Mortuary Practice (Other Keyword)
1-11 (11 Records)
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A Comparison of Two Late Woodland Features: Helton 20-36 and Carter 2-15 (2016)
While the structure of Middle Woodland (2050-1600 BP) burial mounds from the lower Illinois River valley (LIV) is widely understood in terms of ramps, tombs, and peripheral interment facilities, those for the subsequent Late Woodland period (1600-1000 BP) remain poorly characterized. To illustrate commonalities between Late Woodland sites from the LIV, we here compare Feature 36 from Helton Md 20 and Feature 15 from Carter Md 2. The detailed excavation notes from the Helton excavation are used...
Fragmented Bodies and Splintered Coffins: What can they tell us about Ancient Egyptian Mortuary Practices? (2015)
Intrusions into the burial chamber directly impact the mortuary assemblage, often erasing the purposeful placement of grave goods and destroying the peaceful preservation of the body. So what can these palimpsests of havoc actually tell us about original mortuary practices? In this talk, I answer this question through analysis of Theban Tomb 290, the ancient Egyptian tomb of Iry-Nefer. This tomb, studied in 2013-14 as part of the French Institute mission at Deir el-Medina, contains up to 70...
A GIS-Investigation of the Yangshan Cemetery, Qinghai, NW China (2016)
This paper focuses on the use of GIS (geographic information systems) to examine mortuary practice in the Yangshan cemetery (ca. 4300-4000 BP), Qinghai Province, Northwestern China. The abundant graves unearthed in the Yangshan cemetery are valuable sources for investigating local social and economic organization. However, mortuary practice at Yangshan appears to be complicated, including graves containing single or multiple individuals, individuals deposited in extended or flexed position,...
The History and Archaeology of Nine Historic Sites on the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation: An Overview (1985)
The Fort McDowell Indian Reservation is rich in historic and prehistoric archaeological resources. Systematic surface searches have located and recorded over 100 archaeological sites within the 40 square mile reservation. Such sites show that many groups have used the area, including the prehistoric Hohokam, the Yavapai, Anglo-Americans, and Mexican-Americans. Prior to 1984, however, only four sites at Fort McDowell had been excavated or tested. Two of the sites were prehistoric, consisting of...
Materialities of Religious Transformation from Coast to Coast in Pre-Columbian Florida (2016)
During the 7th century in Florida, a decisive shift is apparent in the ways people were positioned in relation to burial sites and how they manufactured and interacted with portable objects. The transition ushered in the Weeden Island archaeological culture, well-known for the prevalence of exquisitely crafted pottery vessels and a characteristic mortuary regime widely adopted across the Gulf coastal plain and beyond. This paper examines the historical moment of change in terms of shifting...
Memory and mortuary practice in Neolithic Anatolia (2016)
Social memory has been argued to be a key component in the formation of the large Neolithic village site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey. This assertion has focused on daily practice centered within the house (Hodder and Cessford 2004), and may have extended to more architecturally elaborate houses as a central repository for memory and symbolism (Hodder and Pels 2010). Surrounding this discussion of social memory, there has been less focus on human burials; particularly on the treatment of human remains...
RETHINKING BURIAL PRACTICE IN QIJIA CULTURE (2015)
Mortuary data is one of the few now available tools we have to understand Chinese late neolithic culture of Qijia. With the exception of Lajia site, the most famous and best investigated sites are cemeteries, scattered throughout the regions of Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia in Northwest China. The data they revealed has been a long time source for Chinese archaeologists in the attempt of reconstructing the social organisation of the time, often putting too much emphasis on only certain type of...
The Role of Offerings in Interpreting Maya Mortuary Ritual: Bioarchaeological Analysis at Xultún (2017)
Bioarchaeological analyses in the past have worked to investigate and contextualize human remains in the broader realm of ancient Maya mortuary practices. Offerings are a common component of Maya ritual; however, the role of human offerings is still not understood in its entirety. In the 2014 field season at Xultún, Petén, Guatemala, three sets of human remains were excavated within the Los Arboles structure, a pyramid complex to the north of the site. In this paper, I discuss the results of...
Roman Clay Coffins: Maritime Mortuary Trade and Cultural Identity in the Eastern Mediterranean (2020)
This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Clay coffins found in burial contexts along the coasts of modern Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey are marked by resemblance in form, decoration, and fabric. The Galilee and Phoenician coast, religiously and culturally diverse, contained the majority of clay coffins, all dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Petrographic analysis confirms the importation of the coffins...
Social Differentiation at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua Mexico: An Archaeological Analysis of Mortuary Practices (1984)
Excavations at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico have produced 576 burials dating between the 12th and 14th centuries. Social differentiation was investigated among Casas Grandians by analyzing a series of burial attributes defined from the society's mortuary program. An attempt was made to determine the manner degree to which social life at Casas Grandes was hierarchically structured during the Medio Period (ca. A.D. 1060 to 1340). Specifically, the hypothesis that Casas Grandes was organized on...