Ce travail de recherches, qui n’a pas pour objectif de résoudre le problème de terminologie actuel lié à la désignation de cette roche que les Anciens Égyptiens appelaient bjt ou Ss, se propose d’étudier la production des objets réalisés dans cette pierre composée de calcite. Elle se caractérise par une teinte blanche ou jaune pâle, parfois ornée de rubans colorés, un éclat gras et une relative translucidité. Étant donné qu’une étude de la production sur l’ensemble de la période pharaonique n’était pas envisageable dans le cadre d’une thèse, une limitation chronologique a permis de restreindre le corpus aux objets fabriqués entre le début de l’Ancien à la fin du Moyen Empire, soit de 2700 à 1700 av. J.-C. environ. Ce corpus de documents (volume 2) regroupe l’analyse des objets qui ont été classés de manière typologique, puis chronologique au sein de chaque catégorie : statuaire, tables d’offrandes, plaquettes « aux sept huiles saintes », chevets, sarcophages, réceptacles à viscères, vases, figurines du Moyen Empire et « autres ». La synthèse (volume 1) est, quant à elle, composée de trois chapitres, le premier étant consacré à l’étude de la chaîne de production de l’albâtre. Il comprend une description des carrières connues, des outils et des techniques d’extraction de la pierre, ainsi qu’une étude des ateliers de sculpteurs et des principales techniques de fabrication des objets. Les deux chapitres suivants explorent les différentes utilisations de l’albâtre, envisagées d’un point de vue typologique et chronologique. / This research work, which isn’t aimed at solving the current problem of terminology linked to the designation of this rock called bjt or Ss by Ancient Egyptians, intends to study the production of artefacts made in this stone composed of calcite. It is characterized by its white or yellow pale hue and it is shiny, almost translucent and sometimes color-banded. Given that a study on the entire production through the Pharaonic period wasn’t conceivable within a thesis, a chronological limitation helped to narrow the corpus to the artefacts made between the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom, that is to say from around 2700 to 1700 B. C. This corpus (volume 2) gathers the analysis of the objects classified typologically then chronologically within each category: statues, offering tables, tablets for the seven sacred oils, headrests, sarcophagi, canopic equipment, vessels, Middle Kingdom figurines and “others”. As for the synthesis, it is composed of three chapters, the first one being centered on the study of the manufacturing process of calcite. It includes a description of the attested quarries, tools and quarrying techniques, as well as a study of the sculpturing workshops and the main manufacturing techniques. The following two chapters focused on the different uses of calcite, taken from a typological and chronological point of view.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att diskutera hästens kön i en gravkontext och som våtmarksoffer. Detta är en komparativ studie baserad på textuellt källmaterial. De teoretiska begreppen som kommer att användas är genusteori, kunskapsteori, agens och personlighetsteori, för att på så sätt närma sig frågan om valacken, hästens tredje kön.   Hästen har haft en betydande roll för människan och detta går att utläsa i de olika kontexterd är skelettmaterial av häst påträffats. Fyra kontexter under järnåldern behandlas i denna uppsats, båtgravar i Uppland, kammargravar på Björkö, ryttargravar på Gotland och våtmarksoffer på Öland och Gotland. Det är inte bara hästen som är viktig, utan även utrustning som återfanns i gravarna, som kan berätta om hästens sociala roll i samhället. När hästar påträffats i gravar har större vikt lagts på den mänskliga individen och artefakterna de fick med sig, men hästen är inte ett föremål och kan därför inte klumpas ihop med analysen av dessa. Utifrån denna uppsats kan man tyda en preferens för det manliga könet på hästen, men det behöver inte betyda att alla varit hingstar. / The aim of this study is to discuss the gender of the horse in a funerary context and as a wetland sacrifice. This is a comparative study based on textual source material. The theoretical concepts that will be used are gender theory, epistemology, agency and personhood, in hope to approachthe question of the gelding, the horse's third gender. The horse has had a significant role for humans, and it’s possible to interpret this in the different contexts in which skeletal remains of horses can be found. Four contexts from the Iron Age are examined in this essay, boat graves in Uppland, chamber graves on Björkö, equestrian graves on Gotland and wetland sacrifices on Öland and Gotland. It is not only the horse that is important, but also the equipment that was deposited, which can reveal the horse's social role in society. When horses are found in graves, more emphasis has been placed on the person and the artifacts they brought with them. But the horse is not an object and therefore cannot be lumped together with the analysis of these. Based on this essay, a preference for the male gender of the horse can be concluded, but this does not necessarily mean that they all have been stallions.

Horse-depositions were examined to explore the development of human-horse relationships in early Britain using a multidisciplinary approach (osteological, archaeological, historical and ethnographical) to interpret these relationships as part of Horseman identities in the Iron Age, Roman and medieval periods. Medieval Horseman-burials are an established phenomenon and considered an Anglo-Saxon import in Britain which expressed a general elite-warrior male status. However, Horseman-burials form an exclusive minority which suggest not a general warrior elite but specific subgroups and/or traditions potentially rooted in earlier practices. Husbandry, transportation-use and ritual practices were also investigated. Horses and horse-use were evaluated via stature and correlations with sex. The results indicated sexual dimorphism should be considered when interpreting horse stature. It is hypothesised that generally females were pastured breeding-stock while males were transportation-stock which received supplemental nutrition and care. Males were/are generally larger than females, and size disparity was probably heightened by such gendered horse-use practices. Overall, it appears females were 1.3m or less, and horses over 1.3m were males. Horse-depositional patterns in human, particularly funerary, spaces were analysed. Horse deposition often had ritual components and practices changed over time reflecting changing Horseman identities, particularly during the Roman period. Roman-British interactions, the destruction of native-elite chariot-warfare identities and the development of native-auxiliary groups refocused Horseman identities on mounted-warfare. This change from driver to rider, a more intimate relationship, appears reflected by the development of human-horse burials and Horseman identities linked to auxiliary-native cultural groups which incorporated Roman equites ideals with native-auxiliary and imported Eurasian Horseman traditions. / Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Financial support also came from the project partners, particularly author Bernard Cornwell, the Sutton Hoo Society. Additional financial support for equine osteological research was supplied by SYNTHESYS. / The appendices which accompany the thesis are not available online.

<p>Located in southeast Italy, the site of Vagnari has been explored archaeologically as a Roman <em>vicus</em> that once formed part of an imperial estate. After the discovery of a cemetery on the property in 2002, exploration has yielded important results for understanding the lives and deaths of individuals in rural Italy from the first to early fourth centuries AD. Within the sphere of funerary archaeology and commemoration, there has been a shift in recent scholarship away from the monuments and practices of imperial and senatorial families in urban cities towards those who were underrepresented in epigraphic and textual evidence, namely ordinary individuals. Funerary archaeology presents one medium of exploring both funerary and burial practices in previously understudied areas of Roman Italy.</p> <p>Previous studies of the Vagnari cemetery have been centered around a catalogue of burials, artifacts, and pathology, with more recent work focusing on stable isotopes and ancient DNA. This thesis focuses on the artifacts and patterns of distribution to understand how burial practices may have been shaped by social, economic and legal status. The primary focus is not the artifacts themselves, but the ways in which material culture can be interpreted to address issues of social status and prosperity within the cemetery. Within the wider realm of funerary practices, this study aims to understand funerals in a rural setting based on the burial record by incorporating archaeological, literary and historic evidence, in order to situate the site within our increasing knowledge of death and commemoration in the Roman Empire.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

No / The Covesea Caves, located on the coast of the Moray Firth in northeastern Scotland, are a series of archaeological cave sites that are hypothesized to be part of a larger mortuary complex used during the Late Prehistoric period. Although much attention has been given to the unusual assemblage of human remains recovered from these sites, there has been less analysis undertaken on the vast amount of archaeofauna from the caves. This is in the process of being rectified through the recent work of the Covesea Cave Project, under direction of Ian Armit and Lindsey Büster and currently being undertaken at the University of Bradford. This report details attempts to confirm species identifications for several faunal bones of interest through various methodologies; unfortunately, not all of the attempts were successful. However, identifications are confirmed for two avian bones using comparative osteological analysis at the Avian Anatomical Collection at the Natural History Museum at Tring, United Kingdom. These species are placed in context through consideration of previous excavations at the Covesea Caves, as well as recent literature on ornithological analyses of ritual and funerary sites in Later Prehistoric Britain.

The Covesea Caves are a series of later prehistoric sites that form a complex mortuary landscape. Previous excavations of the caves have provided evidence for the decapitation, disarticulation, and intentional deposition of human remains. Although there has been substantial analysis of the human remains, there has been little consideration of the significant number of faunal remains recovered during numerous excavations. This research represents the first focused examination of the extensive zooarchaeological record from the Covesea Caves, with an emphasis on investigating characteristics of the faunal bone related to taphonomy and processing in order to provide a proxy for the complex funerary treatments to which the human remains were subject. Analysis of Covesea Cave 2 revealed a narrative of ritual and funerary activities, from the Neolithic to the Post-Medieval Period. Zooarchaeological analysis has illustrated how certain species were significant in ritual activity, and thus utilised specifically in funerary rites. The results from this research shed more light on past cosmologies and the importance of non-human species to humans in both life and death. / Funding for fieldwork was provided by Historic Environment Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council. Lab work and species confirmation was funded by a generous grant from the British Cave Research Association. Funding for this [comparative] analysis was provided by the following organisations: The Prehistoric Society, The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, The Natural History Society of Glasgow

The ancient Egyptians were famous for their exotic and luxury perfumes in the ancient world, even having cities that specialised in perfume production in the Ptolemaic Period, when they exported these perfumes all over the Mediterranean. They produced these perfumes, and other scented preparations, from aromatic plants, fats and oils. The deities were fragrant beings, imbued with the divine essence, and perfume was considered by the Egyptians to be the sweat of the god Ra. Some deities were specially linked to perfume, one of the most important being Nefertem, god of perfume and of the primordial fragrant blue lotus flower. Incense was to the Egyptians the ‘eye of Horus’, burnt as an offering to the deities in temples. Aromatic plant material was stored in perfume/unguent ‘laboratories’, and perfumers’ workshops produced the precious perfumed oils and unguents, used in the funerary context, rituals, ceremonies, festivals and banquets. / History / M.A.

La recherche menée dans cette thèse porte sur les restes archéobotaniques mis au jour dans le Cimetière I de Pachacamac par le Projet Ychsma ainsi que ceux découverts par Díaz et son équipe dans le cimetière 22 de Octubre d’Armatambo. Les contextes funéraires de ces deux sites correspondent à la culture Ychsma (10ème-15ème siècles). Cette recherche carpologique a pour but de répondre à trois questions de recherche: 1) Peut-on établir un modèle type de trousseau archéobotanique? Qu’en est-il des végétaux participant à la réalisation du paquet funéraire? 2) Quel(s) est (sont) le(s) critère(s) ayant pu avoir une influence sur les offrandes botaniques et les végétaux entrant dans la composition des paquets funéraires? A quel(s) niveau(x) se marque cette influence? 3) Qu’en est-il de la présence de taxons exogènes, particuliers ou présents dans un seul enterrement? Pour ce, j’ai analysé les restes archéobotaniques des deux sites de façon séparée et suivant les angles syn- et diachroniques. J’ai donc effectué des analyses en termes de présence/ absence et de fréquence des taxons dans les contextes funéraires en considérant les enterrements dans leur ensemble mais aussi en les séparant selon divers critères (âge, sexe et rang social relatif). Par la suite, j’ai comparé les résultats obtenus pour les deux sites. Je ne détaille pas ici les résultats de chaque analyse. Je me contente de mentionner les points principaux qui en sont ressortis, à savoir 1) qu’il ne semble pas y avoir eu une taxon-offrande type; 2) que des offrandes alimentaires apparaissent dans toutes les catégories établies; 3) d’autres facteurs (entre autres le rapport affectif aux défunts, la possible manipulation idéologique de ceux-ci par les vivants, le symbolisme des taxons, etc.) ont exercé une influence sur la présence des taxons; 4) que Gossypium barbadense était un élément type dans la réalisation des paquets funéraires. Cette recherche a eu pour conséquence l’apparition de nouvelles questions de recherche qui pourront être abordées ultérieurement sur base notamment d’un travail statistique et regroupant des échantillons de divers sites de la culture Ychsma. / The present investigation focuses on the archeobotanical remains discovered in Pachacamac’s Cemetery I by the Projet Ychsma, and Cemetery 22 de Octubre in Armatambo excavated by Díaz and her team. The funerary contexts of both sites pertain to the Ychsma culture (10th-15th centuries). The aim of this carpological investigation is to answer three questions: 1) Is it possible to establish a model of archaeobotanical grave goods? What about the plants that were used in the realisation of the bundles? 2) What is (are) the criterion (criteria) that could have influenced the archaeobotanical grave goods and the plants used in the making of the bundles? At what level(s) is this influence leaves its mark? 3) What about the presence of exogenous taxa or particular taxa or taxa which appear only in one tomb? In order to answer these questions, I analysed the archaeobotanical remains of each sites separately, using a syn- and diachronic perspective. I realised analyses in terms of presence/ absence, as well as frequency of taxa in the funerary contexts, by taking into account the burials as a whole, but also by separating them according to various criteria (age, sex, relative social ranking). Thereafter, I compared the results of both sites. I would not discuss the research results in detail here, but I will limit myself to mentioning the main conclusions: 1) it seems that there was no typical grave good taxon; 2) alimentary offering appear in all the categories; 3) other factor (among others the emotional connection to the deceased, the possible ideological manipulation of the dead by the living and the symbolism of the taxa) influenced the presence of taxa; 4) Gossypium barbadense was a typical taxon among the plants participating in the realisation of funerary bundles. This research has led to the appearance of new questions. By conducting statistical investigations and by gathering samples from various Ychsma sites, it will be possible to treat these new questions in the future. / Doctorat en Histoire, histoire de l'art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Ce mémoire porte sur l’étude de l’orientation des sépultures mayas de la Période Classique (250 - 900/1000 de notre ère). Il s’agit d’une recherche visant à comprendre le choix d’une orientation sud des défunts dans la vallée du Belize et ses environs. L’intérêt porté à cette région vient du fait que l’orientation sud des défunts est un phénomène que l’on retrouve rarement sur le territoire maya, sauf à cet endroit. Alors que la présence de la cardinalité en lien avec la cosmovision maya est attestée dans l’architecture, le plan des sites, la forme et la fonction des divinités, dans l’agriculture, etc., il est plutôt rare qu’elle soit analysée dans les études du traitement funéraire. Ainsi, le but de cette recherche est de saisir l’ampleur de la pratique de l’orientation sud des défunts sur le territoire maya, de comprendre son origine et sa ou ses possible(s) signification(s). Les données des sépultures de la Période Classique de cinq sites de la vallée du Belize (Baking Pot, Barton Ramie, Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech et Xunantunich), de quatre sites du Plateau Vaca (Minanha, Pacbitun, Mountain Cow et Caracol) et de trois sites situés à l’ouest (Holmul) et au nord (San José et Altun Ha) de ces deux régions sont compilées. Les résultats révèlent que le coeur de cette pratique se trouve dans la vallée du Belize, bien qu’une orientation sud des défunts ait été retrouvée partout. Cette pratique semble apparaitre à la fin de la Période Préclassique et les analyses ne révèlent pas de lien entre l’orientation sud et certaines variables (âge, sexe, position du défunt). Finalement, on arrive à la conclusion qu’il est possible que cette orientation sud des défunts soit en lien avec le passage des défunts dans l’inframonde et que cela forme un choix culturel local en lien avec le statut et l’identité du défunt. / This thesis focuses on the study of the orientation of Classic Maya burials (AD 250 - 900/1000). The research is directed towards the understanding of the presence of the south orientation of burials in the Belize Valley and its surroundings. While the presence of the cardinality of the Mayan worldview is established as reflected in the architecture, settlement patterns, form and function of divine agents, agriculture, etc., it is rarely analyzed in funerary treatment studies. Thus, the aim of this research is to understand the extent of the practice of the south orientation of the deceased on the Mayan territory, to understand its origin, and its possible signification(s). Data from the Classic burials of five Belize Valley sites (Baking Pot, Barton Ramie, Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich), four Vaca Plateau sites (Minanha, Pacbitun, Mountain Cow, and Caracol), and three sites located west (Holmul) and north (San José and Altun Ha) of the two previous regions have been compiled. The results reveal that the heart of this practice lies in the Belize Valley, although a south orientation of the deceased was found everywhere. This practice seems to appear at the end of the Preclassic Period and analysis revealed no link between south orientation and certain variables (age, sex, position of the deceased). Finally, it was found that it is possible that south orientation of the deceased is connected with the passage of the deceased in the underworld, and that it is a local choice in connection with the status and the identity of the deceased.

Cette étude rassemble une sélection d’ostraca et papyri hiératiques documentaires provenant de Deir el-Medina, le village des ouvriers de la tombe royale au Nouvel Empire. Tous sont liés aux différentes étapes de la préparation concrète à la mort par les habitants de ce site. Les informations qu’ils apportent sont étudiées à travers trois grands axes – abordés dupoint de vue technique, lexicographique, économique, juridique, etc. – : l’acquisition et la préparation de la tombe ; la commande de l’équipement funéraire ; et la rédaction de testaments. La confrontation de ces textes avec les résultats archéologiques permet d’appréhender la façon dont l’Égyptien « moyen » du Nouvel Empire anticipait sa propre mort pour lui-même et ses descendants ou, au contraire, ne la préparait pas, laissant à ses héritiers le soin de prendre en charge ses funérailles. Dans ce contexte, la place des femmes et leur relative dépendance vis-à-vis des hommes de leur entourage sont également abordées. Le site de Deir el-Medina a été choisi comme cadre pour cette étude en raison de son importante documentation qui permet une connaissance – exceptionnelle pour l’Égypte ancienne – de la vie quotidienne de ses habitants. L’accent est mis sur la façon dont le travail dans la tombe de Pharaon privilégiait ces derniers ; outre l’avantage de se voir attribuer une concession funéraire – prérogative normalement réservée à l’élite égyptienne –, leur statut leur facilitait l’accès aux matières premières et leurs spécialisations pouvaient être mises au service de leur propre organisation ante mortem. / This study brings together a selection of documentary hieratic ostraca and papyri from Deir el-Medina, the village of the royal tomb’s workmen during the New Kingdom. All are related to the differents stages of the concrete preparation for death by the inhabitants of this site. The informations they provide are studied through three large axis – discussed from thetechnical, lexicographical, economical, legal point of view, etc. – : the acquisition and preparation of the tomb; the order of the funerary equipment ; and the writing of wills. The comparison of these texts with archaeological findings allow to understand how the « medium » Egyptian of the New Kingdom anticipated his own death for himself and his descendants or, on the contrary, did not prepare it, leaving the task of taking care of his funeral to his heirs. In this context, the place of the women and their relative dependence towards the men of their circle are also discussed. The site of Deir el-Medina was chosen as the framework for this study because of its considerable documentation allowing a knowledge – unique for the ancient Egypt – of the daily life of its inhabitants. The focus is on how the work in the tomb of Pharaoh favored them ; besides the advantage of being awarded a burial concession – prerogative normally reserved for the egyptian elite –, their status make easier for them the access to raw materials and their specializations could be harnessed to their own ante mortem organization.