The experience and expression of emotion is a core aspect of humanity, but is also inherently subjective. Emotion also influences the way we as researchers look at history. In this paper, these...Show moreThe experience and expression of emotion is a core aspect of humanity, but is also inherently subjective. Emotion also influences the way we as researchers look at history. In this paper, these concepts will be demonstrated using the Chieftain's Grave of Oss as an example. Using multiple subjective, academic approaches, two possible scenario's of the Chieftain's burial ritual in the Iron Age will be presented, that change the way we view this burial.Show less
The Middle Palaeolithic is an important period in the development of mortuary behaviour. During this period, Neanderthals started burying their dead before Homo sapiens arrived in Europe. Their...Show moreThe Middle Palaeolithic is an important period in the development of mortuary behaviour. During this period, Neanderthals started burying their dead before Homo sapiens arrived in Europe. Their mortuary behaviour knows variability in several aspects, which makes an interesting case in the debate surrounding behaviour complexity. The central problem that is explored here is what the variation in mortuary behaviour between the Neanderthal multiple burial sites of La Ferrassie and Shanidar Cave indicates about Neanderthal mortuary practice in the Middle Palaeolithic and how this helps to understand their behaviour in an evolutionary context. La Ferrassie and Shanidar Cave are two of the few Neanderthal burial sites that contain multiple burials and vary in their organization in space and time. Using new evidence produced with the most recent techniques, I re-examined the two burial sites to compare their degree of organization and continuity. The study confirms that La Ferrassie displays spatial structuring of the burials, which attests to a complex interaction with the dead, while at Shanidar Cave a degree of organization is less evident and the mortuary behaviour is limited to a briefer period of time. However, it is noted that the burials at La Ferrassie and Shanidar Cave are both structured in their own manner. The diversity of responses to death is part of the emergence of the complex behaviour that would unfold in the Upper Palaeolithic. Furthermore, both sites provide evidence for a mortuary function of the cave and further explore the symbolic role of these natural formations, while keeping the preservation bias of such places in mind.Show less
The research examines Neanderthal fossil sites containing more than one individual and investigates the existence of Neanderthal mortuary spaces, a place associated with death, among them. An...Show moreThe research examines Neanderthal fossil sites containing more than one individual and investigates the existence of Neanderthal mortuary spaces, a place associated with death, among them. An overview of Neanderthal fossil sites with respect to the number of individuals indicates that almost 50% contains more than one individuals. The ones with more than five individuals are studied in detail concerning the main features of mortuary space: multiple burial, spatial organization and temporal restriction. At least three sites (La Ferrassie, Shanidar and Amud) appear to be mortuary spaces. On these sites multiple burial and spatial organization are evident but temporal restriction is hard to detect in the existing documentation. No general patterns were detected but traditions within sites are clear. Local natural elements are highly involved in burial structures and in spatial organization, indicating creative landscape use, which could account for the locality of traditions. The existence of mortuary space suggests modernity in Neanderthals behaviour. It also implies that mortuary behaviour emerged gradually and existed in elaborate ways in other species than ours.Show less
In this paper, the secondary burials from the late Neolithic in northern Mesopotamia and from Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria are investigated. Secondary burials were found at Bouqras, Tell el-Kerkh,...Show moreIn this paper, the secondary burials from the late Neolithic in northern Mesopotamia and from Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria are investigated. Secondary burials were found at Bouqras, Tell el-Kerkh, Hakemi Use, Yarim Tepe I and II, Tell Hassuna, Halula, Tell es-Sawwan and Arpachiyah. At Tell Sabi Abyad three secondary deposits and nine potential secondary deposits were found. The secondary burials represent only a small portion of the total number of burials that are found. Secondary burials are an exception. Different types of secondary burials from the late Neolithic are found in northern Mesopotamia and at Tell Sabi Abyad. Skulls seem to play an important role. The skulls were removed from graves and reburied. There are also primary and secondary deposits found on floors in buildings. At Tell Sabi Abyad bones of humans and animals are found together in a tholos. At different sites deposits of human and animal bones are found, sometimes together with fragments. These are possibly waste deposits. The secondary burials found at Tell el-Kerkh and Tell es-Sawwan do not seem to correspond with the secondary burials at the other sites. At Tell el-Kerkh pits with many disarticulated human bones are found, these were not found on other sites that were examined. At Tell es-Sawwan red ochre and grave goods were found in secondary burials. At the other sites, no red ochre was found in the secondary burials. Grave goods are rare in the secondary burials found at other sites, and usually only found as fragments in waste deposits.Show less