Cutmarks on Capsian human remains: implications for Maghreb Holocene social organization and palaeoeconomy

Abstract

In 1930, the remains of five adults, one subadult, and one infant were excavated from Site 12, a ca. 8000 bp Capsian escargotière in Algeria. Recently, cutmarks were found on several postcranial bones of each of the adult individuals. In an attempt to reconstruct the burial circumstances, archival materials including photographs and field notes were retrieved from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the Logan Museum at Beloit College, and a detailed study of the cutmarks was carried out. The cutmarks are associated mostly with long bones and skulls, while two individuals show cutmarks on the thorax. Using theories relating secondary burial practices to a nomadic lifestyle, it is hypothesized that the individuals died away from camp. Initial preparations, while awaiting transport to Site 12, involved limited exposure, followed by decapitation, dismemberment, and possibly defleshing of the thorax and removal of the internal organs. At Site 12, a formal burial ceremony was conducted during which red ochre was used. In some cases the dismembered extremities were placed in the grave with the rest of the body, but several skulls and long bones are missing. It is not known what the missing bones were used for, although Capsian groups are known for modifying human bones for either utilitarian or ritual purposes. This is the first time that cutmarks on human remains are reported for this area and period. The idea that Capsian people practiced decapitation and dismemberment has been suggested before, based on observations on other sites, however. Studies of human skeletal material from the Maghreb, often excavated decades ago, may therefore reveal similar types of evidence. It is suggested that such studies will contribute significantly to our understanding of Holocene Maghreb burial practices, and our ability to reconstruct social organization and palaeoeconomy. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Post-mortem mutilations of human bodies in Early Iron Age Kazakhstan and their possible meaning for rites of burial

“…Skulls exhibit striations near the insertions, at points where many cutaneous and scalp muscles are attached. Such cutmarks can be linked to a range of funerary practices, including decapitation, scalping (Hamperl 1967), dismembering, ritual sacrifice, violent death or delayed burial (Haverkort & Lubell 1999). The scope for interpretation is limited if it concerns, within a grave or even a cemetery, only some individuals.…”

“…Definite cut-marks have been recorded on four individuals (95, 100, 117 and 148) and probable ones on a further three (individuals 86, 94 and 109) ( Figure 5; Table 1). These cut-marks were found mainly on the upper limbs, in the interosseous space of the forearm (Figure 6a), on the epiphyses of the humerus, on the mandibular ramus ( Figure 6b) and on one pelvis (on the greater sciatic notch), measuring between 5 and 15mm in length (Haverkort & Lubell 1999). On the long bones, the cut-marks were generally parallel to the axis of the bone, at right angles to it, or oblique.…”

Oral health in Late Pleistocene and Holocene North West Africa

“…Site 12 (Ain Berriche) is an escargotière in Algeria with a Capsian industry (7753-8539 cal BP (Jackes and Lubell 2014)). Six adult and two juvenile skeletons were excavated from the Minnesota trench during excavations led by Jenks in 1930 (Haverkort and Lubell 1999). One of the adult skeletons was considered intrusive at the time of excavation and this has recently been confirmed by radiocarbon dating (Jackes et al 2015).…”

Funerary practices or food delicatessen? Human remains with anthropic marks from the Western Mediterranean Mesolithic

“…In North African sites of Iberomaurusian and Capsian contexts there are dismembered human remains with cut marks associated with secondary burials (Belcastro et al, 2010;Haverkort and Lubell, 1999;Mariotti et al, 2009). In the Mediterranean Iberian Upper Palaeolithic, human remains with anthropic marks are scant and are limited to the site of Cova Beneito.…”