Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Mortuary Behaviours and the Origins of Ritual Burial

Zilhão, João

doi:10.1017/cbo9781316014509.004

Cited by 39 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…Neanderthal burials of infants, children, and adults have been reported at several sites throughout Europe and the Near East, some of which are associated with grave goods [59–62] (but see [63] for a different view). Several Mousterian sites (Canalettes, Combe Grenal, Grotte de l’Hyène at Arcy, Tabatérie, Chez Pourré-Chez-Comte, Cioarei-Borosteni,) yielded evidence for the collection of rare objects in the form of crystal and fossils [64].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea

et al. 2017

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We analyze a radius bone fragment of a raven (Corvus corax) from Zaskalnaya VI rock shelter, Crimea. The object bears seven notches and comes from an archaeological level attributed to a Micoquian industry dated to between 38 and 43 cal kyr BP. Our study aims to examine the degree of regularity and intentionality of this set of notches through their technological and morphometric analysis, complemented by comparative experimental work. Microscopic analysis of the notches indicate that they were produced by the to-and-fro movement of a lithic cutting edge and that two notches were added to fill in the gap left between previously cut notches, probably to increase the visual consistency of the pattern. Multivariate analysis of morphometric data recorded on the archaeological notches and sets of notches cut by nine modern experimenters on radii of domestic turkeys shows that the variations recorded on the Zaskalnaya set are comparable to experimental sets made with the aim of producing similar, parallel, equidistant notches. Identification of the Weber Fraction, the constant that accounts for error in human perception, for equidistant notches cut on bone rods and its application to the Zaskalnaya set of notches and thirty-six sets of notches incised on seventeen Upper Palaeolithic bone objects from seven sites indicate that the Zaskalnaya set falls within the range of variation of regularly spaced experimental and Upper Palaeolithic sets of notches. This suggests that even if the production of the notches may have had a utilitarian reason the notches were made with the goal of producing a visually consistent pattern. This object represents the first instance of a bird bone from a Neanderthal site bearing modifications that cannot be explained as the result of butchery activities and for which a symbolic argument can be built on direct rather than circumstantial evidence.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea

et al. 2017

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“…NA to be equally addressed by both disciplines, we see this list as a guide to action, providing food for thought in the field, and a proposal to share objectives using a unified terminology. Existing reports pertinent to some of questions for primatology are cited in Anderson (2017Anderson ( , 2018, Gonçalves and Biro (2018), Gonçalves and Carvalho (2019), and Watson and Matsuzawa (2018); for archeology see Pettitt (2011Pettitt ( , 2018 and Zilhão (2015).…”

Section: Space and Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In evolutionary archaeology, while research is limited to the vagaries of archeological preservation, interest is finally turning away from old dichotomies that saw human groups that 'buried their dead' as 'cognitively modern' (whatever that is) and those that apparently did not as somehow less sophisticated, towards a more nuanced approach that recognizes that burial was relatively rare until the Late Pleistocene and that there are many ways to deal with corpses (Pettitt 2011(Pettitt , 2018. Long-term hypotheses for the development of mortuary behavior among the homininae are attracting attention and debate (Zilhão 2015); for the Neanderthals, re-evaluation and re-excavation of old sites has both rejected and supported previous material interpreted as burials, such as Roc de Marsal and la Chapelle-aux-Saints, respectively (Sandgathe et al 2011;Rendu et al 2014). Furthermore, new excavations in old sites pertinent to thanatology such as Shanidar Cave (Iraqi Kurdistan), where several Neanderthals were apparently buried, are beginning to provide a somewhat clearer picture (Pomeroy et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate thanatology and hominoid mortuary archeology

Pettitt

Anderson

2019

Primates

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In recent years, a thanatology of primates has become a respectable research topic, and although still sparse, observations among several taxa have shown how complex responses to the dead can be. In human evolutionary archeology, re-analysis of old 'burial' sites is slowly revising our view on the development of specifically human responses to the dead. We propose here the means of integrating information from the two disciplines of primatology and archeology, in support of the field of primate thanatology. We propose a terminology and a shared set of research questions, from which we generate a number of observations that can be utilized in the field, in order to establish a working dialogue and foster greater collaboration across the two disciplines.

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“…However, the presumption that we are the "special" ones, and that we represent the highest form of life in the scala naturae ('natural ladder'), has been challenged by the scientific community for the last 150 years, starting with Darwin and Wallace (e.g., Darwin 1859; Wallace 1889). Leaving theology aside, present-day scientific techniques and field discoveries have blurred the distinction between what has traditionally been referred to as human (Homo sapiens) and the rest of the Earth's species (Rosas 2016;Rutherford 2017;Zilhão 2015). In fact, the distinction between Homo sapiens and all other species, not just humankind's closest cousins, is increasingly being criticized as ignorance or bias at best (Papagianni and Morse 2015;Soressi 2016) and speciesism at worst (Dawkins 2015(Dawkins , 2017aJohnson 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Were Neanderthals Rational? A Stoic Approach

Whiting

Konstantakos

Sadler³

et al. 2018

Humanities

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This paper adopts the philosophical approach of Stoicism as the basis for reexamining the cognitive and ethical relationship between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Stoicism sets out a clear criterion for the special moral status of human beings, namely rationality. We explore to what extent Neanderthals were sufficiently rational to be considered "human". Recent findings in the fields of palaeoanthropology and palaeogenetics show that Neanderthals possessed high-level cognitive abilities and produced viable offspring with anatomically modern humans. Our discussion offers insights for reflecting on the relationship between humans and other forms of natural life and any moral obligations that result.

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Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Mortuary Behaviours and the Origins of Ritual Burial

Cited by 39 publications

References 31 publications

A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea

A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea

Primate thanatology and hominoid mortuary archeology

Were Neanderthals Rational? A Stoic Approach

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