The aim of this paper is to critically examine the use and validity of the term ‘skull cult’ in academic literature. Since the discovery of the first plastered skull in 1953 by Kenyon, more...Show moreThe aim of this paper is to critically examine the use and validity of the term ‘skull cult’ in academic literature. Since the discovery of the first plastered skull in 1953 by Kenyon, more plastered skulls have been dug up from sites across West-Asia. Due to temptation ideas were opted for a shared tradition, which resulted in a grand narrative called the ‘skull cult’. As a consequence detailed information was overlooked, and local variation ignored. Due to the limited scope of this paper, twelve sites were selected for analysis, including: Jericho, Yiftahel, Kfar Hahoresh, Beisamoun, ‘Ain Ghazal, Nahal Hemar, Tell Ramad, Tell Aswad (Southern Levant), Abu Hureyra, Çayönü, (Northern Levant/ South-east Anatolia), Köşk Höyük, and Çatalhöyük (South-central Anatolia). The sites were first examined individually to provide a clear overview of each settlement. They were structured according to several variables associated with plastered skulls and skull retrieval, which are the following: gender, age, individual and/or group burials, findspot, headless and/or intact burials, skulls or cranium, and other skull manipulations (i.e., plain, paint, artificial modification) and decorations applied to the skull. Next, the sites were compared to each other to find potential similarities and differences. Gender, age, and intact burials did not provide sufficient data, and therefore, no speculations have been proposed. Headless burials did produce incomplete data as well, but the presence at most sites supports the act of skull retrieval practices at the site. Overall, the data showed the existence of analogies between sites, but these are outweighed by local diversities. In addition, the significant distance in time and space with regard to a few sites does also contradict the idea of one shared mortuary practice. Skull retrieval might have originated from the late Natufian period onwards, but over time local variations evolved to which people from each site attached their own unique symbolic meanings.Show less
Site 79 is a location where multiple archaeological activities have taken place over the last couple of decades. It is located in northern Oman, specifically in the Al Batinah province, inside the...Show moreSite 79 is a location where multiple archaeological activities have taken place over the last couple of decades. It is located in northern Oman, specifically in the Al Batinah province, inside the current city of Sohar. The site contained archaeological finds and features from multiple different periods. This thesis focuses on the lithic material from the Neolithic period that has been found at the site. This includes material from a recent surface collection in 2018 but also material that has been found there in the past. This thesis explores the different lithic industries from the Neolithic period of Oman and aims to determine the periods that are represented by the material at Site 79. This is done by comparing the material that was found to dated material from comparable sites located in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The analysis of the lithic material found at Site 79 by comparing it to dated material in the literature showed that there is material from the Early, Middle and Late Neolithic. This is because types of arrowheads can be connected to time periods in which they were mainly produced. At the site there were multiple lithic facies identified. Among them were Fasad arrowheads, trihedral arrowheads, and fusiform arrowheads. A majority of the material that could be tentatively dated pointed to the Late Neolithic, however there is enough material from earlier periods to prove that the site must have been in use more than once. Looking at the unfinished or seemingly broken nature of most of the arrowheads the site was probably a lithic workshop. This would also explain the relatively large assemblage of lithics that was found at the site compared to other Neolithic sites in Oman. The research presented here adds to a growing body of evidence on the Neolithic period of Oman and increases our knowledge about the characteristics of this period in Oman.Show less
