Category: Bioarcheology

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A Tale of Multi-Phase Burial in Pommerœul: Between Neolithic and Gallo-Roman Periods

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS PHOTOS OF HUMAN REMAINS

 

Funeral rites are among the most enduring and, at the same time, most diverse elements of human culture. It is the precise way in which the dead are treated that allows archaeologists to reconstruct not only the funeral practices of ancient societies, but also their conceptions of death, transience, memory, and relations with ancestors. Sometimes, though, archaeological discoveries defy simple interpretations, forcing researchers to take a closer look at phenomena that previously seemed well understood. This is the case for an extraordinary burial discovered in Pommerœul, Belgium. The grave, found in a cremation cemetery dating to the Roman period, turned out to be a much more complex funerary structure, combining remains from various periods of the Neolithic. The results of interdisciplinary bioarchaeological, genetic, and radiocarbon analyses revealed a multi-phase history for the burial, shedding new light on funeral practices and the way in which ancient communities treated the remains of their ancestors.

 

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Children should be seen and not heard? On violence against children in Tell Brak

Violence against children is not exclusively a modern phenomenon. It also accompanied humans in the past, as evidenced by both written sources and archaeological discoveries. Although its existence is beyond doubt, it is much more difficult to determine the scale of violence against children in ancient societies. This arises not only from the fragmentary nature of the source material, but also from the difficulties associated with identifying cases of violence in archaeological material. Sometimes, however, skeletons retain traces of trauma which suggest that the child may have been a victim. This was likely the case with a child buried at Tell Brak in what is now Syria. Its remains became the subject of an analysis by researchers from the University of Warsaw and Durham University, recently published in the “International Journal of Osteoarchaeology”.

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Tarkhan – Domain of the Crocodile King

The cemetery at Tarkhan was established around 3300 BCE, during the Naqada IIIA2 period, and provides evidence of the mobility of the Naqada population. The Naqada culture, which initially developed in Upper Egypt near the present-day town of Naqada, expanded its territories northward. In the Fayum oasis region, other important cemeteries associated with the Naqada community can be found, such as Abusir el-Melek and el-Gerza, with the latter located just a few kilometers south of Tarkhan, the focus of today’s story.

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The oldest date from Castillo de Huarmey came from a hairless dog

The earliest radiocarbon date obtained so far from Castillo de Huarmey did not come from a monumental tomb, a royal object, or a spectacular architectural feature. It came from a naturally mummified hairless dog. Dated to 688-870 CE, this unusual find is more than a curiosity. It opens a window onto a much larger story: in the Wari world, dogs were not simply pets or strays, but animals with many social lives: helpers, scavengers, companions, and perhaps even guides to the afterlife.

Idealny nagi pies peruwiański © Hookery, CC BY-SA 3.0
A perfect Peruvian Hairless Dog
© Hookery, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Are These Really Horses? Questioning the Identification of Horses in Third-Millennium BCE Iconography in Mesopotamia

The domestication of the horse had a significant impact on ancient human societies. Previous contributions published by Archeowieści have explored various aspects of these animals and their role in cultural development. The present article, based on a recent study by Zainab A. Albshir (University of Warsaw), examines the identification of equids in the iconography of ancient Mesopotamia, with particular attention to the challenges of distinguishing horses from other equid species.

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Beetle for adorment. A unique find from the cremation cemetery in Domasław.

Jewelry made from both organic and inorganic materials is one of the earliest and most popular material evidence of human activity and cultural development discovered at archaeological sites around the world. When we hear the word jewelry, we think of items made from precious metals, gemstones, or shells. But it turns out that past humans made decorations using a surprisingly wide range of materials. During research on burials from the extensive Lusatian culture necropolis in Domasław in Lower Silesia, Polish scientists found evidence of the deliberate deposition of chitinous beetle shells strung on a blade of grass in a grave. This unique discovery sheds new light on the culture of the communities inhabiting Lower Silesia in the early Iron Age.

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Thousand years after Castillo: Chinese immigrants in Huarmey

One of the most unexpected and surprising discoveries at Castillo de Huarmey site were the burials dated to the very beginning of the 20th century. They were found within palacio, which is the architectural establishment located at the foot of the hill on which the mausoleum is situated, from which the Castillo de Huarmey is best known. The whole area of this archaeological site functioned as a burial site at least since the Early Horizon (see: Tysiąc lat przed Castillo: Atypowe pochówki z Huarmey ENG!) through the Middle Horizon (these burials were associated with the presence of the Wari Empire in the area), to the Late Horizon. However, discovery of the much younger burials indicate that Castillo functioned as the funeral zone in the minds of even 20th-century residents of the Huarmey Valley. Certainly the hill and overlooking mausoleum, were strongly distinguished in the local landscape (before the great earthquake of 1970 probably it might dominate evenmore so than today), was considered as huaca, which means a “sacred place.” Similar to the platforms of the Moche Valley, or those in the area of modern Lima (e.g. Huaca Pucllana located in Miraflores district).

 

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS PHOTOS OF HUMAN REMAINS

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“Fire walk with me”. Cremation burial practices in Tierra Caliente, Michoacán

Cremation is one of the most common types of burial rites practiced by various communities around the world. Nevertheless, the first associations that spring to mind for these practices, during which the remains of the deceased were consumed by fire, would lead us in the direction of the Vikings or the inhabitants of much of Northern Europe during the Late Bronze Age or Iron Age. In this case, however, a doctoral student at the University of Warsaw and editor of Archeowieści will tell the story of a particular area of western Mexico where, more than six centuries ago, cremation was the main funeral rite for at least a part of the Indigenous community. Burials associated with the local community of this region were recently discovered in the Middle Balsas River valley, which constitutes the border between the states of Michoacán and Guerrero. Traces of these funerary practices are the subject of a remarkably important study conducted by the author in collaboration with researchers from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia Michoacán and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, under the direction of Dr. José Luis Punzo Díaz.

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Llamas in the jungle? Or what do we know about the camelid presence on the eastern slopes of the Andes

Llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos) are the only large, domesticated, and endemic mammals in the Peruvian Andes. They had immense significance for all pre-Columbian Andean cultures by providing essential resources such as meat, wool for textile production, bones for tool and ornament manufacturing, and dung used as fuel and fertilizer. Llamas and alpacas held an important place in pre-Columbian iconography. Their images were depicted on pottery, textiles, and on rocks in the form of petroglyphs and carvings. More robust llamas also served as pack animals and traversed the Andes in trade caravans.

Unfortunately for zooarchaeologists (scientists studying the relationships between humans and animals in the past), all South American camelid species are genetically related, which complicates their species identification if based solely on animal bones recovered during archaeological fieldwork. For this reason, in Andean zooarchaeology, they are conventionally referred to as “camelids.”

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Workshop on Bioarchaeology in Mesopotamia

From February 29 to March 2, 2024 an online, free workshop on “Bioarchaeology in Mesopotamia” will showcase state-of-the-art bioarchaeological research in Mesopotamia.

“Bioarchaeology” is a broad umbrella term for research on biological remains recovered from archaeological contexts. Bioarchaeologists provide information on human health, diet, workload, mobility, and more. They reconstruct past ecologies and reveal ancient changes in climate. They illuminate economies and social structures, revealing how foods were produced, homes were furnished, and cities were cleaned (or not). They contribute information vital to understanding why people in the past settled where they did, and why they abandoned settlements.

Workshop on Bioarchaeology in Mesopotamia/ورشة العمل حول البيوأثرولوجيا في بلاد ما بين النهرين

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