Mortuary Practices

En Mesoamérica, los huesos humanos fueron utilizados como herramientas de trabajo, armas y objetos votivos y religiosos. Sin embargo, los huesos de individuos sacri cados tenían un valor simbólico adicional, vinculado al acto de inmolación. Aunque parecen haber sido comunes, las evidencias de cráneos pintados recuperados en contextos arqueológicos son escasas. Este reporte de caso presenta los resultados del análisis osteobiográ co de un osario hallado en 2015 en Tehuacán, Puebla, al sur de una estructura ubicada en uno de los altares de sacri cio frente al templo dedicado a Xipe Tótec, una deidad asociada con la fertilidad, la regeneración de los ciclos agrícolas y la guerra. Complementada con análisis arqueométricos e iconográ cos, esta investigación aporta nuevas evidencias sobre los huesos humanos pintados y su papel en los rituales de sacri cio, contribuyendo así a la discusión sobre su materialidad y simbolismo en Mesoamérica.

In this interview, the editors and the interviewee discuss contemporary approaches to the study of ethnic identity in the context of the end of Roman Britain and migration to Britain from across the North Sea. A discussion of the interviewee’s attempt to problematise this issue in relation to the cremation cemetery of Spong Hill, Norfolk, is used to open up a wider discussion, which covers issues such as issues of empiricism and interpretation, misconceptions about what it means to correctly draw upon archaeological and historical source material in unison, and the mis/utilisation of the study of the early medieval past in its various forms in relation to contemporary political discourse in Britain around issues such as migration, ethnicity and identity.

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the absolute chronology of collective burials of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle communities of the Middle Bronze Age in East Central Europe. Based on Bayesian modeling of 91 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates from 18 cemeteries, the practice of collective burying of individuals was linked to a period of 400–640 (95.4%) years, between 1830–1690 (95.4%) and 1320–1160 (95.4%) BC. Collective burials in mounds with both cremation and inhumation rites were found earliest in the upland zone regardless of grave structure type (mounded or flat). Bayesian modeling of 14C determinations suggests that this practice was being transmitted generally from the southeast to the northwest direction. Bayesian modeling of the dates from the largest cemetery in Żerniki Górne, Lesser Poland Upland, confirmed the duration of use of the necropolis as ca. 140–310 (95.4%) years. Further results show the partial contemporaneity of burials and allow formulati...

In Egyptian history the Giza pyramids were not designated as tombs. They were called the akhet-the great light of the rising sun. In modern Egyptology the Great Pyramid at Giza is designated as the tomb of 4 th dynasty King Khufu (Cheops) from ca. 2550 BCE-largely on the basis of graffiti found in the interior spaces which include a royal cartouche now interpreted as Khufu. However, there are several unresolved contraindications-mainly that the 'Khufu tomb' hypothesis was only proposed by European archaeologists in the late 1800s but prior to that there was over 4000 years of indigenous history which did not describe the pyramids as tombs and did not attribute them to particular known kings. Those details have been posted elsewhere. [1] The original function of the Great Pyramid was surprisingly well recorded in the ancient Egyptian funerary literature, supported by other physical evidence. • The origin and function of the pyramid was described in the funerary literature originating from the Old Kingdom, including the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead and the AmDuat. Those texts described the pyramid function as a great secret not understood by ordinary men-an abominable secret not to be disclosed to swamp-dwellers. [Book of the Dead]. Only Thoth knows the magic spells … not to be revealed to those on Earth. [Coffin Texts, Sp 652, 655]

This paper comprehensively analyses the distribution and characteristics of megalithic burials at the Dharti-Murti site in the Vidarbha region. Through detailed fieldwork and documentation, a significant concentration of megalithic burials, including cairns, stone circles, and stone circles with cairn filling has been identified. The present study examines the spatial distribution of megalithic burials within the site their orientation, size, and internal contents. The paper discusses the result of the micro-documentation of megaliths, including the typology of megaliths, locational analysis, variation in architecture, and present conditions. By understanding the patterns of megalithic burials at Dharti-Murti, we aim to contribute to a broader understanding of the social, economic, and religious practices of the megalithic folk of Vidarbha.

This essay explores the interplay between materiality, emotions, and female agency in the Bosmun area, located at Papua New Guinea's Lower Ramu River. The material forms that I address by means of an emotion-focused materiality approach relate to a prominent mythical heroine called Nzari. Following local cosmology, Nzari gave women the markers of female identity that are universally considered respected and powerful insignia: fire, clay pots, wooden bowls, paddles, and clubs. Nzari's story and the associated female power thus materializes in a number of objects. Due to wider societal transformations in contemporary Papua New Guinea, Bosmun women today enact emotions, agency, and power in complex and sometimes ambivalent ways in relation to "Nzari's objects." While some of the contents, meanings, and practices relating to these objects have been devalued, the objects themselves do not lose their agency since women continue to emotionally engage with them while making sense of a changing cultural world.

Keffer (AkGv-14), a late 15th century Wendat site on the Don River, grew over a period of two to three decades to ultimately include 15 longhouses and a population estimated at 744 people. During its complete excavation, 29 individuals were recovered from 27 burial features, the majority of them in longhouses. Seventeen of these longhouse burials were of infants or young children. A detailed analysis of their placement in relation to the interior features of the longhouses suggests that reincarnation was the anticipated outcome of their burial, that reincarnation was viewed as a process rather than an event, and that care was taken to ensure that they would be reborn to an appropriate matriclan mother. The 12 other individuals described here include 4 from longhouses, 5 from elsewhere in the village, and 3 from a primary burial cemetery just outside the village. We also discuss the cultural and archaeological context of the numerous human bones from midden and other nonburial contexts within the village and from the ossuary in which the majority of the deceased villagers were buried. Although this paper involves a broad range of mortuary contexts, a comprehensive reconstruction of the Keffer mortuary programme is difficult because we do not have comparative osteological and dental data from the ossuary or from the other primary cemeteries presumed to exist beyond the village limits.

Keffer (AkGv-14), a late 15th century Wendat site on the Don River, grew over a period of two to three decades to ultimately include 15 longhouses and a population estimated at 744 people. During its complete excavation, 29 individuals were recovered from 27 burial features, the majority of them in longhouses. Seventeen of these longhouse burials were of infants or young children. A detailed analysis of their placement in relation to the interior features of the longhouses suggests that reincarnation was the anticipated outcome of their burial, that reincarnation was viewed as a process rather than an event, and that care was taken to ensure that they would be reborn to an appropriate matriclan mother. The 12 other individuals described here include 4 from longhouses, 5 from elsewhere in the village, and 3 from a primary burial cemetery just outside the village. We also discuss the cultural and archaeological context of the numerous human bones from midden and other nonburial contexts within the village and from the ossuary in which the majority of the deceased villagers were buried. Although this paper involves a broad range of mortuary contexts, a comprehensive reconstruction of the Keffer mortuary programme is difficult because we do not have comparative osteological and dental data from the ossuary or from the other primary cemeteries presumed to exist beyond the village limits.

În amintirea unor Oameni, fără ajutorul cărora aş fi fost altfel: -Costache Enescu, chirurgul care m-a "născut" a doua oară, operându-mă de peritonită acută când aveam doi ani; -Gheorghe Popescu (Moş' Nicu) -un fel de bunic, cel mai bun om pe care l-am întâlnit; -Alexandru Dincă (zis Walker) -colegul de liceu cu care încercam să schimbăm lumea, pe vremea zaverei din '56 de la Budapesta; -Ion Avram -profesorul de sport din liceu, elev al vestitului Mikonosuke Kawaishi (FranŃa), care mi-a dezvăluit lumea Judo-ului într-o vreme când la noi orice artă marŃială era interzisă; -Ion I. Gologan (Nenea Nelu) -unchiul meu, profesor de agronomie la Iaşi, înŃelept modern care ştia ce e "după"; -Mihaela Şerban (UŃa) -sora mea, care a publicat la Apimondia primele mele cărŃi neconvenŃionale; -AlŃi filantropi, care la nevoie mi-au dat să beau din cana lor, sau m-au ajutat "să bat un cui"... Omul de omenie este Om fără să ştie... Această carte nu dezvăluie tehnici secrete cu care să câştigi o luptă cu alŃii, ci arată cum poŃi duce războiul cu tine însuŃi -dacă vrei să devii Om. Fără supravegherea unui îndrumător competent, ideile şi exerciŃiile prezentate în carte pot fi dăunătoare. Autorul şi editura nu au vreo responsabilitate pentru orice accident, insucces sau consecinŃă de orice fel, care ar putea apărea prin folosirea unor informaŃii, sfaturi şi indicaŃii din carte. Toate drepturile asupra cărŃii aparŃin autorului. Opiniile şi concepŃiile exprimate în carte aparŃin autorului; Editura n-are nici o vină.

By exploring the nexus of martyrdom narratives in ancient sources, bioarchaeological evidence, and ultimately of modern canonization processes and the subsequent veneration of the remains by the Christian communities, our study seeks to unravel the multifaceted layers of identity (re)construction. Using as a focal point the case martyrs Epictetus and Astion from Halmyris in northern Scythia who were executed by decapitation in the early fourth century, the research engages with historical accounts and material remains associated with these figures while investigating the relationship between martyrdom narratives and identity. The analysis of skeletal remains and funerary context aims at reconstructing the bioarchaeological signatures of martyrdom, considering both the physical trauma endured and the elements embedded in the burial practices.

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the absolute chronology of collective burials of the Trzciniec Cultural Circle communities of the Middle Bronze Age in East Central Europe. Based on Bayesian modeling of 91 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dates from 18 cemeteries, the practice of collective burying of individuals was linked to a period of 400–640 (95.4%) years, between 1830–1690 (95.4%) and 1320–1160 (95.4%) BC. Collective burials in mounds with both cremation and inhumation rites were found earliest in the upland zone regardless of grave structure type (mounded or flat). Bayesian modeling of 14C determinations suggests that this practice was being transmitted generally from the southeast to the northwest direction. Bayesian modeling of the dates from the largest cemetery in Żerniki Górne, Lesser Poland Upland, confirmed the duration of use of the necropolis as ca. 140–310 (95.4%) years. Further results show the partial contemporaneity of burials and allow formulati...

Our study explores the complex relationship between myth, memory, and modernity in shaping contemporary spiritual narratives. By probing the reinterpretation of ancient myths in modern literature, the role of collective memory in cultural heritage, and the impact of modernity on traditional spiritual expressions, the paper highpoints how these elements collectively influence the evolving landscape of spirituality. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the article underlines the ongoing dialogue between past and present, tradition and innovation, in the formation of spiritual identities within a rapidly changing cultural context.

Die Herstellung einer frühmittelalterlichen Flügellanze, ein archäologisches Experiment 2. WAS IST EINE FLÜGELLANZE? 2.1. Aussehen Abb. 1.: Die Longinuslanze Flügellanzen sind geschmiedete Lanzen bzw. Speerspitzen, welche an der Tülle zwei flügelartige Anbauten besitzen. Die Tülle ist der rohrförmige Teil eines Werkzeugs, in dem ein Stiel befestigt werden kann. Das wohl berühmteste Exemplar einer Flügellanze ist die Reichslanze oder auch Longinuslanze genannt (siehe Abb.1). Diese Lanze gehört zum Krönungsschatz des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation. Der Legende nach war sie im Besitz des römischen Legionärs Longinus, welcher mit dieser Lanze den Tod des Jesus von Nazareth am Kreuz geprüft haben soll, in dem er jenem damit in die Seite stach. Sie gilt neben der Reichskrone als wichtigstes Artefakt der Reichsinsignien. Die Longinuslanze ist aufwendig umgearbeitet und besteht aus mehreren Teilen. Das Lanzenblatt ist bei der Umarbeitung mit einer Aussparung in der Mitte versehen worden, um einen Nagel darin zu befestigen. Dabei soll es sich um einen Nagel vom Kreuze Christi handeln. Die Lanze ist außerdem durch zwei zusätzliche Klingen, oberhalb der Flügel erweitert worden und mit einem Silberblech und einem Goldblech umwickelt (Schulze -

This research project seeks to reinterpret Orphic/Bacchic mortuary evidence using new advances in mortuary archaeology and Lived Religion. This framework introduces a new hybrid method for studying grave assemblages that included an Orphic gold tablet, expanding upon the literary evidence associated with the Orphic tradition. The research methodology I employ for analyzing the tablets, in conjunction with other artefacts discovered in the grave, integrates the Lived Religion approach with a branch of Archaeothanatology referred to as Death as a Continuum. Ultimately, I posit that the followers of the Orphic Dionysos redefine mortality. According to them, death was a precarious stage in the journey to (re)claim divine status in the universe and be free of the cycle of reincarnation on earth. Mortals are gods because they have physical bodies originating from the incinerated Titans, and they also have a piece of Dionysos inside of them. Mortals must make sure to remember where humanity comes from when they die so that they may divest themselves of their false (Titanic) bodies. The Orphic tradition which created the Orphic tablets dictates that only through death and the divestment of human accoutrements (the Titanic stain), mortals can finally realise their true identity and return to godhood.

An archaeological excavation was conducted on the northern outskirts of Tel Lod. The excavation uncovered some six layers from the following periods: Pottery Neolithic, Early Bronze Age IB (two layers), Middle Bronze Age II, Byzantine-Early Islamic periods and the British Mandate period. The dominant remnants are from the Early Bronze Age IB, and are reflected in architectural remains and a large quantity of ceramics, including types that indicate a brief Egyptian presence at the site. A prominent remnant from the Early or Middle Bronze Age includes a sloped wall over 30 m long that may be part of the glacis of the site. It appears that the wall continues to the northwest and the southeast and delimits the northern slopes of Tel Lod. In this article, we will present the results of the excavation, discuss the significance of this wall and the Egyptian presence in the Early Bronze Age in Lod in light of the findings.

Material ontological approaches have the potential to expand the understanding of precolonial stone monuments. Grooved boulders (known locally as piedras rayadas) seem to be a monumental form unique to El Tigre Island, Honduras. This article focuses on the 30 piedras rayadas documented at the archaeological site of La Tigüilotada in the context of lithic ontologies. By examining their spatial relationships and their material biographies, we shed light on the various social engagements of the boulders and their participation in other-than-human assemblages through cycles of renewed material engagements. From this analysis emerges a dynamic picture of the boulders' role in emplacement processes through time, highlighting their participation in the local ritual landscape, in celebrations, and in marking the passage of time.

Any attempt to reify a phenomenon as multifaceted as the kabbalah by identifying an essential core is dubious and runs the risk of the Whiteheadian fallacy of misplaced concreteness, obfuscating the intricacy of the concrete by a presumed abstraction that proffers a false sense of the whole. In Peircean terms, if we ignore the interdependence of all things, and consider each thing for itself, then general terms would correspond to no object; if, however, we accept that any particular thing is dependent on what lies beyond its immediate limits, then we discern that the perpetually abiding totality of that thing’s true being—the generic—must be appraised constantly from the viewpoint of the changeable, transitory, and evanescent. This criterion can be applied to the kabbalah: if we are to speak of an essence, then it can be ascertained only from the vantage point of the inessential. Any appeal to fixed meaning must be adduced from the fluctuating nature of historical contingencies; the variation of the invariable facilitates the continuity of the discontinuity. On this score, it is legitimate to say that an enduring attraction for kabbalists has been the challenge to penetrate the impenetrable secret of infinity, to untangle the intractable knot of the mystery of the eternal beginning issuing from the nihilating nonground of the origin beyond conceptual and linguistic demarcation. My hypothesis, simply stated, is that the kabbalistic symbolism can be beneficially translated into the evolutionary logic articulated by Peirce and the trichotomous structure that informed his philosophic architectonic. Kabbalistic infinity is thus not merely an "endless" quantity, but a "void of being" that necessitates a continuous, creative process of sign-making (theosemiosis).

The archaeological research of the borough of Roman has led to the discovery of artifacts and medieval dwellings. The archaeological investigation carried out in two sites (La Bibliotecă and Spitalul Precista), at different stages (2012 and 2024), revealed two medieval gold coins.

Along with the body, the ka (kʒ; "life force"), the shadow, and the name, the ba (Eg., bʒ) was one of the major components in the Egyptian concept of an individual. Its closest analog in Western thought is the "soul"-a term with which ba is often translated-although the two concepts are not fully comparable. At the same time, however, Paheri's text also states that "your ba will not abandon your corpse," echoing the Coffin Texts: "my ba cannot be kept from my corpse." This relationship is reflected in vignettes of the New Kingdom Book of Going Forth by Day (Book of the Dead), which show the ba not only returning to the mummy and hovering over it but also participating in activities outside the tomb. This vision of the Bibliography

Abstract: In Mycenaean palaces a wide range of consumption activities took place, from the most exclusive to mass-consumption. Here we apply organic residue analysis to a typologically wide ceramic assemblage from the Mycenaean palace of Ayios Vasileios (early fourteenth to mid thirteenth century BC), and the succeeding settlement of the early twelfth century BC, with the aim of investigating the functions of common shapes and to observe patterns of chronological and spatial differentiation related to the palatial and post-palatial phases, the first study of its kind for a Mycenaean palace. Keywords: Ayios Vasileios, Laconia, Mycenaean palace, Mycenaean pottery, organic residue analyses, wine consumption

Archaeological evidence demonstrates that molluscs, either as unworked or worked artefacts, have been deposited in burial settings as objects which speak to secular or various philosophical, religious or cosmological concerns. Those molluscs imbued with secular or cosmological significance are identified and selected with reference to the specific behaviour, characteristics or qualities of the mollusc itself within a given society’s socio-cultural belief system. This paper examines data from mainland Southeast Asia to explore the distribution and potential significance of Unionidae bivalves in human burials from a range of large, later prehistoric burial sites. This family of bivalves was important in the mortuary tradition of the region from the Neolithic through to Iron Age, especially during the Bronze Age.

The period between the fifth century BCE and early third century CE witnessed significant social changes as social statuses increasingly depended on individual merit. As status competitions intensified, members of new elites turned their tombs into highly visible, socially salient places. Commensal meals with the dead at aboveground shrines and elevated positions created ancestors and, simultaneously, maintained families. Yet, after a few generations, the buried ancestors lost their social lustre and descendants "unmade" them by ceasing to feed them and gradually abandoning their tombs. Scholarship has disregarded the intrinsic link between food practices above and below ground and its repercussions on the ontological status of the dead. I argue that the abandoned dead were not at all condemned to die but perfectly equipped to sustain themselves. Various kinds of food-related grave goods highlight that buried ancestors were highly capable of feeding themselves and their own ancestors in perpetuity.

Ancient Egyptian mummification was a mortuary practice aimed at preserving the body and soul for the afterlife, achieved through a detailed ritual of embalming using oils, waxes, and balms. While most research on Egyptian mummified bodies has so far been conducted in European collections, our study focuses on the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The goal was to evaluate whether contemporary smells reflect the mummification materials and, if so, what information can be of value to collection interpretation and conservation. We combined panel-based sensory analyses with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O), microbiological analysis, and historical and conservation research. Apart from differences in odor intensity, the sensory analyses highlighted common olfactory descriptors for all samples: "woody", "spicy", and "sweet". GC-MS-O identified four categories of volatiles based on their origin: (i) original mummification materials; (ii) plant oils used for conservation; (iii) synthetic pesticides; and (iv) microbiological deterioration products. However, the use of insect repellents similar in composition to the original mummification materials makes it challenging to attribute the origin of some compounds. Clusters based on the chemical and olfactory profiles of the smells emerged, suggesting similarities based on the archeological period, conservation treatments, and materiality.

Durante la segunda temporada de excavaciones en 2021 en el Valle de Autlán, Jalisco, el Proyecto Arqueología de la Sierra de Manantlán descubrió un foso de desechos en el sitio de Las Urracas, con 298 restos orgánicos datados del posclásico mediante C14. Entre los restos se encontraron huesos de perros carbonizados, huevos de ave, quelas de crustáceos, huesos de ratones, el diente de un conejo, de una tuza y de un lagarto, así como la placa de una tortuga, conchas Glycymeris gigantea, carbón y un chile bien conservado. Estos hallazgos sugieren una práctica culinaria ecológica en la antigua Autlán y brindan marcadores ecológicos sobre la vida cotidiana y la cultura alimentaria prehispánica. Es un texto dirigido a estudiantes de antropología y arqueología, orientado en la construcción del conocimiento científico arqueológico y el rescate y divulgación del patrimonio y el medio ambiente. Para interesados en el Occidente de Mesoamérica en particular, y para el público en general interesado en la ecología de Jalisco, y el valle de Autlán. Es un texto teórico, metodológico.

People who cannot weep together are people who cannot laugh together...The other side of real grief is real joy.-Malidoma Some´ Be joyful even though you've considered all the facts.-Wendell Berry Why do we express our condolences with the hope that a recently deceased soul will be "at rest?" Why do we pay our last respects? Why indeed must we pay? Why do white Americans cry so sparingly at funerals? What do we mean by "closure?"

The great megalithic necropolis of Alcalar (south of Portugal, figure 1) dated from the Neo-lithic and Chalcolithic is known since the end of the last century. In 1991, another funerary monument was discovered: the Hipogeu of Monte Canelas I. In this collective grave, two burial levels ...

This dissertation examines the function of ancestral portraiture as a mechanism of cultural identity formation, arguing that portraits of ancestors — whether biological, national, or adopted — serve as sites of cultural memory through which later generations receive, internalize, and transmit shared values, expectations, and social authority. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, particularly Lacan's concepts of the symbolic order, the gaze, and jouissance, alongside the cultural memory frameworks of Halbwachs, Nora, and Connerton, and the image theory of Benjamin, Barthes, and Van Alphen, the dissertation proposes that ancestral portraits function as proxies for absent individuals, investing the image with the authority of the ancestor and enabling an intimate encounter between viewer and portrayed across time.
The dissertation develops a taxonomy of ancestral portraiture — direct, national, and adopted — and situates the phenomenon on a two-axis plain of functionality mapping privacy against power. Case studies range from the personal, including a family photograph and Barthes' Winter Garden image, to the national, tracing the cultural work performed by Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington across its reproductions in classrooms, currency, and popular culture. The analysis demonstrates that ancestral portraiture operates as a form of social power, transmitting cultural norms and expectations through the controlling gaze of the represented ancestor, and that this power is amplified rather than diminished by mechanical reproduction in the case of iconic images.

La realización del presente trabajo requirió de numerosas personas, quienes, con su apoyo profesional y amistad, me ayudaron al termino de este proyecto, que es la suma de esfuerzos conjuntos e interdisciplinarios. Quiero agradecer a la Dra. Vera Tiesler por todo el apoyo académico y por las largas horas dedicadas a la planeación y revisión de este proyecto, así como al Dr. Iván Oliva y a la Dra. Patricia Quintana del CINVESTAV, quienes demostraron un gran entusiasmo y predisposición a colaborar con esta investigación, así como a la Dra. Valencia del SEMEFO por su colaboración en la fase experimental. A Shintaro Suzuki por su contribución en la realización de las fotografías. Mi gratitud al Dr. William Folan y a Linda Folan por facilitarme el material óseo y la bibliografía requerida, así como por el apoyo académico que me han proporcionado. Así mismo quiero agradecerle al Arqueólogo Ramón Carrasco, director del proyecto Calakmul por haber proporcionado el material esquelético arqueológico analizado. ÍNDICE Capítulo I. Referente Histórico.………………..…………………………………….01 Análisis de restos óseos expuestos al fuego en el clásico maya…………………..02 1.1. El fuego………………………………………………………………………..….03 1.2. El fuego en las costumbres mesoamericanas…..……………………………04 1.3. Ideología maya del fuego…………………………………………………….....07 1.4. El uso póstumo del fuego…………...…………………………………………..10 1.5. El sacrificio humano por fuego…………………………………………………17 1.6. El sacrificio de animales por fuego…………………………………………….18 1.7. Tratamiento post sacrificial: la antropofagia……………………………….….20 1.8. El fuego en las costumbres funerarias………………………………………...22 Capitulo II. Referente teórico…………………………………………………………24 1. Referente Teórico……………………………………………………………..……...25 2.1. La ritualidad maya ante la muerte………………………………………………...26 A) ¿Funerario o extrafunerio…………………………………………………………...26 B) El hombre y su concepción de la muerte…………………………………………..27 C) La deposición del individuo acaecido por muerte natural…………………..…...28 D) La muerte ritual……………………………………………………………………….30 2.2. Depósitos post sacrificiales…………………………….………………………….33 A) Características de las ofrendas humanas……………………………………...….33 B) Depósitos problematicos…………………………………………………………….35 C) Uso del fuego como indicador contextual………………………………………..

The analysis of residential burials in Early Formative Oaxaca allows researchers to understand how both funerary and domestic contexts can be studied in relation to one another. We compare the age prowles of individuals selected for residential burials with those selected for burial in a cemetery during the Early Formative period. Demographic modelling provides insight into the criteria people used when determining who was eligible for burial in each mortuary context. Burial in cemeteries was restricted to adults, while people of all ages were buried in residences. The use of age as a criteria to exclude or include people has implications for the creation and maintenance of community-level and household-level identity. While mortuary rituals in households were inclusive of all ages, only a small percentage of people were chosen for burial. These demographic differences grant us further insight into the identities emphasized in cemetery vs. domestic mortuary rites.

The Middle Neolithic sites on Gotland are characterized by variety in the handling of human remains. In addition to burials with complete and intact skeletons and package-burials, some contexts contain mutilated bodies, or they contain a few human bones or none. These practices have previously been interpreted as resulting from modern disturbances such as ploughing or pre-depositional treatment of dead bodies. Based on re-examination of the field documentation and C14-dates, I argue that the diverse ways of treating human skeletal remains represent post-depositional practices, and I propose that part of the mortuary practices was to reopen graves and
exhume bones. During the Middle Neolithic, death might have been conceptualized as a process, and treatment of the dead and the buried could have been governed by a variety of emotions like grief, fear and reverence.

Vibrant feathers from Amazonian parrots were among the most prestigious
symbols of status in the pre-Hispanic Andes, yet their acquisition required
traversing the formidable Andean mountain range. Here, we investigate
feathers recovered from an intact, elite masonry tomb at the coastal religious
center of Pachacamac, associated with the pre-Inca Ychsma culture that
flourished during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. 1000–1470 CE). By integrating
ancient DNA, stable isotope analysis, and spatial modeling, we reconstruct
the complete journey of these feathers. Genomic data identify four
distinct Amazonian parrot species (Ara macao, A. ararauna, A. chloropterus,
Amazona farinosa) and reveal high genetic diversity, indicating extraction
from wild populations rather than local breeding. Stable carbon and nitrogen
isotope analysis reveals that these birds consumed a C4-rich coastal diet,
demonstrating they were transported alive across the Andes and kept in the
arid coast. Finally, we identify specific trans-Andean corridors used for this
exchange by combining species distribution models of ancient habitats with
landscape resistance modeling. Our findings reveal a sophisticated, managed
trade network operated by the Ychsma through intermediaries, challenging
views of pre-Inca regionalism and establishing a multidisciplinary toolkit for
tracing ancient exchange.

This paper presents the osteological analysis of human remains recovered from a Late Roman–Early Byzantine funerary crypt discovered in 2024 at Aegyssus (modern Tulcea, Romania). The monument represents a rare multi-chambered funerary structure within the province of Scythia, consisting of an atrium and two lateral burial chambers. Chronological anchors include a coin of Constantius II (post AD 348–351) discovered in the construction mortar and a belt fitting decorated with a cross, dated to the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th century, suggesting a prolonged period of use. The osteological assemblage was highly disarticulated and commingled, requiring laboratory sorting by context and anatomical element prior to analysis. Quantification relied on Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) calculations and probabilistic estimations using the Lincoln Index and the Chapman-modified MLNI. The results indicate the presence of at least seven individuals, including two adult females, one adult male, and children of different ages. The study highlights the methodological challenges posed by commingled assemblages and demonstrates the analytical potential of integrated osteological and statistical approaches.

Desde la perspectiva bioarqueologica y arqueologica, la ninez no se muy considerada en investigaciones en Mesoamerica y Oaxaca. Para comprender mejor este problema, examinamos las diferencias en el tratamiento funerario para ninos y adultos y evaluamos los ejes de variacion entre estas diferentes muestras definidas por edad. De los mas de 100 esqueletos humanos en la coleccion osteologica de El Palmillo que data del periodo Clasico (250-850 d.C.), se pudo realizar un estudio a partir de la evaluacion de la edad biologica. Se utilizo un analisis estadistico de conglomerados para conocer la distribucion de los entierros en el sitio por edad, posicion, ubicacion, cronologia, entre otras variables. Finalmente, comparamos nuestros resultados con las practicas mortuorias, hasta el momento publicadas en Monte Alban, para evaluar si existe un patron constante en el tratamiento funerario zapoteco o si hay diferencias entre los sitios.