Funerary Practices

Im Jahr 2010 fand im Zuge der Neuerrichtung des Wiener Hauptbahnhofes in der Landgutgasse im 10. Wiener Gemeindebezirk eine Ausgrabung auf dem Gelände des ehemaligen Matzleinsdorfer Friedhofs statt. Dieser Friedhof war einer der fünf ehemaligen kommunalen Friedhöfe, die im Zuge der Friedhofs- und Begräbnisreformen Kaiser Josephs II. im Jahr 1784 vor den Toren der Stadt Wien entstanden. Der Band präsentiert die Ergebnisse der archäologischen Ausgrabung. Die aufgefundenen verstorbenen Individuen konnten mit Hilfe von Schriftquellen namentlich identifiziert werden.

The towering earthen mound standing at the center of the First Emperor of Qin, Qin Shihuangdi's (- B.C.E.) Lishan necropolis at present-day Lintong in Xi'an, Shaanxi province was arguably the single greatest burial marker in ancient China. For centuries, this gigantic unopened monument has sparked curiosity and aroused interest among people regarding its nature. Without physically damaging the target, in - Chinese archaeologists used a new geophysical remote sensor to scan the surface of the mound, digitally probed into its inner structure, and detected a nine-stepped wall that bounds an aboveground burial shaft stretching down deep into the ground. This novel structure begs the following questions: what are the basic elements of this tomb mound, how do they work together within a coherent plan, and why was it made?

The paper evaluates works of ancient authors who mention and provide details of the burial of fallen soldiers in ancient Greece, and then it compares them with preserved archaeological finds. Textual analysis shows a long-term tradition of war graves on battlefields. The commanders of the troops provided funeral services in the first place, as the extradition request of bodies was equal to the recognition of defeat. In most cases both sides had enough time to take care of their fallen after the battle, but there were exceptions when the last honors were rather provisional. In addition to burial directly on the battlefield, it seems that, depending on the circumstances, the removal of the remains to the hometown or burial outside the battlefield and outside the home also applies. The tombstones could have various forms, in the case of collective burials, tumuli with stelae bearing the names of the deceased were preferred, in the case of burial of military commanders, tombstones took the form of a monumental statue. Cremation burial is thought to have prevailed over inhumation.

Among the Toraja of Sulawesi and the Tlingit of British Columbia guests play a key symbolic and social  role in the funerary rituals because they are deemed to be necessary to set up a relationship with the dead. The central phase of the Toraja funerals is the ritual killing of several buffaloes followed by the distribution of their meat to the guests. The Toraja believe that the gift of meat reaches the ancestors; in this way ‘to feed’ the guests means ‘to feed’ the dead. Such a three-cornered relationship (hosts - guests- dead) may be found also among the Tlingit: during the funerary potlatch the dead’s kins invite the in-laws and offer them many presents which ‘reach’ the dead’s soul.

Roman expansion into the Rhineland was followed by centuries of religious entanglements that involved the interactions of individuals and communities with a variety of backgrounds, interests and agendas, and, over time, an array of cultic narratives and practices was maintained, transformed and abandoned.. The notion of cultic heterogeneity used in this discussion is informed by the perception that all social constructs are reproduced through continuous affirmation vis-àvis extent alternatives. Cultic discourse is inherently heterogeneous due to the discrepant attitudes, abilities and actions of situated agents. This will be explored by considering the symbolic narratives and ritual practices associated with the Hercules Magusanus cult on Rome's Germanic frontier.

The study of cremated human remains from archaeological contexts has traditionally been viewed as less valuable than the study of inhumed bodies. However, recent methodological and theoretical developments regarding the taphonomic processes that transform the human body during cremation have highlighted their potential for understanding past cultural and funerary practices. This study combines the first application of spectroscopic with more traditional methods of studying cremated bone to examine Romano-British contexts, with the aim of better understanding funerary practices along the military frontier. Five Romano-British military sites from northern England (Beckfoot, Carlisle, Herd Hill, Lincoln and Malton) were studied, with remains excavated from a range of cinerary urn contexts. Despite the known heterogeneity of the ethnic composition of the Roman army, analyses revealed a surprising consistency with respect to the cremation practice, implying shared knowledge of pyre procedure and, possibly, a prescribed funerary practice amongst military communities in the Roman North. The consistency within these five northern provincial sites in Britain stands in contrast to cremation contexts from Roman sites elsewhere in Europe, as well as other periods of the British past. The associated material culture recovered from these cremation deposits, however, does provide evidence for differences in dress and bodily display. This contrasts with the homogeneity of the cremation technology and highlights the importance of these individualizing features for signalling identity amongst Roman military communities in Britain.

Over the last 20 years, several plague mass graves have been unearthed in France, thus enhancing our knowledge of historical plague pandemics. Moreover, recent archaeo-anthropological and palaeoimmunological investigations have shown that abrupt

Con el presente estudio pretendemos aproximarnos a la realidad funeraria del suburbio oriental de la ciudad de Tarraco, la capital de la proaincia Hispania Citerior. Durante los últimos decenios, los numerosos trabajos de arqueologíaurbana en Tarragona han proporcionado una cantidad ingente de datos relacionados con la ciudad pero sobre todo con sus espacios funerariosl. Esta realidad contrasta con la ausencia de estudios de conjunto que permitan relacionar estos hallazgos entre sí e inter-

La intervención arqueológica realizada en el yacimiento romano de “La Mata I” (Aznalcázar, Sevilla) ha puesto al descubierto los restos de la pars rustica de una villa romana y una serie de enterramientos tardorromanos aislados.

The archaeological intervention carried out in the Roman site named “La Mata I” (Aznalcázar, Sevilla) exposes to view the remains of the pars rustica of a Roman villa and several isolated interments dating from late Roman period.

Para los mayas, los cenotes, al igual que las cuevas, eran entradas al mundo de los muertos, llamado Xibalba, lo cual los convertía en cámaras funerarias naturales. En diversos cenotes hemos localizado esqueletos humanos, llegando a contar más de 100 en uno de ellos. Creemos que estos cenotes fueron utilizados por ciertos grupos como verdaderos cementerios acuáticos, y que no correspondían únicamente a sacrificios humanos.

ABSTRACT: This lecture, which forms part-1 of two parts, includes a discussion and illustration of the following topics: (1) How the Ancient Egyptians conceived of the tomb and its component parts; (2) How a typical middle-upper class family prepared their tomb; (3) What problems emerged regarding mortuary cults (e.g., continuity of offerings; security; etc.) and how they they resolved them (in part); (4) Ancient Egyptian beliefs about communicating with dead (including how they communicated); (5) Egyptian views upon reusing earlier tomb materials and actual practices (i.e., Did they still do it? Discourage it?); (6) Some of the Ancient Egyptian private (and royal) mortuary/funerary beliefs; (7) Some of the mummification practices during the Old Kingdom; (8) Old Kingdom (and later) Egyptians beliefs and approaches to death, mourning, and funerals; (9) Further discussion on private/elite afterlife beliefs (i.e., what happened after death?); (10) How the surviving family initiated and maintained a funerary cult for relatives; (11) Some of the ideal types of mortuary offerings (i.e., by the living …); (12) The various types of “back-up,” permanent offerings for the deceased; (13) Evidence for some historical autobiographical texts and other data (and their types); (14) Some doubts are sometimes implied (especially later) regarding the afterlife; and (15) The "typical" elite mastaba tomb layout/components (e.g., Burial; False door; Serdab). UPDATED: Extensive editing, formatting, and some additions on March 12, 2023.

Chi ma nkongo (‘I am of the Congos’) is a two-volume treatise on the Lumbalu, the ritual performances carried out at funerals in Palenque, Colombia, a place of special interest to creolists for its Spanish-based creole language Palenquero. Schwegler regards the Lumbalu somewhat ambiguously as a ritual of obvious African origin (p. 50), but also as a syncretism (p. 59). The language of the funerary chants of the Palenquero has in common with ritual languages preserved in other Caribbean societies the fact that the linguistic knowledge which would allow their audience, and even their singers, to fully understand their contents has been lost. On the other hand, the Lumbalu contrast with most Caribbean traditions of this kind in that the songs are only seemingly African; they contain African elements in a Palenquero and/or Spanish-based framework, whereas other Caribbean cases involve what appear to be entirely African songs, ritual expressions, and even reduced linguistic systems. This review will highlight certain aspects of the discussion in volume 1, where Schwegler briefly sketches the history of Palenque, and devotes lengthy and at times repetitive sections to the societal functions
of the Lumbalu, musical and other aspects of the songs, and the African religious basis of this tradition; he also introduces us to the women who are the master-singers of the Lumbalu, and explains the conventions used in the transcription of the texts. Volume 1, part II contains the presentation and analysis of seven Lumbalu chants which were recorded by the author. Volume 2 provides 29 Lumbalu chants, with translations and annotations.
In this review, we will comment first on the unintelligibility created by the insertion of African and “Africanizing” forms in the Lumbalu chants, then on the wider significance of the Lumbalu for Palenquero genesis.

per aver messo a disposizione materiali e immagini di archivio. Per l'aiuto nell'agevolare tutte le fasi delle ricerche dei documenti per il volume, si ringrazia lo staff della Soprintendenza ABAP ve-met, del Museo Nazionale Atestino e dei Musei Civici di Padova, in particolare

The funerary nature of many "funerary-looking" structures, formerly or recently discovered, has too often never been questioned, although human remains are regularly missing. But if such structures were not funerary ones, what could be their meaning?
The authors set in a new light several protohistorical and gallo-roman discoveries and ask why the dead are missing: uncertainties resulting from the digging conditions, with insufficient observations or loss of part of the material (Tesson); bones destroyed by the ground (Berry); structures only part1ally known (Boé); differential preservation of bone remains; actual lack of deposit, which cannot be discussed in chalk grounds (Saintes), or when the acidity is modified by adding limestone (Antran). They thus specify the conditions of certainties and doubts, necessary to set up an argument likely to eliminate prejudices.
They show that the tradition of "funerary-looking" structures has been deeply rooted in Protohistory since the Bronze Age (for instance Le Theil), and through some latenian practices (particularly the Aquitan wells), has been lasting till the post-cesarian period and the early Roman Empire.
The issue of cenotaphs, which should not be simply put aside, and of chthonian practices will be examined, particularly on the basis of antique written sources.
A cultual chthonian function seems to be applied to a large number of "funerary-looking" structures where human remains are missing.

Dès leurs premiers contacts avec les dirigeants de l’Empire inca, les Espagnols ont consigné leur fascination indignée à l’égard des relations que l’élite indigène entretenait avec ses rois défunts. Leurs écrits font état de pratiques post-mortem qui visaient, d’une part, à la préservation artificielle des corps et, d’autre part, à la conservation de la mémoire des morts à travers la composition de leur récit de vie. Alimentés et divertis quotidiennement, les défunts exerçaient une autorité politique et prenaient part à plusieurs festivités annuelles au cours desquelles leurs exploits étaient contés publiquement. Chacun était également associé à un « double » composé de reliques corporelles amassées de son vivant qui incarnait le défunt lors de certains déplacements. La permanence physique parmi les vivants de ces morts ancestralisés, le caractère divisible de leur corps, et leur mobilité témoignent d’une agentivité médiatisée par la substance corporelle. Ces éléments appellent à une réflexion sur les supports matériels de la mémoire dynastique inca et sur leur inscription spatiale.

In France, during the Neolithic period (5700–2100 BC), several cultural groups have been identified. In the Early Neolithic, burials were simple and gathered in small groups, following by monumentalisation and collectivisation during the Middle Neolithic, before becoming exclusive at the end of the Neolithic. The aim of this research is to focus on infants within these various contexts in terms of funerary practices, age distribution and the location of the burials (either next to domestic structures or in strictly funerary contexts), and to discuss their social status within the society as evidenced through the collected data. The study is based on 237 sites in France and combines biological and archaeological data. The results indicate that infant burials were afforded specific locations and various funerary treatments are also identified on a larger scale. These differences seem to reflect a specific social consideration of infants.

This paper reviews the evidence for Neolithic burial practices in SE Arabia, focusing in particular on sites in the Ja'alan region of eastern Oman. Attention is given to the nature of material buried with human remains, including jewellery and, most interestingly, the bones and shells of green turtles in the burials of Ra's al-Hamra 5 and 10. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possible evidence for "necrophobia" at the 5 th millennium BC Neolithic necropolis of Suwayh 1.

A note considering a decayed flag hung in the Harcourt Chapel of Stanton Harcourt church, Oxfordshire, said by tradition to have been borne by Sir Robert Harcourt at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, but in fact more probably part of an early 17th-century funeral achievement.

From workshop to sanctuary and grave. New trends in the study of Greek terracottas. Research on Greek terracottas has been considered for a long time as a minor field of Art History. Things are now changing with new approaches. The accurate restitution of technical mass-production processes reveals a handicraft to some extent comparable with modern industry, which was capable of spreading its products very quickly through the whole Mediterranean (e.g. the so called “rhodo-ionian” koine during the Archaic period, or the famous Tanagra style during the Hellenistic period). This phenomenon puts the question of the signification of the most widely received terracotta types, specially when offered in sanctuaries or placed in graves: in this field new answers – more mortals, lesser divinities! – shed new light on votive and funerary practices and more generally ancient Greek religion. [Original French text of the paper published in Hungarian : Okor 8, 2009, vol. 2, pp. 62-69]

The subject of memorial stones is a new addition to the archaeology and religion studies in Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular. We know that there is a growing interest on this subject in India. Therefore, this paper deals with the memorial stones of Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan. Memorial stones are found in almost every historic village in Tharparkar district which are worshipped by Hindu community of Tharparkar. There are many local terms which are used for the memorial stones. The paper has been divided into two parts, the first part focuses on the typological and the second iconographical aspects of the memorials stones.

Expressions of emotions (esp. grief) became increasingly gendered in ancient Greece between c. 750-350 BC. Both literary and iconographic evidence for the period 750-650 suggest limited differentiation between the sexes, with men expressing grief in highly visible ways. For the period after 650 the same types of evidence show increasingly ostentatious 'self-control' for men and 'emotion' for women (the latter expressed at times not only through tears and wailing but also self-mutilation). It is argued that this forms part of a broader trend towards increasing polarization between the genders.

en Antropología para optar al grado de Magister scientiae en Antropología JEFFRY PEYTREQUÍN GÓMEZ Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio Brenes, Costa Rica 2009 ii ii DEDICATORIA A mi padre y a mi madre, ejemplos y bastiones de mi educación iii iii

THIS IS THE LAST LESSON OF THE COURSE
Archaeology of Death E-learning

Dear Colleagues,
As the Covid-19 safety measures are limiting our communication, please use the following web link to download presentation of the Archaeology of Death course.
https://cuni.academia.edu/JanTurek/Teaching-Documents
Since the lesson 4, that we have already missed I include much more texts and references, so you can use it as e-learning material.
Let’s hope we are going to have chance to catch up with the lectures later the spring term.
Meanwhile stay safe
and
Good luck!

Sincerely
Jan Turek
Center for Theoretical Study

Archaeology of Death

Syllabus by Jan Turek

The lecture provides a basic overview of the theory and methodology of the study of funerary areas, burial contexts and social and symbolic perception of death in prehistoric societies. Through the archaeological evidence of funerary rituals will be presented not only prehistoric people's attitudes toward death and the afterlife but also their culture, social organization, symbolic systems and cosmology. The focus on archaeology of personhood will be targeted mainly on the analysis of age and gender categories. Introductory topics summarize the methodology of field and laboratory research of funerary data in archaeology including application of scientific methods, spatial analysis of burial data and palaeodemography. In the interpretation section of the course an attention is also paid to the social and ritual significance of death and the transformation of human understanding of mortality. We are going to focus on case studies from different periods and locations throughout the world from Palaeolithic to the rise of historical societies. Case studies will further shed light on the social interpretation of burial data and their use in reconstructing social relationships, and will present significant discoveries. The end of the course is devoted to the ethics of the archaeological research of funerary and the political and ethical controversies surrounding human remains. This lecture is designed for audience among archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and others who have a professional interest in funerary evidence, or general curiosity about past death and burial.

1. Introduction to burial archaeology.
Forms of burial in prehistory, hierarchy of burial sites and monuments.
2. Human understanding of death and the beginnings of funerary practices.
Death and perception of time, regeneration, reincarnation, immortality. The earliest evidence of funerary behaviour. The question of cannibalism.
3. Basics of field methodology of burial contexts and funerary areas.
Survey and excavation methods. Taphonomy, geochemical and geophysical methods.
4. Scientific methods of analysis - Burial contexts and human remains.
Paleoanthropology and Palaeopathology.
4.2 Scientific methods of analysis - Burial contexts and human remains.
Palaeopathology and Paleoparasitology.
5. Population Processes, DNA and Demography
Population processes. Palaeodemography and methods of molecular biology
6. Stable Isotopes & Mobility Studies; Diet reconstruction
Methods used for reconstruction of individual mobility and diet.
7. GIS & Spatial analysis of funerary areas: An Introduction
8. Shamanism and burials in the Palaeolithic period.
9. Burial rites as the source for reconstruction of prehistoric society
Death at the beginning of agriculture. Genealogy, Power, wealth, Cult of Death; Feasting with ancestors.
10. Age and Gender reconstruction
Gender categories, children in pre-industrial societies.
11. Death and monuments in the landscape
Burial sites, burial monuments and settlement structure, What is a ritual landscape?
Death in the living space. Houses of dead – genesis of barrows. Human sacrifices and ancestral worship. Barrows….
12. Archaeology of violence, warfare, disease, magic and sacrifice
13. Mummies; preservation of soft tissue. Body decoration & face reconstruction
Eternity, mumification and natural environment.
14. Ethics of funerary archaeology
Political and ethical treatment issues of human remains and their analysis. Scientific sampling, exhibiting human remains, repatriation and reburial.