No / In 1834 in a tumulus at Gristhorpe, North Yorkshire, UK, an intact coffin fashioned from the hollowed-out trunk of an oak tree was found to contain a well-preserved skeleton stained black from the oak tannins, wrapped in an animal skin and buried with a range of grave artefacts, including a bronze dagger, flints and a bark vessel. The remains were deposited in the Rotunda Museum at Scarborough, where closure due to refurbishment in 2005–2008 provided an opportunity for the scientific investigation of the skeletal remains and artefacts using a wide range of techniques. Dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating has established the age of the skeleton as 2140–1940 BC at 95% confidence, in the Early Bronze Age. As part of this project, Raman spectra of several mysterious small spherical objects discovered in the coffin underneath the skeleton and initially believed to be ‘mistletoe berries’ associated with ancient burial customs have been recorded non-destructively. The interpretation of the Raman spectral data, microscopic analysis and comparison with modern specimens has led to the conclusion that the small spheres are phosphatic urinary stones, which reflect the archaeological dietary evidence and stable isotope analysis of bone collagen of Gristhorpe Man.

No / This paper reviews the osteological evidence for execution in Anglo-Saxon England, which, in the cases of modern analysis, can reveal considerable detail about the methods of decapitation, in particular, and it also provides a critical appraisal of the considerably less reliable antiquarian reports. We suggest that secure evidence for execution, principally decapitation, can be identified through modern osteological analysis but it is limited, and we also argue that assertions made in antiquarian excavation reports about apparent examples of execution need to be treated with caution.

This essay include the osteological analysis of ten cremation burials from the burial ground of Vindförberg in Ore parish, Dalarna. The burial ground on Vindförberg was used between the years 100 and 550 AD. during the Iron age. Vindförberg is a hunting burial ground which is one of two burial practices that existed during this age in Dalarna. The hunting ground graves are located far from settlements and their origin is under debate. Theories about these graves say that they are either settlers from the south or hunting-gatherer groups from the north and west. The questions this essay is if it is possible to see the structure of the community the people behind the burial ground at Vindförberg had. This will be achieved with the help of age and sex determinations to study the relationship between the different graves at Vindförberg. In excess of previous question, it was also of interest to compare the result from Vindförberg with four other contemporary burial grounds to inquire similarities and differences. Of the 43 graves on the burial ground, ten were analyzed in this essay. A total weight and volume of nine kilograms and twelve liters was analyzed. Human, dog, bear, elk, beaver, and fish were the identified species from Vindförberg. Because of the very fragmented material, the determinations of age and sex proved difficult to estimate. This led to the discussion being more about the ancient people’s conception of the world and rituals as well to social structure.

The inclusion of lime in burials is observed in historical and archaeological records, in contemporary mass graves and forensic cases. Clearly there are controversies within the literature and there is a general misconception of the effects of lime on decomposition. Recent casework in Belgium and the UK involving the search for human remains buried with lime, have demonstrated the need for a more detailed understanding of the effect of different types of lime on cadaver decomposition and its micro-environment. Field and laboratory experiments using pigs as human body analogues were undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the taphonomic processes that govern lime burials. The changes observed in the experiments were related back to archaeological parallels in which white residues have been found. The combined results of these studies demonstrate that despite conflicting evidence in the literature, hydrated lime and quicklime both delay the initial stages of the decay process but do not arrest it completely. The end result is ultimately the same: skeletonisation. Furthermore this study stresses the importance of the specific microenvironment in taphonomic research and highlights the need for chemical analysis of white residues when encountered in a burial. Not all white powder is lime. White residue could be identified as calcium carbonate, building material, body decomposition products, minerals or degraded lead. This study has implications for the investigation of clandestine burials and for a better understanding of archaeological plaster burials. Knowledge of the effects of lime on decomposition processes also have bearing on practices involving the disposal of animal carcasses and potentially the management of mass graves and mass disasters by humanitarian organisation and DVI teams.

Cette thèse se propose de mettre au point, grâce aux nouveaux outils informatiques, une méthode d’étude originale de l’espace funéraire en offrant une restitution tridimensionnelle de la sépulture, de l’architecture aux sujets. La découverte en 2003, d’un secteur de la catacombe des Saints Pierre-et-Marcelin (Rome, Italie), encore inexploré et original dans son organisation, a initié ce travail. Plusieurs tombes, datées des Ier-IIIe s. ap. J.-C, accueillent une succession de dépôts d’un grand nombre d’inhumés. La complexité des ensembles funéraires de ce secteur a nécessité le recours à de nouvelles formes de représentation pour l’analyse. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’établir un protocole de modélisation des sépultures multiples adapté à la stratification complexe des dépôts. Nos recherches ont porté, dans un premier temps sur l’élaboration et le test d’un processus de modélisation adaptés aux deux tombes étudiées et dans un second temps sur l’analyse des temps chronologiques et de la gestion des dépôts. Nos recherches ont abouti à la mise au point d’une méthodologie d’acquisition et de restitution de l’ensemble des vestiges osseux, de l’appareil funéraire et de l’espace funéraire. La modélisation 3D a permis par la visualisation tridimensionnelle une étude fine individuelle, une analyse des relations entre les différents sujets et de l’évolution taphonomique des dépôts confirmant la simultanéité des dépôts au sein des niveaux et entre les niveaux en rapport avec une crise de mortalité.L’application d'un protocole d'enregistrement puis de restitutions sur cette catacombe pourra contribuer à l'élaboration d'une méthode pour l'approche des sépultures plurielles. / The aim of this thesis is to perform, with the help of new informatics tools, an original study method of funerary space and offers a three-dimensional modelling of burial from architecture to individuals. This work was initiated by the discovery in 2003 of Saint Peter and Marcellinus catacombs parts, unexplored and original in its organisation. Several tombs, dated of 1st-3rd s A.D, received many buried. The complexity of tombs of central sector catacombs needs a new type of representation for analysis. The thesis goal is to establish a modelling process for several burials, adapt with deposit complex stratification. At first, our study was about the conception and the test of a modelling protocol adapted to the two study tombs, and after, to analyze chronological times and deposit management. Our research has result to acquisition and restitution process development of all human remains, funerary device and funerary space. The 3D modelling permits by the 3D visualisation, an advanced study, analyses of relations between different individuals and taphonomic evolution of deposit which confirmed the simultaneous deposit into levels and between levels linked to death's crisis.The application of a record protocol then restitution on these catacombs must contribute to a conception method for the approach of plural burials.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, August 2015. / Burials within the Western Cape provide a valuable opportunity to understand past social practices during the Later Stone Age. The aim of this dissertation is to specifically study Western Cape LSA burials in such a way as to understand the social and cognitive processes of hunter-gatherers in that region. In order to do this the burials will be approached and studied from a social and cultural perspective. This will include applying a theoretical approach which lends itself to materiality. Certain techniques will be employed to aid the study of this research question, such as a temporal, spatial and structural analysis of the Western Cape burials. Once the temporal analysis is done, certain sections within time can more closely be studied and analysed. The spatial analysis will examine the sites on a regional scale. The interpretative discussion will concentrate on specific patterns and structural aspects of the burials. The above may illuminate a possible array of questions to be asked surrounding the Western Cape burials. This in turn will help in aiding a discussion surrounding the cognitive and social processes of hunter-gatherers in the Western Cape.

Les pratiques funéraires sont, dans l’aire maya, étroitement associées aux ensembles résidentiels. La proximité entre les vivants et les morts y est donc maximale, l’espace quotidien étant tout à la fois un lieu d’habitat et un espace funéraire. Cela soulève un certain nombre de questions quant à la relation entre ces individus défunts et leurs descendants, interrogations encore renforcées par l’important degré de sélection qui semble s’exercer à l’endroit des morts. Les Groupes résidentiels sont, pour ces derniers, des lieux dont l’accès est restreint par un certain nombre de paramètres dont le plus important est sans nul doute le statut - situation complexité par l’existence de nombreuses nuances régionales.La présente étude comprend en premier lieu une discussion générale autour de la question des morts dans l’habitat, augmentée d’une discussion méthodologique approfondie concernant la fouille. Elle se poursuit avec la présentation des résultats de la fouille intensive de l’unité 5N6 de Naachtun (Guatemala), qui illustre concrètement le propos développé précédemment. Enfin, les données de différents sites sont confrontées pour mettre en évidence schémas récurrents et différences, puis discutées à la lumière de quelques exemples ethnographiques. / In the Maya area, funerary practices are tightly linked to residential spaces. The proximity between the living and the dead is, therefore, at its apex. This situation raises a number of questions regarding the relationship between these defunct and their living heirs, inter-rogations reinforced by the high selectivity that seems to affect the sample. The residential Groups appear to be restricted areas for the dead, places that only a selected few can access according to different parameters. Amongst these, status is certainly the most prominent. It is further complexified by the existence of regional variations.This study opens with a general approach that deals with the practice of burying the dead within the house, complete with an extensive methodological discussion. A presentation of the excavation results from Naachtun’s Unit 5N6 (Guatemala) follows to illustrate the foregoing. Finally, data from several sites are statistically compared to show similarities and differencies, then discussed in light of several ethnographical studies.

This dissertation deals with male and female social identities during the Middle Bronze Age (1600-1300 BC) in southern Scandinavia and northern Germany. South Scandinavian Bronze Age research has traditionally focused on the male sphere, while women have seldom been seriously considered or analysed in terms of their roles, power or influences on society. This study addresses the imbalance through discussing the evidence for gender relations, social structures and identity. The topic will be approached using case studies from different areas of northern Europe and from a variety of angles (e.g. costume and appearance, age, violence, long distance contacts), always drawing on the rich material from burials. How people presented themselves varied not only between different areas, but also over time. Groups that treated material culture in a fairly similar way during Period IB (c. 1600-1500 BC) start treating it in different ways during Period II (c. 1500-1300 BC). In southern Scandinavia during Period II the material culture is fairly similar on the whole, but the different geographical groups use the artefacts in different ways. The level of violence seems to have fluctuated in the area during the Middle Bronze Age, with some areas showing more signs of violence at certain times. On the other hand the view on ageing seems to have been fairly similar over a large part of central and northern Europe, and from age 14 one seems to have been regarded as an adult. The dissertation also shows that long distance contacts were important and wide-ranging, and people seem to have moved across large areas of Europe, even if the visible exogamous marriage pattern seems to have decreased in distance from Period IB to Period II. In conclusion, although there seems to have been a general European pattern concerning e.g. the view on age, the archaeological record reveals many local variations in how this was expressed, e.g. on the body.

The aim of this paper is to examine if any homogeneity or heterogeneity can be traced in burials from Preboreal, Boreal and Early Atlantic period, in the area of the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, the paper will deal with the Early Mesolithic burials based on theoretical perspectives on rituals, materiality and agency.To enable the purpose of identifying the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the data, relational multi-varied Correspondence Analysis of the individuals and their artifact variations, body position, burial type etc. have been applied.The data used in this study contain information from 41 sites including 171 graves with 194 individuals from nine different countries (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway Poland, Russia and Sweden). The study is based on the work Mesolithische Bestattungen in Europa. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Gräberkunde. Teil I-II of Judith M. Grünberg from 2000, however some new sites and graves have been added.This study is expected to contribute new contextual interpretations of the Early Mesolithic burials of the area of the Baltic Sea.

The thesis presents results of the excavation of an early bronze aged settlement on the cadaster of Zdice in Beroun region. The detailed analysis of its pottery complex provides a base for chronological determination of the settlement and defines its components. Special attention is also paid to the issue of settlement burials of Urnfield culture.