Aging cremated infants: the problem of sacrifice at the Tophet of Carthage

Smith, Patricia; Avishai, Gal; Greene, Joseph A.; Stager, Lawrence E.

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00068368

Cited by 34 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…We identified 1422 deciduous teeth, 74 permanent teeth and 350 petrous bones, as well as smaller numbers of other skeletal elements representing a minimum number of 372 individuals (Supplementary Tables S1 & S2; Smith et al 2011). All showed evidence of incineration with colour change indicative of temperatures between 200 • C (yellowishbrown) to 700 • C (whitish-grey) (Bonucci & Graziani 1975;Shipman et al 1984).…”

Section: Scattergram Showing Length-breadth Measurements Of the Crementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measurements taken on computerised 3D models compiled from serial micro-CT scans showed that maximum circumference in the Tophet developing molars was 18 per cent smaller than that of non-cremated teeth of similar crown height (Smith et al 2011). To evaluate the effect of such shrinkage on age estimations, we compared crown height measurements reported by Soleil et al (1958) for incinerated teeth with those of non-cremated forensic specimens of the same gestational age (Tables 1 & 2).…”

Section: Scattergram Showing Length-breadth Measurements Of the Crementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent article on the Carthage Tophet infants by Schwartz et al (2012) takes issue with our paper (Smith et al 2011) that claims the Carthaginians practiced infant sacrifice. Both studies were carried out on the same sample of cremated infant remains excavated by the ASOR Punic project between 1975 and 1980 (Stager 1982).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The first (Smith et al 2011) held that these must be evidence of the infant sacrifice that was so loudly condemned by Greek and Roman writers, since the infants were not perinatal, although most were under two months old at the time of death. In a rejoinder, Schwartz et al (2012) argued that the Carthage Tophet was the place of burial for the very young regardless of the cause of death.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet

Xella¹,

Quinn

Melchiorri

et al. 2013

Antiquity

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Two articles in recent issues of Antiquity have taken opposing views of the infant burials in the 'Tophet', the precinct at Carthage, sacred to the goddess Tanit, that contained funerary urns of thousands of cremated infants. The first (Smith et al. 2011) held that these must be evidence of the infant sacrifice that was so loudly condemned by Greek and Roman writers, since the infants were not perinatal, although most were under two months old at the time of death. In a rejoinder, Schwartz et al. (2012) argued that the Carthage Tophet was the place of burial for the very young regardless of the cause of death. They estimated age at death between prenatal and six months, consistent with the recorded incidence of perinatal mortality in certain societies in recent periods.Here we close the debate with two related papers. In the first of these, Patricia Smith and her co-authors return to argue that infant sacrifice is still (in their view) the most likely interpretation of the data, based on the age distribution of the deceased. In the second, Paolo Xella and colleagues, too, are convinced that infant sacrifice took place. They step aside from the details of the cremated remains, however, to emphasise a range of other social and archaeological aspects of the Tophets in Carthage and elsewhere that are critical for understanding these sanctuaries and their rituals.

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Section: Scattergram Showing Length-breadth Measurements Of the Crementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scattergram Showing Length-breadth Measurements Of the Crementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet

Xella¹,

Quinn

Melchiorri

et al. 2013

Antiquity

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“…This marker is routinely used in forensic investigations (e.g., Gustafson 1966;Skinner and Dupras 1993;Stavrianos et al 2010;Whittaker and Richards 1978) and its presence/absence, position and variation patterns are also increasingly considered in studies on population samples from archaeological sites (e.g., Alexandersen et al 1998;Antoine et al 2009;Bondioli and Macchiarelli 1999;FitzGerald and Saunders 2005;FitzGerald et al 1999FitzGerald et al , 2006Macchiarelli and Bondioli 2000;Macchiarelli et al 2006a;Rossi et al 1997Rossi et al , 1999Schwartz et al 2010;Smith and Avishai 2005;Smith et al 2011). However, likely because of methodological constraints related to the only recent availability of noninvasive highresolution investigative methods in paleobiology (e.g., Macchiarelli et al 2004Macchiarelli et al , 2008Mazurier et al 2006;Tafforeau 2004;Tafforeau et al 2006;Smith and Tafforeau 2008), its use in the study of the human fossil record is still very limited (e.g., Macchiarelli et al 2006b;Smith and Tafforeau 2008;Smith et al 2010a;Tafforeau and Smith 2008;Zanolli et al 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

Gestation Length, Mode of Delivery, and Neonatal Line-Thickness Variation

Zanolli

Bondioli

Manni³

et al. 2011

Human Biology

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ABTRACTThe transition from an intra-to extra-uterine environment leaves its mark in deciduous teeth (and first permanent molars) as an accentuated enamel incremental ring called the neonatal line (NL). This prominent microfeature separates the enamel formed during intrauterine life from that formed after leaving the womb. However, while the physical structure of this scar is well known, the bases of its formation are still a matter of investigation. In particular, besides the influence of the birth-related abrupt environmental and dietary changes and the role played by physiological factors such as hypocalcaemia, it has been suggested a direct relationship between NL thickness variation and the physical trauma implied by the birth dynamics, the Caesarean and the operative modes being apparently associated to the thinnest and the thickest lines, respectively. By using the histological record from a deciduous dental sample (exfoliated crowns) of 100 modern healthy school-aged children (47 males and 53 females) of reported birth histories (normal delivery mode: 55 cases; Caesarean: 40; operative: 5), we investigated the relationships between birth dynamics and NL thickness variation. The Tukey Honest Significant Difference method has been used to test the differences between the means of the grouping levels. The results of our histo-morphological investigation do not support the suggestion that Caesarean-born children display, on average, a thinner enamel scar compared to children associated to a normal delivery mode. Rather, our study points to the influence exerted by factors intimately related to gestational length variation on the degree of expression of the line. KEY WORDS: HUMAN BIRTH, DELIVERY MODE, GESTATION LENGTH, DECIDUOUS TEETH, DENTAL ENAMEL STRUCTURE, INCREMENTAL MARKERS, NEONATAL LINE.Pre-print version. Visit http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/ after 1 December 2011 to acquire final version. 2The birth process leaves its mark on dental enamel in the form of a ring, an accentuated incremental line called the "Neonatal Line" (NL) (Rushton 1933;Schour 1936). This prominent microfeature, occasionally visible also in the dentine (Schour 1936;Skinner 1992), separates the enamel formed during intrauterine life from that formed after leaving the womb.In modern humans, the NL is usually present in all crowns forming at birth, that is, all the elements of the primary dentition and the first permanent molars (mesiobuccal cusp) (Christensen and Kraus 1965, Deutsch andPe'er 1982;Deutsch et al. 1985;Kraus 1959;Levine et al. 1979). Occasionally, a macroscopic hypoplasia can be detected in correspondence with the NL, but it is usually worn away (Massler et al. 1941;Moss-Salentijn and Hendricks-Klyvert 1985;Schroeder 1991;Skinner 1992).At birth, the enamel is only partially mineralized and continues to increase in thickness by apposition of additional centripetal layers secreted by the ameloblasts at the level of the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) to a circadian rhythm of 4-5 µm in extant humans (Antoine et al. 2...

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Perinatal burials at pre‐Hispanic noncemetery sites in Gran Canaria: Tophet, infanticide, or natural mortality?

Barroso¹,

Delgado-Darias

Ordóñez

et al. 2021

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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In this paper, we perform the first multidisciplinary study of perinatal burials at a pre-Hispanic domestic site in Gran Canaria. For that, we carried out bioanthropological analyses, the genetic determination of the molecular sex of the individuals, and the contextualization of their chronological and cultural affiliations. To date, these remains had been associated to a local re-interpretation of a Phoenician-Punic tophet or as evidence of female infanticide within the mechanisms of demographic control of the ancient Canarians. However, these proposals did not take into account the recurrence of this type of human remains outside the normative cemeteries of the indigenous population or considered the demographic profile of coetaneous necropolises. In the light of the age of death and the molecular sex of the individuals, and the results obtained from the taphonomic and chronological analyses, we propose an alternative historical scenario, directly linked to high perinatal mortality rates and the development of specific burial practices for those individuals that died around the time of birth.

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Aging cremated infants: the problem of sacrifice at the Tophet of Carthage

Cited by 34 publications

References 19 publications

Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet

Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet

Gestation Length, Mode of Delivery, and Neonatal Line-Thickness Variation

Perinatal burials at pre‐Hispanic noncemetery sites in Gran Canaria: Tophet, infanticide, or natural mortality?

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