Marking Identity through Cultural Cranial Modification within the First Sedentary Communities (Ninth to Eighth Millennium BCE) in the Near East: Tepe Abdul Hosein, Iran

Abstract

This paper explores bioarchaeological evidence for cultural cranial modification (CCM; a.k.a. headshaping) in early Neolithic Near East and at Tepe Abdul Hosein (TAH), Iran, in particular. Skeletal remains from 12 Neolithic individuals (n = 12) recovered from eight mortuary contexts were analysed for evidence of intentional CCM. The TAH remains are among the earliest Neolithic human skeletal remains in the world, dated to around 10 000 years ago. Five adult individuals have sufficient cranial remains to allow assessment of CCM. Of the remaining seven individuals, three are foetuses or perinates, for which no in vivo CCM was expected to be observed, two are subadults with no assessible cranial remains, and two adults have no associated cranial remains. Of the five adult individuals, which could be assessed for CCM, four display circumferential CCM, instigated by the use of two bands. Three are male, while the sex of the fourth cannot be estimated. The fifth individual displays no modification and is female. While all the modified individuals that can be sexed at TAH are male, the sample size is too small to draw extensive inferences as to the potential connection of CCM with any gendered sociocultural practices. Other possible motivations for CCM at TAH include elaboration of status differentiation or group affinity, the former of which can most likely be ruled out based on current understandings of early Neolithic societies in the region. The extent of the two-band circumferential modification at TAH is significantly more pronounced than at Ganj Dareh, a contemporaneous site located within the same watershed. The discovery of different extents of headshaping within the same watershed, in relatively close proximity to each other, has a bearing on the understanding of the first sedentary Neolithic communities in southwest Asia and the elaboration of bodily difference and identity.

Using the morphometric approach to analyze artificially modified crania from the late fifth millennium BCE settlement of Chega Sofla, southwestern Iran

“…Some researchers also verified that the skull of Songhuajiang Man I has been intentionally deformed and belongs to the societies of the early Holocene, which dates back to 11,200 BP (Ni et al, 2020). In Southwest Asia and neighboring regions (Angel, 1936;Ferembach, 1985;Khudaverdyan, 2018;Kiszely, 1978;Kurth, 1958Kurth, , 1973Mayall et al, 2017;Meiklejohn et al, 1992;Molleson & Campbell, 1995;Özbek, 1974, 2001Şenyürek & Tunakan, 1951;Vallois, 1937) and the Iranian plateau, these skulls have been found at numerous archaeological sites (Delougaz & Kantor, 1996;Hole, 1977;Hole et al, 1969;Hours et al, 1994;Lambert, 1979;Lorentz, 2017;Meiklejohn et al, 1992;Pullar, 1990;Sołtysiak & Darabi, 2017).…”

“…Modified skulls were found alongside normal skulls in mass graves BG1 and BG6 (Moghaddam, 2016;Moghaddam & Miri, 2021;Vahdati Nasab & Kazazi, 2019). Modified skulls have been found at several prehistoric sites in the Iranian plateau, such as Ali Kosh (Hole et al, 1969;Sołtysiak & Darabi, 2017), Ganj Dareh (Lambert, 1979;Meiklejohn et al, 1992), Tepe Abdul Hosein (Lorentz, 2017;Pullar, 1990), Chagha Sefid (Daems & Croucher, 2007;Hole, 1977), Chogha Mish (Delougaz & Kantor, 1996;Ortner, 1996), and Tepe Ghenil (Meiklejohn et al, 1992). It should be noted that previous research did not extend beyond the introduction and description of such crania.…”

New insights into the spatial organization, stratigraphy and human occupations of the Aceramic Neolithic at Ganj Dareh, Iran

“…From this perspective, modern reanalyses of material from sites excavated over a generation ago are yielding new information about aspects linked to mortuary practices and social identity (e.g., [ 18 ]). For instance, recent bioarchaeological and genetic work on the human remains from the site of Tepe Abdul Hosein, first excavated in 1978 [ 19 ], have shown the presence of underappreciated variability in mortuary practices, including extreme cultural cranial modification and of the indigenous development of the Neolithic in the Eastern Fertile Crescent [ 20 , 21 ]. However, it has not been possible to integrate material from some ancient ‘key’ sites, especially those that have never been the subject of a synthetic monographic publication.…”

“…1, 19001 Sk. 2 and 19001 Sk.3), which may have represented family units though the contextual and biological data to affirm this are wanting [ 19 , 21 ]. Significantly, five of the identified adult males at Abdul Hosein also show clear evidence for pronounced cranial deformation which would have been more visible than that documented at Ganj Dareh [ 21 ].…”

“…In sum, the new information on burial practices at Ganj Dareh contribute to a better, more detailed understanding of the diversity of Aceramic Neolithic mortuary practices in the Zagros. Details about the triple burial from Level C-01 show it shares superficial similarities to some of the triple burials from Abdul Hosein [ 21 ], although the complexity of the structure encasing it suggests it may rather represents a kind of dedicated mortuary chamber, which suggests possible affinities to the ‘charnel house’ from Bestansur [ 18 ]. Regardless of this feature’s original intended use, this study clearly demonstrates that the materials comprised in the Ganj Dareh archives at Université de Montréal can be used to shed important new light on the social life and cultural evolution at the site and the region as a whole.…”