Abstract
Mortuary behavior (activities concerning dead conspecifics) is one of many traits that were previously widely considered to have been uniquely human, but on which perspectives have changed markedly in recent years. Theoretical approaches to hominin mortuary activity and its evolution have undergone major revision, and advances in diverse archeological and paleoanthropological methods have brought new ways of identifying behaviors such as intentional burial. Despite these advances, debates concerning the nature of hominin mortuary activity, particularly among the Neanderthals, rely heavily on the rereading of old excavations as new finds are relatively rare, limiting the extent to which such debates can benefit from advances in the field. The recent discovery of in situ articulated Neanderthal remains at Shanidar Cave offers a rare opportunity to take full advantage of these methodological and theoretical developments to understand Neanderthal mortuary activity, making a review of these advances relevant and timely.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 263-279 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Evolutionary anthropology |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2020 |
Keywords
- Neanderthal
- burial
- funerary activity
- mortuary activity
- sediment micromorphology
- taphonomy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology
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Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior : A view from Shanidar Cave. / Pomeroy, Emma; Hunt, Chris O.; Reynolds, Tim; Abdulmutalb, Dlshad; Asouti, Eleni; Bennett, Paul; Bosch, Marjolein; Burke, Ariane; Farr, Lucy; Foley, Robert; French, Charles; Frumkin, Amos; Goldberg, Paul; Hill, Evan; Kabukcu, Ceren; Lahr, Marta Mirazón; Lane, Ross; Marean, Curtis; Maureille, Bruno; Mutri, Giuseppina; Miller, Christopher E.; Mustafa, Kaify Ali; Nymark, Andreas; Pettitt, Paul; Sala, Nohemi; Sandgathe, Dennis; Stringer, Chris; Tilby, Emily; Barker, Graeme.
In: Evolutionary anthropology, Vol. 29, No. 5, 01.09.2020, p. 263-279.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior
T2 - A view from Shanidar Cave
AU - Pomeroy, Emma
AU - Hunt, Chris O.
AU - Reynolds, Tim
AU - Abdulmutalb, Dlshad
AU - Asouti, Eleni
AU - Bennett, Paul
AU - Bosch, Marjolein
AU - Burke, Ariane
AU - Farr, Lucy
AU - Foley, Robert
AU - French, Charles
AU - Frumkin, Amos
AU - Goldberg, Paul
AU - Hill, Evan
AU - Kabukcu, Ceren
AU - Lahr, Marta Mirazón
AU - Lane, Ross
AU - Marean, Curtis
AU - Maureille, Bruno
AU - Mutri, Giuseppina
AU - Miller, Christopher E.
AU - Mustafa, Kaify Ali
AU - Nymark, Andreas
AU - Pettitt, Paul
AU - Sala, Nohemi
AU - Sandgathe, Dennis
AU - Stringer, Chris
AU - Tilby, Emily
AU - Barker, Graeme
N1 - Funding Information: British Academy; Calleva Foundation; Human Origins Research Fund; Leverhulme Trust, Grant/Award Numbers: ECF‐2017‐284, RPG‐2013‐105; McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research; Natural Environment Research Council, Grant/Award Numbers: NE/L002507/1, NF/2016/2/14; Rust Family Foundation; Society of Antiquaries of London; Wenner‐Gren Foundation, Grant/Award Number: CONF‐788 Funding information Funding Information: This study derives from a workshop funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (Grant number CONF-788) on the theme ?Neanderthal Notions of Death and its Aftermath: The Contribution of New Data from Shanidar Cave? held at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, UK, in January 2019. G. B. and E. P. would like to thank in particular the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for funding the Cambridge workshop; the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, for hosting it; and St John's College Cambridge and Magdalene College Cambridge for accommodating most of the speakers. The new excavations at Shanidar Cave, directed by G. B., C. O. H., and T. R., are with the permission of the Kurdistan General Directorate of Antiquities, are undertaken in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities (Soran Province), and have been funded by the Leverhulme Trust (Research Grant RPG-2013-105), the Rust Family Foundation, the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries, the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research and the Natural Environment Research Council's Oxford Radiocarbon Dating Facility (grant NF/2016/2/14), all of whose support is gratefully acknowledged. A Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship awarded to Ceren Kabukcu (ECF-2017-284) has enabled the archeobotanical analysis of the Shanidar Cave materials. Nohemi Sala's research is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n (PGC2018-093925-B-C33 MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE project and contract IJCI-2017-32804), Chris Stringer's research is supported by the Calleva Foundation and the Human Origins Research Fund, and Emily Tilby's research is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/L002507/1). We would like to thank four reviewers for their detailed and helpful comments on the manuscript. This study is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Solecki, who sadly died in March 2019 aged 101 and who was an enthusiastic and generous supporter of the new work. Funding Information: This study derives from a workshop funded by the Wenner‐Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (Grant number CONF‐788) on the theme “Neanderthal Notions of Death and its Aftermath: The Contribution of New Data from Shanidar Cave” held at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge, UK, in January 2019. G. B. and E. P. would like to thank in particular the Wenner‐Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for funding the Cambridge workshop; the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, for hosting it; and St John's College Cambridge and Magdalene College Cambridge for accommodating most of the speakers. The new excavations at Shanidar Cave, directed by G. B., C. O. H., and T. R., are with the permission of the Kurdistan General Directorate of Antiquities, are undertaken in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities (Soran Province), and have been funded by the Leverhulme Trust (Research Grant RPG‐2013‐105), the Rust Family Foundation, the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries, the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research and the Natural Environment Research Council's Oxford Radiocarbon Dating Facility (grant NF/2016/2/14), all of whose support is gratefully acknowledged. A Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship awarded to Ceren Kabukcu (ECF‐2017‐284) has enabled the archeobotanical analysis of the Shanidar Cave materials. Nohemi Sala's research is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PGC2018‐093925‐B‐C33 MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE project and contract IJCI‐2017‐32804), Chris Stringer's research is supported by the Calleva Foundation and the Human Origins Research Fund, and Emily Tilby's research is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/L002507/1). We would like to thank four reviewers for their detailed and helpful comments on the manuscript. This study is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Solecki, who sadly died in March 2019 aged 101 and who was an enthusiastic and generous supporter of the new work. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Mortuary behavior (activities concerning dead conspecifics) is one of many traits that were previously widely considered to have been uniquely human, but on which perspectives have changed markedly in recent years. Theoretical approaches to hominin mortuary activity and its evolution have undergone major revision, and advances in diverse archeological and paleoanthropological methods have brought new ways of identifying behaviors such as intentional burial. Despite these advances, debates concerning the nature of hominin mortuary activity, particularly among the Neanderthals, rely heavily on the rereading of old excavations as new finds are relatively rare, limiting the extent to which such debates can benefit from advances in the field. The recent discovery of in situ articulated Neanderthal remains at Shanidar Cave offers a rare opportunity to take full advantage of these methodological and theoretical developments to understand Neanderthal mortuary activity, making a review of these advances relevant and timely.
AB - Mortuary behavior (activities concerning dead conspecifics) is one of many traits that were previously widely considered to have been uniquely human, but on which perspectives have changed markedly in recent years. Theoretical approaches to hominin mortuary activity and its evolution have undergone major revision, and advances in diverse archeological and paleoanthropological methods have brought new ways of identifying behaviors such as intentional burial. Despite these advances, debates concerning the nature of hominin mortuary activity, particularly among the Neanderthals, rely heavily on the rereading of old excavations as new finds are relatively rare, limiting the extent to which such debates can benefit from advances in the field. The recent discovery of in situ articulated Neanderthal remains at Shanidar Cave offers a rare opportunity to take full advantage of these methodological and theoretical developments to understand Neanderthal mortuary activity, making a review of these advances relevant and timely.
KW - Neanderthal
KW - burial
KW - funerary activity
KW - mortuary activity
KW - sediment micromorphology
KW - taphonomy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087675921&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85087675921&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/evan.21854
DO - 10.1002/evan.21854
M3 - Review article
C2 - 32652819
AN - SCOPUS:85087675921
VL - 29
SP - 263
EP - 279
JO - Evolutionary Anthropology
JF - Evolutionary Anthropology
SN - 1060-1538
IS - 5
ER -