Secondary burial

There exist a real divide between ethnology and the archaeology of death that arises from the impossibility to pass directly and without subjective interpretation from observations made in the field to the construction of practices and then on to the thought processes that guided these practices. This difference has important consequences for archaeological and funerary vocabulary that comes from a typology referenced essentially from ethnological observations. The authors propose to reconsider the use of certain terms so that they conform more to the tools necessary in our research.

In this article, it will be attempted to elaborate on a differentiation between the dead
and the ancestors from a theoretical point of view, and, upon this basis, with regard to royal contexts of the 2nd millennium BC in ancient Syria. The main questions to be discussed in this respect are the following: when does a dead person become an ancestor? And how is this reflected in funerary rituals and grave contexts? And finally, can we detect the difference archaeologically?

This paper presents a thorough description of four pit burials dated to the Copper Age and recovered during the rescue excavation of a pit site. The lot consists of a multiple pit burial containing six individuals with clear proofs of violence plus three other single pit burials. The inhumation was the funerary treatment followed in all cases and proofs of secondary burial have been also documented. Data on material culture, physical anthropology, paleopathology, palaeodiet, archaeopalinology and radiocarbon dating of the human remains are included for each burial pit. The paper proposes an overall archaeological interpretation of these funerary testimonies in their cultural context. Their probable extraordinary character is highlighted, as relegated burial cases at the margins of the everyday normative mortuary rules.

Sommaire 7 Avant-propos CHAPITRE I 25 Champ de la discipline : concepts et mise en oeuvre CHAPITRE II 43 Les pratiques funéraires au fil du temps CHAPITRE III 63 Percevoir le temps des funérailles : le cas des crémations MISE EN PERSPECTIVE 83 Les lieux des morts pour les vivants 92 Tableau chronoculturel Cartographie CHAPITRE IV 97 Autour du mort CHAPITRE V 119 Le corps, un témoignage objectif CHAPITRE VI 139 Déchiffrer l'organisation des sociétés 159 Conclusion 163 Bibliographie 173 Index ISBN 978-2-7071-6651-7

This thesis is an analysis of the clavicles from a pre-contact (1550 A.D. ±50 years) native ossuary burial from Ontario, Canada. The Poole-Rose ossuary clavicles were analyzed for demography, pathological processes, trauma, and cultural modifications. Demographic markers on the clavicles are derived from the minimum number of individuals (MNI) estimation, medial epiphyseal age, and sex. Pathological processes are indicated by the presence of degenerative joint disease (DJD), periosteal reactions, and lytic lesions. Trauma includes healed fractures and cuts from defleshing of the clavicles. The presence of pre-burial cut marks is an indication of cultural modifications that were likely part of a ritual ceremony similar to the Huron “Feast of the Dead.”


An MNI of 196 individuals was determined based on the right lateral epiphysis of the clavicle. A very significant amount of DJD was present in the acromioclavicular joint as compared to the sternoclavicular joint. Active periosteal reactions of the clavicle were more frequent than healed reactions. Clavicular lesions were significantly associated with adult individuals, but tended to affect the side and joint of the bone to similar degrees. Healed fractures of the clavicle were rare in the ossuary population. Cut marks tended to consist of fewer than 10 cuts on major muscle attachment sites. A very significant association existed between the presence of a rhomboid fossa and age of the individual.


The metric analysis of the Poole-Rose ossuary clavicles includes similar correlations between length and robusticity of both left and right bones. However, right bones were more variable in curvature than left bones, possibly owing to general right-handedness. Size differences between mean metric values of left and right clavicles were not significant.


Based on the clavicle, the population seems to have been in general good health, with unusually low rates of antemortem injury. However, the existence of clavicular lesions suggests some instance of disease in a few individuals. Variable right curvatures of the clavicle could indicate a preference for right-handedness in the population. Future research of other Poole-Rose ossuary bones may yield insight into the clavicular traits brought to light in this study.

Copyright © 2013 Manjula Poyil. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attri-bution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The study of mortuary practices of Megalithic communities and its use as the basis for reconstructing the past society is unique in archaeology as it represents the direct and purposeful culmination of conscious behavior of the followers of this cultural trait. There are voluminous studies on the Megalithic builders of South India, including Kerala, written by prominent archaeologists and anthropologists from the early decades of the nineteenth century. Most of them ignored the continuity of Megalithic tradition, except a scant reference to the erection of funeral edifices among tribes like the Kurumbas and Mudugas of Attap-padi and Mala-arayans of the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. A study of the living Megalithic practices provid...

[English below] W okresie ŚH I – PH IIB teren Argolidy stał się areną przemian społecznych, prowadzących do wykształcenia się wzorców znanych
jako kultura mykeńska. Są one uchwytne zwłaszcza w rytuale funeralnym, gdzie tradycje głęboko zakorzenione w okresie ŚH
łączono z nowymi elementami. Dotyczy to także aktu pochówku mnogiego, gdzie dochodzi do przejścia z wtórnie wykorzystywanych
obiektów na rzecz konstrukcji tworzonych z myślą o zbiorowym grobowcu. Widoczne są także tendencje do wyszczególniania
ich w krajobrazie oraz do deponowania większej ilości darów.
Zmiany te można interpretować jako część strategii obranych przez grupy funkcjonujące w ramach systemu wodzowskiego. Ich
uwaga skupiona była na więzach krwi, dzięki którym wypracowywano, a później i utrzymywano pozycję w systemie. Kolejne grupy
mogły określać swoją indywidualność przy jednoczesnym eksponowaniu pochodzenia – gdzie koligacje między przodkami i potomkami
służyły definiowaniu, uwypuklaniu i komplikowaniu kolejnych relacji społecznych.

During the MH I – LH IIB period, region of Argolid was a witness of social changes leading to the phenomena known as Mycenaean
culture. These are recognizable in burial rites transforming the traditional patterns into the new social perception. Within the most
significant ones, the attitude to secondary burials should be noted. Their increased dimensions (reflecting the conversion from single
to multi burials tombs) are connected with a tendency for additional grave marking, and with more sophisticated burial offerings.
These changes might be interpreted as a part of new conditions developed by the community functioning within the chiefdom
system. Their emphasis was given to the kinship relations playing an important role in creation and preservation of the position inside
the community. Particular groups simultaneously defined their individuality and displayed their origin, where the connections
between ancestors and descendants were crucial to define, emphasize and develop social relations.

مطالعه گورستان‌ها و شیوه‌های تدفین جوامع گذشته و کنونی، در شناخت بهتر ساختارها و سنت‌های اجتماعی-فرهنگی گروه‌های انسانی مؤثر است و نقش مهمی در پژوهش‌های باستان‌شناختی و انسان‌شناختی دارد. در میان جوامع کوچنده برخی سنت‌های آیینی وجود دارد که با سنت‌های آیینی جوامع یکجانشین اندکی متفاوت است. یکی از این سنت‌های آیینی، امانت‌گذاری متوفی در یک گورستان یا یک محل به صورت موقت و سپس جابجا کردن آن به محل نهایی دفن است. این نوع تدفین که در مطالعات باستان‌شناختی جزو یکی از انواع تدفین ثانویه در نظر گرفته می‌شود، در میان کوچندگان بختیاری به طور متداول دیده شده است. مطالعه موردی حاضر با محوریت طایفه بهداروند و مصاحبه با افراد محلی در اتحادیه طایفه‌ای بختیاری و بکارگیری روش کتابخانه‌ای، به بررسی چگونگی انجام سنت آیینی امانت‌گذاری متوفی در بین کوچندگان بختیاری و عوامل آن می‌پردازد و نشان می‌دهد که گروهای کوچنده مذکور، بر اساس چه معیارها و عواملی به این سنت آیینی اقدام می‌کردند.

Habár jelenlegi ismereteink szerint a késő bronzkor idejére Európa-szerte általánossá vált a halotthamvasztás szokása, a kisebb-nagyobb csoportokban elhelyezett urnasírokból álló temetők mellett egyre több, úgynevezett településen belüli vagy „különleges temetkezést” ismerünk, melyek látszólag nem illenek bele a „normatív temetkezések” sorába. Az előadás során történeti és recens esettanulmányok, tanatológiai és tafonómiai kutatások eredményeinek segítségével e (nem csupán az i. e. I. évezredre jellemző) kettősség okait kíséreljük meg körüljárni: melyek azok a kulturális, illetve pszichológiai eredetű tényezők, amelyek leginkább befolyásolhatják egy adott társadalom halottkezelési szokásait? Milyen általános elemekből épül fel és hogyan modellezhető az úgynevezett temetkezési ciklus, és mindez hogyan viszonyul a tanatológia és neuropszichológia által meghatározott gyászfolyamatok egyes állomásaihoz? Mit ismerünk, mi az, amit egyáltalán megismerhetünk mindebből a késő bronzkori Északkelet-Magyarország közösségeinek viszonylatában? Melyek a kérdéses régió és időszak halotti rítusait alkotó konkrét cselekvésformák és kognitív tartalmak? Mi lehet az oka a megkülönböztetett bánásmódnak – egyáltalán van-e különbség a két gyakorlat között? Még ha az egyértelmű válaszaink egyelőre csak elenyésző számúak is, az ilyen és ehhez hasonló kérdések boncolgatásával egy valamivel szélesebb perspektívát nyithatunk a régészeti korú temetkezések kutatása számára, és az egykori emberi valóság egyre pontosabb megismerésére.

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According to our present knowledge, the most common form of disposal of human bodies in Late Bronze Age Europe was cremation. However, besides cemeteries made of smaller or larger groups of urn graves, more and more so-called settlement or "special burials" are known, that apparently do not fit in the category of "normative burials”. By presenting historical and recent case studies or latest results of thanatological and taphonomic research, the lecture will focus on the reasons of this duality (that in fact is not only a first millennium BC specialty). What are the main cultural and psychological factors that can affect the dead-management habits of a community? What are the general components and basic model of the so-called funerary cycle, and how does it relate to the steps of the grieving process recently defined by thanatology and neuropsychology? What do we know, or what can we learn at all about this process concerning Late Bronze Age communities of Northeast Hungary? Which forms of action and cognitive content can be determined as a component of the funeral ritual within the specific region and time period? What could have been the reason for the special treatment – or is there any difference between the two practices at all? Even if only a very few questions like these can be answered clearly, discussing similar issues can open a somewhat broader perspective on the archaeology of death and burial – and so lead to a more precise understanding of past human reality.

Az ELTE Régészettudományi Intézetének a Nagykunsági Árapasztó Tározó építéséhez kapcsolódó, 2009 és 2011 között végzett megelőző feltárásainak végére három, rendkívül nehezen értelmezhető kora vaskori (Kr. e. 9-8. századi) "tömegsír" került elő. A 2012. novemberében, Marosvásárhelyen tartott X. Erdélyi  Magyar  Régészeti  Konferencia alkalmával bemutattuk a jelenség értelmezésének, a depozíciós folyamat rekonstrukciójának módszertani kérdéseit és eredményeit, valamint egy tágabb kitekintést is tettünk a Reinecke HaB időszak hasonló, településen belül előkerült emberi maradványainak körére.

Copyright © 2013 Manjula Poyil. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attri-bution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The study of mortuary practices of Megalithic communities and its use as the basis for reconstructing the past society is unique in archaeology as it represents the direct and purposeful culmination of conscious behavior of the followers of this cultural trait. There are voluminous studies on the Megalithic builders of South India, including Kerala, written by prominent archaeologists and anthropologists from the early decades of the nineteenth century. Most of them ignored the continuity of Megalithic tradition, except a scant reference to the erection of funeral edifices among tribes like the Kurumbas and Mudugas of Attap-padi and Mala-arayans of the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. A study of the living Megalithic practices provid...

In 1963 at Jestřábí skála cave in Moravian Karst during speleological excavations there were found scattered human bones together with animal bones and archaeological finds from the later phase of Neolithic Moravian Painted Pottery Culture (LgK, 4700–4000 BC). Two human bones were recently sampled and they provided data 1590–1870 calAD and 4290–4010 calBC where the latter date corresponds to the dating of archaeological finds. One hundred and thirty-five fragments were found, mostly from skull, ribs and long bones from at least four individuals. Human remains were intentionally modified, based on the taphonomic features such as perimortem breaking, cut marks, burning and missing vertebrae. The interpretation of the find is very complicated because of the non-existent archaeological documentation and two different radiocarbon data. The most probable explanation is the secondary burial rite of the Moravian painted pottery culture and we cannot even exclude cannibalism.

Mortuary practices in southern Greece undergo a radical transformation at the beginning of the Mycenaean era (or Late Bronze Age, around 1700 BCE). This period sees the introduction of formal cemeteries, larger tombs, richer burials and a more complex ritual sequence involving multiple interments, tomb re-use and the ‘secondary treatment’ of earlier burials. ‘Secondary treatment’ is a rather vague, all-inclusive term, which includes various practices, such as disarticulating skeletons, mingling the bones and relocating them in piles or scatters either inside or outside the tomb (completely or selectively). Two questions arise: Why is this practice introduced? Why does it take different forms? The recent excavation of Ayios Vasilios North Cemetery in Laconia was designed on the basis of an integrated bioarchaeological strategy in order to provide the opportunity to fully explore these issues. While our ultimate goal is to understand the causes and consequences of the wider transformations in funerary practices, the focus of this paper is on one aspect: the re-use of graves and the secondary treatment of earlier burials. Through an integrated approach which aims to reconcile archaeological theory with current methodological advances in bioarchaeology and funerary taphonomy, we seek to reconstruct the funerary activities in great detail, in order to fully observe variation and change, and, ultimately, understand how this considerable variation may inform us on the re-definition of social relations at death, or shifting notions of the self.

Beyond the specifics of the Mycenaean case-study, our aim is also to address broader methodological and theoretical questions, stressing the need for a true integration in the study of mortuary assemblages. To this end, we propose a taphonomy-oriented, methodological approach for the field recording and lab analysis of the human remains, drawing on current advances in archaeothanatology, forensic science, and analysis of commingled remains. This approach works best if placed within a clear theoretical framework, which recognises the manipulation of the dead body as closely associated with notions of personhood, and at the same time respects the historical specificity of the mortuary context and engages with the full complexity of contextual empirical data. Using the case of Ayios Vasilios in order to illustrate this process, our specific questions include: the formation characteristics of funerary assemblages, frequency and sequence of tomb use, diversity of secondary treatment, and age and sex differences in funerary treatment.

Our results demonstrate a considerable extent of variation in funerary disposal and secondary treatment during this transitional period. Shifts of emphasis within this diverse treatment, especially regarding bodily fragmentation and modes of dispersal, suggest that, in Ayios Vasilios, a) age, but not sex, differences in funerary treatment were at play, b) mortuary transformation embodies the transformation from narrower (possibly household-based) associations to increasingly wider concepts of lineage and descent, c) tensions between tradition and innovation, as well as integration and differentiation, are evident in the variation of secondary treatment and co-existence of different forms (as already attested in other funerary and daily practices).

An isolated adult human ulna fragment recovered from the 'black mould' layer of Kent's Cavern by William Pengelly in 1866 exhibits a series of stone tool cut marks. The specimen has been directly AMS 14 C-dated to 7314–7075 cal BC (OxA-20588: 8185 AE 38 BP) and may be from the same individual as a maxilla fragment dated to the same period. The cut marks are located on the olecranon process, in a position indicative of dismemberment, whereas the fracture characteristics of the bone furthermore suggest peri-mortem breakage, typical of butchery for the extraction of marrow. We here present and discuss the specimen and consider both ritual mortuary treatment and anthropophagy as possible explanations. Although it is difficult to interpret a single element in isolation, the latter scenario seems to be better supported and is not without parallel in prehistoric Europe, as indicated by a review of the available literature.