Depuis sa fondation à l'aube du IIIe millénaire, Mari s'impose comme une métropole proche-orientale au pouvoir politique et économique prospère jusqu'à sa destruction en 1760 av. J.-C.. Le site constitue une référence incontournable pour toute étude concernant cette période grâce à la richesse de ses données archéologiques et épigraphiques s'étalant sur une chronologie divisée en trois Villes. Comme toute cité proche-orientale, elle a révélé de nombreuses sépultures sous l'espace de vie et une probable nécropole extra-muros lui est associée. Néanmoins, les pratiques funéraires sont toujours méconnues faut d'étude archéo-anthropologique exhaustive des sépultures. Nous avons donc voulu entreprendre cette étude en réexaminant les archives et en recueillant les données taphonomiques sur le terrain. En outre, nous avons étudié l'âge et le sexe et toutes les caractéristiques biologiques des squelettes disponibles (N = 131). Ce travail a permis de dégager les principaux éléments de la norme funéraire mariote et de comprendre l'organisation des espaces funéraires suburbains et leurs relations avec l'espace de vie. Il a également permis d'aborder le mode sélectif qui a conduit les mariotes à inhumer certains de leurs défunts sous la ville plutôt qu’au sein d’une nécropole. Des ruptures concordant avec l'histoire et l'archéologie ont été identifiées dans les pratiques funéraires. Pourtant, les caractéristiques métriques dentaires, les caractères discrets et les pathologies dentaires révèlent une population homogène au cours du temps. Les lésions dentaires touchent la majorité des sujets comme dans les autres séries des sites voisins contemporains. Toutefois, le taux de carie enregistré est plus important à Mari révélant une alimentation riche, caractéristique des sociétés agricoles. Enfin, cette étude pose la question du rapport entre le changement de population et les ruptures chronologiques telles qu'elles sont renseignées par les sources épigraphiques et archéologiques. / Since it's foundation around 2900 B.C. Mari remained a powerful and prosperous near-eastern capital till its destruction in 1760 BC. This site constitutes a crucial reference in the near-eastern history for this time period due to the lavish historical and archaeological data coming from it's three successive cities. Like every near-eastern urban site, Mari revealed numerous graves beneath the floors, which are associated to a probable extra-muros cemetery. However, the burial practices were still unknown. Thus, it was decided to undertake an archeo-anthropological study of the burials by examining archived field records and taphonomical data gathered during tomb excavations. Age and sexe of each skeleton available were assessed followed by an examination of all the biological characteristics (N = 131). This study revealed the features of the funerary standard in Mari, the organisation of the funeral suburban spaces and there relationship with the subjacent occupation levels. It has also shown the selective approach that led the inhabitants to bury their dead under the city and not in a dedicated necropolis. Several breaks concurring with historical and archaeological data were identified in the funeral practices. Nevertheless, teeth metrical data, discrete traits and dental pathologies revealed a homogeneous population. Dental lesions were found on almost all of the individuals, as it is the case in other contemporaneous and neighbouring populations. Yet, the Mari dentitions showed a higher rate of caries suggesting a diet rich in carbohydrates, which is a characteristic of agricultural societies. Finally, this present study questions to what extent chronological breaks attested by historical and archaeological data can be concurrent with changes in population.

L'intérêt d'une étude sur la mort découle des contradictions qui l'affectent car seuls les vivants pouvant être créateurs de normes et titulaires de droit, la mort en droit public est par définition un droit des vivants. La mort, prise en considération par le droit public, est un prisme sous lequel se dévoile la construction de l'Etat tout en révélant les lacunes et les fragilités du droit face au mystère de la condition humaine. Oscillant entre une conception de la mort perçue comme un néant et des projections individuelles et collectives conférant, malgré tout, une valeur à la personne et à la vie humaine avant et par-delà le décès, le droit tout en s'émancipant de la religion ne s'est pas déparé complètement de toute dimension "sacrée" et l'Etat doit se confronter à ces projections individuelles et collectives face à la mort. Si l'on a assisté en l'espace de moins d'un siècle à un basculement d'un devoir de ne pas tuer à une obligation de protéger la vie à laquelle la norme juridique fait très largement écho, la nouvelle maîtrise de la vie humaine permise par les avancées scientifiques et médicales transforme également l'expression souveraine de l'Etat. Se voyant reconnaître un pouvoir de protection de la vie, c'est désormais sur la condition biologique des individus elle-même que le droit public étend ses ramifications. / The interest of a study about death comes from the contradictions that affect it. Only the living can create laws and regulations: by definition, death in public law is the law of the living. Death, as managed by public law, is a prism which reveals the construction of the State but also uncovers gaps and weaknesses in the law to deal with the mystery of human condition. The law swings back and forth between a conception of death seen as nothingness and individual and collective beliefs giving nevertheless value to the person and human life before and beyond death. While freeing itself from religion, the law has not completely lost any"sacred" dimension and the State must face these individual and collective beliefs about death. In less than a century, there has been a shift from “do not kill” to an obligation to “protect life”; this shift is now widely integrated in modern law. Scientific and medical advances allow a new control of human life and also change the sovereign expression of the state. Public law is now in charge of a life protection duty and starts to integrate rules about the biological condition of human people itself.

L'Ardèche est un des départements les plus riches en monuments mégalithiques. La densité exceptionnelle des dolmens en son sud, est inégalée dans le reste de la France et même en Europe. L'édification de ces monuments à la fin du Néolithique (aux environs de 3500 av.J.-C.) se poursuivra jusqu'au Bronze ancien (aux environs de 2000 av. J.-C.). La position de l'Ardèche, à proximité du Massif Central, des Causses, du Languedoc et du couloir rhodanien lui confère un rôle de "carrefour" où circulent et s'échangent les idées culturelles et les biens matériels. Si ces diffusions sont particulièrement visibles au niveau des corpus céramiques par exemple, elles ont également touché et bouleversé les pratiques funéraires, que ce soit dans les gestes accomplis envers le ou les défunts mais aussi dans le choix des lieux sépulcraux. L'inhumation disparaît peu à peu pour laisser la place aux dépôts en grottes et dans les chambres funéraires des dolmens. Plus de 800 dolmens sont inventoriés à travers le département dont la majorité dans le sud calcaire. Cependant, la conservation n'est pas excellente pour tous ces monuments et l'étude ainsi présentée s'appuiera sur un peu plus de 500 dolmens. Nous étudierons ainsi ces monuments à travers les trois types architecturaux reconnus (languedocien, bas-rhodanien et caussenard), leur implantation en fonction des influence naturelles et humaines. Nous essaierons d'établir une chronologie d'utilisation de ces monuments à partir du mobilier funéraire mais également par les transformations qu'ont pu subir les dolmens par les réutilisations par des sépultures secondaires plus ou moins tardives. Nous nous attarderons également sur leur devenir (transformation par l’architecture vernaculaire du XIXe siècle…) et les moyens de sauvegarde et de valorisation à notre disposition pour transmettre ce patrimoine aux générations futures. / Ardèche is one of the richest departments in megalithic monuments. The outstanding density of dolmens in the south of this area is unique in France and even in Europe. Erection of these monuments occurred from late Neolithic (around 3 500 years BC) until early Bronze Age (around 2 000 years BC). Given its location in the vicinity of Massif Central, Causses, Languedoc and the Rhône valley, Ardèche appears as a crossroad where ideas and artefacts may have circulated and been exchanged. If these spreadings are particularly clear from potteries, they also have disrupted burial rites, from attention paid to dead people to the choice of burial places. By late Neolithic, inhumation fades away and finally makes way to deposits of dead bodies in caves or within the chamber of the dolmens. More than 800 dolmens have been accounted throughout the area. Most of the monuments are located in Southern Ardèche, on limestone plateaus. However, some dolmens suffer a bad preservation which compelled us to work on 500 monuments.We study these monuments through three architectural features previously identified (Languedocian dolmens, Causse dolmens and lower Rhodanian dolmens), and their location that may be linked to natural or anthropic influences. We are able to set up a chronology of use of these dolmens from grave goods and transformations of the monuments caused by secondary burials. We also focus on the evolving of the monuments and the means we have to safeguard, emphasize and to hand down these dolmens to future generations

This thesis deals with the origin and development of stone sarcophagi in the Old Kingdom. Based on documentation of finds and their statistical processing aims to characterize the main diachronic trends in specific social classes of ancient Egyptian society.

Im folgenden Artikel werden die Grabungsergebnisse des Gräberfeldes Battaune aus den Jahren 1974 und 1975 zusammenfassend vorgestellt. Bei dem Bestattungsplatz handelte es sich um eine spätbronzezeitliche Nekropole der Lausitzer Kultur. Soweit es trotz fehlender anthropologischer Bestimmungen des Leichenbrandes sowie der geringen Anzahl der Gräber möglich war, wurden einige Aspekte der Bestattungssitten analysiert. Abschließend wurde das sogenannte „Grab eines Schmiedes“ mit Gussformen, Kannelurenstein und Dechsel einer gesonderten Betrachtung unterzogen, um die besondere Bedeutung dieser untypischen Beigabenkombination in der Lausitzer Kultur zu erfassen. / The cemetery of Battaune was excavated in 1974 and 1975 and in this article its results are summarized. The burial site dates to the Lusatian Culture (Late Bronze Age ). Although anthropological analyses of the cremations are lacking and although only a small number of graves were excavated, some aspects of the burial customs could be analysed. Finally the so-called “burial of a smith”, which contained casting moulds, stones with cannelures and a neolithic adze, is discussed in detail in order to understand the importance of this atypical combination of burial objects of the Lusatian Culture.

Gegenstand dieser Studie ist eine Gruppe von acht Felsgräbern und zwei Schaftgräbern im Zentralbereich von Dra’ Abu el-Naga (Central Dra’ Abu el-Naga, CDAN) auf der thebaischen Westseite. Die Errichtung dieser Anlagen geht auf die Zeit des ägyptischen Neuen Reichs zurück, doch wurden sie über viele Generationen nach der Bestattung der ursprünglichen Grabinhaber weiter benutzt. Die Einleitung (Chapter 1) skizziert den Rahmen der Untersuchung und umfasst drei Teile: Zunächst werden Hintergrundinformationen zur geographischen Lage und physischen Gestalt des Fundareals geliefert. Schließlich werden Verlauf und aktueller Stand der Forschungen in CDAN skizziert. In folgenden Hauptkapitel (Chapter 2) werden die vom ägyptische Ministry of State of Antiquities (MSA) in dem Areal durchgeführten Ausgrabungen behandelt. Durch die Konzentration auf die Analyse der vorkommenden Architekturelemente und deren Einordnung in die in CDAN vorkommenden Stiltypen konnten unserem Wissen. Im dritten Hauptteil (Chapter 3) setze ich mich mit den Überbleibseln und Spuren der antiken Bestattungsgebräuche auseinander, also in erster Linie mit Objektgruppen auseinander. Im Letztem Hauptteil (Chapter 4) Wiederbenutzung der Grabanlagen in späteren Perioden. Abschließen wird die Bedeutung der neu entdeckten Grabanlagen für den Gesamtkontext der Archäologie von CDAN beleuchtet. Dabei haben sich neue Erkenntnisse zu den spezifischen Verwendungen und Funktionen sowie Nachverwendungen monumentaler Bestattungen in CDAN ergeben – gerade auch dadurch, dass sich der Betrachtungszeitraum vom Neuen Reich bis zur Moderne erstreckte und so unser Blick für die vielfältigen Bezugnahmen und Entwicklungen geschärft wurde. Die vier Hauptkapitel werden durch einen Katalog der behandelten Objekte ergänzt. / In this thesis, a group of eight rock cut tombs and two shaft-tombs located in Central Dra’ Abu el-Naga (CDAN) at the West Bank of Luxor were studied. The construction of these tombs dates mainly to the period of the New Kingdom (NK, c. 1550-1070 BCE), but they continued to be in use for many generations after the death of the original tomb owners. The framework of this study, as sketched in Chapter 1, is characterized by three approaches: the first section is titled The geographical and geological nature of DAN. The overview of The history of excavation at CDAN Finally, the focus is on the history of research on the necropolis of CDAN. In Chapter 2, the excavations conducted in the area by the Egyptian Ministry of State of Antiquities (MSA) are described. I described and discussed the architectural elements of the newly excavated tombs. At the end, the architectural styles that prevailed in the CDAN were described, as a step in clarifying the development of the history of the area. In Chapter 3, deals with the relics and traces of ancient burial customs, especially with the objects like statues, pottery, coffins, shanties, funerary cones, and other funerary equipment, which came to light during the excavations in the area. Particular attention was given to their dating. The last section, Chapter 4, the frequent re-use of the tombs in later periods, as illustrated, e.g., by ceramics and other small finds. At the end, the significance of the newly discovered tombs is highlighted. Further insights into the specific usages and functions of monumental tombs in CDAN in general were gained, and to increase the understanding of the connections, interrelationships and developments, this started from NK and ended to very modern time. The four main chapters are followed by a catalogue of objects.

Kremering är en både industriell och emotionell process. Krematoriet måste således facilitera ett skeende, och samtidigt agera emotionellt filter för reaktioner på detsamma. Men vilken genomsläpplighet bör detta filter ha? Skall byggnaden vara en bastant mur eller ett skirt flor mellan levande och döda? Och hur skiljer sig de sörjandes emotionella processer från dem som har krematoriet som arbetsplats? Krematoriearkitekturen har, parallellt med samhället i stort, utvecklats över tid mot större individualism, specificering och sekularisering. Estetiken har vandrat från nationalromantik till brutalism, vikt har lagts stundom vid det modernt funktionella, stundom det ideologiskt sakrala, och intentionen har pendlat mellan teatralitet och symbolik öppen för tolkning. Men somliga särdrag har kommit att bli förhärskande. Strikta geometrier, stereotom tyngd, dramatisk ljusföring och naturmotiv som betydelsemättade konstverk är några av dem. Likaså är processionsartade rumssekvenser vanliga, och byggnaderna mystifierar i varierande grad själva kremeringsförehavandet. Dessa drag är inte bara vackra och effektfulla; det är även makt- och dignitetsmarkörer. Rummen är didaktiska; ett system av styrkeförhållanden, valörer och koder, stumt förmedlade genom fysiska element. Oavsett arkitektens ambition - retorisk monumentalitet eller “självklar” anspråkslöshet - tycks rummen vilja ingjuta vördnad, respekt och förundran. Det handlar om en form och estetik som duckar ifrågasättande tolkningar genom att framstå som orubblig. Givet att flertalet attityder kring liv och död samexisterar och utvecklas kontinuerligt, bör ett krematorium inte göra anspråk på sanning,permanens eller evighet. Den enda sanningen är att vi är lika inför döden, oavsett om vi möter lågorna inneslutna i spånskiva eller mahogny, i sällskap av nära och kära eller en skiftarbetande krematorietekniker, under ceremoniella eller pragmatiska omständigheter. Detta projekt utforskar en icke-auktoritär arkitektur, som inte reproducerar rumsliga och estetiska normer. En arkitektur som inte dikterar beteenden och sinnesstämningar; som högtidlighåller men samtidigt understryker det vardagliga; som signalerar stabilitet utan att vara statisk. En tektonisk, transparent byggnad som inte hymlar med vad den är eller gör. / The cremation process is both industrial and emotional. Thus, a crematorium must facilitate one primary course of events while also handling – filtering – secondary emotional stress generated by that very activity. But should the building as filter be a solid wall or a light veil between the dead and the living? How does one define an appropriate degree of permeability and transparency? And how do you cater to the well-being of both mourners and professionals? The architecture of crematoria has, since its introduction in the mid 19th century, evolved along with society's increasing individualism, specialization and secularization. Exploring aesthetic expressions and styles from classicism and national romanticism to brutalism, the intentions have been, in various degrees and combinations, ideological, symbolic, theatrical, functional and pragmatic. However, some features seem to be predominant. Strict geometry, material heaviness, dramatic lighting and the use of nature as a work of art are some examples, as well as processional, choreographed spatial movement and mystification of the cremation itself. These features are not only striking, atmospheric and beautiful; they are also represent power and distinction. The rooms constitute a didactic system of codes and values, silently mediated through physical elements. Irrespective of the architect's ambition and intentions – rhetorical monumentality or suggestive modesty – the spaces seem to evoke feelings of awe and wonder. Firm and unyielding, the buildings dodge any critical questioning. Given today's multitude of coexisting and continually developing philosophies of life and death, a modern crematorium should not pretend to be true, permanent or eternal. The only truth is that in death all men are equal, no matter the circumstances of our passing. This project therefore explores a non-authoritative architecture that does not reproduce spatial or aesthetical norms and conventions. An architecture that does not dictate certain moods or behaviours; that celebrates the extraordinary while attending to everyday life; that conveys dignity and stability without being imposing.

De traditionella begravningsplatserna kräver stora ytor. Urbanisering och befolkningsökning gör att detta utrymme inte längre finns att tillgå i tätbebyggda områden. Detta projekt tar sin utgångspunkt i denna problematik och de konsekvenser den fått för de begravningspraktiker som är etablerade i vårat samhälle. Projektets avsikt är att pröva en långsiktig lösning i form av en alternativ begravningspraktik med stadens förutsättningar som utgångspunkt. Detta innebär att jag föreslår ett nytt gravskick, en ny ritual samt visar hur dessa kan gestaltas.  Projektarbetet inleddes med skrivandet av en uppsats där jag undersökte begravningsritualen och den plats där den utövas. Jag utvecklade en modell för att beskriva kopplingen mellan ritualens handlingar och platsens betingelser. Modellen tog sin utgångspunkt i antropologen Arnold van Genneps teorier om begravningsritualer. Modellen användes för att analysera Sigurd Lewerentz förslag till ett kombinerat krematorium och begravningsplats i Helsingborg. Därefter tog en designprocess vid som innebar att jag formgav ett arkitektoniskt lösningsförslag. Under denna process använde jag den modell som utvecklades i uppsatsen som ett redskap för att pröva och motivera mina val.  Resultatet av projektet kan beskrivas som ett förslag på en modifierad minneslund placerad i centrala Stockholm. Av intresse för fortsatt undersökning är dels de problemområden jag identifierat i mötet mellan begravningsplatsen och den urbana kontexten, dels den metod jag använt för att omsätta den teoretiska modellen till fysisk gestaltning. / Traditional cemeteries requires large areas. Urbanization and increased population means that this space is no longer available in urban contexts. This project has its starting point in the aforementioned problem and the consequences it has had for existing burial customs.  The purpose of the project is to examine a long-term solution in the form of an alternative burial practice based on the conditions of the contemporary city. This means that I propose a new burial custom, a new ritual and show how these might staged architectonically.  The project began with the writing of an essay in which I examined the relationship between the burial ritual and its associated space. In order to do this, I developed a model which describes the connection between the ritual act and spatial circumstances. This model is based on the anthropologist Arnold van Genneps theories concerning rituals of passage. It was used to analyze Sigurd Lewerentz proposal for a combined crematorium and cemetery in Helsingborg. I then used the conclusions drawn from the analysis as the basis for a design process which resulted in the architectonic solution proposal. The model was a central tool for verifying and motivating my choices during the design processes.  The result can be described as a modified memorial park placed in central Stockholm. Of interest for further investigation is the problem areas which I have identified in the meeting between the cemetery and the urban context as well as the method I used to translate the theoretical model to physical form.

The background of the study is that humans’ relationship to the nature and animals is not universal and is based on critical archeology and reflexive thinking. Previous researchers have interpreted the animals in graves as food offerings or a communication meal, where the horse is highlighted as a prominent symbol of power, prosperity, alliances, and aristocracy. Researchers have also compared animal style ornaments with Icelandic Sagas, and they connect humans and animals to transformation, metamorphoses, and hybridity. The interpretations in this context are based on the animals´ contemporary function and modern views. By studying the materials more closely, it turned out that the bones of humans and animals have been mixed in the graves. In the animal style ornamentation, there are often mixtures between humans and animals, and so also in the Icelandic Sagas. This indicates that the ancient humans intended to recreate mixtures between humans and animals in the materials. The study also links to the anthropological terms totenism and animism, to show that humans’ relationship to animals differs, and that it is not always the same as the modern view.

There are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which affects society’s ability to effectively respond to climate change. Small ponds have been found to potentially play a large role in global warming. More research is needed, however, to determine to what extent they act as sources or sinks for GHGs, and what factors may contribute. The aim of this thesis was to study carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and carbon burial in a small pond in Uppsala, Sweden. The pond was a source for both CO2 and CH4, but a sink for N2O. About 50% of CH4 emissions came from ebullition (bubbles). CO2 flux was higher in the vegetated area than in the open water area, no difference was found for CH4 flux. Both CO2 and CH4 flux were higher on colder days, while CH4 ebullition was higher on warmer days. Limited accumulation of CO2 and CH4 occurred under the winter ice coverage. For water chemistry, CO2 flux had the strongest negative relationship with electrical conductivity (EC), nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−), and positive with total phosphorous (TP). CH4 flux showed the strongest negative correlation with chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and total nitrogen (TN), and positive with EC and total dissolved solids (TDS). For extracellular enzyme activity, CO2 flux had a very strong positive correlation with β-D-glucosidase (BG), as did CH4 with N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG). Carbon burial rate was low making the pond a carbon source and inefficient at burying carbon / Det finns många osäkerheter vad gäller globala utsläpp av växthusgaser vilket påverkar samhällets förmåga att effektivt motarbeta den globala uppvärmningen. Små dammar har potentiellt förmågan att ha en stor påverkan på klimatet, men mer forskning behövs för att avgöra i vilken utsträckning de fungerar som källor eller sänkor för växthusgaser, samt vilka faktorer som påverkar deras utsläpp eller förmåga att binda kol. Målet med denna studie var att undersöka utsläpp av koldioxid (CO2), metan (CH4) och lustgas (N2O), samt kolbindning i en liten damm i Uppsala, Sverige. Dammen var en nettoutsläppare av CO2 och CH4, men en nettoupptagare av N2O. CH4 i form av ebullition (bubblor) stod för ungefär 50% av CH4 utsläppen. CO2 flödet var högre i områden med växtlighet jämfört med områden med öppet vatten, för CH4 hittades ingen skillnad mellan dessa områden. Under kallare dagar var CO2 och CH4 flödet högre, medan ebullition av CH4 var högre under varmare dagar. Under vintern skedde minimal ackumulation av CO2 och CH4 under istäcket. För vattenkemin hade CO2 flödet starkast negativ korrelation med elektrisk konduktivitet (EC), nitrat (NO3−) och nitrit (NO2−), och positiv korrelation med totalfosfor (TP). CH4 flödet visade det starkaste negativa förhållandet med klorofyll a (chl-a) och totalkväve (TN), och positiv korrelation med EC och totalt upplösta fasta ämnen (TDS). För extracellulär enzymaktivitet hade CO2 flödet en mycket stark positiv korrelation med β-D-glucosidase (BG), medan CH4 flödet hade en mycket stark positiv korrelation med N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG). Kolbegravningshastigheten var låg vilket resulterade i att dammen var en kolkälla med låg förmåga att binda kol.