Table 19.1). Four of the sites used only one type of burial, while the other two employed both pit and ditch burials; one of which was the dominant type. The number of individuals in each burial appears to be linked with burial type. The grave burials contained single deposits, with one exception, #265a from Poundbury, an infant identified in the burial of a female aged 17 years (Farwell & Molleson 1993, 260f). The infant probably belonged to the female, as there were no other finds of human bone in this burial.

The burials in storage pits and ditches have the highest occurrence of multiple deposits amongst burial categories. The term ‘multiple’ describes burials that include two to five individuals; both exclusively infants and infants buried with adults. Ditch burials are usually placed in the fill of ditches rather than at the base, and are perhaps more in keeping with pit burials. If the two are combined, there is an equal division between single and multiple deposits. However if pit burials are considered separately, they are slightly more often single deposits (Table 19.2). Ditch burials are almost two-thirds multiple deposits (Table 19.3). Pits that were dug for the purpose of disposing of the dead were usually for multiple burials, such as at Suddern Farm, where infants were in the

uppermost layers, being the last additions prior to the pits being sealed; the lower layers contained adult burials.

Table 19.2. Incidence of deposits in pit burials

Site Single % Multiple %

Danebury 83 (10) 17 (2)

Suddern Farm 23 (3) 77 (10)

Gussage All Saints 63 (20) 37 (12)

TOTAL 58 (33) 42 (24)

Table 19.3. Incidence of deposits in ditch burials.

Site Single % Multiple %

Gussage All Saints 43 (3) 57 (4)

Yarnbury 22 (2) 78 (7)

TOTAL 31 (5) 69 (11)

When dominant burial type is considered the sites can be grouped in the following way:

• Group A (all graves) includes Owslebury and Pound-bury

• Group B (mostly/all pits) includes Gussage All Saints, Suddern Farm, and Danebury

• Group C (all ditches) Yarnbury.

If these sites are compared regionally, only Suddern Farm and Danebury are closely located and similarities were expected from comparing these sites. The following aspects of infant burial from these three sites are unusual in relation to the other sites in this paper:

• flint included as possible grave goods (also occurs at Gussage All Saints)

• neonatal age

• burial with neonatal calf (Danebury)

• burial sealed with chalk.

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191

The information that can be obtained from the study of infant burials with regard to spatial patterning of burials and their relationship to settlement sites is limited largely by the area excavated at each site. Excavations are often undertaken within very limited time constraints and are designed to retrieve as much contextual information about the settlement as possible. When more extensive excava-tion has taken place, in some cases the entire area within a settlement enclosure, it is possible to support conclusions regarding the population and their actions based on a larger sample size. While this is evidently beneficial, it does not add to the wider knowledge of burials located outside the settlement area. In the case of Suddern Farm, it was only upon investigation of intersecting ditches that burials were discovered in a disused chalk quarry (Cunliffe & Poole 2000, 166).

By studying excavation plans and comparing spatial place-ment within and between sites, significant patterns were recorded. The stratigraphy of the infant burials at Pound-bury indicates that the majority post-dated the IA huts but predated the Roman buildings. This suggests that the infants were buried after the construction of the IA huts but while the site was still occupied. Although the infant burials have been separated into occupation phases, they appear to demonstrate a continuing burial practice rather than change influenced by Roman occupation. The spatial patterning at this site is often unclear because of overlying settlement structures and numerous foundation features making stratigraphy difficult to interpret with certainty. Only one burial, #1392, is definitely linked with the settle-ment site in Phase IIG (early to late 1st century A.D.); it is beneath the hut floor beside the foundation (Farwell & Molleson 1993, 13). The majority of infant burials are associated with structures R18 and R21 of the Phase III Early Roman settlement (late 1st century A.D.), which overlay the LIA hut series (Farwell & Molleson 1993, 12). The stratigraphy of this area is complex, and for this paper the infant burials are considered as continuous, rather than representing two separate periods of occupation. The structural evidence supports continuous occupation of this open settlement on the hillside below the main enclosure. Although the settlement structures change in form between Phases IIG and III, from circular IA huts to the roughly rectangular Roman structures, the association of infant burials to houses is maintained, for example in hut IA10 and structure R21. The change in structure shape at Poundbury did not have any significant effect on the placement of infant burials within the settlement zone.

The infants at Poundbury have a separate burial area to that of adults and older children of the LIA and Early Roman phases, with one exception; an adult male aged 45 years, burial #1367. The burial of this adult in the infant group is unusual. Its presence in the group is significant, and with regard to the infants, could indicate familial relationships, social status, or the provision of protection and guidance in the afterlife. The location of the adult burial could well have influenced the placement of infant burials.

Gussage All Saints is one of the few settlement sites that have been fully excavated inside the enclosure ditches. The results show that there were infant burials within the settlement throughout its occupation. In Phase 2 (300-100 B.C.), infants were located in two sections of the enclosure ditch and within the enclosure, but around the inside edges (Wainwright 1979, 22). The majority of infants for this site are dated to Phase 3 (100 B.C.-A.D. 43), and only two infant burials were located outside the ditch on the limits of the excavated area (burials #781 and #769); the rest were inside the enclosure (Wainwright 1979, 26). Most of the infant burials were associated with structures and pits throughout the settlement; nine infants do not have any obvious association with structures. The infant burials occur mainly in the central part of the settle-ment. Although there is no obvious spatial patterning of infant burials, the contemporary adult burials at Gussage All Saints reveal a significant spatial distribution. The adult female burials were located around the inner perimeter of the settlement enclosure, except for the burial of a female and two neonates, burial #139 (Wain-wright 1979, 32), located within a large trapezoidal enclosure. It is likely that this burial is that of a mother and her offspring. The adult male burials were inside the settlement enclosure and roughly aligned with the entranceway, possibly indicating a pathway through the settlement; perhaps an avenue of burials for those of high social status. The spatial placement of adult burials at Gussage All Saints may be evidence of an intentional order placed on burials or an artefact of the archaeological information available for ana-lysis. This positioning of burials within the settlement area warrants further investigation into possible burial practices resulting in the non-random placement of adult burials.

The IA burial ground at Owslebury had been deeply ploughed prior to excavation, greatly limiting the avai-lable information recoverable. Of the infants belonging to the 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D., 55% are located within the infant burial ground. The others are strongly associated with enclosures and their defining ditches. In the preceding two centuries there are two infant burials and one belonging to a child (burial #69, aged 18-24 months) that are found associated with a banjo enclosure related to the settlement site at Owslebury (Collis 1977, 28). The child burial is located along the external ditch and the two infants (burials #56 and #58) are found alongside each other in the interior of the banjo enclosure. These three burials are considered contemporary but show significant differences in their spatial placement with regard to structures and each other. This placement is unlikely to have been random, although the criteria for such distribution have been lost to time. The action of confining infant burials to the burial ground and other discrete areas within the settlement appears deliberate and was probably linked to a belief system concerning the disposal of the dead, or a form of distinction used by the population to maintain identity after death. Most of the infant burials from Owslebury were in single deposits in specially-dug graves within the burial ground or associ-ated with enclosures.


192

At Danebury all 13 neonatal infants recorded were buried within the settlement area, 11 of these were single burials and 12 were recovered from pits. The majority of infant burials are associated with circular house structures. There was one double burial of infants, possibly twins (burials #17 and #18) (Cunliffe 1984, 447; Bristow 1998, 300). The majority of infant burials were recovered from the upper half of pit fills (Cunliffe 1995, 73), and those recovered from within the settlement site were all aged under 12 months. This could indicate that older infants and children were placed outside the settlement area, and may have been recognised as a separate grouping to the younger infants.

At Suddern Farm, the disposal of the dead in pits does not appear to have been the normative burial practice (Cunliffe & Poole 2000, 144), and a burial ground was in use at this site throughout the Early and Middle Iron Ages. Suddern Farm is the only site where the infant burials are located outside the settlement site in what appears to be a discrete burial area within an old quarry site. The infant burials recovered were all in the top layers of burial pits within the quarry. The pits often contained multiple deposits with adults (male and female) in the lower fills (burials #C13 and #C18 from Suddern Farm). The occurrence of infants in the upper layers could be explained by the efficient use of the limited space remaining in the burial ground. As there are no infant remains from deeper in the deposits or mixed with adult burials, it would appear that they were not placed in this burial area until the final stages of its use.

Studying the spatial patterning of infant burials at Yarnbury has been greatly restricted by the form of excavation; excavation trenches were only made of the inner enclosure ditch (Cunnington 1932, 202). When compared to sites with similar enclosure formations such as Danebury and Suddern Farm, Yarnbury is the only site with infant burials recovered from ditches. However, these burials were dug into the ditch after it had silted or been backfilled (Cunnington 1932, 206). House structures were built over the filled inner ditch, meaning that the infant burials are connected to the occupation of this site and its houses (Cunnington 1932, 204). The location of the inner ditch would probably have remained apparent after filling, and the location of infant burials suggests that the ditches had some ritual significance. Infant burials were not located in the excavated areas either side of the inner ditch.

Burial grounds, such as Suddern Farm and Owslebury, appear to take advantage of contemporary earth excavation related to a settlement site or the continued recognition of an area as specifically for burial. The Suddern Farm burial ground uses an old chalk quarry, with most burials deposited in existing pits, and containing both adult and infant burials. Of the 13 infant burials, 11 were identified as neonatal. When combined with the Owslebury burial ground, in which only one infant less than 12 months (burial 48) is included with the

neonatal infants (Collis, 1968, 19), there is an apparent separation of neonates and infants. Perhaps at these sites there was further age segregation. The neonates may have been recognised as a distinct group to older infants, possibly as a result of their level of development.

Infant burials are predominantly small and shallow in comparison to those of older children and adults. At Poundbury, the burial depths are less than one metre, with 75% less than 30cm. The width is generally half the length, and where the length exceeds 50cm, the burial is extended, with one exception, burial #1214 (Farwell & Molleson 1993, 295). This burial itself is not unusual, but the size of the grave is closer to that of an adult; the infant was aged at approximately 18 months (the upper limit of infant age in this study). Possible explanations include the preparation of the grave for an adult but used for an infant, or that the infant was recognised as belonging to an adult burial category and given a larger grave.

Despite the effort, graves were cut into the chalk for infants, demonstrating the inclusion of this age group in the burial practice for this burial ground. The depth of infant burials is measured from the excavated ground level, which is considered much less that the ground level at occupation. As shallow graves may have been disturbed by animals (Cunliffe 1984, 451), it is unlikely that burials were shallow, yet the shallow burial of in-fants may reflect a perceived minimal level of pollution associated with the very young compared to that of adults.

Iron Age infant burials do not reveal a strong preference for orientation. If any pattern emerges, it is that the orientation of infant burials is related to site. There is an equal distribution between northern and southern arcs of orientations across all study sites (Table 19.4). Adult burials show a preference for a northern orientation. Many of the infant burials have not been included in this section because orientation cannot be confirmed from the disturbed and fragmentary state of the remains.

Table 19.4. Orientation of infant burials (published)

Site Northern Arc Southern Arc

Yarnbury - -

Danebury 1 2

Suddern Farm 2 4

Poundbury 10 15

Gussage All Saints 10 3

Owslebury - -

TOTAL 23 24

Fragmentary and disturbed remains also make the deter-mination of body position difficult. Among the surviving remains for which a position has been identified, the

B. TIBBETTS: INFANT BURIALS IN IRON AGE BRITAIN

193

tendency is for a crouched position on the right side. This does not appear to differ from the preferred body position of older children and adults, except for Owslebury where detail is unavailable (Collis 1977, 27). The Owslebury adults were cremated and buried with pottery vessels, while the infants were inhumed without surviving grave goods. The adult burials at Owslebury changed in the 2nd century A.D. to inhumation in coffins, but the infant burials remained the same throughout the occupation of the site. The majority of adult burials at Suddern Farm were placed on their left side (Cunliffe & Poole 2000, 166ff), while those at Danebury, a site considered to have succeeded Suddern Farm, exhibit a pattern of adult males placed on the left side and females on the right (Bristow 1998, 300ff). If this pattern could be confirmed through a larger sample size, it may be possible to identify sex of juveniles based on body position.

The infant burials in this study show a basic level of care beyond the removal of unclean elements from habitation areas. The majority of infants have been arranged in a crouched body position; a significant factor in the burial of all age groups. Body position shows a strong relationship to grave size; extended burial requires much longer graves compared with crouched burial. There are examples of contemporary burials that are extended (burial #311 from Gussage All Saints), and crouched infants that have been placed in graves considerably larger than necessary (burial #1214 from Poundbury). This evidence indicates that body position held some importance above the practical aspects of grave preparation. It is unusual for surviving grave goods to be recovered from infant burials, and where they do occur, they tend to be flint nodules or immature animals. Infant burial #219 from Danebury was placed on a slab of chalk and surrounded by flint nodules (Bristow 1998, 301). The significance of flint nodules is unknown but may be linked to provision after death; flint being a source of tools and a means of making fire.

There is evidence that infant burials were sealed with chalk and that some ‘graves’ were lined with chalk, for example burial #219 (Danebury) and #1383 (Poundbury). This preparation of the burial indicates that they were afforded substantial care and recognition from their community. Some infant burials are taken to have been left open to silt naturally, for example burials #15, #17, and #18 from Danebury (Bristow 1998, 300). The reality of leaving burials uncovered in pits associated with dwelling huts for an extended period of time is difficult to imagine, especially from the point of view of hygiene; a few days is conceivable. These burials are perhaps the actions of a raiding party dumping the dead. The original occupants may have returned at a later time to correct burials where possible.

The burial of infants in disused storage pits could indicate a lower level of concern for their remains; demonstrated at Danebury and Gussage All Saints. There is evidence, however, of special treatment after death at Danebury

(burial #19) where the infant has been buried with a neonatal calf. This special deposit was from the same level of excavation as the infant, indicating contemporary placement within the burial. The burial of animal parts with the dead was a fairly common practice in IA burials (Philpott 1991, 100). Such deposits could have been intended to provide for the dead, who may have resided in the grave for a period before moving on to another ‘place’, as company for the deceased, or evidence of sacrifice. The calf in this burial does not appear to have been intended as a source of nourishment for the infant, but perhaps could be seen as a companion or as a show of wealth from the family of the infant. There is an historical importance of cattle in the mythology of the Celtic vernacular from Ireland; for example the oral epic of the Taín bó Cuailgne. The simplest explanation for these deposits is the availability of a disposal pit at a time when both infant and calf were newly deceased.

Another factor contributing to evidence of care in infant burials is their proximity to house structures. Rather than disposing of the bodies with domestic refuse outside the settlement area, infants are often buried in close association with houses. Such evidence could indicate that the very young required further protection after death. This is supported by the placement of infants in common burials with each other and adult males, or in burial groups. There were no instances of older children buried in close association with houses or with adults. The burial of infants in close association with houses may be related to ensuring the fertility of any subsequent pregnancies, to maintain some form of connection to the mother, or protection from the family.

The infant burials in this study were compared to elucidate any contemporary practices common across the study region. The approximate tribal regions of the contemporary inhabitants contain Gussage All Saints and Poundbury (Durotriges), and Suddern Farm, Danebury, Owslebury and Yarnbury (Atrebates). There is little support for tribe-specific infant burial practices when these groupings are studied for similarities. But when the variables are compared across all sites, two groups can be identified: Poundbury and Owslebury, with Gussage All Saints as a probable satellite; and Suddern Farm, Dane-bury and Yarnbury (Table 19.5).

This grouped distribution separates the southern settle-ments from the northern, and may have some connection with the trading linkages of the settlements and their proximity to the coast. Geographical features could be a contributing factor to site differences; Suddern Farm and Danebury share a river system, and Poundbury, Gussage All Saints and Owslebury are separated from the northern sites by higher ground. These features, however, are unlikely to be a determinant with respect to infant burial practices.

The infant burials in this study show that the following aspects were common across most sites: formal burial,


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Table 19.5. Variable comparison across sites (initials signify sites, e.g. D = Danebury)

Variable Group 1 Group 2 Detail unknown

Grave P, O

Pit S, D G Burial type

Ditch Y

3-ditch D, S, Y Settlement type

Single-ditch P, G, O

60% neonate P, G, O Age of Infants

85-100% neonate S, D, Y

Dwelling D, Y P, O (infants)

Pit G Associations with structures

Burial ground S O (neonates)

Northern arc G O Orientation

Southern arc D, S P

crouched body position, shallow depth, burial within the settlement area in association with houses (except for Suddern Farm), and burial in an area not used for older children and adults (except for Suddern Farm). The differences evident at Suddern Farm may be related to an earlier date for the burials; other burial aspects at this site were common across all sites. Although it is not possible to draw unequivocal conclusions from the above information, it is clear that, at all sites infants were treated separately to older children and adults in burial, either in positioning or burial practice. A perceived separate age-related social identity would result in such differential treatment. Infant burials from the above Iron Age sites demonstrate that they had a separate status relating to age. They also provide evidence that infants might have been buried according to social status, with burials exhibiting varying degrees of effort and care.

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FARWELL, D.E. & T.I. MOLLESON 1993. Poundbury. Vol 2. The Cemeteries. Dorchester: Dorset Natural History & Archaeological Society Monograph Series 11.

PHILPOTT, R. 1991. Burial Practices in Roman Britain: a survey of grave treatment and furnishing, A.D. 43-410. (Tempus Reparatum) Oxford: B.A.R. British Series 219.

SPAREY GREEN, C. 1987. Excavations at Poundbury. Vol 1. The Settlements. Dorchester: Dorset Natural History & Archaeological Society Monograph Series 7.

WAINWRIGHT, G.J. 1979. Gussage All Saints: An Iron Age Settlement in Dorset. (Department of the Envi-ronment Archaeological Report 10) Southampton: Hobbs.

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SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH RURAL SETTLEMENT STRUCTURES

Sally CRAWFORD University of Oxford, UK, [email protected]

Abstract: This paper will investigate the correlation between infant burial and built structures within the context of Anglo-Saxon England. In all published reports of excavated Anglo-Saxon settlements, the discoveries of infant bones have been assumed to represent casual, meaningless disposal. This paper argues that, on the contrary, the presence of infant bodies within settlements was purposive and symbolic, and was part of a more complex pattern of ritual deposition of artefacts and bodies in Anglo-Saxon settlements. The paper challenges the conventionally-held contrast between cemeteries as fora for ritual mortuary behaviour, and settlements as entirely secular and domestic, and suggests that new readings of infant burials may lead to a reinterpretation of settlement spaces, ritual behaviour and mortuary patterns in pre- and post-Conversion Anglo-Saxon England. Key words: Anglo-Saxon, infant, burial, settlement, ritual

Résume: Cet article étudie la corrélation entre l’inhumation infantile et les habitations dans le contexte de l’Angleterre Anglo-Saxonne. Les rapports publiés sur les fouilles de villages Anglo-Saxon supposent que la disposition d’os d’enfants en bas âge était ordinaire et sans importance. Cet ouvrage soutient, au contraire, que la présence de corps infantiles dans les villages avait un but symbolique, et que l’enterrement d’objets et de ces corps à l’intérieur même de ces groupements d’habitation faisait partie d’un rituel complexe. Cet article conteste le contraste conventionnel soutenu qu’il y a entre les cimetières – arènes d’enterrements mortuaires religieux – et les habitations laïque et familiale. Il suggère que de nouveaux relevés parlant de l’inhumation infantile amène à la réinterprétation de l’espace habitable, du comportement rituel et du modèle mortuaire dans l’Angleterre avant et après la période de christianisation des populations païennes. Mots Clefs: Anglo-Saxonne, enfant, sépulture, site, rituel

A strong association between buildings and special infant burial has been noted in a number of cultures across a wide chronological range, and it continues to the present day, regardless of other changes that may have taken place in culture, society and religion (for example, Scott 1999, 94; Lillehammer 2005, 23; Ulrich-Bochsler 1997, 156; Finlay 2000). The presence of infant burials in and around buildings begs specific questions about infants and the structures with which they are associated. How should the presence of infant burials change our interpretation of a building and the relationship between infant death and settlement areas?

From the fifth to the eleventh centuries, Anglo-Saxon England changed from being a pre- or proto-historic rural pagan society dominated by Germanic culture, to being a Christian culture with a documentary history. Changes in religion and society were accompanied by changes in the burial ritual. In the fifth and sixth centuries, ‘normative’ burial was by cremation or inhumation with grave goods in field cemeteries. In the seventh century, the period of conversion to Christianity, inhumation burial predomi-nated. Burial with grave goods became less common, although a repertoire of rich grave goods associated with the elite was established. The extent to which this new, ‘Final Phase’ of furnished burial represented a pagan response to the introduction of Christianity, or represented Christian burials at a time when burial near or in churches had not been introduced, is still a subject of debate (Geake 1997; Blair 2005; Carver 2005). In the eighth and ninth centuries, the majority of the dead were buried without grave goods, and field cemeteries persisted,

although burial in consecrated church ground was be-ginning to appear. By the tenth century, burial in church cemeteries was an established pattern (Blair 2005).

One of the problems for the study of infant burial in the early Anglo-Saxon period is the relative lack of infant burials in the excavated cemeteries (Evison 1987, 128; Crawford 1991; 1993). There is a range of explanations for this dearth of babies, including the possibilities that the majority of infant bones did not survive in the archaeological record or that infants were buried more shallowly than adults, and so their burials have been lost, but it now seems most likely that the majority of infants were buried elsewhere (Crawford 1993; Buckberry 2000).

One of the possible alternative locations for infant dis-posal was within settlement sites (Crawford 1999). As Table 20.1 illustrates, infant bones have been found in association with at least eleven Anglo-Saxon settlements with a chronological span that extends from the fifth to at least the ninth century1. The presence of infants in Anglo-Saxon contexts should not be regarded as particularly surprising or unusual. The burial of infants in association with buildings is well-documented for the Romano-British period, and though there may be debates about the interpretation of this rite, the weight of evidence for the deposition of Romano-British child burials in association with buildings comes in the fourth century (Esmonde 1 I am grateful to Professor Helena Hamerow for drawing my attention to the find of an infant bone from the excavations by Cambridge Archaeological Unit at Brandon Road, Thetford, which are due to be published in 2007.


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Table 20.1. Infant burials at Anglo-Saxon settlements

Site Number of infants Date Reference

Barrow Hills, Radley, Oxon 1, in a sunken featured building 5th-7th century Hamerow 2006, 4

Eye Kettleby, Leics 2, both in sunken featured buildings 6th century? Hamerow 2006, 4

Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire 1, with adult female and animal skulls 5th-7th century Leeds 1947, 86

Wharram Percy, Yorkshire 1, with sheep bones, laid outside a sunken

featured building Late 6th or early 7th

Milne and Richards 1992, 84-5

West Heslerton, Yorksire ‘More than 15’ associated with sunken featured

buildings 5th to 7th century

Hines 1997, 164 (recorded discussion)

West Stow, Suffolk 4-14, in sunken featured buildings and ditches 5th-7th century West 1985

Quarrington, Lincolnshire 1 infant longbone fragment 7th/8th century Taylor 2003, 270

Brandon Road, Norfolk 1 infant Mid Saxon Hamerow, pers.com.

Hamwic, Southampton 2 infants in separate pits 8th century Andrews 1997; Morton 1992

Yarnton, Oxfordshire Children, not all ages identifiable, and a young

female 9th century Hey 2004

Flixborough, Lincolnshire 1, associated with juveniles and an adult female

– possible mortuary chapel? Mid 8th century Loveluck 2001, 86

Cleary 2000, 140). Burials of infants in association with settlement sites are also recorded from a number of Continental sites, covering a wide geographical and chronological range, so whether one were to argue that Anglo-Saxon culture was influenced by later Roman ritual, or derived from the Germanic homelands, both cultures supported a pattern of infant disposal in non-cemetery contexts (Esmonde Cleary 2000, 140; Hamerow 2006, 20 and 24-5).

Whilst the interpretation of Anglo-Saxon burials in terms of ritual deposition, symbolism and social status has received detailed discussion over many decades (see for example Saxe 1970; Hawkes 1973; Arnold 1980; Pader 1982; Geake 1997 for the pre-Christian and ‘Final Phase’ burials; Hadley 2000; Blair 2005 for the post-conversion cemeteries), settlements have been analyzed almost exclusively in terms of economy and settlement layout (e.g. Millett & James 1984; West 1985; Hamerow 1993), and the possible ritual element of ditches, graves, buildings and ‘special deposits’ (such as animal bones, pottery, and human bone deposition, of which material from infant skeletons forms a significant proportion) have, until the very recent and welcome publication of Professor Helena Hamerow’s work, been almost entirely overlooked (Gibson & Murray 2003; Hamerow 2006). Some burials of adults in settlement areas have been analysed as part of a discussion of non-normative adult burials in the Anglo-Saxon landscape, but infant burials have not been included in this discussion (Reynolds 2003). Given the relatively low numbers of excavated Anglo-Saxon settlement sites, infants have been found in

them sufficiently frequently to suggest that deposition of infant bodies within settlements was part of a cultural pattern. Furthermore, infants form a significant proportion of all ‘special deposits’ at settlement sites (Hamerow 2006, 4). Even so, the circumstances of their deposition, and any possible meanings inherent in the choice to deposit dead infants in such locations, has received scant attention.

One reason for the lack of interest in infant burials within settlement sites is that they tend to be found in pits, in ditches, and in the floors of sunken-featured buildings, and the material found in these locations has, until very recently, always been classed as ‘rubbish’ and disregarded, notwithstanding the strong case made by prehistorians that all deposits should be explored for their possible purposive, ritual meanings (see for example articles in Gwilt & Haselgrove 1997; Hill 1995). Compared to the wealth and high status of some of the material found in the cemeteries – weaponry, gold and garnet jewellery, glass vessels etc – finds from settlement sites are of a much ‘lower’ status, and often interpreted as distinctly female in their register – animal bone, broken pots, spindle whorls, loom weights, combs and pins make up the bulk of the finds. Even where articulated joints of animals have been found in pits, rather than being interpreted as ‘special deposits’, these have tended to reinforce the original view of early nineteenth century archaeologists that early Anglo-Saxon settlers lived in squalid, rubbish-filled hovels, as exemplified by T. Lethbridge and C. Tebbutt, commenting on the inhabi-tants of the settlement they had excavated in St Neots,

S. CRAWFORD: SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS…

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Cambridgeshire: ‘They had no regard for cleanliness and were content to throw the remains of a meal into the furthest corner of the hut and leave it there. They were not nervous about ghosts, since they did not mind having a skeleton sticking out of the wall of one of their huts…’ (Lethbridge & Tebbutt 1933, 149). By analogy and association, infant burials, found in these ‘waste’ loca-tions, become, in turn, casual discards. There may have been circumstances, as there are today, when infants were deposited in a hurried, secretive, non-ritual way. Two infants, dating to the eighth century, were found in pits associated with the proto-urban site of Hamwic, Hamp-shire. In one, pit 5736, the baby was ‘no more than a few weeks old, perhaps newly born’, and it was not clear whether the baby had been disposed of directly into the pit or redeposited from elsewhere. The bone was scattered on the bottom of the pit with soil which may have been cess (Andrews 1997, 204; Morton 1992).

In this context, it is worth mentioning the earliest recorded excavation of an Anglo-Saxon infant found in a non-cemetery context. From the mid-1920s to the mid 1930s, E. Thurlow Leeds led excavations at the site of Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, which was being destroyed by gravel extraction. In one of the pits associated with the settlement, he described the recovery of two bodies – one an infant, and one an adult female – with associated animal deposits:

‘…9 in. from the top of the gravel on the east side of the pit the toes of a human skeleton… lay close against the wall of the pit…The legs were traced downwards until the body came to light lying on the floor of the pit…The body was stretched …in a slightly twisted position with the head facing south, and with the arms half out-stretched before the body towards the remains of the skeleton of an infant…Behind the woman’s head and over the body of the child there was a layer about 6 in. thick, composed of earth and gravel which must have been stamped hard before the rest of the pit was filled, and could only be broken up with difficulty. In that behind the woman’s head were three animal skulls, two oxen and a horse.’ (Leeds 1947, 86).

Beyond the identification of the age of the skeletons and the sex of the adult, there was no further analysis of the bones. For Leeds, this unexpected burial, ‘so entirely different from any normal Anglo-Saxon interment’, was attributed either to the stressful circumstances of what he believed to be the site’s abandonment when it was over-run by a native British population (Leeds could not know of later developments in the interpretation of Anglo-Saxon settlement morphology, which makes his interpretation unnecessary and untenable), or that ‘some domestic tragedy’ was responsible for this ‘abnormal, and, in a sense, disorderly interment’.

Leed’s fixed idea that ‘normal’ Anglo-Saxon interment was in a cemetery, and his assumption that a settlement interment of a woman and infant must be in some way

‘domestic’, tragic, and disorderly, have set the tone for all the later discoveries of infant bodies in Anglo-Saxon settlement contexts. The evidence from Sutton Courtenay, accessible in published form for half a century, actually directly contradicts this interpretation. The size of the pit, the presence of carefully-placed animal skulls, and the carefully-packed soil over the deposit, all point to purposive, visible ritual behaviour requiring the invest-ment of time and effort. There is an extensive archaeo-logical literature on the cultural importance of the dead, and the need for communities to make conscious decisi-ons about the disposal and transformation of the dead body; and there is increasing awareness amongst archaeo-logists and anthropologists about the symbolic importance of the location of the dead within the landscape (not confined to ‘cemeteries’), in addition to an awareness that strategies for disposal of artefacts, either whole or fragmented, may have a significant ritual dimension, especially when these deposits include human material (Parker Pearson 1993; Esmonde Cleary 2000; Chapman 2000)2. Infants’ bodies should form part of this discourse.

Though there is a small but growing collection of sites at which infant bones have been recognised, problems with identifying infant bone at the point of excavation (thus removing any possibility of reconstructing the relation-ship between the infant deposit and any other artefacts within the feature), and a tendency to note the material only in specialist bone reports, have reinforced the low profile of infant burials. At West Stow, Suffolk, for example, the Anglo-Saxon settlement site consisted of halls and sunken featured buildings dating from the fifth to the seventh centuries, and included a number of deposits of human bones: two graves of adults were found within the settlement area, and in addition, deposits of infant bones were found at fourteen separate locations across the site (West 1985, 59). All the infant bones belonged to infants less than one year old, and most were, according to the very brief specialist report, newborn. A minimum of four infants were represented by the sample, as this was the maximum numbers of left femurs from the site. Either the remains of four babies had been dispersed widely across the site, or the infant bones may represent up to fourteen separate mortuary events. Five of the deposits came from the general occupation layer covering the site, and may be residual, but seven deposits come from the sunken featured buildings, and two came from the ditches. Some deliberate action of deposition is implied by the presence of infant human bone in these sealed contexts.

It is a characteristic of site reports focussing on Anglo-Saxon settlements and building archaeology that, while the function and purpose of buildings based on artefact recovery may be discussed, the symbolic meaning of infant burials, and their purposive inclusion in buildings, is not. The report at West Stow is no exception; in 170 2 See especially Chapman 2000, 145: ‘…there is a strong case… for regarding most deposits incorporating human bones as structured and culturally significant’.


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pages of report, the infant burials received one paragraph of attention, though the bone specialist did raise the question (without answering it) of how and why fragmented remains of babies came to be in the closed context of the sunken-featured buildings (Grainger 1985, 59). An analysis of the dead infants is entirely missing from the discussion of the function of the buildings: pottery and loomweights are privileged over the bodies of babies. A further contrast, within the report, is that the human remains in the settlement (including the remains of the two adults, both with fragile bone preservation, one, a female, with significant congenital bodily distortion and later distortion through trauma) are referred to as ‘burials’; a collection of bodies outside the settlement area is referred to as the ‘cemetery’, the inference being that between six and sixteen burials located within the area of a settlement did not constitute an ‘official’ burial area (West 1985, 58 and 64).

This unwillingness to consider possible meanings of ‘non-normative’ disposal of infant bodies, to the extreme that the only notice of their existence is confined to a specialist bone report, and the semantic differentiation made between human deposits which are assumed to constitute a ‘cemetery’, compared to other human de-posits deemed to constitute individual, non-normative ‘burials’, is not confined this single site (nor indeed to this period: see for example Esmonde Cleary 2000 for a discussion of the Romano-British material)3. Similar distinctions occur in the report on the ninth century Anglo-Saxon settlement at Yarnton, Oxfordshire (Hey 2004). Two separate areas of inhumation deposits were found in the excavations at this site. One was a small group of six adult burials at a distance from the middle Saxon settlement. This group was identified as the community field cemetery, of the sort that seem to have been relatively common at this period, before the proliferation of parish churches in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The second group of at least five burials was in the middle of the settlement, and contained the remains of a woman aged between thirteen and nineteen years, whose burial overlay a ditch containing the fragmentary remains of at least four subadults, one aged six to eight years, one aged six to seven years, and the rest juvenile, but of unidentifiable biological age. The commentator noted that ‘it is difficult to resist the conclusion that, regardless of the Christian context of the burials, children were not considered to merit burial within the small cemetery’ (Boyle 2004, 75). There were certainly two separate burial areas at this site, though only the six burials in the adult area have been designated a ‘ce-metery’ in the site report, and it was assumed that burial in this extra-settlement area was privileged over burial within the settlement. The settlement was interpreted as domestic and secular, and no analysis was made of the relationship between the mortuary deposits within the 3 Dr Simon Esmonde Cleary’s characteristically intelligent and percep-tive work on ‘non-normative’ deposition in Roman contexts has been insightful, and I have benefited enormously from his informed commen-taries on both Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon burial patterns.

settlement and the spaces in which these deposits were found.

There appear to be two assumptions underpinning the apparent irrelevance of infant and other burials to the interpretation of the settlements at West Stow and Yarnton: first, that the settlements were unquestionably secular and domestic in nature, and secondly, that deposits of dead infants within the settlement area were therefore made in an essentially non-meaningful way.

At Wharram Percy, Yorkshire, there is some direct evidence to suggest that infant burials should be incorporated within the discussion of ‘ritual’ deposition at secular sites. Excavation of two sunken featured buildings at this site revealed the burial of an infant and an associated deposition of sheep bones, in the construction ditch of one sunken featured building, within three metres of the building’s west wall (Milne & Richards 1992, 84-5). Radio-carbon dating placed the infant’s death in the late sixth or early seventh centuries. The infant was complete and articulated and was either stillborn or died immediately after birth. The sheep remains ‘indicate a dump of partly butchered bones, possibly in articulated groups, and probably mostly from the same animal, around a year old’ (Milne & Richards 1992, 84). The infant burial appears to have been marked by a round stone or boulder. Fine sieving around the burial revealed minute specks of amber, and an amphora sherd was also found in the vicinity of the burial, though it may have been residual, rather than being deliberately associated with the infant. The infant was carefully placed on a layer of material, upcast from the sunken featured building, which had been used to fill a nearby Romano-British ditch. There was no trace of a grave cut, which has led to the suggestion that the infant was laid in the open air and left exposed, but the burial was covered by a layer of clay and charcoal very shortly after deposition, and there are no signs of rodent gnawing on the bones, so the case for excarnation is not certain (Milne & Richards 1992, 20; Hamerow 2006, 14).

There can be no doubt that there was an element of care and structure to the deposition of this infant, and the elaborate association of an animal carcase and the possible stone marker with the baby suggest that this was in no way a ‘secret’ burial, hidden from the rest of the community (especially if it is true that the infant was left exposed), but the deposit of one newborn baby in association with a building need not be interpreted as part of a wider, public ‘grammar’ of burial. Comparison might be made with similarly-structured burials from the later medieval period, at a time when the only officially-sanctioned form of burial was within consecrated ground. At the longhouse complex at Upton, Gloucestershire, for example, the thirteenth-century burial of a three to six month old baby took place in the south-east corner of a room. The baby was buried with a spindle whorl and a large whelk shell, and a floor slab covered the grave (Rahtz 1969, 87). In another part of England altogether, at


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the end of the thirteenth century, a baby was buried under the southern wall of a building in Westbury, Buckinghamshire, and an in utero foetus of five to seven months of age, showing signs of gnawing marks from rodents, was buried in association with a building on Croft 13. Also within the building was a pit containing ‘the remains of two intentionally-placed pots’. Whatever was happening at Westbury was outside any officially-sanctioned ritual behaviour; nonetheless the sense of a deliberate, intentional and even purposeful burial was so strong that the excavator remarked that ‘it is certainly possible that this burial represents some sort of foundation deposit’ (Ivens et al. 1995, 145). At the neighbouring village of Tattenhoe, Buckinghamshire, the southern wall of building 4, archaeologically difficult to define, was marked by a line of pad-stones along the edge of an eaves-drip drainage gully. One pad stone sealed a shallow depression containing the remains of an infant, possibly a still-born baby, with three animal bones place over it. Again, the sense of deliberate ritual was strong enough to promote the suggestion of a foundation deposit, or ‘a more secretive burial of a perhaps illegitimate or defor-med child’ (Ivens 1995, 33).

The Tattenhoe and Westbury burials raised two opposing responses to the burial of the infants: either they were unwanted, and secretly deposited, so that the function of the buildings with which they were associated is irrelevant to the babies, or they were ‘foundation deposits’, so that their burial – and also, possibly, the circumstances of their death, if not merely co-incidental – were intrinsic to the creation and functioning of the building to which their bodies had been dedicated. It is not at all clear what, if anything, distinguished the buildings at Tattenhoe and Westbury, or the outhouse at Upton, as requiring special infant foundation burials, compared to any of the other buildings at these villages, apart from the presence of the babies themselves and their associated deposits.

The problems of interpretation inherent in accepting the possible symbolic impact of infant burials within sites such as West Stow, Yarnton and Wharram Percy, which would require a ritualising of what have traditionally been identified as secular, domestic, economic spaces, is further problematised by infant burials in contexts which are currently interpreted as Christian and ecclesiastical. The settlement of Flixborough, Lincolnshire, was in use throughout the Middle and Late Saxon periods. Between the late seventh and mid eighth centuries, the whole of the excavated area was inhabited. In the early to mid-eighth century, building 20 was replaced by an exceptional structure, building 1a, internally divided with a hearth at one end, and containing four burials along its walls on an east-west alignment. Two further burials were located outside the walls of the building to the south and south-east. All the burials were of juveniles aged between three and twelve years, with the exception of an adult female, aged 20-30 years, who had been buried with a perinatal foetus at her feet (Loveluck 2001, 86). All the children

showed signs of the dietary deficiencies implied by the presence of cribra orbitalia, and the female has been diagnosed as having suffered from tuberculosis. The small inhumation cemetery associated with the site contained no burials under the ages of seventeen, though this cemetery was not fully excavated.

The site of Flixborough was initially interpreted as an undocumented monastic centre on the basis of the similarity between the high status artefacts recovered from Flixborough and those from documented monastic sites (Whitwell 1991, 247; Yorke 1993, 146), but Loveluck has challenged this interpretation, arguing that, while it is a complex high status site showing changing patterns of consumption and production through the middle to late Saxon periods, there are no clear grounds for describing Flixborough as a monastic centre at any point in its evolution (Loveluck 2001, 120-121). Given this interpretation, it has been suggested that the burials within and beside building 1a might indicate that the building was the mortuary chapel of an elite household, separating itself from the main cemetery (Morris 1989:: 133; Loveluck 2001, 10).

In the case of Flixborough, the separate juvenile, infant and adult burials have been placed within a ‘public’ mortuary context – there is no suggestion here of casual deposition, and, given the dispute about the possible ecclesiastical function of the site, the presence of the settlement burials has been given consideration in the context of the use of the associated buildings: in this case, the building which represents the focus of the burials has been ascribed a specific mortuary function. However, this set of burials corresponds with those from both pre-Christian West Stow and later Yarnton in several ways: at all the sites, there are two burial areas, with the settlement burials consisting predominantly of sub-adults, and the female adults at West Stow and Flixborough both suffered from severe, deforming pathologies. This pattern of burial is replicated at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, dating to the eighth and ninth centuries, which has a secure, documented function as an important Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical site. This development included a church, a burial chapel into which four adult burials were inserted, and a burial ground abutting the east wall of the burial chapel containing the graves of about fifty-six children (Hill 1997, 557). No infants were found within the burial chapel itself, and the ‘children’s graveyard’ was only in use for a very short period of about thirty to forty years. Even so, burial within the children’s graveyard can be divided into two phases. The first phase, lasting only ten to fifteen years, was exclusively for perinatal and infant burials, including the burial of four infants up to two months premature at the time of burial, who cannot have been baptised, and should not, according to canon law, have been included in a consecrated burial ground (Hill 1997, 558). The second phase of burial included older children. The children’s graveyard was sealed by the deposition of a bundle of bones of a young adult female, whose partially decomposed body was wrapped up in a


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cloth and deposited over the children’s graves. She was suffering from tuberculosis. Finally, ashes from the cremation (a method of disposing of bodies more normally associated with the pagan period) of at least four adults were spread over the area. Another feature of the graveyard was that, while the majority of the adult burials at Whithorn showed a population with good levels of health, the children’s skeletons exhibited striking levels of chronic problems associated with sickness or dietary deficiency. Again, in contrast to the adult burials, while the majority of the adults were given normal West-East extended alignment, the children’s burials showed much more variation (Hill 1997, 559).

The evidence from Anglian Whithorn poses a number of problems of interpretation. The presence of pre-term infants in the cemetery suggests that such babies were considered fit for burial within a church context, though it seems unlikely that all of them, particularly the stillborn, can have been baptised. On the other hand, the infant burials were very clearly segregated from all other burials, and the infant and child mortuary population was very different to the adult mortuary population, both in terms of pathology and burial layout. Finally, deliberate sealing of the cemetery with the translated remains of woman who had been chronically ill, disabled, and probably disabled during her life, raises new possibilities about the ‘special’ nature of the space in which these infants and children were buried.

Given that the later phase of Whithorn’s use for infant burial corresponded to a period of decline and possible abandonment of the site, one interpretation of this infant cemetery could be that it functioned in a similar way to medieval Irish infant burial sites (‘cillins’), which contained dead infants who were excluded from church burial because they were unbaptised, and also contained the graves of excluded adults, such as strangers, suicides, and shipwrecked sailors (Finlay 2000, 411). Not all cillins were associated with abandoned churches; other marginal and disused features in the landscape, such as raths, ogham stones, tower houses and enclosures became the focus for such burials (Finlay 2000, 412). In the case of cillins, the buildings were chosen because they were abandoned, not because of their religious associations, and Nyree Finlay furthermore argued that these sites did not gain a new ritual life with the burial of the babies, because there is no evidence that such sites became places of remembrance, or were ever visited by the relatives of the dead babies (Finlay 2000, 413).

A noticeable feature of the chronological range of infant deposition in association with buildings is that, to date, there appear to be no examples for the last two centuries of the Anglo-Saxon period. The disappearance of infant burial in settlements appears to coincide with the proliferation of parish churches across Anglo-Saxon England, which finally established burial within church-yards as the ‘proper’ place to put the dead (Blair 2005). A few late Anglo-Saxon churches and their graveyards have

been excavated, including the site at Raunds, Northam-ptonshire (Boddington 1996). Here, the church and burial ground were established in the mid-tenth century, and in this first phase of the cemetery, infant burials were found throughout the site. A second phase of graveyard expansion led to the area adjacent to the church walls being brought into use, first for adults, who were buried close to the wall, and then for infants, who were buried right up against the wall as ‘eavesdrip’ burials (Bodding-ton 1996, 9). Infants were almost entirely absent from zones 4 and 5, to the north east and south east of the graveyard. Other excavated sites show a similar pattern of ‘eavesdrip’ infant burial (Blair 2005, 471). The pheno-menon of ‘eavesdrip’ burials associated with church buildings is widespread, and itself may be derived from the Roman burial practice of placing dead infants under the eaves of houses (cf. Watts 1989). If the evidence from Raunds for infant eavesdrip as a late introduction, post-dating the first phase of churchyard burial, reflects a general pattern, rather than being a local phenomenon, then the appearance of infants next to the walls of churches, at the same time as they become archaeolo-gically invisible in settlement contexts, might offer the possibility that, to some extent, church eavesdrip burial was replacing and transforming some of the ritual and symbolic references of infant settlement burials.

In this paper I have explored the problem of assessing the ‘meaning’ of separate infant and juvenile burial grounds within Anglo-Saxon secular, or possibly secular, settle-ment sites. The difficulty of acknowledging that such burials have to be read as part of the settlement’s social and ritual construct, and the lack of a framework within which to discuss whether these burials should be interpreted as private, non-ritual and of lower status than adult burials in field cemeteries, or even as relevant and ritually meaningful to the buildings and settlements with which they are associated, remains a barrier to under-standing not only the place of dead infants within the spiritual and symbolic world of the Anglo-Saxons, but also our ability to decipher the relationship between dwelling places, built structures, other ‘ritual’ deposits, and the dead. The sites discussed in this paper, ranging from the fifth to the ninth centuries, and from the ‘secular’ to the ecclesiastical, seem to share a common vocabulary of separate deposition for infants, juveniles and selected adults, and in all but one of these cases, the adult burials included the disfigured or significantly disabled, and it may be that the woman with the infant at Sutton Courtenay should be included in this group, though there is no osteoarchaeological data for the female skeleton. This conjunction of infant, juveniles and disabled adults persisted regardless of a radical change in religious beliefs in this period.

This paper also draws attention to the way in which an assumption that infant mortuary deposition within settle-ments was ‘casual’ and effectively thoughtless needs challenging, because until it has been reconsidered, the relationship between settlement and extra-settlement


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mortuary populations, and the extent to which burial in association with buildings, prior to the introduction of church burial for all, was privileged and ‘special’ rather than low status, cannot be explored4. At present, it is not possible to say, on the basis of the archaeological evidence, how Anglo-Saxon settlement infant burials relate to the life-cycle of buildings or settlements (whether they have, for example, what prehistorians have recognised as a ‘regenerative role’ for strategically placed artefacts in settlement sites), nor how they relate, in time and space, to other ‘special deposits’ in the settlement area (Gwilt & Haselgrove 1997, 3). Furthermore, the standard of the currently-available evidence will not bear the weight of analysis which would allow us to test whether infant burial in settlement areas represents a continuation of Romano-British ritual practices, or is sufficiently different to infer a distinct break between Roman and post-Roman ritual. In this paper, I have focussed on the burials of infants within settlements, but it is likely that future analysis of ‘special deposits’ within the Anglo-Saxon settlements will show (as Professor Hamerow has postulated) that infants form only part of a wider, complex pattern of deposited materials in the Anglo-Saxon period (Hamerow 2006). It is to be hoped that future excavations at Anglo-Saxon settlement sites will be carried out with an expectation that infant bodies may be present, so that excavation strategies appropriate to the recovery of their bodies in situ will allow further exploration to be made of the relationships between infant bodies, households, and the ritual and symbolic life of Anglo-Saxon society.

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ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES SELON LES EXTIRPATEURS

D’IDOLATRIES ANDINES DU XVIIEME SIECLE

Mariel Alejandra LOPEZ Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, [email protected]

Abstract: The seventeenth-century Peruvian exhortations and instructions for fight against the idolatries in the Andean world defined “Chuchos” or “Cutis” and “Chacpas” – categories of child burial – as idolatries, which should be extirpated. These were the typical child burials in ollas or jars in the Andean world and especially in the study area, Quebrada de Humahuaca, within domestic structures at sites well known as “pueblos viejos or antigales” and “pukaras”. The material considered here reveals the nature and origins of this ritual, which has not been practiced for all dead children. From a European cosmogonic point of view, these burials began as funerary ritual but also had a ceremonial character as long as the buried individuals had been considered as “sacred beings” and mobile “huacas” due to characteristics of their birth. The evidence of the historical records is considered here in relation to the “functional context” of the archaeological material as well as to the problem of the idolatries’ extirpation, using logs of archaeological collections and new excavation results. Keywords: Children, “ollas” or jar burials, mobile “huacas”, “Quebrada de Humahuaca”, Argentina

Résume: Les exhortations et instructions écrites au Pérou au XVIIème siècle pour lutter contre les idolâtries dans le monde andin coïncident pour décrire ces catégories de sépultures, “Chuchos” ou “Cutis” et “Chacpas” comme des idolâtries à extirper. Il s’agit des sépultures caractéristiques de certains enfants, dans des céramiques ollas qui sont fréquemment découvertes dans le monde andin et, en particulier, dans notre région d’étude, Quebrada de Humahuaca, à l’intérieur d’habitats domestiques dans les sites archéologiques connus comme “pueblos viejos ou antigales” et “pukaras”. La source consultée révèle la nature et l’origine de cette habitude qui n’était pas généralisée à tous les enfants. Du point de vue de la cosmogonie européenne, cette habitude fait partie d’un rituel funéraire, mais aussi cérémonial, du moment qu’on considère ces enfants comme “êtres sacrés” et “huacas” mobiles à cause des particularités de leur naissance. Dans cette communication, on présentera des données provenant du secteur cité relative aux “contextes de fonctionnement” de ces découvertes archéologiques, leurs liens avec le problème de l’extirpation d’idolâtries et les observations actuelles dans les enregistrements archéologiques des collections et recherches contemporaines. Mots Clefs: enfants, “ollas” funéraires, “huacas” mobiles, “Quebrada de Humahuaca”, Republique Argentine

INTRODUCTION

Avec la chute du Tawantinsuyu et l’autorité exercée par les Espagnols sur les Incas, les expressions collectives liées au rituel et aux croyances andines n’auraient pas été supprimées, comme l’affirment certains auteurs, mais sus-pendues publiquement ou bien cachées de manière “clan-destine” (Gruzinski 1995, 65; Duviols 1977, 168-169).

Au milieu du XVIème siècle, le Roi d’Espagne avait été influencé par l’Eglise afin d’éliminer les rites andins. Voilà pourquoi le Roi avait ordonné la création d’une équipe spéciale avec la fonction d’extirper les idolâtries.

Même si les Conciles de Lima de 1551-52, 1567-68 (tous deux convoqués par Loayza) et 1582-83 (convoqué par Toribio de Peña Mogrovejo) ont instauré la punition et ont organisé la manière selon laquelle devaient se conduire les extirpateurs d’idolâtries. Le XVIIème siècle avait à peine commencé quand ont débuté ces campagnes ou visites d’idolâtries en Amérique.

Selon Duviols, les véritables campagnes d’extirpation d’idolâtries auraient commencé à partir de 1610. et, en particulier, avec la dénonciation d’Avila en 1608 à propos de l’idolâtrie à Huarichiri. Selon cet auteur, cet événement aurait été fondamentalement du à l’absence de critères précis pour différencier, parmi les indigènes, les vrais

chrétiens des idolâtres. Une autre cause serait la rapide conclusion du clergé pensant que le problème de l’idolâtrie pourrait être résolu à travers l’instruction et les baptêmes.

D’après Duviols, malgré les efforts d’Avila, la demande d’aide à la Compagnie de Jésus pour la création d’un corps de Visiteurs Généraux des Idolâtries afin de conduire la première mission officielle, malgré le Synode de 1613, et d’autres visites et campagnes menées par les premiers archevêques de Lima, ce serait avec la troisième campagne menée en 1649 par l’archevêque de Lima Villagómez (entre 1641-1671 d.C.) qu’aurait été conçu un “plan d’extirpation systématique” plus ambitieux que celui de ses prédécesseurs (1977, 176-198).

Villagómez, le sixième archevêque de Lima, a rédigé une Lettre Pastorale (1919 [1649]) dans laquelle il a fortement insisté sur la réalisation de visites d’extirpation, étant donnée l’importance de soutenir une présence active et réitérée pour supprimer les idolâtries. Voilà pourquoi Duviols considère que c’est à partir de son activité missionnaire que sont apparus les textes indispensables pour l’extirpation. Il s’agit des Catéchismes et des Exhortations ou Sermons nés suite au troisième Concile en 1585, quoique dans ce cas, à la différence de leurs prédécesseurs, les textes ont été spécialement destinés aux extirpateurs d’idolâtries.


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Fig. 21.1. Quebrada de Humahuaca

De cette manière on pourrait dire que, après le célèbre texte d’Arriaga, La Lettre Pastorale de Villagómez, consultée pour l’occasion, est considérée comme le seul texte qui ait traité les questions de l’extirpation et qui, selon Duviols, présente d’excellentes qualités de synthèse (1977, 199-200). En plus, en référence à notre étude, on considère que cette Lettre deviendra très importante parce qu’avec elle, Villagómez a généralisé le problème de l’extirpation, au-delà de Lima, à tout le monde andin.

Pour inclure le Nord Ouest Argentin dans ce problème, on a aussi consulté la documentation ecclésiastique, publiée et inédite, de la région d’étude ainsi que la culture matérielle qui correspond aux enregistrements funéraires et rituels archéologiques, vestiges des sites indigènes, en particulier de la Quebrada de Humahuaca (Fig. 21.1).

Durant les premiers contacts entre les indigènes et les Espagnols dans la région d’étude (fin du XVIème siècle et début du XVIIème siècle), on considère que c’est dans ces sites indigènes que les rituels ont continué et que se sont cachés et conservés les idoles ou objets participant aux différents types de cérémonies. En plus, il existe des

textes écrits par des spécialistes qui suggèrent qu’il ait existé, précisément, à partir du Troisième Concile de Lima, une réelle inquiétude pour l’éradication des idolâtries dans le Tucumán Colonial, puisqu’à partir de ce moment l’Eglise commence à s’organiser en Amérique.

Voilà pourquoi ce Troisième Concile, aussi nommé “Le Trento Hispano américain” à cause de sa connotation pastorale (Dussel 1979, 199, 212-216), a eu une importance décisive dans notre région d’étude. Un exemple en est l’active participation, dans ce Concile, du premier Évêque de l’Evêché du Tucuman Colonial. Il s’agit de Francisco de Victoria (Dominicain et évêque entre 1582 et 1587), dont la région nommée Quebrada de Humahuaca fut placée sous sa responsabilité (Alen Lascano 1970, 7-8; Dussel 1979, 201, 215; Évêque Poli, Communication personnelle 2005).

Malgré cela, on peut affirmer que les décisions du Troisième Concile de Lima ont commencé à être réellement effectives par Cédule Réel en 1591 (Dussel 1979, 203, 222). Pour notre région d’étude, on trouve dans ce concile les visites nécessaires que devaient faire

M.A. LOPEZ: ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES...

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les évêques pour “missionner” dans les “doctrines ou réductions”. L’objet était clairement l’abandon de leurs habitudes “barbares” et “sauvages”, pour vivre “avec l’ordre et les habitudes politiques” (Dussel 1979, 221).

Ce Concile n’a pas seulement fondé un Catéchisme écrit par le Prêtre Acosta, traduit en langues quechua et aymara, mais a aussi écrit des lettres en espagnol, quechua et aymara pour des prêtres, afin que ceux-ci connaissent, entre autres choses, les cérémonies et rituels des indigènes (Acosta 1583; Dussel 1979, 222).

Finalement, c’est au Premier Concile Provincial réalisé à La Plata (1627-1629 d. C.), auquel a participé l’évêque du Tucumán Colonial, Frai Tomás de Torres (Dominicain et évêque entre 1626 et 1630), selon Dussel (1979, 249), qu’il a été déclaré que les prêtres et les catéchistes (doctrineros) d’indigènes, en montrant l’exemple et en parlant les langues locales, devraient s’occuper de l’évan-gélisation pour éviter l’idolâtrie, et également de faire trueque et commerce de boissons alcoolisées. (Dussel 1979, 251). Voilà pourquoi il y a une copie de ce catéchisme de 1584 partout dans la région andine, même en Argentine (Acosta 1584). Spécialement dans le cadre de cette communication, ce texte parle aussi de l’inter-diction de déformer des crânes d’enfants et celle des cérémonies funéraires traditionnelles en général (Dussel 1979, 252).

Selon Dussel, les trois premiers évêques du Tucumán Colonial jusqu’à 1626 ont visité effectivement le territoire. Le premier évêque, Victoria, s’y rendit avec des Jésuites, et le deuxième, Hernando de Trejo y Sanabria (Franciscain et évêque entre 1596 et 1614), selon Vergara (1932, 362), insista pour construire l’Eglise Matrice à Jujuy. Finalement, le troisième, Julián de Cortázar (Prêtre et évêque entre 1618 et 1626), fit sa visite avec véritable conscience (Dussel 1979, 168).

LA PERSISTENCE DES IDOLATRIES, LES ENFANTS HUACAS DURANT LES XVIEME ET XVIIEME SIECLES

Dans ce contexte on peut maintenant observer pour la période de contact entre indigènes et Espagnols dans la Quebrada de Humahuaca (XVIème et XVIIème siècles), d’un coté, les “renouveaux” des idolâtries et, de l’autre, les “visites” comme le seul outil pour leur élimination.

Les cas d’enfants et de certains adultes trouvés dans des ollas, c’est à dire, dans des céramiques, découverts dans les contextes domestiques de sites archéologiques indi-gènes, sont habituellement interprétés par les archéolo-gues comme la manière la plus commune d’enterrer des enfants et comme un mode exceptionnel pour certains adultes.

Malgré cela, selon les documents analysés ou, plus exactement, selon Polo de Ondegardo (1941 [c. 1571],

34), ces cas seraient des cas d’ “enfants Huaca”, objets de culte ou idoles, recherchés par les Espagnols afin de les détruire.

Dans sa Lettre Pastorale, Villagómez avait systématisé pour la région toute une série de processus que les extirpateurs ou visiteurs devaient exécuter. Il s’agit d’un “édit” dans lequel plusieurs cérémonies et objets de cultes ont été décrits comme habituels chez les indigènes sous l’Empire Inca.

Villagómez insiste sur le fait que, pour bien connaître les cérémonies et les rituels andins, on devait résumer à nouveau tout ce qui avait été dit dans le Deuxième Concile de Lima (1567-1568), voilà pourquoi il synthétise aussi tout ce qui avait été stipulé par le Prêtre Arriaga en 1621.

Dans ce résumé, Villagómez (1919 [1649], 143-150) raconte que parmi les objets d’idolâtrie étaient: le soleil, la lune, les étoiles, la mer, la terre, les sources, les rivières, les hautes collines et montagnes, les monts enneigés, quelques très grandes pierres, les pacarinas (dans le paysage) et les enfants enterrés en ollas (Huacas mobiles).

Selon cet auteur, toutes ces choses étaient des huacas que les indigènes adoraient comme un Dieu. Mais il existait aussi d’autres huacas, les portables ou les “ordinaires”, généralement en pierre, présentant ou non une morpho-logie particulière (homme, femme ou animaux). Ces derniers étaient les huacas des ayllus puisque chaque ayllu avait une huaca principale et d’autres de moindre importance. Chacune possédait aussi un nom et était associée à des “prêtres” qui leur offraient des sacrifices. En plus, il existait des Malquis ou Munaos qui étaient des os ou des corps entiers des ancêtres “gentiles” et qui, selon les indigènes, étaient les fils des huacas. Ces derniers étaient enterrés dans les Machais, d’antiques sépultures. Quelquefois, ils revêtaient des vêtements d’importance avec des plumes de couleurs ou cumbi.

Dans cette partie, on notera que la différentiation des sexes dans les enterrements, comme Villagómez le répète, ainsi que d’autres auteurs de l´époque, était identifiable par les outils de travail accompagnant le défunt, dualité rituelle qu’on observe clairement à Quebrada de Humahuaca. Selon Cornejo Guerrero (2002-2005, 232) les objets corrélatifs à la mort étaient “les outils qu’ils portaient durant leur vie, soit pour les femmes les fuseaux et les écheveaux de coton filé, et pour les hommes les tacllas ou des outils avec lesquels ils travaillaient la terre ou les armes avec lesquelles ils luttaient”, mais Villagómez décrit aussi la présence de “vaisselle” comme offrande afin de leur apporter nourriture et boissons (1919 [1649], 146-147).

Dans cette dernière catégorie de morts, on pourrait considérer les enfants. Mais quelle est la différence entre des enfants “ordinaires” et les Enfants Huaca? Les


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Enfants Huaca sont des enfants nommés par les chroniques comme Chuchos ou Cutis et Chacpas et, qui sont d’une certaine manière considérés aussi comme des défunts par le prêtre Acosta.

Mais, selon Villagómez, la chose la plus importante était que tout ce qu’on appelait huaca était objet de culte public. Voilà pourquoi tandis que les morts “ordinaires” étaient enterrés dans la maison et que leur cérémonie était privée, même pour les enfants, les enfants Huaca étaient objets de culte public.

Cette différence peut être expliquée par ce qui est décrit dans l’“Edit” sur les habitudes funéraires en général et sur des cérémonies “gentiles” ou idolâtres avec des enfants nés selon des circonstances particulières.

En particulier, les Espagnols étaient préoccupés par des enfants baptisés sous le nom de Curi, signifiant tonnerre, ou de Libiac ou Santiago signifiant rayon de soleil. Une autre de leur préoccupation était de savoir quand une femme avait deux jumeaux, appelés Curi ou Chucho ou même, quand certains enfants étaient nés “de pied”, appelés Chacpa. Dans ce cas, cette femme faisait jeûne de sel et de piment rouge, et ne dormait pas avec son mari.

Dans cet “Edit” apparut clairement une question qui faisait référence aux enfants nés en même temps, parce que c’était eux qui étaient menés en procession avec des tambourins dans certaines cérémonies. En relation avec la procession apparurent d’autres données faisant référence à la “pampa”, c’est-à-dire à un lieu éloigné et marginal. Quant à ces enfants, cette chronique est très claire quand elle décrit que si un des deux enfants était mort pendant qu’il était petit, il était enterré en ollas, c’est à dire, dans des poteries, étant adorés comme des êtres sacrés. On disait que l’un d’entre eux était le fils du rayon, voilà pourquoi il était nommé Chucho ou Cuti. Les enfants naissant “de pied” et morts peu de temps après leur naissance, appelés Chacpas dans ce cas, étaient enterrés de la même manière.

En ce qui concerne l’objet de cette communication, les jumeaux et les enfants nés “de pied”, il est intéressant de noter que leur traitement ritualisé particulier commençait au moment de leur naissance, persistait pendant leur longue ou brève vie, et continuait après leur mort.

Finalement, des enfants étaient objets de persécution et étaient donc cachés afin de ne pas être baptisés par les Espagnols (Villagómez 1919 [1649], 150).

Suivant tout ce qui a été ici décrit précédemment, les campagnes d’extirpation d’idolâtries ne pourchassaient que les sujets-objets décrits ici comme des Enfants Huaca (quelques fois aussi adultes) ou identifiés comme “idoles”, mais aussi toutes les cérémonies “gentiles” auxquelles participaient ces enfants pendant leur vie avec leurs parents, le “prêtre”, le “kuraka” et toute la commu-nauté.

Dans le dit “Edit”, Villagómez décrit que les deux types d’enfants étaient menés en “procession avec des tambourins” et participaient à “certaines cérémonies”, mais il ne dit rien à propos de leur situation chronologique et de leur fréquence. C’est à partir d’autres documents que l’on peut connaître quelques détails à propos des processions. Martínez Cereceda soutient qu’elles seraient publiques et qu’elles consisteraient en “rituels prépa-ratoires pour la purification des jumeaux, destinés à éloigner le danger du groupe dans lequel ils étaient nés”. Cet auteur soutient aussi que le kuraka ou chef ethnique du groupe pouvait participer à ces cérémonies (Martínez Cereceda 1995, 90).

Finalement, même si on n’a pas parlé ici d’autres objets considérés comme idoles, tels que certaines pierres ou figures en pierre, Martínez Cereceda, en citant Albornoz (1967 [c. 1580]), décrit que, comme fils du tonnerre1, les jumeaux étaient aussi considérés comme illapas bien qu’ils eussent un caractère sacré mais dangereux, étant le produit d’une action “pécamineuse” ayant eu lieu avant leur naissance (Martínez Cereceda 1995, 167). Mais cette dernière affirmation n’est pas complètement sûre.

LA PERSECUTION ET DESTRUCTION DES ENFANTS HUACAS

Villagómez décrit clairement que le jour où les indigènes durent se rendre sur la place pour la destruction des idoles, ils durent également emmener les enfants enterrés dans les Ollas. (1919 [1649], p. 245-246).

Quant à notre région d’étude, il est intéressant d’observer que la destruction des enfants en Ollas est clairement mentionnée dans un document Jésuite contenu dans le Volume VII de la Monumenta Peruana qui correspond aux années 1600 a 1602, époque à laquelle les jésuites commençaient à “prolonger leur vision vers des nouveaux lieux” (De España & Fernández 1981, 1). Cela est surtout notable à partir de la sixième Congrégation Provinciale du Pérou, dans laquelle il a été décidé de créer de nouvelles vice- ou sous-provinces autonomes. L’une d’entre elles, du Sud, comprenait Charcas, le Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca comme “Mission d’indigènes infidèles” (De Egaña 1954, 69, carte 1. Voir Figure 21.2a et le détail dans la Figure 21.2b).

En accord avec ce dernier document, il est intéressant d’observer que les jésuites parlent d’“offrir” les enfants. Voilà pourquoi on ne sait pas si ces enfants étaient sacrifiés au rayon après leur naissance ou s’ils étaient morts-nés à cause de leurs circonstances particulières de naissance.

Comme pour le moment il n’existe pas à Quebrada de Humahuaca d’études archéologiques détaillées sur les 1 Albornoz parle des jumeaux comme fils du tonnerre tandis que Villagómez parle des jumeaux comme des fils du tonnerre ou du rayon.


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Fig. 21.2. a) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca; b) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca, détail

enfants trouvés dans des Ollas, on espère qu’à partir de ces résultats, on pourra faire des recherches avec une autre vision du contexte pour obtenir des informations propres à ces enfants et à leurs possibles pathologies.

Pendant la première moitié du XXème siècle, à partir des recherches archéologiques dans la région, on a récupéré beaucoup d’enfants en Ollas. Malgré cela, les techniques de fouilles de l’époque n’ont pas pu toujours permettre de récupérer certaines informations à propos de ces enfants. On conservait, presque toujours les poteries et le seul enregistrement de ces pièces comme “urnes” est apparu dans les rapports conservés du chantier. Généralement, les os étaient conservés d’une autre coté.

Cependant, récemment on a commencé à insérer les études ostéologiques au sein des recherches archéologi-ques du Tucuman colonial.

QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA, JUJUY, NORD OUEST DE LA REPUBLIQUE ARGENTINE ET LES ENFANTS HUACAS

Y a-t-il eu de véritables visites et persécutions d’idolâtries dans la Quebrada de Humahuaca? Ont-elles été aussi sévères que dans le reste du Pérou?

Tel qu’il a été mentionné antérieurement, la Quebrada de Huamahuaca, faisait partie de l’Évêché de Tucumán dès le début. Selon Dussel (1979, 201), dès 1582, cet évêché a participé, avec la présence du Frai Francisco de Vitoria (Dominicain et évêque du Tucumán entre 1582 et 1587 d. C), au 3ème Concile de Lima.

Comme on le sait par le résumé des Lois des Royaumes des Indes en 1681, les textes du 3ème Concile de Lima devaient s’inspirer du respect de la Loi (ecclésiastique et civile) par toutes les provinces des Indes. En conséquence, chaque catéchiste (“doctrinero”), paroisse ou convent devait posséder ces documents, devait examiner leur contenu et le mettre en pratique, surtout à partir des sermons et des visites (Dussel 1979, 193- 194).

En effet, cet évêché reçut une copie du Catéchisme édité en 1584 à Lima avec les traductions en langues vernaculaires. D’autre part on sait par Vergara (1932, 362) que l’évêque Trejo y Sanabria aurait visité Jujuy à peu près en 1597, c’est à dire quand la Quebrada de Humahuaca était récemment sous le contrôle espagnol. Néanmoins, il n’existe aucun document à Jujuy à propos de cette visite et, de plus, il est nécessaire de ne pas confondre ces visites avec la réalisation effective de l’extirpation d’idolâtries.


210

En revanche, on pense que ce sera à partir des futures fouilles archéologiques que l’on pourra rencontrer des indices plus précis des cas de résistance d’idolâtries dans les sites archéologiques en Quebrada de Humahuaca, et prouver de cette manière qu’il n’y a pas eu beaucoup d’extirpations. Jusqu’aujourd’hui, on peut dire que ce problème a été d’une certaine manière “invisible”, parce qu’il ne fait pas l’objet de cette recherche archéologique et que l’on ne sait presque rien de cette période dans la région.

À propos des cas d’enterrements d’enfants en Ollas, on a considéré ici que même s’il s’agit d’un phénomène plus ancien et que l’on peut le rencontrer à partir de la période nommée “Formatif”, c’est à dire avant l’ère chrétienne, on peut considérer la découverte d’enfants en Ollas pour la période hispano-indigène comme un indicateur de la persistance de l’idolâtrie dans les lieux en dehors du contrôle espagnol. Effectivement, dans les “antigales”, ou vieux villages, et dans les “pukaras”, sites de hauteur fortifiés, on a rencontré des enterrements d’enfants et de quelques rares adultes en Ollas. Il est intéressant de remarquer que ces objets ont toujours été trouvés dans des cours ou “patios” à l’intérieur des unités domestiques, en Quebrada de Humahuaca. De plus, on les rencontre d’habitude sur les greniers ou tout simplement sur le sol de la maison.

Cette pratique a été interprétée dans la littérature archéologique argentine comme une pratique commune pour les enfants et la plupart des archéologues argentins ont considéré que cette pratique était originaire des basses terres ou terres orientales. Elle est autant mentionnée par les anciens textes que par les plus récents (par exemple Rex González, 2005, 29). Néanmoins, cette pratique a été aussi enregistrée dans d’autres parties du monde dans un contexte rituel (par exemple Bacvarov 2004).

Cependant, elle n’est pas encore traitée comme un objet d’étude en Argentine, à l’exception de quelques cas analysés à partir d’une perspective bioanthropologique générale comme par exemple, à Quebrada de Huama-huaca, à partir des travaux de Mendonça et d’autres auteurs (par exemple Mendonça et al. 1991 et 2002; Bordach et al. 1999; Barboza & Mendonça 2001; Barboza et al. 2002 et 2003 ou Seldes 2006, entre autres). À Salta, les travaux publiés récemment par Baldini et d’autres auteurs (par exemple Baldini & Baffi 2001 et 2004; Baldini, M. et al. 2003 ou Baldini, L. et al. 2005). À propos des travaux plus spécifiques sur enfants en ollas, à La Rioja, on a le travail de Kush & Baffi 1997 et, également à Catamarca les travaux de Sempé et. al. 1996-1997; Sempé & Salceda 2005a et 2005b ou Williams & de Hoyos 2001.

En Quebrada de Humahuaca on a des cas récemment découverts intéressants pour ce type d’étude puisque, à la différence des cas retrouvés au début du XXème siècle, ils ont pu être récupérés et conservés en entier. Parmi les exemples publiés plus récemment, des cas découverts à

Los Amarillos et à La Huerta, sites archéologiques situés au milieu de la Quebrada de Humahuaca, sont décrit ici en raison de l’importance de leurs contextes.

Dans le premier cas, à Los Amarillos, il s’agit d’un petit garçon enterré dans une Olla, qui possédait un mobilier funéraire composé de deux petites haches métalliques miniatures2. Il s’agit, selon Angiorama, d’un cas de sépulture typiquement Inca (Angiorama 2005, 47-48).

Dans le deuxième cas (Fig. 21.3), mis au jour par Palma (1998), on a retrouvé à La Huerta au moins quatre cas qui ont été analysés d’un point de vue bioanthropologique, mais aussi par l’étude de la technologie céramique (López 2004). Il s’agit de cas retrouvés dans les conditions mentionnées auparavant. L’un (Tombe Nº 77d, Olla 29301) était un enfant périnatal (naissance ± 2 mois). Cet enterrement en Olla se trouvait sur un possible “grenier”, selon Palma “réutilisé” comme dépôt d’enterrements d’adultes (Tombe Nº 77 c). Le deuxième (Tombe Nº 77e, Olla 29302) était un enfant âgé de 6 à 8 mois. Dans les deux cas, les Ollas étaient pré-Inca ou Inca décorées et elles ont été réutilisées puisqu’elles avaient quelques mar-ques d’usage culinaire. Le troisième cas était un enfant (Tombe Nº 77f, Olla 29305), ayant comme mobilier funéraire un pendentif en malachite ou turquoise, qui a été enterré dans une Olla complètement noircie par sa fonction première. Le quatrième cas était un petit garçon (Tombe Nº 77i, Cántaro 29306) qui avait entre 2 et 4 ans. La pièce de céramique devait être nécessairement un peu plus grande que les vases habituels et n’était pas décorée, mais revêtait cependant une peinture rougeâtre. Elle a du être également utilisée antérieurement pour la cuisine.

Il s’agit, en accord avec le contexte, selon Palma, d’un cas d’occupation incaique et espagnole. Les dates obtenues pour les tombes Nº 77c et 77d indiquent une chronologie entre 1164 et 14323.

Pour finir, il restera seulement à réunir ces recherches avec des documents afin de commencer à réfléchir sur ces découvertes comme celles des Enfants Huacas, c’est à dire des enfants nés dans des conditions spéciales, et enterrés dans des Ollas afin de les mobiliser au sein de cérémonies privées mais aussi publiques où participaient les caciques et les prêtres indigènes.

Je considère aussi qu’on devrait analyser ce type de contexte funéraire à partir de caractères épigénétiques 2 Ce type d’objets de haute valeur était d’habitude retrouvé avec les objets d’idolâtries (Villagómez 1919 [1649]: 246). 3 Palma, Communication personnelle 2005.

Ref du Lab Type

Contexte Date conventionnelle

14C (BP)

Date calibrée 1 σ (Cal BP)

Date calibre 2 σ (Cal BP)

CAIS-UGA

Os Tombe Nº 77c

600±50 1301-1411 1288-1432

CAIS-UGA

Os Tombe Nº 77c

720±50 1264-1298 1218-1391

CASI-UGA

Os Tombe Nº 77d

770±50 1220-1287 1164-1299


211

Fig. 21.3. Technologie céramique (López 2004)


212

(par exemple, la déformation des crânes ou la déformation des dents) du corps dans des pièces céramiques. Selon Reycraft (2005), si on parle d’archéologie et d’ethnicité, c’est la présence récurrente de ce type de caractéristiques qui permettra en plus d’identifier ces individus comme des “êtres spéciaux ou sacrés” et de déterminer, par exemple et, d’un autre coté, s’ils sont morts accidentelle-ment ou non.

Remerciements

À CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. À Mario Poli, l’évêque de Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Docteur en Histoire de l’Église. Au Professeur Dolores Estruch, qui m’a facilité l’accès aux copies du Catéchisme manuscrit situé dans le Musée Mitre à Buenos Aires, Argentina. À Jorge Palma par les datations inédites. À Adriana Callegari par leurs commentaires et à Rodolphe Hoguin pour les corrections et la relecture en français.

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