Representation and Distribution of Fragmented Elements from Human Skeletons in Umm an-Nar Tombs: Impact of Secondary Mortuary Practices

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Umm an-Nar (2700–2000 BCE) skeletons in the United Arab Emirates remain challenging to investigate due to secondary mortuary practices resulting in commingling, fragmentation, and cremation. Tombs contain multiple chambers, but little work has been done to examine whether certain skeletal elements may have been intentionally moved into particular chambers as part of funerary traditions. To assess skeletal representation, the minimum number of individuals (MNI) for Umm an-Nar tomb Unar 2 (2300–2100 BCE) was calculated for a variety of cranial and postcranial elements. To explore the potential for redistribution, the location of nearly 12,000 fragments was evaluated across 12 chambers. MNI estimates suggest that at least 411 individuals are represented, although estimates from the skull (MNI range: 328–411) varied dramatically from postcranial elements (MNI range: 183–234), suggesting that the skull was more likely to be returned to the tomb following secondary mortuary treatments, or that portions of the skull were more likely to survive. Additionally, while some chambers were generally favored over others for disposal of the dead, no significant differences (𝛘2=47.6, df=39, p=0.16) existed in the distribution of some skeletal elements over others across chambers, indicating a lack of preference for secondary placement of particular bones back into the tomb.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38813.0