O registro arqueológico associado aos sítios conchíferos do litoral catarinense aponta para uma intensificação nos processos de mudança a partir de 2000 anos AP, marcada por acontecimentos diversos como a diminuição no número de sítios, a diminuição no uso de conchas em sua formação, o aparecimento da cerâmica, o aumento da violência e a alteração do padrão de residência pós-marital. Com o objetivo de compreender melhor esses processos de mudança e entendendo o sítio Armação do Sul (Florianópolis/SC) como elemento chave para essa compreensão, foram realizadas análises isotópicas de estrôncio (87Sr/86Sr) carbono (δ13C) e nitrogênio (δ15N) nos indivíduos que nele se encontram sepultados, juntamente com a análise das práticas mortuárias associadas a esses sepultamentos e o estabelecimento de uma cronologia que associa informação estratigráfica com datações radiocarbônicas obtidas para diversos esqueletos. A partir de uma perspectiva de longa duração centrada na prática e do reconhecimento da multidimensionalidade inerente aos processos de mudança, os dados gerados foram entendidos contextualmente na curta, média e longa duração, e em escala de sítio (Armação do Sul), local (litoral central) e regional (litoral catarinense), em busca de uma tensão positiva entre indivíduo e estrutura, mudança e estabilidade, sincronia e diacronia. Ao fim, concluiu-se que os processos de mudança se desenrolaram diferentemente em porções litorâneas distintas do litoral catarinense e que, no caso do sítio Armação do Sul, as mudanças observadas estão relacionadas a um quadro de acontecimentos inter-relacionados que envolveu: maior circulação e incorporação de indivíduos de diferentes partes do litoral central; mudança na dieta dos indivíduos do sexo masculino em direção ao consumo de recursos C4 ou à diminuição no consumo de recursos marinhos de alto nível trófico; desenvolvimento de uma hierarquia social mais claramente observável no registro arqueológico e, possivelmente, hereditária; aumento da violência; inovações em alguns elementos que compõem as práticas mortuárias; mudança no sedimento que compõe o sítio; adensamento populacional ou maior quantidade de indivíduos sendo sepultados no mesmo local; transição para um padrão de residência virilocal; e alterações paleoclimáticas e paleogeográficas. Foram ainda feitas algumas breves contribuições para um melhor entendimento das peculiaridades do panorama arqueológico do litoral central, com o auxílio de conceitos oriundos da teoria de sistemas adaptativos complexos e sob a perspectiva dos regimes de historicidade. / The archaeological record associated with shell mounds in the Santa Catarina coast points to an intensification in the processes of change starting at 2000 years BP, marked by various events such as the decrease in the number of sites, the reduction in the use of shells in their formation, the appearance of ceramics, increased violence and alterations of the pattern of post-marital residence. In order to better comprehend these processes of change and understanding the Armação do Sul site (Florianópolis/SC) as a key element to said comprehension, we have performed isotopic analyses based on strontium (87Sr/86Sr), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in the individuals that are buried there, along with the analysis of the mortuary practices associated with those burials, and the establishment of a chronology that associates stratigraphic information with radiocarbon dating obtained for several skeletons. From a long-term perspective focused on practice and recognition of the multidimensionality inherent to change processes, the resulting data were observed contextually in short, medium and long terms, and in site (Armação do Sul), local (central coast) and regional (Santa Catarina coast) scales, in search for a positive tension between individual and structure, change and stability, synchrony and diachrony. Finally, we have concluded that the change processes unfolded differently in distinct coastal portions in the Santa Catarina coast and that, in the case of the Armação do Sul site, observed changes are related to a setting of interrelated events which involved: increased circulation and incorporation of individuals from different parts of the central coast; change in the diet of male individuals towards consumption of C4 resources or the decrease in the consumption of marine resources of high trophic level; development of a social hierarchy more clearly observable in the archaeological records and, possibly, hereditary; increased violence; innovations in some elements which compose the mortuary practices; change in the depositional pattern; increase in the population density or in the number of individuals buried in the same place; transition to a pattern of virilocal residence; and climate and geographic alterations. We have also made some briefs contributions towards a better understanding of the peculiarities of the archaeological panorama in the central coast, with the aid of concepts from the theory of complex adaptive systems and within a perspective of the regimes of historicity.

The Hittite burial material consists of a very heterogeneous material. The material shows some shared aspects between the different cemeteries and their grave types. However, this material lacks previous extensive comparative studies in central Anatolia. This study aims to problematize this funerary material, by re-evaluating the previous interpretation and by creating links between the different types of material and the cemeteries it was found in. This will be achieved by analyzing four different categories of Hittite graves from the three cemeteries: Osmankayasi, Gordion and Ilica. The total material consists of 268 graves: 91 from Osmankayasi, 46 from Gordion and 131 from Ilica. The material was originally excavated and published during the fifties and sixties by the three archaeologists Kurt Bittel, Machteld Mellink and Winfried Orthmann. The burial material will be analyzed to establish parallels and differences between the three sites, their materials and grave categories. Literary sources and empirical data will be used to supplement previous research but also the new interpretations discussed in this thesis. Keywords: Hittite, cemeteries, mortuary practices, Osmankayasi, Gordion, Ilica, cremations, pithos burials, pit graves, cist-graves, ethnicity, status, equids / Det Hettitiska begravnings materialet består av ett väldigt heterogent material. Materialet visar ändå vissa delade aspekter mellan de olika gravfälten och gravtyperna. Dock saknar detta material tidigare omfattande komparativa studier i centrala Anatolien. Denna studie avser att problematisera detta gravmaterial, genom att skapa kopplingar mellan de olika typerna av materialet och mellan de utvalda platserna som det återfanns i. Detta mål avses att uppnås genom att analysera fyra olika typer av Hettitiska gravar från de tre platserna Osmankayasi, Gordion och Ilica. Det totala grav antalet består av 268 gravar: 91 från Osmankayasi, 46 från Gordion och 131 från Ilica. Materialet var ursprungligen utgrävt och publicerat under femtio och sextio-talet av de tre arkeologerna Kurt Bittel, Machteld Mellink och Winfried Orthmann. Gravmaterialet kommer att analyseras för att etablera paralleller mellan de tre platsernas material och dess gravkategorier. Litterära källor och empiriskdata kommer att användas för att komplettera den tidigare forskningen och de nya tolkningarna i denna studie.

Using the Mohr Site as a case study, this project examines the role of pottery in Shenks Ferry mortuary features. Following an analysis of the mortuary pottery, the resulting information is compared with pottery from the general site assemblage as well as with descriptions of pottery from other Shenks Ferry sites. In addition, an inventory of the Mohr Site grave good assemblage has been created. The assemblage at the Mohr site is especially rich and is particularly noteworthy given the nature and number of the burials discovered; no other current collection has as much variety or quantity as is seen at this site. The pottery recovered from Mohr exhibits characteristics typical of pottery found at other Shenks Ferry Sites and in other Shenks Ferry burials. The ceramic evidence challenges the traditional assumption that the Mohr site is a transitional Lancaster-Funk Phase site. Likewise, the length of time this site was occupied is also debatable. Mortuary vessels at Mohr are predominately associated with extended burials oriented to the east. There are also correlations between mortuary vessels types and age and sex. Possible connections between other grave goods and age, sex, and body position and between body position and season of interment are also discussed. Additional research employing methods such as residue analysis to compare information regarding the contents of the mortuary and non-mortuary Mohr Site pottery as well as further evidence produced by additional excavations or more in-depth analysis of current grave material collections will provide further insight into Shenks Ferry mortuary ritual and is necessary in order to fully understand this site and its place in the chronology of the Shenks Ferry Complex. / Anthropology

This thesis deals mainly with the Middle Neolithic period (ca. 3200-2300 BC) on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. The aim is to deepen the understanding of how the islanders related to their surroundings, to the landscape, to places, to objects, to animals and to humans, both living and dead. The archaeological material is studied downwards and up with a focus on practices, especially the handling and deposition of materials and objects in graves, within sites and in the landscape. The study is comparative and the Middle Neolithic is described in relation to the Early Neolithic and the Mesolithic period on the island. From a long term perspective the island is presented as a region where strong continuity can be identified, regarding both way of life and economy. In contrast, substantial changes did occur through time regarding the islander’s conceptions of the world and of social relations. This in turn affected the way they looked upon the landscape, different sites and animals, as well as other human beings. During the Mesolithic, the islanders first saw it as possible to create their world, their micro-cosmos, wherever they were, and they saw themselves as living in symbiosis with seals. With time, though, they started to relate, to connect and to identify themselves with the island, its landscape and its material, with axe sites and a growing group identity as results. The growing group identity culminated during the Early Neolithic with a dualistic conception of the world and with ritualised depositions in border zones. The Middle Neolithic is presented as a period when earlier boundaries were dissolved. This concerned, for example, boundaries towards the world around the islanders and they were no longer keeping themselves to their own sphere. At the same time individuals became socially important. It became accepted and also vital to give expression to personal identity, which was done through objects, materials and animals. Despite this, group identity continued to be an important part in their lives. This is most evident through the specific Pitted Ware sites, where the dead were also treated and buried. These places were sites for ritual and social practices, situated in visible, central and easy accessible locations, like gates in and out of the islands’ different areas. The dead were very important for the islanders. In the beginning of MN B they started to adopt aspects from the Battle Axe culture, but they never embraced Battle Axe grave customs. Instead they held on to the Pitted Ware way of dealing with the dead and buried, and to the Pitted Ware sites, through the whole period, with large burial grounds as a result.

A presente pesquisa de doutorado pretende levantar, catalogar e examinar os vestígios arqueológicos dos contextos funerários, datados entre o intervalo do século XI ao VIII a.C. nos principais sítios da região da Argólida (Mapas 1, 2 e 3), Argos, Tirinto, Asine, Micenas, Náuplia e Lerna. Comparando tais dados entre si, e discutindo-os a partir de fundamentos teórico-metodológicos da Arqueologia das Práticas Mortuárias, objetivamos, por fim, levantar considerações sobre os costumes funerários dessa área, revelando possíveis padrões de enterramento e de comportamento sócio-cultural inseridos nas mudanças políticas ocorridas em um período de longa duração, principalmente, durante o período denominado de Alto Arcaísmo, o século VIII a.C., com o processo de formação da pólis argiva. / This thesis intends to gather, catalogue and analyze the archaeological data from the funerary contexts, dated from the XI to the VIII centuries BC in the main sites of the Argive plain (Maps 1, 2 and 3). Finally, it is also our aim to compare the data collected and discuss them through the theoretical and methodological basis of the Archaeology of Mortuary Practices trying to reach some questions and considerations about the funerary customs and burial patterns of this region and also possible social and cultural behavior characteristic of the shifts occurred mainly during the VIII century BC.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar comparativamente as parcelas operacionais das práticas mortuárias entre sociedades pescadoras-coletoras que viveram no litoral centronorte de São Paulo entre em 5040 a 1381BP. Foram estudados os dados mortuários dos sítios Piaçaguera, Tenório, Mar Virado e Buracão. Entre a Baixada Santista e o litoral norte, um significativo número de sepultamentos foi escavado por arqueólogos da Universidade de São Paulo entre em 1962 a 2004. Foram formuladas 57 variáveis culturais e biológicas distribuídas entre 203 inumações. O Capítulo 1 apresenta as estratégias teóricas gerais e específicas em arqueologia das práticas mortuárias. As características estruturais e ambientais dos sítios arqueológicos foram esboçadas no Capítulo 2. O Capítulo 3 inclui as terminologias e classificações para a descrição dos sepultamentos e seus conteúdos. Nos Capítulos 4 e 5 são comparados os dados mortuários e descritos os contextos arqueológicos dos sepultamentos: corpo, acompanhamentos funerários e outras associações. No Capítulo 6 é apresentada uma síntese sobre a distribuição dos sexos e grupos etários entre os sítios e sobre as modificações diversas nos esqueletos, patológicas ou não. Apresentamos uma síntese das variações e similaridades no interior de instâncias específicas das práticas mortuárias entre os sítios e seus reflexos quanto as dinâmicas socioculturais envolvidas, carreadas intencionalmente ao sistema de símbolos mortuários pelas sociedades dos vivos / The objective of this work is to analyze the operational portions of the mortuary practices comparatively among fisher-gatherer societies that lived in the coast center-north of Sao Paulo (5040 to 1381BP). Between the Santos and the northern coast, a significant number of burials was excavated by archeologists of the University of Sao Paulo enters in 1962 to 2004. They were studied the mortuary data of the archaeological sites Piaçaguera, Tenorio, Mar Virado and Buracao: 57 cultural and biological variables were formulated distributed among 203 inhumations. The Chapter 1 presents the general and specific theoretical strategies in Archaeology of the Mortuary Practices. The structural and environmental characteristics of the archeological sites were sketched in the Chapter 2. The Chapter 3 includes the terminologies and classifications for the description of the burials and their contents. In the Chapters 4 and 5 the mortuary data are compared and described the archeological contexts of the burials: body, attendances mortuaries and other associations. In the Chapter 6 a synthesis is presented on the distribution of the sexes and age groups among the sites and about the several pathological or non-patologic modifications in the skeletons. We presented the synthesis of the variations and similarities inside specific instances of the mortuary practices between the four groups and their reflexes the the involved sociocultural dynamics, carted intentionally to the system of mortuary symbols by the societies

<p>This is a study about life and death in prehistory, based on the material remains from the Early Bronze Age on the Greek mainland (<i>c.</i> 3100-2000 BC). It deals with the settings of daily life in the Early Helladic period, and the lives and experiences of people within it.</p><p>The analyses are based on practices of Early Helladic individuals or groups of people and are context specific, focussing on the interaction between people and their surroundings. I present a picture of the Early Helladic people living their lives, moving through and experiencing their settlements and their surroundings, actively engaged in the appearance and workings of these surroundings. Thus, this is also a book about relationships: how the Early Helladic people related to their surroundings, how results of human activity were related to the natural topography, how parts of settlements and spheres of life were related to each other, how material culture was related to its users, to certain activities and events, and how everything is related to the archaeological remains on which we base our interpretations.</p><p><i>Life and death in Early Helladic</i> <i>Greece</i> is the overall subject, and this double focus is manifested in a loose division of the book into two halves. The first deals primarily with settlement contexts, while the second is devoted to mortuary contexts. After an introduction, the study is divided into three parts, dealing with the house, the past in the past and the mortuary sphere, comprising three stops along the continuum of life and death within Early Helladic communities. Subsequently, mortuary practices provide the basis for a concluding part of the book, in which the analysis is taken further to illustrate the interconnectedness of different parts of Early Helladic life (and death).</p>

This is a study about life and death in prehistory, based on the material remains from the Early Bronze Age on the Greek mainland (c. 3100-2000 BC). It deals with the settings of daily life in the Early Helladic period, and the lives and experiences of people within it. The analyses are based on practices of Early Helladic individuals or groups of people and are context specific, focussing on the interaction between people and their surroundings. I present a picture of the Early Helladic people living their lives, moving through and experiencing their settlements and their surroundings, actively engaged in the appearance and workings of these surroundings. Thus, this is also a book about relationships: how the Early Helladic people related to their surroundings, how results of human activity were related to the natural topography, how parts of settlements and spheres of life were related to each other, how material culture was related to its users, to certain activities and events, and how everything is related to the archaeological remains on which we base our interpretations. Life and death in Early Helladic Greece is the overall subject, and this double focus is manifested in a loose division of the book into two halves. The first deals primarily with settlement contexts, while the second is devoted to mortuary contexts. After an introduction, the study is divided into three parts, dealing with the house, the past in the past and the mortuary sphere, comprising three stops along the continuum of life and death within Early Helladic communities. Subsequently, mortuary practices provide the basis for a concluding part of the book, in which the analysis is taken further to illustrate the interconnectedness of different parts of Early Helladic life (and death).

This thesis deals with issues relating to the cosmological dimensions of landscapes, the cultural construction of age and the long-term changes in passage rituals and mortuary practices in the Bronze Age societies of Södermanland in East Central Sweden. A gender perspective forms the underlying theoretical framework, while the study as a whole is particularly interested in power relations between generations as an impetus for societal change. Burials from cairns and cemeteries, as well as heaps of fire-cracked stones, rock-carvings and ritual hoards from two Bronze Age Landscapes in Södermanland are used as examples and to illustrate the interpretations presented in this study. It is proposed that perceptions of landscapes and cosmology were created by placing cairns and stone settings at liminal places or boundaries in the landscape, while heaps of fire-cracked stones were situated at focal points. Places where rock-carvings are found, nearby rapids or on islands along river courses, are interpreted as birth-places, and stem from origin myths about the birth of the first humans at these sites. It is proposed that birth, life and death as cosmological principles may be perceived in the landscape and are related to different kinds of waters. In addition, it is suggested that the cultural construction of age is expressed in spatial terms where adults - both men and women - with special abilities and esoteric knowledge related to passage rituals, were buried in cairns. Infants, whose relationship with these adults was special, were instead buried in the heaps of fire-cracked stones. It is also considered that, among other things, the absence of swords in burials implies that the societies of East Central Sweden probably had a social organization that was distinct from the societies of southern Scandinavia. Regarding long-term changes in ritual practices it is suggested that ritual tools used in mortuary practices change from flint daggers in the Late Neolithic, to razors and tweezers during the Bronze Age. Further changes occurred in the Late Bronze Age, when pins were introduced into the ritual practices. Regarding age and gender, osteological estimates show that both adult men and women participated in passage rituals. With the transition to pins we also see changes in who dealt with passage rituals and it is rather young women who were responsible for this sphere in the later period. As children also become visible - both in burials and at rock-carving sites – during the Late Bronze Age, this is interpreted as signalling shifts in power relations between genders and generations in favour of women and younger people.

Ce travail constitue une synthèse des sépultures sous tumulus du Hallstatt C à La Tène B en Bourgogne et en Franche-Comté. L’objectif est de caractériser les ensembles funéraires de la Côte-d'Or méridionale et les différentes influences ou tendances qui ont touchés cette zone au cours du premier âge du Fer. Un jeu de comparaisons permet de dégager les spécificités de la Côte-d'Or méridionale à plusieurs niveaux : recrutement des populations, position et orientation des défunts, architecture des sépultures et aménagements internes, typologie des objets, port des effets personnels, nature et emplacements des dépôts. Ces différentes pistes permettent de reconstituer des costumes et des pratiques funéraires pour chaque zone de Bourgogne et de Franche-Comté, ainsi que leurs évolutions. Ces éléments mettent ainsi en évidence une forte influence jurassienne au cours du Hallstatt D1 et D2, puis au cours du Hallstatt D3 et au début de La Tène A, une plus grande influence de l’ouest et une relative unité en Côte-d'Or. La construction des tumuli et leur gestion dans le temps apportent des indices supplémentaires quant à l’existence de pôles funéraires forts et pérennes en Côte-d'Or méridionale, liés à la jonction entre les cours d’eau de l’est et de l’ouest. Les places de ces pôles dans le territoire des communautés de Côte-d'Or méridionale et les relations habitat(s)-tumuli restent à définir. / This work is a synthesis of tumuli graves in Burgundy and Franche-Comté from Hallstatt C to La Tene B periods. The objective is to characterize the funeral assemblages in Southern Côte-d’Or as well as the influences and the tendencies that went through this area during the early Iron Age. A set of comparisons shows the particularities of the Southern Côte-d’Or at several levels: the recruitment of the populations, the position and orientation of the deceased, the architecture of the graves and their internal arrangements, the typology and positions of the personals items, the nature and locations of the deposits. These various leads allow reconstituting costumes and mortuary practices, as well as their evolution, for each area of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. These elements highlight a strong Jura influence during the Hallstatt D1 and D2. A bigger influence from the west side, as well as a relative unity in the Côte-d’Or can be seen during the Hallstatt D3 and the beginning of La Tene A. The construction of burial mounds and their management through time lead to additional clues regarding their existence as long-lasting strong funeral poles in Southern Côte-d’Or. These appear bound to the junction between the east and western streams. The place of those poles in the territories of the southern Côte-d’Or’s communities and the relationship between settlements and tumuli remains to be defined.