Complete and Commingled Juveniles: Comparison and Interpretation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Throughout much of bioarchaeology’s history, the remains of juveniles (nonadults) have seen a lack of study. Reasoning ranged from their perceived lack of importance in ancient societies, the complexities of growth and development, and the more fragile nature of their bones. Similarly, commingled remains are less often studied than their more complete counterparts. While it is now widely acknowledged that both juvenile remains and commingled collections have much to contribute to our understanding of the past, studies of commingled juveniles present unique challenges that have led to some hesitancy to pursue them. Using three Byzantine sites from the southern Levant, this paper discusses the importance of commingled juvenile burials for studies of ancient lifeways, particularly personhood, status, and religion. Further, we examine the methodology for incorporating juveniles into more general studies of commingled burials and the limitations and strengths of doing so. We especially focus on facilitating direct comparison between commingled and complete juvenile burials to gain a well-rounded understanding of juvenile life in the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Continued Advances in Method and Theory for Commingled Remains

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38158.0