UNION INTERNATIONALE DES SCIENCES PRÉHISTORIQUES ET PROTOHISTORIQUES

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR PREHISTORIC AND PROTOHISTORIC SCIENCES

PROCEEDINGS OF THE XV WORLD CONGRESS (LISBON, 4-9 SEPTEMBER 2006)

ACTES DU XV CONGRÈS MONDIAL (LISBONNE, 4-9 SEPTEMBRE 2006)

Series Editor: Luiz Oosterbeek

VOL. 24

WS26

Babies Reborn: Infant/Child Burials

in Pre- and Protohistory
Edited by

Krum Bacvarov

BAR International Series 1832

2008
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BAR S1832

Proceedings of the XV World Congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences
Actes du XV Congrès Mondial de l’Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques

Outgoing President: Vítor Oliveira Jorge

Outgoing Secretary General: Jean Bourgeois
Congress Secretary General: Luiz Oosterbeek (Series Editor)
Incoming President: Pedro Ignacio Shmitz
Incoming Secretary General: Luiz Oosterbeek

Babies Reborn: Infant/Child Burials in Pre- and Protohistory, Vol. 24, Section WS26

© UISPP / IUPPS and authors 2008

ISBN 978 1 4073 0316 1

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NOTE OF THE SERIES EDITOR

The present volume is part of a series of proceedings of the XV world congress of the
International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP / IUPPS), held in
September 2006, in Lisbon.

The Union is the international organization that represents the prehistoric and protohistoric
research, involving thousands of archaeologists from all over the world. It holds a major
congress every five years, to present a “state of the art” in its various domains. It also
includes a series of scientific commissions that pursue the Union’s goals in the various
specialities, in between congresses. Aiming at promoting a multidisciplinary approach to
prehistory, it has several regional or thematic associations as affiliates, and on its turn it is a
member of the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (an organism
supported by UNESCO).

Over 2500 authors have contributed to c. 1500 papers presented in 101 sessions during the
XVth world Congress of UISPP, held under the organisation of the Polytechnic Institute of
Tomar. 25% of these papers dealt with Palaeolithic societies, and an extra 5% were related
to Human evolution and environmental adaptations. The sessions on the origins and spread
of hominids, on the origins of modern humans in Europe and on the middle / upper
Palaeolithic transition, attracted the largest number of contributions. The papers on Post-
Palaeolithic contexts were 22% of the total, with those focusing in the early farmers and
metallurgists corresponding to 12,5%. Among these, the largest session was focused on
prehistoric mounds across the world. The remaining sessions crossed these chronological
boundaries, and within them were most represented the regional studies (14%), the
prehistoric art papers (12%) and the technological studies (mostly on lithics – 10%).

The Congress staged the participation of many other international organisations (such as
IFRAO, INQUA, WAC, CAA or HERITY) stressing the value of IUPPS as the common
ground representative of prehistoric and protohistoric research. It also served for a relevant
renewal of the Union: the fact that more than 50% of the sessions were organised by
younger scholars, and the support of 150 volunteers (with the support of the European
Forum of Heritage Organisations) were in line with the renewal of the Permanent Council
(40 new members) and of the Executive Committee (5 new members). Several Scientific
Commissions were also established.

Finally, the Congress decided to hold its next world congress in Brazil, in 2011. It elected
Pe. Ignácio Shmitz as new President, Luiz Oosterbeek as Secretary General and Rossano
Lopes Bastos as Congress secretary.

L.O.

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures....................................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... vii
Volume Editor’s Foreword ................................................................................................... ix

Paleolithic
Early Deliberate Child Burials: Bioarchaeological insights from the Near Eastern
Mediterranean .................................................................................................................. 3
Anne-marie Tillier

The Gravettian Infant Burials from Krems-Wachtberg, Austria.......................................... 15

Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Christine Neugebauer-Maresch, Ulrich Simon,
and Maria Teschler-Nicola

Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age

Infant Burials in Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cyprus: Evidence from Khirokitia ......................... 23
Françoise Le Mort

Suffer the Children: ‘Visualising’ children in the archaeological record............................. 33

Malcolm Lillie

Çatalhöyük’s Foundation Burials: Ritual child sacrifice or convenient deaths?.................. 45

Sharon Moses

Des morts peu fiables: les sépultures néolithiques d’immatures en Grèce .......................... 53
Maia Pomadère

A Long Way to the West: Earliest jar burials in southeast Europe and the Near East......... 61
Krum Bacvarov

Infant Jar Burials – a ritual associated with early agriculture? ............................................ 71

Estelle Orrelle

The Jar Burials of the Chalcolithic “Necropolis” at Byblos ................................................ 79

Gassia Artin

Mobilier funéraire de nouveau-nés et d’enfants: cas d’étude de la Bulgarie ....................... 87

Yavor Boyadžiev and Maria Gurova

Late Neolithic Boys at the Gomolava Cemetery (Serbia).................................................... 95

Sofija Stefanović

ii
Child Burials in Intramural and Extramural Contexts From the Neolithic
and Chalcolithic of Romania: The problem of “inside” and “outside” ........................ 101
Raluca Kogălniceanu

The Changing Relationship between the Living and the Dead: Child burial
at the site of Kenan Tepe, Turkey ................................................................................ 113
David Hopwood

Childhood in Late Neolithic Vietnam: Bio-mortuary insights

into an ambiguous life stage......................................................................................... 123
Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Kate Domett, Nguyen Kim Thuy,
Nguyen Kim Dung, Nguyen Lan Cuong, Damien Huffer, and Sarah Muller

A Social Aspect of Intramural Infant Burials’ Analysis:

The case of EBA Tell Yunatsite, Bulgaria ................................................................... 137
Tatiana Mishina

Later Bronze Age and Iron Age

Pre-Adult and Adult Burials of East Manych Catacomb Culture:
Was infanticide really impossible? .............................................................................. 149
Marina Andreeva

Infant/Child Burials and Social Reproduction in the Bronze Age

and Early Iron Age (c. 2100-800 BC) of Central Italy................................................. 161
Erik van Rossenberg

A Biocultural Study of Children From Iron Age South Siberia......................................... 175

Eileen Murphy

Infant Burials in Iron Age Britain ...................................................................................... 189

Belinda Tibbetts

Later perspectives
Special Burials, Special Buildings? An Anglo-Saxon perspective on the
interpretation of infant burials in association with rural settlement structures............. 197
Sally Crawford

Enfants Huaca: Sépultures en Ollas des enfants nés dans des circonstances
spéciales selon les extirpateurs d’idolâtries andines du XVIIème siècle........................ 205
Mariel López

iii
LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1.1. Map of the Levant with sites documenting Middle Palaeolithic
human occupations........................................................................................................... 4
Fig. 1.2. The Skhul 1 child burial in upper view.................................................................... 6
Fig. 1.3. The primary deliberate burial of the Qafzeh 11 adolescent was uncovered
at the bottom of the Mousterian sequence in the site ....................................................... 6
Fig. 1.4. The double primary burial found at Qafzeh: Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 yrs old
at death child was lying at the feet of a late adolescent Qafzeh 9 .................................... 6
Fig. 1.5. Spatial distribution of the human remains in the Kebara Cave................................ 8
Fig. 1.6. 1 The Kebara ........................................................................................................... 9
Fig. 1.7. Dederiyeh .............................................................................................................. 11

Fig. 2.1. The city of Krems is situated north of the Danube, where the river exits the
narrow Wachau valley and flows into the alluvial plain northwest of Vienna............... 16
Fig. 2.2. The Wachtberg area between the Danube and the river Krems,
with the site of Krems-Hundssteig in the southern part
and Krems-Wachtberg about 100 m further northwest .................................................. 16
Fig. 2.3. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 1 was recovered as a block and moved
to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology. .................... 18
Fig. 2.4. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 2 was recovered as a block and moved
to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology ..................... 18

Fig. 3.1. Site location ........................................................................................................... 24

Fig. 3.2. Infant burial 624 (building 126, level B, east sector) lying on the back ................ 26
Fig. 3.3. Infant burial 563 (building 123, level A, east sector) resting on the face .............. 27
Fig. 3.4. Infant burial 830 (building 122, level C, east sector) including a stone
on the body (a) and after removal of the stone (b) ......................................................... 27
Fig. 3.5. Infant burial 538 (building 123, level A, east sector) ............................................ 27

Fig. 4.1. Location map for the cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region ............................ 34
Fig. 4.2. Mesolithic and Neolithic isotope ratios for the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries .......... 37
Fig. 4.3. Vasilyevka II isotopes ratios.................................................................................. 37
Fig. 4.4. The Nenasytets cemetery....................................................................................... 38
Fig. 4.5. Osipovka child burial (individual no. 28). This individual was buried
with c. 200 Cyprinidae (Carp) teeth in association ........................................................ 39

Fig. 5.1. A hurried wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük,

possibly to add stability to the wall ................................................................................ 49

Fig. 6.1. Sites mentionés dans le texte ................................................................................. 54

Fig. 7.1. Map showing the location of the sites mentioned in the text................................. 62

iv
Fig. 7.2. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the later Neolithic
and Chalcolithic ............................................................................................................. 67
Fig. 7.3. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the Early Bronze Age ................. 68

Fig. 9.1. Geo-spatial corpus: topographic distribution......................................................... 81

Fig. 9.2. Funerary contexts: jar burials ................................................................................ 81
Fig. 9.3. Human remains (burial No. 801) ........................................................................... 82
Fig. 9.4. Grave goods in a jar............................................................................................... 82
Fig. 9.5. Metal artefact (burial No. 1669) ............................................................................ 84
Fig. 9.6. Ornaments (burial No. 92)..................................................................................... 84

Fig. 10.1. Durankulak, sépultures de nouveau-nés avec du mobilier funéraire ................... 89

Fig. 10.2. Durankulak, sépultures de l’Infants II avec du mobilier funéraire ...................... 91

Fig. 11.1. Burials at the Gomolava cemetery....................................................................... 95

Fig. 11.2. Burial No. 8, 1 year old boy, buried with 4 ceramic vessels
and 7 copper beads......................................................................................................... 96
Fig. 11.3. Burial No. 9, 3 years old boy, buried without grave goods ................................. 97
Fig. 11.4. Burial No. 10, 7 years old boy, buried with 2 ceramic vessels
and 2 bone beads ............................................................................................................ 97

Fig. 12.1. Map of the archaeological sites mentioned in the text....................................... 102
Fig. 12.2. Cernica............................................................................................................... 104
Fig. 12.3. Vărăşti ............................................................................................................... 106
Fig. 12.4. Gârleşti-Gherceşti.............................................................................................. 106
Fig. 12.5. Ostrovul Corbului .............................................................................................. 106
Fig. 12.6. a) Percentages of child and adult burials at the sites mentioned in the text;
b) Comparison between child and adult burials’ percentage in the burial groups
and cemeteries (Neolithic and Chalcolithic) ................................................................ 108

Fig. 13.1. Location of Kenan Tepe in southeastern Turkey............................................... 114

Fig. 13.2. Topographic map of Kenan Tepe showing the location of areas
and trenches.................................................................................................................. 115
Fig. 13.3. Plaster-lined Ubaid infant burial and the shallow bowl that was used
to cover the child.......................................................................................................... 116
Fig. 13.4. Ubaid infant burial with associated grinding stone............................................ 116
Fig. 13.5. Mud-brick lined burial of the Late Chalcolithic infant ...................................... 117
Fig. 13.6. Flexed burial of G.7.25.5................................................................................... 118
Fig. 13.7. Burial goods associated with the G.7.25.5 burial .............................................. 119
Fig. 13.8. Bowl found against northern corner of the G.7.28.6 burial ............................... 119

Fig. 14.1. Age specific mortality at Man Bac (all excavation seasons, n=46) ................... 125
Fig. 14.2. Massive carious lesion to right dm1 and note also focal demineralisation
of left d12 (MB05 B18, 18 month old infant) ............................................................... 126
Fig. 14.3. Distribution of burials by age for the three excavation seasons
at Man Bac ................................................................................................................... 127
Fig. 14.4. Frequency of ceramics per grave by age class................................................... 128
Fig. 14.5. Six month old infant (MB05 B05) with two small pots..................................... 129
Fig. 14.6. Close up of the hands of an 8 to 9 year old child (MB05 B25)
grasping large bivalve shell.......................................................................................... 129

v
Fig. 15.1. Horizontally compressed scheme of the central cross-section........................... 138
Fig. 15.2. Distribution of infant burials by horizons.......................................................... 139
Fig. 15.3. Houses with/without infant burials by horizons ................................................ 139
Fig. 15.4. Location of burials in the houses ....................................................................... 140
Fig. 15.5. Houses with double burials................................................................................ 140
Fig. 15.6. Burial # 13, near the oven.................................................................................. 141
Fig. 15.7. Burial # 17, with surface marking ..................................................................... 141
Fig. 15.8. Burial # 25 ......................................................................................................... 141
Fig. 15.9. Burial # 41, slanting pit ..................................................................................... 142
Fig. 15.10. Burial # 45, slanting pit ................................................................................... 142
Fig. 15.11. Types of burial vessels .................................................................................... 143
Fig. 15.12. Typological distribution of burial vessels........................................................ 144
Fig. 15.13. Burial # 10, in a bowl with a lid ...................................................................... 145

Fig. 16.1. Individual burials............................................................................................... 150

Fig. 16.2. Double adult/infant burials (selection A)........................................................... 153
Fig. 16.3. Double adult/child burials (selection B) ............................................................ 154
Fig. 16.4. Double adult/adult burials (1-7, selection C) and adult/pre-adult burial
(selection D) ................................................................................................................. 155
Fig. 16.5. Double burials of pre-adults (1-5, selection D); collective burials of 3-4
individuals (6 and 8, selection A; 7, selection B)......................................................... 156

Fig. 18.1. Map showing the location of the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tuva,
south Siberia................................................................................................................. 176
Fig. 18.2. (a) Infant buried within a stone cist of unknown context from Aymyrlyg,
(b) Log House Tomb X ................................................................................................ 177
Fig. 18.3. (a) Cranium of a 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) that displayed a chekan injury
on his/her left parietal................................................................................................... 182
Fig. 18.4. (a) Young girls milking sheep at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia,
(b) Girls taking turns to prepare Airag (fermented mare’s milk) to drink
at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park, Mongolia......................................................... 184
Fig. 18.5. Father and daughter on horseback at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park,
Mongolia ...................................................................................................................... 184
Fig. 18.6. Grandfather and grandson inside a yurt at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia ....... 185

Fig. 19.1. Sites mentioned in text ...................................................................................... 189

Fig. 21.1. Quebrada de Humahuaca................................................................................... 206

Fig. 21.2. a) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca; b) Charcas,
Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca, détail........................................................................ 209
Fig. 21.3. Technologie céramique...................................................................................... 211

vi
LIST OF TABLES

Tab. 3.1. Age distribution .................................................................................................... 25

Tab. 3.2. Burial position ...................................................................................................... 27
Tab. 3.3 Degree of body contraction ................................................................................... 27

Tab. 10.1. Tableau général des sépultures d’après l’âge et le mobilier en silex .................. 88
Tab. 10.2. Sépultures d’enfants (Infans II 7-14 ans)............................................................ 92
Tab. 10.3. Sépultures de nouveau-nés déterminées d’après le contexte funéraire ............... 92
Tab. 10.4. Sépultures d’enfants identifiées sans certitude ................................................... 93

Tab. 11.1. Gomolava cemetery: child burials ...................................................................... 95

Tab. 12.1. Cernica: sex and age groups distribution .......................................................... 105
Tab. 12.2. Radovanu: age groups distribution ................................................................... 105

Tab. 13.1. Infant and child burials excavated from Kenan Tepe ....................................... 113

Tab. 14.1. Demographic attributes of several Southeast Asian

skeletal assemblages..................................................................................................... 126
Tab. 14.2. Early childhood caries (≤3 years) experience in prehistoric
Southeast Asia.............................................................................................................. 126
Tab. 14.3. Frequency of cribra orbitalia in Man Bac children ≤ 10 years old
at death ......................................................................................................................... 127
Tab. 14.4. Distribution of Man Bac grave goods by age-at-death ..................................... 128

Tab. 16.1. Individual burials age selections....................................................................... 151

Tab. 16.2. Grave goods in individual burials ..................................................................... 152
Tab. 16.3. Collective burial age selections ........................................................................ 152
Tab. 16.4. Grave goods in collective burials...................................................................... 158
Tab. 16.5. Bioarchaeological determinations of age and sex (selections A and B) ........... 158
Tab. 16.6. Sex-and-age determinations made by archaeologists
and bioarchaeologists (selection C).............................................................................. 159

Tab. 17.1. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Early Bronze Age.......................... 162
Tab. 17.2. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Middle Bronze Age....................... 162
Tab. 17.3. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Late Bronze Age ........................... 163
Tab. 17.4. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Final Bronze Age .......................... 165
Tab. 17.5. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo: Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age ................. 167

Tab. 19.1. Incidence of burial type .................................................................................... 190

Tab. 19.2. Incidence of deposits in pit burials ................................................................... 190
Tab. 19.3. Incidence of deposits in ditch burials................................................................ 190

vii
Tab. 19.4. Orientation of infant burials.............................................................................. 192
Tab. 19.5. Variable comparison across sites ...................................................................... 194

Tab. 20.1. Infant burials at Anglo-Saxon settlements ........................................................ 198

viii
 VOLUME EDITOR’S FOREWORD

But who knows the fate of his bones, or how

often he is to be buried? Who hath the oracle
of his ashes, or whither they are to be
scattered?
Sir Thomas Browne, Hydriotaphia (1658)

When I first decided to organize a session at the XVth Congress of the International Union
for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP / IUPPS) in Lisbon, I simply wanted to
put the results of my own research project in the perspective of more or less similar
phenomena, in a limited time and space framework. It is always stimulating just to see
where you are standing, this was my thinking, so I contacted a possible partner who was
then working on a similar project, and sketched a list of prospective participants. Then, as I
started to receive proposals for the talks, the session’s time and space framework quickly
expanded to include periods and places as remote from each other as the Gravettian in
Austria and Anglo-Saxon England or Neolithic Vietnam and seventeenth-century Andean
world. The session’s title – which for obvious reasons appears slightly changed as the title
of this volume – apparently did its job to focus the research interest in approaches varying
from purely archaeological and bioarchaeological analyses of burial contexts through
chronology observations to interpretations and reconstructions of ritual and symbolic
networks.

Burial practices for infants and children in the remote past have attracted archaeologists
long before the seminal book of Eleanor Scott, The Archaeology of Infancy and Infant
Death (B.A.R., 1999), but this kind of research has actually intensified in the last decade.
Now that the editing of the texts and illustrations of this volume is finally complete, and the
table of contents is ready, I see an outcome that could have perhaps been expected but was
definitely hoped for, one that gives insights into a whole new world of childhood in the
past.

As is only appropriate in such cases, the volume is chronologically and territorially ordered,
and begins with Anne-Marie Tillier’s paper that looks for the origins of funerary practices
as applied to infants and non-adults in certain Mousterian assemblages in the Mediterranean
Levant. The Gravettian burials from Krems-Wachtberg in Lower Austria are considered by
a team from the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the
Natural History Museum Vienna (Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Christine
Neugebauer-Maresch, Ulrich Simon, and Maria Teschler-Nicola), in the context of the
debate over rituals and social structure of hunter-gatherer communities. The bulk of papers,
however, are focused on the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age evidence; they
are based on material from southeast Europe, Anatolia, and the Levant, and consider burial
samples from sites or regions as Khirokitia in Cyprus (Françoise Le Mort), Çatalhöyük
(Sharon Moses), Kenan Tepe (David Hopwood), Byblos (Estelle Orrelle and Gassia Artin),
the Dnieper Rapids in Ukraine (Malcolm Lillie), Durankulak (Yavor Boyadžiev and Maria
Gurova), Yunatsite (Tatiana Mishina), and Gomolava (Sofija Stefanović), or look for
general trends as in Neolithic/Chalcolithic Greece or Romania (Maia Pomadère and Raluca
Kogălniceanu) or trace the appearance and development of early jar burial (Krum
Bacvarov). A team from the Australian National University and the Vietnamese Institute of

ix
Archaeology (Marc Oxenham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Kate Domett, Nguyen Kim Thuy,
Nguyen Kim Dung, Nguyen Lan Cuong, Damien Huffer, and Sarah Muller) sheds light on
the role of children and adult attitudes towards children at the late Neolithic cemetery of
Man Bac in northern Vietnam. Another group of papers covers the later Bronze Age and
Iron Age, in southeast Europe and the North Caucasus (Marina Andreeva), south Siberia
(Eileen Murphy), Central Italy (Erik van Rossenberg), and Great Britain (Belinda Tibbetts).
Two more papers investigate the correlation between infant burial and built structures
within the context of Anglo-Saxon England (Sally Crawford) as well as the typical child
burials in jars in the Andean world (Mariel López).

I would not argue that this collection of papers gives a comprehensive picture of
infant/child burial in preliterate societies; there are admittedly huge gaps in our knowledge
of past burial practices as well as in this volume’s scope that could have perhaps been filled
in to some extent, but this was not what I was after. What we have instead is various
reference points in the analysis, interpretation, and reconstruction of infant/child burial
record, bits and pieces that contribute to the multifaceted aspects of this vast research area.
Moreover, many papers’ considerations include sites or phenomena, territories or periods
that overlap and complement one another, thus emphasizing parallels and interrelations and
allowing comparisons within or between larger networks, which will hopefully stimulate
new approaches and inferences in the future.

I would like to acknowledge the help of those who made possible the publication of this
volume. First and foremost, this is Professor Luiz Oosterbeek, the Secretary General of
UISPP, who took the burden to organize UISPP’s XVth Congress as well as to coordinate
the complicated process of editing all sessions’ proceedings as a series editor. Special
thanks are due to my partner in the WS26 Babies Reborn organization, Tatiana Mishina
who was always there for my boringly numerous questions and suggestions. Cláudia
Fidalgo from the UISPP Secretariat was vital to the session’s organization as well as to the
making of this volume. I owe to Sharon Moses the cover drawing that wonderfully
reconstructs a wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. My poor
proficiency in French was greatly helped by Maia Pomadère and Mario Ignatov who edited
the French texts and translated some of the French abstracts. Thank you also goes to all
authors who quickly responded to my – sometimes admittedly too fussy – editorial
requests. Last but not least I gratefully acknowledge the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation; it was during my AvH research fellowship at the University of Saarland that
this volume has been edited.

K.B.
Saarbrücken, May 2007

x
 EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS:
BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN

Anne-marie TILLIER
Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passé UMR 5199, France
am.tillier@anthropologie.u-bordeaux1.fr

Abstract: The Near East provides an excellent opportunity to approach from published interpretations the origins of funerary
practises applied to infants and non-adults during the Middle Palaeolithic in Eurasia. These practises were shared by
morphologically different human groups that have alternated use of the Mediterranean Levant between 110 and 50 Kyrs BP and
were associated with distinct Mousterian assemblages.
Key-Words: Funerary practice, childhood, Mousterian, Mediterranean Levant

Résumé: Ce sont les documents issus du Proche-Orient qui permettent d’aborder la question de l’origine des gestes funéraires
concernant les enfants de moins d’un an et les sujets immatures au Paléolithique Moyen en Eurasie. Ces pratiques ont été le fait de
différents groupes humains identifiés successivement au Levant Méditerranéen entre 100.000 et 50.000 ans BP dans des niveaux
moustériens de facture distincte.
Mots clefs: Pratique funéraire, enfance, Moustérien, Levant Méditerranéen

INTRODUCTION EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF DELIBERATE CHILD

The Near East has attracted the attention of the scientific
community since the first archaeological surveys
conducted in the 1930s, by D.A. Garrod, D. Bate, T.D.
McCown and M. Stekelis on the western escarpment of
the Mount Carmel (south of Haïfa), and by R. Neuville in
Upper Galilee. These excavations have led to major
discoveries of human settlements associated to Middle
Palaeolithic (= Mousterian) industries.
BURIALS
The Skhul and Qafzeh sites are unique in south-western
Asia because of their unusual concentration of hominid
remains and the accumulation of various data reflecting
bioarchaeological aspects of Middle Palaeolithic societies
from the southern Levant.
Skhul

In the last four decades, long-term projects were
conducted in several sites, Qafzeh, Amud and Kebara in
Northern Israel, Dederiyeh in Northern Syria. Disco-
veries have documented morphologically different
human groups associated with Mousterian assemblages
that have alternated use of the Levant between 170 and
50 Kyrs (McCown & Keith 1939; Suzuki & Takai 1970;
Vandermeersch 1981; Bar Yosef & Vandermeersch
1991; Rak et al. 1994; Tillier 1999; Akazawa &
Muhesen 2002; Tillier et al. 2003). Some authors (e.g.
Vandermeersch, Akazawa & Muhesen 2002; Trinkaus
1983; Rak 1993; Rak et al. 1993; Stringer 1994) made a
more meaningful distinction within this hominid sample,
considering that the fossils recovered from Kebara,
Amud and Dederiyeh were the representatives of west
Asian Neanderthals.
Besides its human diversity, these records from the Near
East brought the better evidence of intentional burials
during the Middle Palaeolithic in the Old World and
provided an excellent opportunity to approach from
published interpretations the origins of funerary practises
applied to infants and non-adults (e.g. Tillier et al. 1988;
Hovers et al. 1995; Tillier 1995).
The Skhul site, located about 25 km south of Haifa (Fig.
1.1), was excavated from 1931 to 1934 by D.A. Garrod,
D. Bate and T.D. McCown. During the field seasons, ten
individuals (3 children and 7 adults) were uncovered in
front of the entrance of the cave from layer B that
contained a lithic assemblage described as “levalloiso-
mousterian” by Bate (in Garrod & Bate 1937). According
to the excavators, all the individuals have been buried and
the Skhul site was considered as “one of the most
remarkable of prehistoric sites by virtue of the cemetery it
contained” (McCown in Garrod & Bate 1937, 106).
In a preliminary report, T.D. McCown (1934) mentioned
the antiquity of the Skhul hominids, given their overall
morphology and the archaeological context. However a
reasonable chronological framework for a majority of
scholars was, till the early 1980s, to consider the Skhul
deposits to be of late Mousterian age, around 40 kyrs BP
(e.g. Jelinek 1982; Trinkaus 1984). Application of
radiometric techniques (ThermoLuminescence, Electron
Spin Resonance) revealed the antiquity of the human
occupation: the TL results supported an early date of 119
± 18 kyrs BP (Mercier et al. 1993), while the ESR/LU
techniques gave a more recent date of 101 ± 13 kyrs

3
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 1.1. Map of the Levant with sites documenting Middle Palaeolithic human occupations (revised after Bar Yosef
2000). Among sites with human remains (black star), only five (Skhul, Qafzeh, Kebara, Amud and Dederiyeh)
provide evidence of non-adult individuals deliberately buried

(Grun & Stringer 1991). Using the Tabun cave sequence industry, in which centripetal and/or bi-directional
(Mount Carmel) as a reference for a classification of the preparations prevailed and the typical products were side
Levantine lithic entities, the Mousterian assemblage at scrapers, large oval and quadrangular levallois flakes (e.g.
Skhul was qualified as “Tabun C-type” Mousterian Hovers 1997).

4
 A.-M. TILLIER: EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Qafzeh
Qafzeh cave, located about 3 km east of Nazareth (Fig.
1.1) was first excavated by R. Neuville between 1933 and
1935, and new field seasons were carried out under the
direction of B. Vandermeersch from 1965 to 1979.
Numerous fossil hominids (including 9 non-adults and 6
adults) were found with a lithic assemblage similar to that
of Skhul, i.e. a “Tabun C-type” Mousterian industry
(Boutié 1989; Hovers 1997). The spatial distribution of
the human remains was restricted to a few square meters
in front of the entrance to the cave, and the majority of
finds originated from layer XVII.
The analysis of Qafzeh microfaunal assemblage (Tchernov
1995) supported an occupation during a warm phase of OIS
5. Radiometric techniques applied to the Mousterian
sequence placed the deposits between 92 ± 5 kyrs BP (TL
and non-invasive gamma spectrometry technique applied to
the adult Qafzeh 6; Valladas et al. 1988; Yokoyama et al.
1997) and 115 ± 15 kyrs (ESR, Schwarcz et al. 1988,).
Furthermore as illustrated by the TL results the Mousterian
occupation covers a short time span (Valladas et al. 1988).
IDENTITY OF THE SKHUL AND QAFZEH
MOUSTERIAN INHABITANTS
In the monograph devoted to the Mount Carmel hominids,
McCown and Keith (1939) have noted that “in no
essential point or complex of features can we exclude the
Skhul people from a position among ancestors of modern
races”. From detailed morphological analyses of both
Skhul and Qafzeh specimens (N=26), an evaluation of the
morphological pattern exhibited by the earliest modern
humans in the Near East can be obtained. True derived
features link the Skhul-Qafzeh specimens with modern
humans, besides some archaic retentions (McCown &
Keith 1939; Howell 1958; Vandermeersch 1981; Mann
1995; Tillier 1999).
Both at Qafzeh and Skhul sites, most of the human
remains were unearthed in a hard limestone breccia.
However, information deriving from the nature of
deposits, position of skeletal remains (direct or indirect
evidence of pits and filling of the graves, preservation of
anatomical connections) and, in few cases, evidence of
grave goods, strongly supports the notion of protected
burials (Garrod & Bate 1937; Vandermeersch 1969 &
1970: Tillier et al. 1988; Tillier 1995).
Indications of other symbolic activities (Vandermeersch
1966; Hovers et al. 1997; Bar Yosef Mayer 2005; Taborin
2003; Vanhaeren et al. 2006) near the burial areas are
known from the two sites: presence of shell beads at
Skhul, red ochre, coloured flints, Glycymeris valves (with
one of them documenting colorant use) and an engraved
artefact at Qafzeh. However, no direct association bet-
ween these objects, the dead bodies and funerary practises
can be accurately demonstrated.
5
SEARCH FOR AGE-RELATED FUNERARY
PRACTISES
The important series of non-adult individuals found at
these sites constitutes a unique sample of anatomically
modern non-adults so far discovered within a clearly
Mousterian context. At Skhul, children represented 30%
of the total sample while non-adult individuals were more
numerous at Qafzeh (almost 60%). The three children
from Skhul belong to two age-classes, 1-4 yrs and 5-9 yrs,
while a wider age distribution at death, from birth to 15-
19 yrs of age, can be observed at Qafzeh. Within the
overall sample, only two individuals under one year of
age were uncovered. However, it is evident that neonatal
and postneonatal (deaths between four weeks and the end
of the first year) mortality rates were certainly higher
among Middle Palaeolithic human communities than
among later ones.
The data collected form Qafzeh and Skhul bring no
evidence of selection in the deceased children relative to
individual age at death. The most complete infant
specimen unearthed at Qafzeh was a neonate (Qafzeh 13),
and the skeletal remains were found under a stone. They
were removed as a block with the sediments and no field
observations (body position, preservation of anatomical
connections) were available that could be employed to
reconstruct elements in the sequence of human body
deposit. Interestingly, cranial and infracranial bones
(including complete hand bones) and a few deciduous
tooth germs were preserved. Considering the preservation
state of the skeleton and the location of the deposit on the
terrasse, it was suggested that the Qafzeh 13 deposit
might have been intentionally protected (Tillier 1995).
Belonging to the second age-class, the Skhul 1 child was
circa 3 yrs old at death. The child skeleton (Fig. 1.2) was
found 1.75 m deep in front of the mouth of the cave.
According to McCown (1937, 48), “the skeleton which
was embedded in hard limestone breccia, showed by the
position of its parts that the child had been buried in a
squatting posture with body flexed forwards”.
Third evidence of primary burial was represented by the
Qafzeh 15 child, circa 8 yrs at death (Tillier 1999). Only
the upper part of the skeleton was preserved in anatomical
position, indicating that the child had been laid on the
back, the face being turned to north-west. The sediments
were strongly brecciated and postdepositional diagenetic
processes have altered the lower part of the skeleton.
Qafzeh 11 is a partial skeleton of a young adolescent (ca. 13
years old at death, Tillier 1999). The individual lied north-
south down on the bedrock, facing west. The upper limbs
were tightly flexed, with hands positioned near the face.
The lower part of the skeleton was poorly preserved. Parts
of fallow deer antlers were placed directly in contact with
the hands of the adolescent (Fig. 1.3). This burial represents
a unique deposit uncovered from the site that was associated
with an offering (Vandermeersch 1970; Tillier 1995).
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

(Vandermeersch 1969; Tillier 1995)1. Both individuals

were buried in a narrow pit circa 50 cm wide and 1.50 m
long (Fig. 1.4). Qafzeh 9 lied on the left side, the right
hand on the left forearm, and lower limbs flexed. A few
centimetres separated the left toes of Qafzeh 9 from the
child’s right upper limb. Qafzeh 10 was also lying on the
left side with the left upper limb tightly flexed under the
head. The right upper limb was extended while the lower
limbs were also flexed, the right knee joint being at the
level of the pelvis. The associated Qafzeh 9/10 deposit
represents the first double burial known in the
Mediterranean Levant and a unique case reported from
the Middle Palaeolithic in Eurasia.

Fig. 1.2. The Skhul 1 child burial in upper view

(after McCown & Keith 1939)

Fig. 1.3. The primary deliberate burial of the Qafzeh 11

adolescent was uncovered at the bottom of the Mousterian
sequence in the site. Parts of fallow deer antlers were
placed nearby the adolescent face, in contact with the
hands (after Vandermeersch 1970, photograph B.
Vandermeersch)
Fig. 1.4. The double primary burial found at Qafzeh:
Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 yrs old at death child was lying
Besides single burials, Qafzeh provided the first evidence at the feet of a late adolescent Qafzeh 9.
of an unequivocal primary double burial. The deposit (drawing D. Visset, in Tillier 1995)
consist of a late-adolescent individual, Qafzeh 9 (age
class 15-19 years) oriented north-south, and a child, 1
Contrary to the assertion made by Cohen (2003, 29), the burial does
Qafzeh 10, ca. 6 years old at death, oriented west-east not consist of a young mother and her newborn.

6
 A.-M. TILLIER: EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Skhul and Qafzeh sites provide the highest number of
non-adults intentionally buried (50% of the overall
immature sample), besides few adult burials (at least 5,
Tillier et al. 1988), suggesting some repetitive tradition
(Tillier 1995; Hovers et al. 1995). Concerning the
remaining non-adult sample (two children at Skhul, at
least 4 at Qafzeh), there are no arguments (such as traces
of cutmarks on the isolated cranial and post-cranial bones)
to support the occurrence of secondary mortuary practices
at both sites. The presence of human action that would
explain the disturbance of primary internments, as
suggested by McCown (in Garrod & Bate 1937, 92-107)
for Skhul 8 and 10 children, should remain a working
hypothesis. However, it should be mentioned that no
traces of animal gnawing (carnivores or other animals)
can be detected on the skeletal remains.
LEVANTINE FUNERARY PRACTISES DATED TO
“LATE MOUSTERIAN”
Most anthropologists accept the view that various human
groups were the bearers of distinct Mousterian lithic
industries in the Mediterranean Levant, although there is
no general consensus at the present time on the
classification of these groups. A chronological gap of
more than 30.000 years separated the Skhul-Qafzeh
hominids from latecomers defined at Amud and Kebara as
either archaic Homo sapiens (e.g. Arensburg 1991; Mann
1995; Tillier et al. 2003) or west Asian Neanderthals (cf.
supra).
Kebara cave
The cave of Kebara, located at about 60/65 m above sea
level in the Carmel Mountains, some 15 kilometres south
of the Skhul cave, was first surveyed between 1951 and
1965 by M. Stekelis, later by a current multidisciplinary
Israeli-French project that lasted from 1982 to 1990. The
dates for Kebara Mousterian sequence demonstrate a long
period of human occupations from unit VI to XII (ca.
64.000 to 48.000 years B.P., Bar-Yosef et al. 1992). But
most of the human remains were found between ca. 6.2
and 8.0 meters below datum (Units IX, X, XI, XII) and
derived from the oldest Mousterian human occupation
(Schick & Stekelis 1970; Bar-Yosef & Vandermeersch
1991; Bar-Yosef et al. 1992; Tillier et al. 2003).
The Kebara hominid sample includes a large amount of
fragmentary isolated bone or tooth remains (N = 21),
besides two individuals better preserved, Kebara 1 and 2
(Fig. 1.5). The mosaic of features (archaic retentions,
“regional” and modern traits) exhibited by the most
complete specimens and the lack of diagnostic elements
(such as the cranium) might explain the controversial
phylogenetic position of the fossils, either seen as West
Asian Neanderthals (Tillier et al. 1988; Vandermeersch
1991; Rak 1993) or kept within the Homo sapiens range
of variation (Arensburg 1991; Mann 1995; Arensburg &
Cohen 1998; Tillier et al. 2003).
7
The Kebara 1 infant skeleton was uncovered during the
last year of Stekelis excavations in 1965 in the northern
sector of the cave, close to the northern wall, in an area
that was used as a dumping zone. Schick and Stekelis
(1977, 103) mentioned “... at a depth of 6.83-6.90 m the
skeleton of a seven-month-old child was discovered...
Nearby were three stones and the tooth of a rhinoceros.
The skeleton was removed intact within a mass of earth”.
The skeletal remains removed as a block with the
sediments were sent for study to the Witwatersrand
University, South Africa. No additional details concerning
the deposition of the body, or the needed evidence for its
original anatomical articulation were available when the
unexcavated remains were later returned to Israel.
However, considering the Kebara 1 location within the
cave, the state of preservation of the skeleton (Fig. 1.6)
and the presence of three large stones alongside the
skeletal remains, Smith and Arensburg (1977, 164)
suggested that the infant was probably intentionally
buried and the burial secondarily disturbed.
The infant skeleton originated from Unit X, which was
dated by two radiometric techniques, between 61.6 ± 3.6
kyrs (TL, Valladas et al. 1987) and 64 ± 6 kyrs (ESR,
Schwarcz et al. 1989). This infant burial was one of the
two primary burials found at the Kebara cave, the second
being that of an adult uncovered from a more recent layer,
Unit XII (Kebara 2, Bar Yosef et al. 1992).
Amud Cave
The Amud cave is located in the Wadi Amud, on the
western bank of the Jordan valley. This site was first
excavated from 1961 to 1964 by H. Suzuki and F. Takai,
and between 1991 and 1994 by Y. Rak and colleagues
(Suzuki & Takai 1970; Rak et al. 1994). Unlike the
Kebara cave, the Mousterian sequence from Amud has
yielded two individuals who were buried, one adult
(Amud 1) and a very young child (Amud 7).
The Amud 7 infant burial was found in 1992 and its
position in the stratigraphical sequence suggested an older
age than that of Amud 1. Contrary to Ohnuma and
Akazawa (1988) who related the industries of Amud to
that of Tabun D, Meignen and Bar-Yosef (1991) and
Hovers et al. (1995), considered the lithic assemblage as
late Mousterian of Tabun B-type. This was confirmed by
radiometric dates that gave an average of 60 kyrs BP
(Valladas et al. 1999; Rink et al. 2001).
According to the original description published by the
excavators (Rak et al. 1994), Amud 7 is an articulated
skeleton of a 10 month old infant lying on its right side in
a small niche and the skull has collapsed. Hovers et al.
noticed (1995, 52), “A natural niche in the rock face of
the cave wall served as burial structure, the body laid
down directly on the bedrock…” Lying on the infant
pelvis was part of a cervid maxilla and its presence within
the space occupied by the body, in contact with the bones,
supported the recognition of an offering. Rak et al. (2001,
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 1.5. Spatial distribution of the human remains in the Kebara Cave (after Tillier et al. 2003)
and location of the Kebara 1 infant deposit
versus Arensburg & Cohen 1998; Tillier 1998) concluded
that the morphology of the Amud 7 skeleton presented
numerous similarities with European Neanderthals.
The amount of individuals represented by the human
skeletal and dental sample from Kebara and Amud is
quite important, but includes mainly isolated bones and
teeth. While the occurrence of deliberate burials at both
sites is quite low, it should be emphasized that the number
of children buried equals that of adults and that the two
infants buried documented postneonatal mortality.
DIACHRONIC CHANGES, DIFFERENCES IN SUB-
ADULT MORTALITY, OR DIFFERENCES IN
LIFEWAYS?
Can we consider that the data collected from the four sites
in the Near Eastern Mediterranean document differences
8
in sub-adult mortality through time or changes in beha-
vioural patterns (differences in lifeways, special patterns
of death treatment)?
As it was already mentioned, a large chronological gap
separated the early anatomically modern humans (Skhul
and Qafzeh) from other Levantine hominids. A real
difference between the two groups lies in child/adult ratio
of buried individuals and the fact that sub-adult indivi-
duals surviving to early childhood are only present among
the deceased juveniles within the Skhul-Qafzeh sample.
Relevant to these observations, are the following questi-
ons: can such data be interpreted in terms of substantial
care to unhealthy sub-adults among early Levantine
modern humans? Is there a biological explanation for the
high frequency of buried individuals at both Qafzeh and
Skhul? An increase in the duration of childhood depen-
dency associated with the emergence of modern humans
 A.-M. TILLIER: EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Fig. 1.6. 1 The Kebara 1 child fragmentary skeleton; 2 Isolated petrous bone; 3 deciduous dentition (upper and lower
teeth); 4, 5 and 6 Upper and lower permanent tooth germs; 7 Condylar process of the left mandibular ramus; 8 Thoracic
vertebral bodies and fragments of neural arches; 9 First sternebre; 10 A right talus

was, for instance, postulated by few scholars (e.g. Stringer
et al. 1990; Trinkaus & Tompkins 1990), but the skeletal
studies can hardly prove such an assumption.
The published descriptions of Kebara 1 and Amud 7 (Rak
et al. 1994; Tillier et al. 2003) provide no information
about pathological conditions and cause of death of the
two infants. By contrast to the Qafzeh 13 neonate
skeleton, incidence of periosteal reactive bone (porotic
hyperostosis) can be identified, involving the outer table
of cranial bones (e.g., parietal and sphenoid regions) as
well as fragments of the ulna, ilium, and vertebrae (Tillier

9
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
et al. 2003). The Qafzeh 10 child skeleton (from the
double burial) exhibits pathological lesions that indicate
two episodes of trauma during childhood; they include an
early closure of the coronal suture on the right side
(craniostenosis affecting the skull development) and, on
the lower limb bones, a benign skeletal tumor in the distal
part of the right femoral diaphysis (Tillier 1999; Tillier et
al. 2003). However, the older individual from the same
burial, Qafzeh 9, exhibits no skeletal evidence of patho-
logy or traumatic condition. Only minor lesions were
visible on the skull (e.g. aseptic osteonecrosis on the right
condylar process) and the right foot bones (Arensburg et
al. 2006).
Finally, the Qafzeh 11 adolescent who had suffered of an
otitis media during his life (Arensburg & Nathan 1972;
Tillier 1999) represented a unique case of ante mortem
injury on the skull (affecting the right side of the fore-
head) that was caused soon before death (Tillier et al.
2003). Interestingly, this adolescent is the only individual
buried in the site associated with grave goods suggesting
special treatment of the deceased person.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A critical analysis of the available data permits to assume
that 50% of the non-adult individuals were intentionally
buried in Skhul and Qafzeh. Later evidence of funerary
practices applied to non-adults came from Kebara and
Amud caves in which two single infant burials were
found in a distinct Mousterian archaeological context.
In all cases, archaeological indication for the body
location deposit is lacking. Furthermore, variation in
spatial distribution of these deposits (inside the caves at
Kebara and Amud, outside at Skhul and Qafzeh) cannot
be interpreted as a reflection of selective areas in death
treatment as, for instance, no bones were recovered inside
the Qafzeh cave where only lithic artefacts were
preserved.
Different age-classes are represented among the buried
individuals: infants (2 + 1 at Qafzeh?), early childhood
(1), late childhood (2), adolescence (2), but there are no
standards in terms of body position. All the burials are
primary deposits and contain one individual; there is a
unique case of primary double burial at Qafzeh, but the
interpretation of the relationship between the two
individuals (using non-metric traits, Tillier 1999) can only
be speculated.
No significant differences in burial customs were
observed at the four sites from south-west Asia. At all
sites, adult and non-adult burials were present, although
the child/adult ratio of buried individuals differs between
Skhul-Qafzeh and Kebara-Amud2. Furthermore, from the
2 Shanidar Mousterian sequence is difficult to assess and this explains
A similar situation is known from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq (Trinkaus
1983). However, the absolute chronology of the deposits within the
10
TL, ESR and U series results that were obtained from the
four sites, it is clear that at Kebara and Amud, the infant
and adults burials were not contemporaneous. By
contrast, given the available dates of Qafzeh, the site
sequence might reflect a relatively short and continuous
occupation by a single biological and social group.
We have pointed out that at Kebara, Amud, Skhul, and
Qafzeh, the non-adult burials were not single discoveries.
Such a situation differs from that found in the Dederiyeh
cave located in the Afrin basin in north-western Syria,
where only children were unearthed. At this site, T. Aka-
zawa and S. Muhesen have described (Akazawa et al.
1993, 2002) two child burials (uncovered in 1990 and
1993 respectively) from the Mousterian layers attributed
to Tabun B-type. The Mousterian deposits are dated by
the excavators around 60 kyrs, by comparison with Keba-
ra and Amud archaeological sequence, but radiometric
dates are needed, as there are various identified layers.
According to Akazawa et al. (2002), the Dederiyeh 1
skeleton (a child ca. 2 yrs old at death) was found 1.5 m
below the surface in layer 11, directly beneath the flat
bottom of the pit. The child (Fig. 1.7) was oriented north-
south and lied on the back, upper limbs extended along
the body and lower limbs partly flexed. The presence of a
plaque behind the head was interpreted as a possible
pillow; the head was probably in a higher position than
the body and the skull has collapsed after the soft tissue
decomposition. Akazawa et al. (2002, 75) noticed that
“the pillow-like boulder and the small stone tool found
near the child’s heart are suggestive of grave goods, but
we cannot be sure that they really are”.
In addition to the Dederiyeh 1 primary burial, Akazawa et
al. (2002) identified a second pit 25 cm deep in layer 3,
about 50 cm below the surface of the deposits inside the
cave. The pit contained unarticulated bones belonging to a
ca. 2 yrs old child skeleton (Dederiyeh 2), and the authors
suggested (2002, 76) that it “… might be the remains of
an intentional burial that has been disturbed”. Belonging
to the same age-class, Dederiyeh 1 and 2, however, “lived
in different environmental conditions at different times”
(Akazawa et al. 2002, 391).
In conclusion, the documentation collected from south-
western Asian sites provided evidence of funerary
practises for the non-adult series of Mousterian
toolmakers in the Old World. The child/adult ratio of
buried individuals differs from one site to the other. There
is no doubt that the first children intentionally buried in
the Levant were interred by early modern humans, at
Skhul and Qafzeh. These deliberate child burials, as well
as those associated with “Levantine Late Mousterian”
(Kebara, Amud, and Dederiyeh) largely predated those
found later in Europe and associated to Neanderthals (e.g.
at La Ferrassie in France, Heim 1982).
why this paper focussed on Near Eastern Mediterranean sites.
 A.-M. TILLIER: EARLY DELIBERATE CHILD BURIALS: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL INSIGHTS FROM THE NEAR EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Fig. 1.7. Dederiyeh 1 child burial, ca. 2 yrs old at death; 1 plaque; 2 flint
(after T. Akazawa & S. Muhesen 2002, Fig. IV/2. Reproduced by courtesy of the authors)

Acknowledgments Lisbon. The study of the original fossils was made

possible through the courtesy of the Department of
The author is grateful to Krum Bacvarov and Tatiana Antiquities in Jerusalem and the Department of Anatomy
Mishina for their invitation to participate in Workshop 26 and Anthropology of the Tel Aviv University. The Irene
Babies reborn: infant/children burials in prehistory, in Sala Care Archaeological Foundation, the OMLL-ESF

11
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
program directed by F. D’Errico (UMR 5199/IPGQ,
Bordeaux 1 University), and the UMR 5199/ LAPP
supported this research. Thanks are due to M. Seurin
(UMR 5199-LAPP), for the technical assistance with the
illustration, and to T. Akazawa and S. Muhesen, for their
permission to reproduce the drawing of Dederiyeh 1
burial.
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 THE GRAVETTIAN INFANT BURIALS
FROM KREMS-WACHTBERG, AUSTRIA
Thomas EINWÖGERER
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna,
thomas.einwoegerer@oeaw.ac.at

Marc HÄNDEL
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, marc.haendel@oeaw.ac.at

Christine NEUGEBAUER-MARESCH
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna,
Christine.Neugebauer-Maresch@oeaw.ac.at

Ulrich SIMON
Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, ulrich.simon@oeaw.ac.at

Maria TESCHLER-NICOLA
Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria, maria.teschler@nhm-wien.ac.at

Abstract: For several years the Prehistoric Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has been carrying out field research in
the area of Krems in Lower Austria. In 2005 and 2006, two burials of infants, dated to 27.000 years BP, were discovered at the
Gravettian open air site of Krems-Wachtberg. Nowhere have burials of such extremely young Upper Palaeolithic individuals ever
been found. They substantially enrich the debate about rituals and document that infants were considered full members of hunter-
gatherer communities. Furthermore, they enlarge our sample size of human fossil remains and help resolve issues of ontogeny of
Early Modern Humans.
Keywords: Gravettian, infant burials, open air site, Austria, Krems-Wachtberg

Résumé: La Commission Préhistorique de l’Académie autrichienne des sciences entrepris depuis quelques années une série
d’explorations dans la région de Krems (Basse-Autriche). Les fouilles archéologiques sur le site gravettien de Krems-Wachtberg
ont livré en 2005 et en 2006 deux sépultures de nourrissons, datées de 27.000 ans BP. Jusqu’à présent il s’agit de la première
découverte d’individus de cet âge du paléolithique supérieur. Elle relance le débat au sujet des rituels funéraires et fournit la
preuve que les enfants étaient considérés comme membres de plein droit dans les communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs. Ces
restes humains viennent enrichir le nombre des fossiles humains connus et fournissent une contribution à l’étude de l’ontogénèse
des néanthropiens.
Mots Clefs: Gravettien, sépultures d'enfants, site en plein air, Autriche, Krems-Wachtberg

INTRODUCTION THE SITE

Palaeolithic loess sites in Lower Austria have been well
known since the end of the 19th century (Neugebauer-
Maresch 1999). Within the last decade the Prehistoric
Commission of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
focused on the reinvestigation of Palaeolithic sites in
Eastern Austria. Among these, the find-spots within the
loess sequences of Krems became of particular interest
(Neugebauer-Maresch 2000). Surveys, test trenches and
drilling-core analysis gave a picture of Gravettian settle-
ment patterns in this topographic area between the
Danube and the river Krems. The excavations at Krems-
Hundssteig (Neuge-bauer-Maresch 2003, 2008; Fladerer
& Salcher 2004) and Krems-Wachtberg (Einwögerer
2005 a & b; Einwögerer et al. 2006) support this evidence
and provide detailed information about spatial organiza-
tion of these camp sites and multiple presence of modern
man in the Middle Upper Palaeolithic (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2).
The southern slope of a promontory, where the river of
Krems flows into the Danube, is called Wachtberg and is
today largely covered by a residential area belonging to
the city of Krems. The site of Krems-Hundssteig is
situated in its southernmost part; the Krems-Wachtberg
site lies about 100 m to the northwest. The research at
first had a more general character. We aimed to re-
investigate open air sites in the centre of Lower Austria
and focused on an extensive excavation of the well known
site of Krems-Hundssteig (2000-2002). The following
project included the investigation of Krems-Wachtberg
(since 2005) exclusively.
During the excavations at Krems-Hundssteig, several test
drillings were made on the last vacant plots in the
Wachtberg area, and a clearly definable cultural layer
with a high density of finds and extremely well preserved

15
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 2.1. The city of Krems is situated north of the Danube, where the river exits the narrow Wachau valley
and flows into the alluvial plain northwest of Vienna (modified Austrian Map 2.0, BEV Vienna 2001)

Fig. 2.2. The Wachtberg area between the Danube and the river Krems, with the site
of Krems-Hundssteig in the southern part and Krems-Wachtberg about 100 m further northwest
(Photo: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Prehistoric Commission)

16
 T. EINWÖGERER ET AL.: THE GRAVETTIAN INFANT BURIALS FROM KREMS-WACHTBERG, AUSTRIA
faunal remains like bone and mammoth ivory was
recorded in a depth of approximately 5 m and in an area
of about 250 m2 – not far from the place where Josef
Bayer had already excavated in 1930 (Einwögerer 2000;
Fladerer 2001, 2003).
THE EXCAVATIONS
Already during the first excavation campaign at Krems-
Wachtberg in 2005, an extraordinarily well developed
Gravettian cultural layer (archaeological horizon AH 4,
Poz-1290: 26.580 ± 160 BP) – to a great extent a living
floor with distinct features (structures évidentes) – was
recorded. The living floor is characterized by a compact
mixture of ash coloured sediment and find material.
Although only 18 m2 have been investigated so far, a rich
assemblage of more than 17.000 single finds was
recovered. Among these are about 7.000 burned and
unburned faunal remains as well as about 7.000 lithic
artefacts of over 1 cm in size. Aside from many large (up
to 8 cm in size) and exceptionally well preserved pieces
of charcoal, several kinds of painting material such as red
and yellow ochre, haematite, graphite and weathered shell
limestone (for white colour) were retrieved.
Just as for the production of stone tools, the complete
manufacturing process can also be reconstructed for
animal remains. Aside from a few almost complete long
bones and larger tusk fragments, medium to small bone
flakes of mostly up to 6 cm in size, are predominant
among the mammoth remains. They most probably result
from the manufacturing of bone tools and/or from
crushing bones to extract the marrow. As for mammoth
ivory, even small chips resulting from carving the
material with stone tools were recorded. Recovered bone
and antler tools include a polisher made from the rib of a
mammoth, two awls and several fragments of antler
projectile points. Among ornaments such as ivory beads,
perforated teeth of wolf and polar fox, the ivory pins are
of particular interest. Another outstanding find is a small
fragment of fired clay with imprints of human papillary
lines and the impression of a fingernail (Svoboda et al.
2004). This evidence for firing clay and several
denticulated backed bladelets in the lithic inventory
provide a direct connection to the site of Josef Bayer
(1930). Furthermore, these findings indicate a close
relation to the contemporaneous southern Moravian sites,
like Dolní Vĕstonice, Pavlov and Předmostí (Svoboda
2004). The inventory is therefore referred to the Gra-
vettian.
The centre of the finds’ distribution, defined by a high
density of charcoal, faunal remains, painting material and
lithic artefacts, can be assumed to be located west of the
excavated area. Three clearly definable features are
stratigraphically connected with this living floor. Pit 3 is
located on the western edge of the investigated area, and
therefore not yet excavated completely. It descends
17
vertically from the living floor for approximately 30 cm
and has a flat base. The pit with yet unclear function is
compactly filled with mainly charcoal and burned animal
bones, and is covered by several debris layers.
INFANT BURIALS
In September 2005 and in July 2006 two infant burials,
(Double-) Burial 1 and Burial 2, were discovered in a
peripheral position south of the area with the highest
concentration of finds. The grave pits also descend
vertically from the base of the living floor and are –
together with Pit 3 – the oldest features within the
archaeological horizon AH 4. Despite the fact that there
are yet no radiocarbon dates of the human skeletal
remains, we can therefore assume that the infants were
buried at the beginning of the settlement activity
connected with the living floor.
Burial 1
At the base of a flat recess, which was filled in two phases
with find material from the main archaeological horizon
AH 4, a shoulder blade of an adult mammoth in horizontal
position was uncovered. The bone was nearly complete,
but clearly showed artificially induced traces: the joint
(cavitas glenoidalis) was exposed to fire and the spina
scapulae, pointing to the bottom of the pit, had been
intentionally removed by regular flaking. After recovering
the bone, which was supported by a piece of mammoth
tusk, a 3-5 cm deep hollow space was encountered. Below
a very thin alluvial layer of Loess, the skeletons of two
babies were uncovered, embedded in red ochre (Fig. 2.
3).
Both newborns were buried in a strongly crouched
position with their heads to the north and their faces
towards east. The excellent preservation of this grave is
due to the robust and therefore protective mammoth
shoulder blade.
Both individuals’ crania were preserved three-dimensi-
onally and showed considerable empty spaces even after
27.000 years. The same observation was made in the case
of the thorax of the infant to the west (Individual 2),
where hollow spaces between spine and ribs were noticed.
A string of at least 30 drop shaped ivory beads, which had
been placed around the pelvis of the baby to the west, is
to be considered as personal adornment or offering.
The double grave was recovered as a block and brought to
the General Hospital of Vienna, where a computer
tomography was taken. In the Natural History Museum
Vienna, Department of Anthropology, the recovered
block was first stored in a climate chamber until laser
scanning was carried out. This non-invasive procedure
was an obligatory step in order to three-dimensionally
record the superficial features and bone contours and to
produce scaled copies for exhibition purposes. In the
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 2.3. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 1 was
recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History
Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology. All
further investigations can thus take place in the lab
(Photo: Natural History Museum Vienna, Department
of Anthropology)
laboratory, the fragile bones are being consolidated,
carefully excavated, documented and examined anthropo-
logically since that time.
The developmental stage of a deciduous incisor of
Individual 2 (right) allowed to estimate the age at death as
perinatal (9th-10th lunar month). The equal lengths of both
right femora indicate the same age at death of both
newborns. Contemporaneous burial suggests they were
twins. It was also possible to recover the ossicles of
Individual 1 (left).
The excellently preserved burial with its skeletal remains
gives us the chance to observe details of the burial
practice, for example, the shape and boundaries of the red
ochre indicate that both babies have not only been
embedded in, but supposedly smeared over with this
material, probably mixed with animal fat.
Burial 2
In summer 2006, a second burial was found about 1 m
north of the double burial and in the same stratigraphic
position (Fig. 2.4).
18
Fig. 2.4. Krems-Wachtberg (Austria): Burial 2 was
recovered as a block and moved to the Natural History
Museum in Vienna, Department of Anthropology
(Photo: Natural History Museum Vienna, Department
of Anthropology)
In contrast, this burial pit had not been covered by a
protective shoulder blade and it contained only a single
individual lying in a different orientation, with the head to
the south. Just like the newborns of the double burial,
Individual 3 has also been buried in a flexed position,
facing the east and embedded in a conspicuous amount of
red ochre. The sharp boundaries of the dispersion of red
pigment indicate that at least this individual had been
embraced by an organic material (fur or leather?), which
has decayed completely in the course of the millennia. In
the case of Burial 2 it might have been fixed with the
ivory pin, which was found 2 cm above the skull. Missing
the protection of an object like the mammoth shoulder
blade, this skeleton is less well preserved than those of the
double burial.
In contrast to the first burial, 3D-laserscanning was
performed directly on site. Burial 2 was also recovered as
a block and brought to the General Hospital of Vienna for
computer tomography. Afterwards it was transported to
the laboratory of the Department of Anthropology at the
Natural History Museum in Vienna for further excavation
and special analysis. Based on the mineralization degree
of the upper incisors and the length of the left femur
 T. EINWÖGERER ET AL.: THE GRAVETTIAN INFANT BURIALS FROM KREMS-WACHTBERG, AUSTRIA
(approximately 85 mm), the age at death can be estimated
as 0-3 months.
SUMMARY
The finds at Krems-Wachtberg in general – the
technology of lithic, bone and ivory industry, the use of
fired clay and settlement structures – confirm the close
relation to the contemporaneous south Moravian sites,
like Dolní Vĕstonice, Pavlov and Předmostí. Moreover,
one could find parallels in the burial rituals and related
symbolic activities as well. This is evidenced by the use
of red ochre, grave goods as ivory beads and the practice
of covering the grave with a mammoth shoulder blade
(Trinkaus & Svoboda 2006).
While Upper Palaeolithic graves of adults are better
documented, burial evidence of younger pre-adolescents
are rare. This phenomenon initiated a discussion about the
possible different treatment of infants at death (Zilhão &
Trinkaus 2002). The burials of Krems-Wachtberg
demonstrate that newborns were already considered full
members of hunter-gatherer communities 27,000 years
ago (Einwögerer et al. 2006). These findings not only
enrich the debate on the Gravettian ritual behaviour but
also enlarge our sparse sample of Upper Palaeolithic
human fossil remains in Austria (Teschler-Nicola &
Trinkaus 2001; Teschler-Nicola et al. 2004) and add to
our understanding of the ontogeny of Early Modern
Humans.
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ZILHÃO, J. & E. TRINKAUS 2002. Portrait of the Artist
as a Child. Lisboa: Trabalhos de Arqueologia 22.
Instituto Português de Arqueologia.
 INFANT BURIALS IN PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC CYPRUS:
EVIDENCE FROM KHIROKITIA
Françoise Le MORT
Université Lyon 2, CNRS UMR 5133, “Archéorient: Environnements et Sociétés de l’Orient Ancien”,
Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux, Lyon, France, francoise.le-mort@mom.fr

Abstract: Among the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Cypriot sites, six have yielded human remains. The largest series has been unearthed at
Khirokitia (7th – early 6th millennium cal. BC). The sample (240 accessible individuals) includes a large proportion of infants less
than one year of age, most of them deceased perinatally, as well as a low proportion of juveniles more than one year old. At this site,
infants were buried under the floors of the houses like other juveniles and adults. The burials are primary, most of them single. Only
slight differences between infant and other burials appear.
Key words: Infants, burials, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Cyprus

Résumé: Parmi les sites néolithiques précéramiques chypriotes, six ont livré des restes humains. La série la plus importante a été
mise au jour à Khirokitia (7e- début du 6e millénaire av. J.-C.). Le matériel accessible (240 individus) comprend une forte proportion
d’enfants de moins d’un an, décédés pour la plupart durant la période périnatale, ainsi qu’une faible proportion d’enfants de plus
d’un an. Sur ce site, les très jeunes enfants sont inhumés sous le sol des habitations, comme les autres sujets immatures et adultes.
Les sépultures sont primaires et, dans leur immense majorité, individuelles. Les différences entre les tombes des très jeunes enfants
et les celles des autres défunts sont très discrètes.
Mots-clés: très jeunes enfants, sépultures, Néolithique précéramique, Chypre

INTRODUCTION human remains dating back to the 8th millennium cal. BC

Age-related mortuary practices have been documented at
various archaeological sites belonging to many different
cultures (i.e. Dunand 1973; Sellier 1995; Sansilbano-
Collilieux 2000; Murail et al. 2004). Furthermore,
specific funeral treatment devoted to infants who had
been stillborn or had died shortly after birth or the
presence of a reserved funeral area for these very young
individuals have been often observed (i.e. Duday et al.
1995; Coqueugniot et al. 1998).
As far as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Near East is concer-
ned, one of the largest series of infant1 burials has been
unearthed at the site of Khirokitia in Cyprus (Le Mort
2000). The high number of such burials discovered at this
site offers a singular opportunity for discussion on aspects
of mortuary behaviour and attitudes towards infants.
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean; its
tip is only 70 km from the Turkish coast and 120 km from
Syria. The first visitors reached the southern coast of the
island in the early 10th millennium cal. BC (Simmons
1988 & 2004).
(Guilaine et al. 2002 & 2003; Crubézy et al. 2003; Fox et
al. 2003), the oldest known from Cyprus.
A recent reappraisal of Kalavassos-Tenta, in the southern
coastal zone of the island, has brought to light a revised
chronological scheme, which tends to assign the earliest
period of the site (period 5) to the Early and Middle Pre-
Pottery Neolithic B, and the next periods (4-2) to the Late
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, in mainland terms (Todd 2003).
Fourteen burials containing a minimum of 18 individuals
were uncovered at the site (Todd 1987; Moyer 2005).
Half of them were found in subfloor grave pits, in
buildings belonging to period 4. The others were
excavated outside buildings.
Skeletal remains dating back to the 7th and early 6th
millennium cal. BC, that is the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic
in Cyprus, have been uncovered at Khirokitia and two
more sites, Kholetria-Ortos in western Cyprus (Simmons
1996 & 2003), and Cap Andreas Kastros in north-eastern
Cyprus (Le Brun 1981; Massei Solivères 1981). The
Khirokitia series is the largest for the Neolithic of Cyprus
and one of the largest in Near Eastern Neolithic.

Excavations at the southern site of Parekklisha-

THE SITE OF KHIROKITIA
Shillourokambos and at Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, in the
western part of the island, provided evidence of the
The site of Khirokitia, situated on a hill, at about 6 km
presence of farmers in Cyprus from the 9th millennium
directly from the present southern coast of the island (Fig.
cal. BC (Guilaine et al. 2000; Peltenburg et al. 2000;
3.1), was first excavated by Dikaios between 1936 and
Guilaine 2003; Peltenburg 2003). Both sites have yielded
1946 (Dikaios 1953). After a few soundings (Stanley
1 Price & Christou 1973; Le Brun & Stanley Price 1977),
The term infant is used as defined by Scheuer & Black (2004). The
group infants thus comprises the individuals who died between birth and the excavations directed by A. Le Brun were renewed in
the end of the first year. 1977 (Le Brun 1984, 1989a & 1994; Le Brun & Daune-

23
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 3.1. Site location (map by the Service Cartographies of the Maison de l’Orient
et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux)
Le Brun 2003). The occupation of the site, which
illustrates the late phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in
Cyprus, took place in the 7th and early 6th millennium cal.
BC. The settlement area could be evaluated at approxima-
tely 1.5 hectare of which only a part (about 4.000 m2) has
been explored. The village consists of houses composed
of several round-shape buildings. It is divided into two
sectors, east and west, by a long wall running through the
settlement on that side, which is not naturally protected by
the river. It must have been built to enclose the earlier
settlement, i.e. the east sector. Later, the village extended
beyond this boundary, thus making the west sector. In the
course of recent excavation, nine stratigraphical levels (A
to H, J)2 have been recognized in the east sector and three
(I to III) in the west sector. The inhabitants of Khirokitia
were engaged in farming, herding and hunting activities
(Hansen 1994; Le Brun 1996; Davis 2003).
Many burials were discovered at the site. In the part
explored by Dikaios, they are distributed in all excavated
areas (Dikaios 1953). In the area recently excavated, they
were found in all levels except for the oldest three (levels
G, H, J) but it has to be noticed that these levels have
been explored on a limited area (Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b
& 1994, as well as personal communication; Le Mort
1994 & 2000). It is difficult to establish the exact number
of graves found during the old excavations for two
reasons: first, some of them have not been published in
the final report (Niklasson 1991)3, and second, the
2
A. Le Brun, personal communication.
3
The reappraisal of the skeletal remains stored in the Cyprus Museum
allowed us to confirm the presence of remains from burials the number
of which does not appear in Dikaios’ publication (1953).
24
analysis of the published data made us hypothesize that
the few burials considered by Dikaios as including more
than one individual correspond to superimposed single
burials (Le Mort 2003). Thus the total number of buried
individuals is 146, estimated on the basis of descriptions
published by Dikaios. During the soundings carried out in
1972 in the part of the site previously investigated by
Dikaios, some human remains were found but their burial
treatment is not clear (Stanley Price & Christou 1972).
Recent excavations have yielded at least 105 individuals
more4.
These are primary burials; there is no indication of
secondary treatment of human remains. The burial pits
were dug into the floors of houses while those houses
were occupied. A few burials could not be related to any
building; nevertheless, as they were close to the surface,
the erosion could have destroyed the building in the floor
of which they have been dug in.
THE BURIALS: METHODS OF EXCAVATION
AND STUDY
Excavation
The techniques used by Dikaios for excavating burials are
not described in the report (Dikaios 1953). According to
the published photographs, drawings and descriptions, it
yet appears that a careful work was carried out on the
4
Two recently discovered burials, the skeletal remains of which have
not yet been studied, are not included in this number.
 F. LE MORT: INFANT BURIALS IN PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC CYPRUS: EVIDENCE FROM KHIROKITIA
field. Besides, while we studied the juvenile5 skeletons
from the old excavations, we noticed that tiny bones of
infants deceased perinatally such as hand and foot bones
were not rare; the tooth buds of those infants are few, but
their scarcity is probably due to the lack of sieving.
The burials uncovered during recent excavations were all
excavated using careful methods. From 1986, specific
meticulous excavation techniques including the recording
of every bone or bone piece on the field (Duday et al.
1990; Tillier & Duday 1990) have been applied in order
to collect as many data as possible for the biological study
and for the analysis of funerary practices. Moreover, the
photographs and drawings from Dikaios’ publication
(1953) have been re-examined using the methods of
“anthropologie de terrain” (Duday et al. 1990) in order to
complement the published descriptions.
Skeletal Sample
The material from Dikaios’ excavations was partly
analysed by Angel (1953)6 and then by Kurth (1958) and
Charles (1962). A specific study of the dental pathology
was later carried out by Taramidis (1983) and Mitsis &
Taramidis (1995). The few remains found during the
soundings were shortly reported (Stanley Price &
Christou 1973). A reappraisal of all accessible remains
has been carried out, in parallel with the study of the
skeletons from recent excavations. The biological study
took into account the estimation of age at death, sex
diagnosis, metrical characteristics, discrete traits, body
modifications, pathology and chemical analysis (Lange-
Badré & Le Mort 1998; Le Mort 2000, 2003 & 2007 (in
press); Harter-Lailheugue et al. 2005).
Part of the human remains unearthed by Dikaios is now
missing. The reappraisal of the skeletons uncovered
during the old excavations and in the course of the
soundings, and the study of the human remains from
recent excavations allowed us to identify 240 individuals
(Minimum Number of Individuals)7.
Estimation of age at death of juvenile individuals8
Dental maturation is the most accurate indicator of
chronological age for juvenile individuals (Saunders et al.
1993). It was analysed, applying the methods developed
by Moorres et al. (1963a, b) whenever possible or
Ubelaker (1978) in the other cases.
The estimation of age at death for perinatal individuals
highly depends on the state of preservation of the skeleton
5
In this text, the term juvenile is used for any stage of life that is not
truly adult (Scheuer & Black 2004).
6 Total
The sample examined by Angel comprises only 34 infants whereas the
analysis of the published burial data gives a total of 62. Some of the
skeletons were probably considered unsuitable for study.
7
This sample does not include the remains from the two recently
discovered burials (see above).
8
The age at death is the only biological attribute that will be discussed
in this paper, in relation to funerary practices.
25
(Tillier & Duday 1990). Whenever possible, the dental
calcification was considered. Nevertheless, the incomple-
tely calcified teeth of very young infants and foetuses
being often broken or missing, the bone size was, in many
cases, the only available indicator of age. Standards for
estimating foetal length and, subsequently, perinatal age
from individual bones were provided by several authors.
We employed the standards developed by Fazekas &
Kosa (1978) which are based on a large reference sample.
However, further studies (Bruzek, Sellier & Tillier 1997)
have shown that an error of estimation exists because of
the individual and interpopulational variability. The esti-
mates should consequently be considered with caution.
That is the reason why all the individuals deceased
perinatally (foetuses more than six lunar months old,
stillborns and infants under one month of age) were
treated generally.
The reliability of morphological and morphometric
analyses for sexual diagnosis in children being very low
(Majo 1996), no gender identification of young indivi-
duals could be performed.
THE INFANT BURIALS
Age distribution
The studied skeletal sample consists of 109 infants less
than one year old, 25 other juveniles and 106 adults (> 20
years). The juveniles/adults ratio (56%) appears to be
consistent with an ancient population (Ledermann 1969;
Sellier 1996). On the other hand, the age distribution of
juveniles is quite unusual (Le Mort 2000); it reveals a
high proportion of infants less than one year old, most of
them (91%) deceased perinatally, as well as a low
proportion of juveniles more than one year old (Table
3.1). With reference to data from historical demography,
the normal perinates/infants less than one year old ratio in
pre-industrial populations ranges between 43% and 52%
(Dupâquier 1979).
Tab. 3.1. Age distribution
Age group Number
0 of whom: 109
Perinates 99
Others (1 month – 1 year) 10
1-19 years 25
Adults (> 20 years) 106
240
At Khirokitia, the funerary practices are as a whole
homogenous. There are no indications that notable
changes occurred over time.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Location and type of burial
No reserved funeral area for any age group was found.
The dead are buried in the same way, whatever their age
is. Most of the buildings yielded one or several burials,
belonging either to single or to various stratigraphical
levels (Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994). Burials of a
single age group (adults, juveniles or infants) may be
found in one building. In other cases, adult burials were
found together with older juveniles and/or infant burials.
There is no special part of the house reserved for graves.
The buildings where infant burials have been found are
distributed all over the investigated area. It is interesting
to notice that two houses from the west sector have
yielded a large amount of perinatal burials. Seven peri-
natal individuals were buried under floor 319 of construc-
tion S. 89 (level Ic) (Le Brun 1984 & 1989a)9; no other
graves were discovered in this building. Construction S.
106 is also noteworthy; one adult burial belonging to level
Ia (Le Brun 1984) and twelve perinatal burials (levels Ib
and Ic10) were found there. The only case of double burial
recorded at Khirokitia comes from this building where
one of the burial pits contained the remains of two indivi-
duals deceased perinatally (possibly twins). Furthermore,
three buildings excavated by Dikaios in the west sector
(“tholos” X(II), XV(II), and XLVII) yielded many infant
burials (up to 25 in “tholos” XLVII) (Dikaios 1953)
distributed between the various floors; they contained
mainly remains of perinatal individuals11. Adult and child
burials were also found in these buildings (Dikaios 1953).
skeleton or the lack of accurate data did not allow us to
determine the initial position of the body for certainty. For
the infants unearthed during old excavations, the only
available data being the tiny sketches published in the
report (Dikaios 1953), most of the time, the burial
position could not be recognized.
The side on which the dead lies was recognized for 104
individuals including 62 adults, 30 infants (all of them
deceased perinatally) and 12 other juveniles. Eight
positions have been observed. The body may lie on the
right or left side, on the back (Fig. 3.2) or on the face
(Fig. 3.3). In a number of cases, the body rests in a
particular position, partly on the back and partly on the
right/left side showing ¾ of the skeleton’s anterior part or
partly on the face and partly on the right/left side showing
¾ of the skeleton’s posterior part (Figs. 3.4 and 3.5). Such
positions have been considered as close to the right or left
lateral decubitus and thus included in their number.
Whatever the age of the deceased, the most common
position is on the right side; a less common position is on
the face (Table 3.2).

Position and orientation of the body

The shape and dimensions of the grave pits vary but they
are usually small. The bodies are buried in a contracted
position.

In 1953, Dikaios classified the burials into 11 types, on

the basis of the degree of contraction of the body and of
the side on which it lies. This classification does not seem
to take into account the infants; their position was not
described in the publication. Fig. 3.2. Infant burial 624 (building 126, level B,
east sector) lying on the back (drawing by O. Le Brun,
Recent excavations have confirmed that various burial
French Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)
positions had been represented at Khirokitia. In order to
clarify them, the published data were re-examined in
parallel with the analysis of “recently” excavated graves.
In a number of cases, the bad state of preservation of the The degree of contraction of the body could be
determined for 108 individuals including 70 adults, 26
9
The published number of individuals is 8, but the anthropological study infants (all of them deceased perinatally) and 12 other
led us to conclude that remains considered in the field as belonging to juveniles. Three different positions regarding the contra-
two different incomplete skeletons actually represent a single individual. ction of the skeleton were identified: tightly contracted
10
A. Le Brun, personal communication. when the upper and lower limbs are tightly flexed on the
11
Dikaios used two different series of numbers for the burials and trunk; contracted when the lower limbs are bent at an
human remains. Most of the skeletons stored in the Cyprus Museum
have preserved their original wooden label indicating their number and, acute angle to the spine; and slightly contracted when
generally, the number of the building they come from. In a number of they are bent at a right or obtuse angle to the spine. Most
cases, especially from buildings which yielded many burials, the con- of the adult skeletons are tightly contracted while the
cordance between skeleton numbers and burial numbers is impossible to most of juveniles are contracted (Table 3.3). In certain
establish for a certainty. If we take into account only the individuals that
could be attributed without any doubt to construction XLVII, the cases, the adult body is so strongly contracted that it very
remains of 16 infants have been identified, 14 of whom died perinatally. likely was forced into this position. It could have been

26
 F. LE MORT: INFANT BURIALS IN PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC CYPRUS: EVIDENCE FROM KHIROKITIA

Fig. 3.4. Infant burial 830 (building 122, level C, east

sector) including a stone on the body (a) and after
Fig. 3.3. Infant burial 563 (building 123, level A, east removal of the stone (b)
sector) resting on the face (drawing by O. Le Brun,
French Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)

Tab. 3.2. Burial position

(* infants are excluded from the juveniles)

Adults Juveniles* Infants

(N=62) (N=12) (N=30)
Right side 45% 67% 47%
Left side 32% 17% 27%
Back 15% 8% 20%
Face 8% 8% 6%

Tab. 3.3. Degree of body contraction

(* infants are excluded from the juveniles)

Adults Juveniles* Infants

(N=70) (N=12) (N=26)
Tightly contracted 69% 17% 23% Fig. 3.5. Infant burial 538 (building 123, level A, east
sector). A fallow deer scapula has been placed on the
Contracted 24% 58% 69% head of the infant (drawing by O. Le Brun, French
Slightly contracted 7% 25% 8% Archaeological Mission at Khirokitia)

(Dikaios 1983; Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994; Le Mort

held by a bag, bonds or some other means but the position
could also have been maintained by the narrow burial pit.
It might be assumed that the degree of contraction of the
deceased is only related to the body size, the juvenile
bodies needing less room than the adults. Nevertheless,
the hypothesis of a link between the age at death and the
degree of contraction, as part of burial position, cannot be
totally ruled out. A high variability in the body orientation
was observed for all age groups.
Grave goods
Inclusions are quite rare in the graves. Less than ¼ of the
burials include one or several big stones on the body
1994). These stones can be divided into 3 categories:
rough stones, querns and worked stones. They were
mostly found in adult burials but some of them come
from juvenile graves as well. Contrary to what is known
from other juvenile burials, no quern or worked stone was
deposited in infant burials; only rough stone were found
in a few (4) infant graves, one of which contained an
individual who had not died perinatally.
Stone vessels, often including spouted stone bowls, were
also discovered in some adult and juvenile tombs (Dikaios
1983; Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b & 1994). They are rarely
associated with infants; four examples are known from
Dikaios’ excavations. In “tholos” X(II), a spouted stone

27
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
bowl, bottom up, was placed on the legs of infant VIII
and another one has been deposited upside down on the
left part of infant IX body. In another “tholos” (XV(II)), a
spouted stone bowl laid in fragments under one infant
skeleton (V). Finally, among the numerous infant graves
from “tholos” XLVII, one (XXVII) contained a small
spouted stone bowl placed upside down on the remains of
the individual12.
Animal bones were sometimes associated with human
remains in the burials. Such an association mainly
concerns juveniles (3 cases involving 2 infants), the only
case of an adult burial being not definite (Le Brun 1984 &
1989a). In construction S.123 (east sector, level A), a
fallow deer scapula has been deposited on the head of an
infant (locus 538) who died during the perinatal period,
covering its face (Fig. 3.3). This is a unique discovery at
the site. Nevertheless, it can be compared to the stones
laid on the body in certain burials (Le Brun 1989a). These
stones might be placed on the head (most of the
instances), on the trunk, on the pelvis or on the lower
limbs (Le Brun 1989b). In another burial (locus 382,
building 89, level Ic, west sector), containing the body of
a perinatal infant, a sheep or goat horn was placed beside
the skeleton (Le Brun 1984).
Six necklaces as well as rare flint and bone tools were
found in adult and juvenile burials but no clear associa-
tion with infant graves has been evidenced (Dikaios 1953
& Le Brun 1984, 1989a, b).
DISCUSSION AND COMPARISONS
At Khirokitia, infants are buried in the same way as the
other juveniles and adults, apart from slight differences.
The small number of infants who did not die perinatally
and the lack of accurate data regarding their burials did
not allow us to make comparisons between perinates and
other infants.
The unusual juvenile age distribution observed at
Khirokitia reflects, in all likelihood, demographic anoma-
lies (Le Mort 2000). Several hypotheses could account for
the very high proportion of infants deceased perinatally.
It might be assumed that the age distribution of the
juvenile skeletal remains from Khirokitia is due to an
uneven archaeological sampling. Nevertheless, comparing
the remains from old excavations to those from recent
excavations in different areas of the site, or comparing the
remains from the east and west sectors, a quite similar
picture appears: the perinatal group is over-represented in
any case (Le Mort 2000).
Another possibility would be the existence of age-related
mortuary practices. It might be assumed that the inhabi-
12
Since it is impossible to establish for certainty the concordance
between infant burials and skeletons’ numbers from these buildings, the
age of these infants cannot be specified.
28
tants of Khirokitia gave a specific treatment to the peri-
natal individuals leading to a better preservation of their
skeletal remains and allowing frequent discovery of their
burials while excavating the houses. The rarity of the
other juvenile graves would be the consequence of burial
customs including the inhumation of most of them in a
place not yet discovered. Taking into account the
homogeneity of mortuary practices at the site, such a
hypothesis looks unlikely.
A high ratio of infants who died perinatally to other
juveniles can be an indication of infanticide (Molleson
1991). Further evidence for the sex ratio of the infant
sample and/or possible specific age-related mortuary
practices is yet needed to prove such a practice (Faerman
et al. 1998). At Khirokitia, it seems improbable, taking
into account again the homogeneity of mortuary practices
at the site.
The high proportion of infants deceased perinatally might
be due to specific pathological conditions. Porotic bone
lesions were found to be frequent among infants and other
juveniles (Le Mort 2003). It is interesting to notice that a
high percentage of the infant age group was also pointed
out for the small skeletal series (18 individuals) from the
neighbouring site of Kalavassos-Tenta and that these
human remains also exhibit porotic bone lesions (Todd
1987; Moyer 2005). A number of etiologies have been
suggested for such lesions (i.e. Stuart Macadam 1992;
Auferheide & Rodriguez-Martin 1998; Schultz 2001;
Wapler et al. 2004); they might be indicative of a poor
health status leading to a high perinatal mortality.
No infant remains have been reported from the other
Cypriot sites dating to the 7th – early 6th millennium BC,
that is Cap Andreas Kastros and Kholetria Ortos. At
Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, the incomplete remains of at
least five individuals including no infant bones were
recovered from well 133. Five bone fragments from an
individual of possible late foetal age were found in
another well (116) but their conditions of deposition do
not appear clearly (Peltenburg et al., 2000; Fox et al.,
2003; Peltenburg 2003).
The infant funerary practices at Khirokitia may be com-
pared to those observed at Kalavassos-Tenta and Parekk-
lisha-Shillourokambos.
At Kalavassos-Tenta, the dead are usually buried singly
but a pit containing the remains of four infants was found,
possibly deposited during two separate episodes, as well
as a burial described as secondary, including the remains
of two adult individuals. Apart from this grave, the burials
are primary, consisting of bodies in a contracted position.
No age-related mortuary practices have been evidenced at
the site (Moyer 2005).
At Parekklisha-Shillourokambos, a large cavity of anthro-
pogenic origin produced a collective burial, including
juvenile but no infant remains, as well as three single
 F. LE MORT: INFANT BURIALS IN PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC CYPRUS: EVIDENCE FROM KHIROKITIA
adult burials (Crubézy et al. 2003). Three infant and four
adult graves were found in another sector of the site
(Guilaine et al. 2002, 2003).
It thus seems that mortuary practices were more
diversified at Parekklisha-Shillourokambos. The small
amount of infant remains from the this site does not allow
to point out age-related burial customs but indicate
nevertheless that, at least in certain cases, infants were not
treated like the other individuals.
CONCLUSION
With its huge number of infant burials, the site of
Khirokitia shed light on burial customs in the Late Pre-
Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus. Contrary to what is
commonly observed in ancient populations, no specific
funeral treatment devoted to infants who had been
stillborn or had died shortly after birth and no reserved
funeral area for these very young individuals seem to
have existed at Khirokitia.
Many studies pointed out a lack of infants in ancient
populations (i.e. Guy et al. 1997). High percentage of
infants and especially of perinatal infants in such
populations was rarely recorded (Molleson 1991; Castex
et al. 1996). Various reasons could account for this
unusual demographic picture: age related burial customs,
infanticide, particular pathological conditions. At
Khirokitia, the unusual age distribution can be totally
explained neither by an uneven archaeological sampling,
nor by cultural practices such as burial customs or
infanticide. Specific pathological conditions might have
occurred.
The comparison between funerary practices at the Pre-
Pottery Neolithic sites in Cyprus reveals an evolution
resulting at Khirokitia in quite homogenous burial
customs, which included primary burials, usually of a
single individual, whatever the age of the dead. Burial
customs as well as many other features (Le Brun &
Daune-Le Brun 2003) confirm the specificity of the late
phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Cyprus.
Acknowledgments
I wish to express my gratitude to A. Le Brun who have
entrusted to me the study of the burials and skeletal
remains from Khirokitia. I am also grateful to S.
Hadjisavvas and D. Christou, former Directors of the
Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, for allowing me to
study the skeletal remains from Dikaios’ excavations at
Khirokitia, at the Cyprus Museum. Thanks are also given
to O. Le Brun for her help while excavating and studying
the burials, to L. Astruc, C. Baron, A. Fontaine, O. Perez
and S. Veschi for their assistance on the field and during
the cleaning and reconstruction of skeletons as well as to
G. Christou and A. Savvas for their kind help while
29
working at the Nicosia and Larnaka Museums. The
discussions with H. Duday, M. Sansilbano-Collilieux and
A.M. Tillier during this work were very useful to me.
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 SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN
IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
Malcolm C. LILLIE
University of Hull, UK, M.C.Lillie@hull.ac.uk

Abstract: The ‘visibility’ of children in prehistoric archaeological contexts has been addressed in some detail in recent studies of the
past. Reasons behind the apparent absence of children in the archaeological record have been variously attributed to gender issues
and a general disregard for the potential multiple gendering of individuals in the past, differential burial and preservation, a lack of
understanding of past social structures and the mistaken belief that children cannot become significant social individuals, amongst
others.
This paper reviews some of these issues in relation to a range of sites from Europe, and with a focus on research from the cemetery
populations of the Dnieper Rapids region of Ukraine. This region has evidence to suggest that in areas where hunter-fisher-gatherer
lifeways are based on robust resources, such as existed in the riparian zone of the Dnieper River from the Epipalaeolithic through to
Copper Age, children could be integrated into socials structures from an early age. The review highlights some of the key aspects of
Mesolithic and Neolithic burial practices and assesses the available evidence in light of changing perspectives on prehistoric ritual
articulation and the role of children in the past.
Key words: Dnieper River, Ukraine, Mesolithic, Neolithic, burial practices, children

Résume: La “visibilité” d’enfants dans des contextes archéologiques préhistoriques a été adressée de manière assez détaillée dans
de récentes études du passé. Les raisons pour l’absence apparente des enfants dans le dossier archéologique ont été attribuées, à
tour de rôle, aux questions de genre et à une négligence générale pour la différenciation potentielle par sexe multiple des individus
dans le passé. A quoi s’ajoutent les différences d'enterrement et de conservation, un manque d’arrangement des structures sociales
passées et la croyance erronée que les enfants ne peuvent pas devenir des individus sociaux significatifs, entre autres.
Cet article passe en revue certaines de ces questions par rapport à une gamme d’emplacements de l’Europe, en se concentrant sur la
recherche des populations de cimetière de la région du Dniepr en Ukraine. Cette région a l’évidence pour suggérer que dans les
secteurs où les modes de vie du chasseur-pêcheur-ramasseur sont basés sur des ressources robustes, telles existaient dans la zone
riveraine du Dniepr de l’âge Épipaléolithique jusqu’à l’âge de cuivre, des enfants pourraient être intégrés dans des structures
sociales d’un âge jeune. La revue accentue certains des aspects principaux de pratiques funéraires mésolithiques et néolithiques et
évalue l’évidence disponible à la lumière des perspectives changeantes sur l’articulation rituelle préhistorique et le rôle des enfants
dans le passé.
Mots Clefs: Dniepr, Ukraine, Mésolithique, Néolithique, pratiques funéraires, enfants

INTRODUCTION particular significance to northwest European researchers

As the papers in the current volume highlight, children in
prehistory can be very visible, and they were often
afforded burial and ritual articulations that stand out in the
archaeological record. Conversely, the ‘visibility’ of child
burials can be extremely sparse and difficult to assess due
to factors such as preservation and ritual biases. This
paper will review some examples from the literature, and
consider the evidence from the cemeteries of the Dnieper
Rapids region of Ukraine (Fig. 4.1) in detail, in an attempt
to highlight some of the practices occurring in Mesolithic
and Neolithic burial contexts.
Previous studies into the interpretation of children in the
archaeological record have highlighted a considerable
array of processes in the disposal/burial of children in
prehistory. However, it should be remembered that adult
individuals are also treated differentially in death for
various reasons (e.g. Ahlström 2003; Bonsall 1997;
Brinch Peterson & Meiklejohn 2003; Eriksson et al. 2003;
Larsson et al. 1981; Lillie 1996, 1997 & 1998a; Schulting
2003). In certain instances the reasons for a lack of
visibility of cemeteries are attributed, in part, to rising sea
levels obscuring a significant part of the archaeological
record (e.g. Larsson et al. 1981). This factor is of
in regions where stable isotope evidence supports the idea
that exploitation of marine resources in the Mesolithic
was significant, and therefore settlement/activity sites
would potentially have been located in areas that are now
submerged (e.g. Schulting & Richards 2001).
Differential treatment in death is attested at numerous
locations in Europe (and elsewhere). Evidence from
locations such as Vedbæk (Brinch Peterson & Meiklejohn
2003) indicates that combinations of ritual treatment
occur. Here, multiple burials of a male and female with a
young teenager, a 5 year old chid and an infant <1 year of
age all buried in a pit at Gøngehusvey 7 contrast with a
single inhumation of a child at the site of Maglemose-
gaard. At Tågerup, Scania, Sweden (Ahlström 2003) the
human remains found in burial pits were recorded as
fragile and extremely fragmented, but despite this two
non-adult burials aged 6-7 years (grave 3) and 9-10 years
(grave 6) respectively, were identified. At this site,
differential treatment is again attested by the occurrence
of fragments of a non-adult skeleton in a semi-flexed
position located some distance from the rest of the main
grave group. This individual was aged at c. 9-10 years at
death and was found with a transverse arrowhead in the
vicinity of the pelvis region. The author suggests that this

33
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 4.1. Location map for the cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region: 1 Osipovka;
2 Derievka I and II; 3 Vasilyevka V; 4 Vasilyevka III and II; 5 Nikolskoye; 6 Marievka; 7 Vovnigi II;
8 Yasinovatka; 9 Igren VIII (Filled Triangle = Mesolithic, Open Triangle = Neolithic)
find may indicate that the cause of death was violent in
this particular case (Ahlström 2003, 480).
Burial context clearly influences preservation, as finds
from the Mesolithic site of Ageröd I:HC attest (Larsson et
al. 1981). At this location a series of summer camp
occupations produced fragmentary human remains (5
pieces – 4 during excavations between 1946-9 and 1
during excavations between 1972-4). The skeletal mate-
rial recovered appears to have been derived from
individuals of late adolescent or adult age.
Despite the fragmented nature of the remains Larsson et
al. identified an unhealed septal aperture at the point of
insertion of the musculus deltoideus in the distal epiphysis
of a right humerus; this resulted from an injury, and there
is also some evidence for osteoporosis on this skeletal
element. Some light osteophytic lipping was also noted on
the proximal portion of an adult male’s left ulna. The
extremely fragmentary nature of this material clearly
reflects disposal of human remains in a manner other than
ritual primary burial, and in this paper (dated to 1981) a
minimum number of 22 sites with fragmentary human
remains were identified for the Scandinavian Mesolithic.
Obviously, the evidence indicates that primary burial was
not extended to all individuals in society, or alternatively
that the burial ritual employed resulted in some
destruction and loss of elements prior to burial (Larsson et
al. 1981, 166).
34
Interestingly, the evidence from Skateholm, in southern
Scania, and Vedbæk in eastern Zeeland, Denmark
(Nilsson 2003) highlights yet another aspect of Mesolithic
burial practice, that of cremation. As noted by Nilsson,
cremation represents an extreme contrast to inhumation as
the latter involves burying the dead intact, while
cremation rapidly destroys the body (2003, 531). Either
way, both practices serve to remove the body from view
and thus they avoid the need for the living to watch the
process of decomposition (Nilsson 2003, 531). Despite
this observation, grave 28 at Skateholm has evidence to
support the notion that access to the body was facilitated
after burial, and after decomposition, as bones from the
left side of the skeleton were removed, but adjacent
elements remained in place and undisturbed (Nilsson
2003, 531). This observation could help account for the
presence of disarticulated skeletal elements at settlement
sites, and Nilsson goes so far as to suggest that the
practices played out at Skateholm may inform us about
the Neolithic period, wherein the manipulation of human
remains is a dominant aspect of mortuary rituals (Nilsson
2003, 532).
The analysis of stable isotopes and diet can also provide
significant insights into past social structuring in society.
In this context recent research by Shulting (2003) has
provided some intriguing observations on the populations
buried at the Mesolithic sites of Hoëdic and Teviec in
southern Brittany. At these sites a number of the graves
 M.C. LILLIE: SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
have multiple interments indicative of successive phases
of burial. Shulting argues that this phenomenon is
reminiscent of subsequent Neolithic activity, and may
suggest that these burial traditions are in fact direct
precursors to Neolithic practices (2003, 432).
At these cemeteries Hoëdic has 14 individuals in eviden-
ce, with 2 non-adults, and Teviec has 23 individuals, with
3 non-adults in evidence. The children (all between
neonate and 4 years of age) all exhibit elevated nitrogen
values when compared to the young adult females in these
populations. This is attributed to the fact that the non-
adults are being breastfed, and as such exhibit a c. 3‰
δ15N trophic level increase when compared to the young
adult female C/N ratios. This increase reflects the fact that
the children are effectively predating on their mothers. It
is apparent from the isotope signatures of the individuals
studied by Schulting, that the adult males and mature
adult females have elevated C/N ratios when compared to
the young adult females. However, it is perhaps worth
mentioning that contrary to the suggestion that this
indicates differential diets (Schulting 2003, 434), with
young females not consuming a diet with as much marine
input as the adult males and mature adult females (and by
inference not originating in the local population) the
evidence could also suggest that breastfeeding is resulting
in a suppression of the C/N ratios for the young adult
females.
Breastfeeding functions because nutrients are transferred
to the child from the mother. Unless the mature adult
females are acting as ‘wet nurses’ in these populations it
would be unlikely that their C/N ratios would be
suppressed in this way, hence their ‘normal’ dietary
signatures at the population level of expression. The
children are unlikely to express an ‘ideal’ trophic level
increase relevant to the population based expression of
C/N ratios (i.e. the adult males and mature females),
precisely because they remove the mothers nutrients at the
systemic level. The Hoëdic and Teviec cemeteries are
extremely interesting due to the myriad of possible
interpretations of the available data (cf. Schulting &
Richards 2001), and the potential identification of long
overlaps between the Mesolithic and Neolithic of the
region.
The differences between males/mature females and young
adult females highlights an important interpretational
aspect when studying populations where non-adult
remains are lacking, in that the young adult females could
conceivably express lower C/N ratios because they were
breastfeeding either at or immediately prior to death. If
non-adult isotope studies are not available, this factor is
effectively ‘invisible’ in dietary terms. The isotope ratios
from young adult females then, if influenced by
breastfeeding, could consequently lead to a mistaken
assumption that the young adult females in a given
population were consuming divergent diets to those of
other members in the community being studied, simply
because we don’t ‘see’ the children.
35
Perhaps informative in terms of the visibility of children
in cemetery populations are the cemeteries of the northern
zone, such as Olenii Ostrov in Karelia (Jacobs 1995) and
Zvejnieki in northern Latvia (Gerhard et al. 2003).
Visibility is enhanced in the latter case by the long
duration of the burial practices occurring at Zvejnieki.
Here, the burial rituals employed display equivalent
treatment in death for males, females and non-adults. At
this site ochre, a range of artefacts, burial orientations and
types, and stone settings, are afforded to all of the
individuals being buried. Zvejnieki is informative due to
the number of non-adult burials interred, with half of
the Mesolithic burials belonging to non-adults, and two-
thirds of these including grave goods (Gerhard et al.
2003, 559).
Isotope studies at Zvejnieki have shown that the highest
nitrogen value in the interred Mesolithic burials is
associated with a child burial (burial 261), who has a δ15N
value of 15.2‰ (Eriksson et al. 2003). As was observed
previously with the Hoëdic and Teviec isotope studies
(Shulting 2003), the elevated nitrogen values are
considered to reflect trophic level enrichment due to
breastfeeding. In general the Mesolithic and earlier
Neolithic populations at Zvejnieki had substantially
higher intakes of freshwater fish to their counterparts in
later periods, where more variable diets are in evidence
from the Middle Neolithic period onwards (Shulting
2003, 14).
At Zvejnieki, the fact that children and juveniles were
identified as significant in burial clearly suggests that they
were considered important social individuals in life. The
idea that non-adult individuals in hunter-fisher-gatherer
societies can achieve recognition as significant ‘social
actors’ has been put forward previously (e.g. Lillie
1998a), and may well reflect the fact that non-adults are
able to fish and gather from an early age in societies that
exploit the rich resources of the riparian and coastal zones
of Europe.
Of particular interest in the studies of Zvejnieki is the
observation that even where non-adult remains are
lacking, some insights into childhood diets can be
recovered from the study of the isotope signatures of the
molars (Eriksson et al. 2003). If this approach is viable,
then given the developmental sequence of the molars, it is
conceivable that a sequence of diet at c. 6 year intervals
up to completion of the formation of the third molars
could be obtained. In addition, if the individual is interred
at any time up to c. 30 years of age, the isotope signature
from the bone would provide a record of the diet between
c. 20-30 years of age. Although it is unlikely that the first
to third molars would be available for study from
Mesolithic and Early Neolithic individuals in significant
numbers, such a study would provide unparalleled in-
sights into dietary practices/changes across an indivi-
dual’s earlier life, and could conceivably shed light on
significant factors such as the movement of individuals
between different groups.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
A REVIEW OF THE CEMETERIES OF THE
DNIEPER RAPIDS REGION
The cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region have been
the subject of considerable re-dating, re-analysis and
isotope studies in recent years. This has been carried out
both by the current author, and by colleagues such as
Mike Richards, Ken Jacobs, Dmitri Telegin and Inna
Potekhina, amongst others (e.g. Jacobs 1993 & 1994;
Lillie 1996, 1997, 1998a & b; Lillie & Richards 2000;
Lillie et al. 2003; Lillie & Jacobs 2006; Telegin et al.
2002; Telegin 2003), since Telegin’s early work (1961,
1968 & 1982). These cemeteries are considered to be
‘true’ cemeteries as they are often situated away from
any substantial settlement evidence, and function solely
for the rituals involved in the removal of the dead from
society (Haussler 1995; Lillie 1996, 1997 & 2003a, 60;
Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 148). Despite the con-
siderable number of burials in the Mesolithic and
Neolithic cemeteries of the Dnieper Rapids region,
variable preservation occurred, and curation practices
have led to an emphasis on the cranial part of the
skeleton, and a general absence of non-adults burials in
collections. Despite this, the detailed excavation
archives produced by Telegin and Dobrovolsky, enables
considerable insights into non-adult treatment in death,
and by inference, their role in socio-cultural structures in
life.
In two recent papers (Lillie 2003a & b) the nature of the
subsistence strategies of the populations of the Dnieper
Rapids were considered in relation to new research, a
review of the evidence from excavations and the stable
isotope studies undertaken by Lillie and Richards (Lillie
& Richards 2000; Lillie et al. 2003; Lillie & Jacobs
2006). This work outlined the limitations imposed on our
research by the fragmentary nature of the archaeological
record, the ephemeral nature of hunter-fisher-gatherer
sites, and the inherent difficulties experienced when
attempting to reconstruct past dietary pathways (Lillie
2003b, 1).
When considering the possible range of dietary compo-
nents available to hunter-fisher-gatherer populations,
alongside the work of Zvelebil (1994), research by
Pallarés and Mora (1999) on Mesolithic sites from the
eastern Pyrenees and Perry (1999) on Mesolithic sites in
the northern Netherlands have highlighted just how
diverse the range of species being exploited could be. The
presence of numerous grinding stones attests to the
processing of plant resources, which is also supported by
the evidence from lithic microwear analysis (Pallarés &
Mora 1999, 67), and these insights may provide a further
link to the subsequent adoption of domesticated plant
species by the later Mesolithic populations of Europe.
Ethnographic studies have shown that alongside con-
sumption, many of the species attested at Mesolithic and
earlier Neolithic sites in Europe had other uses in
medicine and construction (e.g. Perry 1999, 234; Nicholas
1991, 2006a, 51-3 & 2006b).
36
In light of recent studies outlining the range of plant
species available to Mesolithic populations, and by
extension, to the populations of the Dnieper Rapids
region, Lillie (2003a & b) sought to assess the degree to
which we are able to determine the composition of
prehistoric diets (Lillie 2003a) using a combination of
archaeological and ethnographic analogies.
In general a number of key observations were forth-
coming from these analyses. This included the observa-
tion that caries was universally absent from all of the
cemeteries studied between c. 11.000-4500 cal BC,
implying a diet lacking in caries potentiating foodstuffs,
whilst calculus deposits occur throughout the cemetery
series, reflecting the consumption of dietary proteins.
Archaeological evidence supports the notion that fishing
formed an integral element of prehistoric diets with a
range of fishing related artefacts occurring. These include
fish-tooth necklaces, which are found as grave goods at a
number of the earlier Neolithic sites, and fish hooks, net
sinkers and harpoons at other archaeological sites
(Telegin & Potekhina 1987).
Interestingly, in the Volga Basin (Zhilin 2006) c. 60
Mesolithic and Neolithic sites have been identified in
wetland contexts, and twelve of these have been
excavated. The material culture of the Mesolithic sites
includes extensive finds of organic artefacts including, at
the site of Ozerki 17, complete fishing hooks with the line
attached, pine fishtraps, and fragments of fishing nets and
pine bark floats. In association were a series of net sinkers
which included large pebbles with lime bark or bog grass
bindings, and sharpened stakes still in situ in the shallow
water deposits adjacent to Mesolithic and Neolithic sites
(Zhilin 2006, 66). These are interpreted as stakes for
securing nets and fish traps. The fishing related artefacts
recovered from the wetland sites in the Volga Basin
highlight just how fragmentary the evidence is from the
‘dry’ contexts in the Dnieper Rapids, and other European
regions.
Despite the gaps in the evidence, the isotope signatures
obtained from the populations in the Mesolithic and
Neolithic periods does support the notion that fish made
up a proportion of Mesolithic and Neolithic diet (Figs. 4.2
and 4.3). Isotope analysis allows for a direct assessment
of prehistoric dietary pathways and protein source,
particularly in the last 10 years of the individual’s life
(Schwarcz & Schoeninger 1991). As such, this enables a
consideration of the relative dietary dependence of the
individual through comparison of the δ13C and δ15N ratios
in evidence (cf. McGovern-Wilson & Quinn 1996).
The isotope results presented in Figure 4.2 have been
interpreted as representing a relatively uniform diet, for
many of the cemeteries in the later Mesolithic and
Neolithic periods (Lillie & Richards 2000). Figure 4.3
shows that individuals from the Mesolithic cemetery of
Vasilyevka II (Lillie & Jacobs 2006), dated to c. 7300-
6200 cal. BC, exhibit values for δ13C that cluster between
 M.C. LILLIE: SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD

14

12

10

8
δ15Ν

Derievka
Marievka
4
Nikolskoye
Osipovka
Vasilyevka V
2
Yasinovatka

0
-24 -23 -22 -21 -20 -19 -18 -17 -16 -15 -14
δ13C

Fig. 4.2. Mesolithic and Neolithic isotope ratios for the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries (after Lillie & Richards 2000)

14,5

14

13,5

13

12,5
δ15N

12

11,5

Females
11 Males
Indet
10,5

10
-23 -22,8 -22,6 -22,4 -22,2 -22 -21,8 -21,6 -21,4 -21,2 -21
δ13C

Fig. 4.3. Vasilyevka II isotopes ratios (after Lillie & Jacobs 2006)

–20.5 and –21.5‰, with δ15N values of c. 12.5-14.0‰ on
average. These values have δ13C levels that are more
positive than both the Epipalaeolithic (Vasilyevka III:
Lillie et al. 2003) and the contemporary samples for the
late Mesolithic site of Marievka and the early Neolithic
sites (Fig. 4.2). Intriguingly, whilst the δ13C ratios from
Vasilyevka II are more positive than evidenced elsewhere
on the Dnieper, they are somewhat consistent with those
from the Danubian Iron Gates sites of Vlasac, Lepenski
Vir and Schela Cladovei, as reported by Bonsall et al.
(1997). This evidence indicates that the Vasilyevka II
δ13C ratios are slightly more negative than those from the

37
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 4.4. The Nenasytets cemetery (after Telegin & Potekhina 1987, Fig. 1.2)
Danubian Iron Gates sites, while the associated δ15N
ratios are towards the lower end of the range from Vlasac.
Vasilyevka II reinforces the notion that variability occurs
in isotope levels both at the intra population level and
across the inter population range. The humans from
Vasilyevka II would suggest that C3 plant foods
contributed a significant proportion of the diet of these
populations, but that freshwater fish were also an integral
element of the diet (Lillie 2003b).
The Mesolithic and Neolithic values presented in Figure
4.2 are more varied, with a number of samples having
δ13C values that are between –22 ‰ and –24 ‰, which is
more negative than one would expect for a purely
terrestrial C3 diet (c. –20 ‰ to -21‰). These values are
again indicative of the addition of aquatic resources, most
likely river fish, to the diets (Lillie 2003b). This
interpretation is supported by the associated higher δ15N
values for these individuals, and reinforced by the
archaeological evidence for fishing related equipment.
Variation is in evidence, with two of the Neolithic
samples studied, Der 33 (Dereivka cemetery) and Vas 29
(Vasilyevka V), have collagen δ13C and δ15N values that
probably do not indicate any significant amounts of river
fish in the diets. Again, further interpretation is difficult
without associated faunal isotope values, but the high
δ15N values are indicative of diets with significant
amounts of animal, rather than plant, protein in them.
The isotope studies undertaken to date support the notion
that variation occurs in relation to the dietary components
of the populations of the Dnieper Rapids region, and that
38
fish, an r-selected species that provides a measure of
reliability in terms of resource base, were consumed. The
emphasis on reliable resources may provide some insights
into the mechanisms whereby non-adult individuals
achieved a measure of status in life, where, as mentioned
above, they were able to fish and gather along the riparian
zone, thereby actively contributing to the economic
activities of the group.
The fact that some level of status is afforded to non-adult
individuals is reinforced by the cemetery evidence (see
Telegin & Potekhina 1987 for a detailed overview). Non-
adult burials occur throughout the cemetery series, and in
certain instances vivid insights into burial ritual are
forthcoming. At the cemetery located at the Nenasytets
rapids (Bodyansky 1951) 9 burials comprising 4 adults
and 5 children were uncovered during excavations in
1948 (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 5). At this site (Fig. 4.4)
all of the burials were uncovered in the extended supine
position. Where multiple interment occurs, the deceased
are buried with their heads at opposite ends to each other
(e.g. individuals 4 and 5, and individuals 6-8, Fig. 4.4).
At this cemetery 6 of the deceased had ochre in
association and 8 of the nine individuals had associated
grave goods. Whilst one of the adult burials (Grave 3) had
a considerable quantity of associated artefacts, such as
150 annular (limestone?) beads and 55 pendants of
immature deer teeth, with Unio shells and a retouched
flint flake in association, similar finds accompanied the
other burials in this cemetery, and the non-adult burials 4,
8 and 9 all had associated grave goods. In addition burial
2 had a scraper in association whilst burial 8 had a flint
knife in close proximity (both of these are non-adult
 M.C. LILLIE: SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
burials) (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 5). Whilst undated in
absolute terms the artefact inventory at Nenasytets led
Telegin to assign this cemetery to his earlier phase A2,
immediately after Marievka and slightly earlier than
Yasinovatka stage A burials. This would suggest an age in
the region of between c. 6200 cal BC (the end date for
Marievka) and c. 5476-5271 cal BC (the earliest dates for
Yasinovatka), i.e. Nenasytets is either a late Mesolithic or
transitional Mesolithic-Neolithic site. The evidence would
support the notion that adolescents and children were
fully integrated into society at an early age, and that in
death at least they are identified as significant to society.
Differential treatment of individuals in death is evidenced
by cemeteries such as Vovnigi II, which has only 30 of
the total 130 burials having associated grave goods, and
91 of these individuals being sprinkled with ochre
(Telegin & Potekhina 1987). At Osipovka (which has
dates ranging between 6600 and 5300/4780 cal BC)
individual, paired and collective burial pits are in
evidence, and a total of 67 burials were unearthed. A
paired burial of an adult and child is directly dated to c.
6600-6370 cal BC. In this cemetery individual burials are
again in the extended supine position, and a single child
burial (Fig. 4.5) had c. 200 Cyprinidae (carp) teeth in
association, the only other grave good found at this
cemetery consisted of a worked bone artefact found in
collective grave pit (no. 53).
Fig. 4.5. Osipovka child burial (individual
no. 28). This individual was buried with c.
200 Cyprinidae (Carp) teeth in association
(after Telegin & Potekhina 1987, Fig. 22.4)
Osipovka has evidence for secondary burials in pit no. 31,
where the disarticulated remains of 7 adults and a child
39
had a number of elements missing from the burial pit.
Secondary burial is also attested in grave pit 53, where the
partial remains of 6 adults, 1 adolescent and 4 children
were identified, and where burnt bones are also included
in the burial deposit (Telegin & Potekhina 1987, 47).
Osipovka is aceramic and seems to include burials from
the Mesolithic through to earlier Neolithic periods.
Telegin and Potekhina identify Osipovka as a distinctive
monument in the Dnieper valley due to the rite of
secondary burial and the disorganised nature of the
individual burials, which in other cemeteries of this
region are systematically arranged in rows. It is possible
that the individuals interred at Osipovka represent an
intrusive group in the later Mesolithic at the Dnieper
Rapids.
Two of the larger cemeteries in the Dnieper Rapids
region, Nikolskoye and Yasinovatka, have 137 burials
(with 80 adults, 13 adolescents, and 9 children), and 68
individuals (with 51 adults, 4 adolescents, and 9 children)
respectively. Non-adults are clearly under-represented at
both of these sites, as are females (Lillie 1997, 220). It
should be noted that some problems obviously exist when
attempting to assess social differentiation at these
cemeteries as the grave goods often comprise hunting-
fishing derived material such as deer tooth pendants and
Cyprinidae (carp) teeth. However, despite this observa-
tion, it must be assumed that the inclusion of grave goods
in non-adult burial contexts can indicate some level of
social significance.
At Yasinovatka, whilst burials comprising adults and non-
adults occur in a number of instances, a grave pit located
beneath cairn III at this cemetery contained 3 child
burials. Two of these were represented by skulls, while
the third comprised an articulated skeleton in a good state
of preservation. This individual lay in the extended supine
position (mirroring adult burials) and associated grave
goods included a string of white annular beads near the
right shoulder and Cyprinidae teeth below the pelvic
bones (Lillie 1997, 221). This child was afforded burial in
exactly the same style as the adults at this cemetery, and it
was noted by Lillie (1997, 221) that the discovery of a
non-adult with grave goods provides an important insight
into the articulation of burial ritual at a site where child
burials (not associated with and adult) are rare. The phase
b-1 burials at Yasinovatka exhibit a considerable degree
of disturbance due to re-cutting of graves, and only a
single example of an undisturbed burial exists (burial 45),
which is dated to 5432-5148 cal BC. This suggests that
the second stage burials at Yasinovatka are disturbed by
later activity, perhaps indicating that no form of grave
marker was employed to identify the earlier interments, or
that less significance is placed on the earlier burials in this
b-stage of the cemetery’s use.
Finally, when ‘visualising’ children in the archaeological
record, in addition to the use of isotopes from adult
molars (or other early forming teeth), it is worth remem-
bering that other indicators of juvenile systemic stressors
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
occur in the form of enamel hypoplasias. In the Dnieper
Rapids cemeteries, the incidence of these non-specific
indicators of childhood systemic stress occur at low levels
on the dentitions of adult individuals from both periods.
For the Mesolithic period 820 teeth are preserved, of these
12 (1.46%) exhibit hypoplasias, whilst in the Neolithic
period 33 of the 1464 teeth preserved exhibit hypoplasias
(2.25%). These are represented on the individual level by
six individuals in the Mesolithic period (13.8%) and
twelve individuals in the Neolithic period (11.5%).
The distribution of hypoplasias between both males and
females in the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries indicates
generalised systemic stress during childhood, between the
ages of 2.0-6.0 years (Goodman & Rose 1991; Smith
1991), with 71.74% of occurrences between 2-4 years,
and 28.26% between 4-6 years. This distribution con-
forms to that highlighted by Goodman and Armelagos
(1985, 486-7), whereby in general, weaning stress is
thought to occur between 1-4 years of age, with varia-
bility being population specific in nature.
As mentioned above, enamel hypoplasias are non-specific
indicators of stress, and may be the result of a number of
factors such as local trauma, hereditary conditions,
nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases and metabolic
disruptions (Huss-Ashmore et al. 1982; Goodman et al.
1984; Goodman & Armelagos 1985; Moggi-Cecchi
1994). However, of the several developmental dental
defects that may be related to general and nutritional
stress, macroscopic enamel hypoplasia appears to be one
of the more valid and reliable indicators (Huss-Ashmore
et al. 1982), which in the case of the Dnieper Rapids
cemeteries, suggests that weaning stress occurs. This
reinforces the fact that breastfeeding is occurring at these
sites and that some variation in young adult female
isotope ratios may be anticipated as a result.
DISCUSSION
The above discussion has highlighted numerous aspects
of non-adult burial and the ritual treatment involved in the
removal of these individuals from society. We have
obviously expanded our knowledge base when inter-
preting non-adult individuals, and a lot of work has been
undertaken in the past decade to make the ‘invisible
people’ visible (cf. Moore & Scott 1997). Women are no
longer ignored in favour of males when interpreting
hunter-fisher-gatherer societies and non-adults individuals
are ‘becoming’ more visible as the dominant discourse
attempts to provide the basis for an holistic social
narrative of the Mesolithic.
Our understanding of burial ritual is more robust as the
methods and theories we use become more refined and
targeted (e.g. Nilsson 2003). The use of detailed studies of
taphonomic processes has shown that some significant
insights can be gleaned from the archaeological record.
Nilsson has noted that the removal of skeletal elements
40
after burial and decomposition occurs in the case of burial
28 at Skateholm I.
This observation could help account for the presence of
disarticulated skeletal elements at settlement sites, and
Nilsson goes so far as to suggest that the practices played
out at Skateholm may inform use about the Neolithic
period wherein the manipulation of human remains is a
dominant aspect of mortuary rituals (2003, 532). Simi-
larly, Shulting argues that this phenomenon is reminiscent
of subsequent Neolithic activities, and may suggest that
these practices are precursors to later Neolithic rituals
(2003, 432). These studies would imply that Neolithic
collective burials and the removal/re-use of skeletal
elements in ritual contexts away from the primary burial
context are effectively continuities in ritual practice from
the Mesolithic.
By implication, Schulting’s research may also indicate
that where non-adult remains are lacking, young adult
females could conceivably express lower C/N ratios
because they were breastfeeding either at or immediately
prior to death. As non-adults are not always represented in
mortuary contexts, if non-adult isotope studies are not
feasible/available, this factor is effectively ‘invisible’ in
dietary terms. The young adult females isotope ratios
could consequently lead to a mistaken assumption that the
young adult females were consuming divergent diets to
those of other members in the community being studied,
simply because we don’t ‘see’ the children.
Differential isotope signatures are recorded throughout
the European Mesolithic/hunter-fisher-gatherer skeletal
series, but in general, the identification of differential diet
cannot be used to infer inequality in terms of total dietary
calorific values or that these differences are entirely
culturally imposed. Similarly, the use of plants is apparent
(e.g. Zvelebil 1994; Pallarés & Mora 1999; Perry 1999),
but we cannot assess the relative contribution that plants
made to the diet, and we also cannot gauge at what age
children could have been integrated into the resource
procurement strategies of forager groups. However, the
identification of childhood stress episodes using hypo-
plasias, and by inference dietary shifts away from
breastfeeding, provide some insights into the possible age
ranges at which children could have begun to participate
in resource procurement in different groups is a way into
this area of study.
Lillie (1998a, 2003a & b) has argued that the variability
identified through isotopic studies reinforces the notion
that differential access to proteins of animal, fish, and/or
plant derivation, and the mediation of such access, occurs,
but that this does not necessarily result in a reduction in
health status, especially in the case of the individuals from
the Dnieper Rapids cemeteries.
The early integration of children into the social context
may reflect a number of factors relating to the societies
considered. In general group mobility, economic stress,
 M.C. LILLIE: SUFFER THE CHILDREN: ‘VISUALISING’ CHILDREN IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
workloads, and the regulation of family size are cited
amongst the reasons for the lack of consideration afforded
to young children in a wide range of societies from
prehistoric hunter-gatherers to the modern period (cf.
Mays 1995). Within the Dnieper Rapids region the
exploitation of a rich resource spectrum (hunting-fishing-
gathering) may have enabled younger children to play an
active part in subsistence tasks from a relatively low age,
and as a consequence these individuals are perceived as
having a recognised social persona in death.
This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that children in a
number of the Ukrainian cemeteries are afforded burial
that is identical to that given to adults, that many non-
adult individuals have grave goods (often in significant
quantities as noted at Osipovka), and ochre is used in the
burial rituals. Similarly, we have evidence for differential
treatment in death with some individuals being buried
without grave goods, suggesting some level of horizontal
stratification, however the inclusion/non-inclusion of
grave goods is not restricted to discrete groups, but is
applied throughout age/gender categories. At Osipovka
secondary burial occurs, and this is reminiscent of
Scandinavian Mesolithic practices wherein a minimum
number of 22 sites with fragmentary human remains have
been identified. Larsson et al. (1981, 166) have argued
that this evidence indicates that primary burial was not
extended to all individuals in society, or alternatively that
the burial ritual employed resulted in some destruction
and loss of elements prior to burial. Again this represents
an aspect of Mesolithic ritual that is visible from
Scandinavia to Ukraine, and is a ritual activity that is
transposed into Neolithic burial practices.
Clearly, some significant limitations are imposed on our
research by the fragmentary nature of the archaeological
record, the ephemeral nature of hunter-fisher-gatherer
sites, and the inherent difficulties experienced when
attempting to reconstruct past dietary pathways (Lillie
2003). However, as the above discussion has shown, the
techniques used in interpreting Mesolithic and hunter-
fisher-gatherer societies (the latter subsistence strategies
characterise earlier Neolithic groups in the Dnieper
Rapids region) have provided considerable insights into
non-adults in these societies. The above discussion has
also suggested that in certain instances, the lack of non-
adult burials does not preclude the generation of some
important observations relating to childhood stress (e.g.
enamel hypoplasias) or diet (e.g. isotope studies of teeth).
Similarly, by inference we can suggest that young adult
female isotope ratios can be biased by weaning practices
(which again can be inferred from the age distribution of
the enamel hypoplasias on adult teeth), which provides an
insight into childhood subsistence and possibly the age at
which children begin to function as ‘social actors’.
Biases exist, but when we actually attempt to ‘visualise’
children in hunter-fisher-gatherer contexts the above
discussion has shown that a considerable corpus of
evidence exists. We can draw meaningful insights into a
41
discrete part of society that was fundamental to group
survival, and we can (with relative ease) identify non-
adult individuals who clearly functioned as meaningful
and significant social individuals.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Krum Bacvarov for his
invitation to produce this review paper. The interpretation
and discussion of the isotope results owes much to the
work of Mike Richards who has worked with the author
on all of the data presented here. The samples of human
bone, used for the analyses of Vasilyevka II, were
obtained by Ken Jacobs during research in St. Petersburg,
Russia; all other samples were obtained by Malcolm Lillie
and processed by Mike Richards. The palaeopathological
analysis was undertaken during the author’s doctoral
research which was funded by the SERC (now NERC).
The author would like to thank Professor Gokhman and
Dr. Alexander Kozintsev, Museum of Anthropology and
Ethnography, and Professor Vladimir Timofeev, Depart-
ment of Palaeolithic Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia and
Professor Dmitri Telegin and Dr. Inna Potekhina,
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Kiev, for invaluable
assistance during my research visits to Eastern Europe. As
ever, any errors and/or omissions remain the response-
bility of the author.
Finally, since commencing my work in Ukraine, both Ken
Jacobs and Vladimir Timofeev have died unexpectedly,
similarly my mother and sister died suddenly between
October 2004 and April 2005, these losses have impacted
differentially on me, but all of these individuals have
influenced my research and life in various ways, each is
sorely missed.
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 ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS:
RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?
Sharon MOSES
Cornell University, U.S.A., skm33@cornell.edu

Abstract: Neolithic Çatalhöyük in south central Turkey illustrates prehistoric ideology and religion interwoven with daily life. This
paper posits that children’s bodies were integral in creation of sacred spaces. Unusual child burials in lieu of clear physical/forensic
evidence of violent death are often interpreted archaeologically as “natural,” utilized for ritual purposes.
I propose that contextual evidence can, in certain circumstances, be as compelling and that a priori labeling them as “natural” robs
potential understanding of children’s roles in religious ideologies. This paper is not a physical or forensic analysis, but rather
theoretical and contextual. Ways to discern clues for ritual death based upon different motivations are presented.
Keywords: Neolithic, children, religion, burial, sacrifice

Résumé: Le site néolithique de Çatalhöyük dans le sud de la Turquie centrale illustre l’idéologie et la religion préhistoriques
entrecroisées avec la vie quotidienne. Cet article avance que les corps des enfants étaient intégrés à la création d’espaces sacrés.
Les enterrements insolites d’enfants, en lieu et place de la preuve physique/légale claire de mort violente, sont souvent interprétés
archéologiquement comme “naturels”, utilisés dans des buts rituels.
Je propose que les témoignages contextuels peuvent, dans certaines circonstances, être significatifs, et que la qualification a priori
de ces sépultures comme “naturelles” empêche la compréhension potentielle des rôles des enfants dans les idéologies religieuses. Ce
papier n’est pas une analyse physique ou légale, mais plutôt théorique et contextuelle. Les façons de discerner les indices de morts
rituelles, fondées sur des motivations différentes, sont présentées.
Mots clefs: Néolithique, les enfants, la religion, l’enterrement, le sacrifice

INTRODUCTION Contemporary political and cultural concerns may also

Often when archaeologists discover children and infants
as foundation deposits there is a hesitation to characterize
them as ritual deaths or sacrifices, particularly in lieu of
forensic evidence which would clearly indicate violent
death. It is problematic, however, to always base our
evaluations solely on hard forensic evidence. The
majority of infant and child remains do not easily reflect
recognizable clues of unnatural death after centuries or
millennia, particularly when the means may have included
smothering, strangling, or other methods which would
leave no imprint upon skeletal remains.
It is much easier and frankly, safer, as archaeologists to
leave the mode of death unaddressed where it is not
readily obvious, noting only that the child’s body was
placed in a wall, a floor, or other structure after-the-fact as
a ritual deposit. But does this failure to explore likely
death scenarios based upon contextual differences and
their subsequent implications, minimize our potential
understanding of ritual child burials?
Unfortunately, the full implication of children’s bodies
and the means by which they came to be utilized in ritual
events is too seldom pursued or debated. Rather, these
unique burials tend to be summed up with the phrase
“possible foundation deposit” and left as little more than a
footnote in the reconstruction of ancient religious
practices and beliefs.
Avoidance of labeling sacrificial activities may also be
partly rooted in our own modern Western biases which
have difficulty reconciling ritual child sacrifice with ease.
play a role in hindering suggestions of possible ritual
practices that descendant communities may find offensive
or where fears of resulting negativity may have residual
effect.
We should be cognizant of these factors in the interpretive
process; this paper is not a call for uncritical interpret-
tation, the utilization of “sacrifice” as the new default
term, or for speculation in absence of evidence. Rather,
this is an appeal for a more balanced, though cautionary
approach, to placing unusual child burials in context
within other patterned behavior instead of avoiding them
as ultimately indeterminate.
This paper argues that unilateral avoidance of controver-
sial burials ultimately robs the potential for understanding
the full impact of children’s roles in prehistory. This is
particularly pertinent in the Neolithic, a time when
religious symbolism and ritual behavior experienced
florescence in concert with changing social and cultural
ideologies where the importance of children as conduits to
the supernatural world would be highly significant.
Based upon my studies of child burials and social roles in
the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, I argue
that contextual evidence should be considered as an
alternative interpretive tool where patterns cross-regio-
nally, intraspatially or temporally indicate a deeper
likelihood of sacrificial rituals despite an absence of direct
forensic evidence. Further, this paper strives for ways to
discern and separate possible ritual deaths from votive
deposits utilizing children’s bodies after death has already
occurred.

45
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Furthermore, I argue that foundation deposit as a
descriptive phrase should not be utilized as a one-size-
fits-all application covering all child burials simply
because they are located at the foundation level of
structures. Such deposits were complex in that different
contexts addressed different spiritual or ideological
concerns associated with creating sacred spaces. These
subtle differences and varying contexts may reflect
different ritual motivations. This paper is in favor of
noting those differences where they occur. Different
motivations may well have defined not only the ritual
involved but subsequently the status of the offering
immediately before burial, whether alive or dead.
These considerations may bring us closer to detecting
clues favoring active or passive agencies and the victim’s
mode of death. Because of these differences, under certain
circumstances ritual death rather than convenient death
may be a more viable interpretation.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF BURIAL STYLES IN
THE NEOLITHIC
Intramural, courtyard burials, or cemeteries abutting
living areas are consistent with funerary practices
throughout the Neolithic Near East. Styles of burial vary
by region, with cremation and ceramic encasement in jars
or pots more predominant in southeastern Europe,
particularly in Greece and Italy (Perlès 2001).
Widely practiced in the Near East from the Natufian
through PPNB (Prepottery Neolithic B), skull removal
and elaboration (plastering skulls, etc.) became infrequent
by the PPNC throughout the Levant (Bar-Yosef & Valla
1991; Kenyon 1957; Kuijt 2000). The practice of decapita-
teon of the dead has been found in relatively few instances
in Anatolia by comparison, at sites Çatalhöyük, Nevalı Çori,
Çayönü, and Cafer Höyük during the early to late Neolithic
(Hauptmann 1999; Özdoğan 1999; Rollefson 2001).
Only two instances of specific decapitation (both adults)
and one instance of skull plastering (also an adult) has
been found at Çatalhöyük – the plaster primarily placed in
a band across the eyes and face, rather than the entire
skull as found in the Levant (2004 field season).
Further westward in the Mediterranean region, i.e.
Greece, Italy etc. rather than post-mortem skull removal
per se, secondary burial practices wherein long bones and
skulls from primary burials were gathered and redeposited
(sometimes in ossuaries) was a common practice, and
virtually no skull plastering/elaboration has been found
(Perlès 2001).
By comparison, Çatalhöyük seems to place more
emphasis on intramural burials than has been found
elsewhere in the Anatolian region. In fact, the number of
burials found within settlement living spaces and not in
delineated public or ritual-specific cult buildings far
46
outnumbers those found in other Anatolian sites thus far
(Andrews et al. 2006). Although some sites in Anatolia
can currently lay claim to more burials per se, such as
Çayönü, it must be remembered that the majority of
individuals found at Çayönü were interred in a ritual
structure (Skull Building) rather than a dwelling, signify-
cantly changing the context of the burials themselves.
It has been established that structures once thought to be
shrines at Çatalhöyük (Mellaart 1967) were in fact not
shrines or public structures but served as dwellings.
Micromorphology of floors and surfaces indicate multiple
activities including food preparation, tool knapping,
sleeping areas, and other activities associated with daily
life (Matthews et al. 1996). These dwellings housed an
average of four or more individuals on a year-around
basis and indications are that children were part of the
family units inhabiting them. This is contrary to earlier
beliefs that the architectural design of the structures was
not child-friendly, and would pose a threat to the health
and welfare of small children around sharp contours such
as plastered horns, burcrania and external ledges from
which they might fall.
In the Mediterranean and southeastern European regions,
though intramural child burials occur, generally speaking
a burial placement in delineated cemeteries which more
formally separated the living from the dead was more
likely to occur. Intramural burials are generally less
common in numbers compared to the Near East and
Levant. Besides allocated cemeteries, burial spaces
included caves and other areas that could be considered
liminal in some way, particularly for ritual purposes
(Perlès 2001; Whitehouse 1992).
Aside from intramural interment, neonates, infants, and
juveniles at Çatalhöyük were given primary burial;
primary-multiple burials do occur, but when they do,
children tend to be grouped with other children and
occasionally with an adult. In these adult/child burials, it
is often assumed (when the adult is female) that she was
likely the mother, perhaps who died in childbirth.
Since the 1990s excavations began, approximately twen-
ty-four percent of non-adults have been interred within
baskets made specifically for burials. Unique grasses
indicate that these baskets were not utilized for other
household purposes; at least none have been found thus
far (Hodder 2006). The vast majority of basket burials
from the renewed excavations appear to be relegated to
neonates and infants, although Mellaart (1964) noted in
his 1960s preliminary reports that basket burials were
represented in all age groups. Presumably these numbers
diminished as age of the individual increased, but
Mellaart noted at least one case of an adult in an enlarged
basket. Unfortunately detailed accounts of these examples
were not documented.
Despite earlier views by Mellaart (1967) who suggested
secondary burials were the predominant funerary
 S. MOSES: ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS: RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?
practice at Çatalhöyük, this has now been ruled out. In
secondary burials fingers, toes, hyoid bones, etc. are
invariably lost due to the scattering effect of excarnation
or other exposure practices. The disarticulated bones in
the burials Mellaart excavated and thought were
secondary, were in actuality disturbed burials; the result
of new interments placed next to or over the top of
previous burials. Secondary burials have thus been
determined an uncommon funerary practice at
Çatalhöyük. Only two graves from current excavations
show evidence of secondary burial activity (Andrews et
al. 2005). Of the secondary burials from Grave 31 in
Building 1, two were adults and two were adolescent
males (#1482 and #1491) aged fifteen and seventeen
respectively.
Human remains analysis indicates that the majority of
burials were primary and/or disturbed and bodies interred
beneath house floors and platforms shortly after death.
Previous hypotheses that bodies had been exposed to
scavengers for excarnation before burial are not supported
by the evidence. Remains of individuals thought to be
secondary interments show no signs of chewing or other
scavenger activity, although there has been evidence of
“trampling.” This suggests they were placed on or near a
trafficked surface where the bodies were distressed by
being tread over yet isolated from animals and an
uncontrolled environment.
Finally, when Çatalhöyük’s burials are projected against a
settlement population estimated at one time to have been
approximately 3.000 to 8.000, the numbers do not
reconcile (Hodder & Cessford 2004). It is now believed
that the majority of the population, both adult and sub-
adult, was not interred beneath the settlement houses, but
elsewhere outside the settlement.
The overall placement of more burials in some dwellings
than others coupled with the outward appearance of
largely egalitarian governance, suggests that at Çatal-
höyük and elsewhere in the Neolithic, ancestors and
kinship lineages was of great importance. Burials at
Çatalhöyük were likely utilized toward establishing and
maintaining connections to religion, tradition and
privileges or rights accorded to specific households and
families.
Since the majority of the dead were disposed of off the
mound utilizing funerary practices as yet unknown, this
suggests that intramural mound burials were a special
category in and of themselves simply by virtue of their
selection for in-settlement, intramural interment (Hodder
& Cessford 2004).
The majority of on-mound burials at Çatalhöyük are
children. This paper follows the “special category”
premise of on-mound burials and argues that children
played an integral role in maintaining connections to the
ancestors, creating sacred spaces and in general
communicating with the supernatural world.
47
ÇATALHÖYÜK’S DIFFERENTIATED CHILD
BURIALS
Çatalhöyük excavations have uncovered four types of
child burials which are further differentiated from typical
on-mound child burials. That is to say, a “typical” on-
mound child burial is one normally intramural, located
beneath a platform or floor on the north/northwest,
north/central, west or eastern side of a house. Neonates
are often found along a south or southwestern wall and
often in a woven basket and close to or within the hearth.
The significance of the southern side seems to be spiritual
rather than functional both for building entrance and
burial pattern.
Evidence suggests that burial location within the house
was dependant upon the age of the child, with only
neonates and youngest infants placed in the south area or
in the vicinity of the hearth. Burial options for placement
of these youngest individuals seems to have encompassed
the whole house (though the southerly areas held
preference) while other age categories seem precluded
from the south/hearth area. In all, nearly sixty per cent of
the individuals interred in the settlement based upon data
from the current excavations through 2003 are of
children, suggesting children held a special place in the
cosmological beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants (Moses
2006).
The four differentiated categories of specialized child
burials found in Çatalhöyük excavations thus far as
presented in this paper are: 1) foundation burials, 2)
threshold burials, 3) change of space-use ritual burial,
and 4) fortification or wall/ceiling burial. Each of these
categories will be examined with examples taken from the
original excavations by James Mellaart in the early 1960s
as well as from the current excavations under Ian Hodder,
who reopened the site in 1993. I will then attempt to
synthesize my interpretations and theoretical perspectives
toward a more meaningful understanding of the signify-
cance of these distinct child burials.
ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION AND
THRESHOLD BURIALS
From the most recent excavations there are three neonate
burials, individuals #2515, #2199, and #2197, placed at
the threshold between two rooms within Building 1,
namely the crawl space between Space 71 and Space 187.
These burials took place during the construction phase
(Subphase B1.1B), thus their designation as foundation
deposits. This building was located in the North Area of
the east mound.
Also interred during the construction phase, a fourth
neonate (#2532) with an adult female (#2527) referred to
previously, were placed in the fill but located away from
the threshold burials and closer to the north wall (Cess-
ford, North Area Excavation report, Vol. 3 forthcoming).
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
This has been posited as a likely mother and child pair.
The location of this pair in comparative reference to the
three neonate deposits suggests the neonate/adult burial
may have been placed during the construction phase with
other ritual motives, although still linked to the foun-
dation status of the building.
All four neonates constitute the only four neonates in the
building out of sixty-two burials. The significance of
burial location, construction activity, and the limitation of
the age category for the remainder of the life cycle of the
house, differentiates these from all other burials within
the house.
The most recent foundation deposit has been the
discovery of a woman embracing a plastered skull which
caused quite a stir at the site. Todate, it is the only
plastered treatment of a skull, linking the practice to the
Levant and other Near Eastern sites where skull plastering
techniques were used. The plastering seems focused upon
the facial features rather than the entire skull as found in
Jericho, however. The young woman holding the semi-
plastered skull was deposited in a pit with infant (10498)
associated with the foundation level of Building 42,
which was a new building constructed over a previous
midden. Hodder posits that because the building had no
structural/ancestral predecessor, it may have been deemed
necessary to build over the top of an “ancestor” - the
plastered skull – in order to establish the house (Hodder
2006). The woman may have been a member of the house
lineage or for other unknown reasons was selected as the
most appropriate deposit for this ritual event. No overt
signs of violence have been noted about the skeleton and
it has not been identified as a sacrificial victim but
accepted as simply a foundation deposit, presumably a
natural and opportune death at the time of construction.
The plastered skull itself was not new at the time of its
deposit in the grave. Evidence indicates it had been
plastered at least three different times with red paint and
had been kept above ground for some time before this
burial.
CHANGE OF SPACE RITUAL BURIAL
A neonate burial was found in Space 199, feature 525 of
the South Area excavations. The neonate was in a basket
and placed in a shallow grave in an open area,
approximately five meters east of a wall (F.551). Its
extramural status identifies it as very unusual and is the
only one of its kind to-date. This burial was found in the
beginning of Level XII, one of the earliest partially
excavated levels of Çatalhöyük. The burial was located in
an area during a transition of space use; that is to say, the
beginning of Level XII which marked the end of a long
term use midden in the courtyard and the beginning of a
sheep/goat penning area. The context suggests that the
burial served as a ritual deposit for sanctifying this
change. Burning activity adjacent to this burial is
evidenced by a charcoal residue from a unique fuel (oak
48
wood). It appears to have been a one time event which
ultimately and inadvertently helped seal the burial (Farid,
South Area Excavation reports Vol. 3 forthcoming). The
burial was located on the western periphery of the fire and
no evidence suggesting the fire was used for utilitarian
purposes such as food processing has been found.
As a ritual event, the visual significance of the burial was
enhanced by its open public access; a marked contrast to
the private and enclosed intramural burials which would
have limited the view to a select few inside a house.
WALL/CEILING BURIAL DEPOSITS
Mellaart discovered the remains of a child whom he
describes as a “stillborn” or “premature” found encased in
a mudbrick from a wall he believed to be a shrine in Level
VI.A.14 on the South side of the mound (Mellaart 1963;
1967, 83). The infant was discovered when the mudbrick
was broken during excavation. The impressions in the
clay revealed that it was once enshrouded in a woven
basket and the infant’s bones were stained with red ochre.
A piece of shell and an obsidian chip were also placed
with the baby.
Mellaart surmised that the brick was “set somewhere high
in the wall” (Mellaart 1963, 75) in his description of the
west wall where two plastered bull’s heads were located
and where a wall relief he believed to be an abstract
“goddess” was found. This may have been the context for
the brick but unfortunately more specific details are
lacking.
Small hand prints were painted in red over the end of the
larger bucrania’s snout during an earlier phase, suggesting
a correlation between small children and infants in the
religious symbolism in the room. Mellaart (1963)
described this building as particularly elaborate, with
multiple bucrania and horn cores molded into benches as
well as the wall; the south wall which was relatively
undecorated in other houses, also had a molded niche or
cavity and a ram’s head plastered above it.
From the current excavations in an area known as the
“4040” on the north side of the mound, an infant of
approximately two years of age was found in Space 227,
near the northeast platform (2004 Çatalhöyük Archive
Report). There were no distinguishable burial cuts in the
platform and it is believed to also have originally been
placed higher up in the northern wall, which was unstable
during the occupation of the house and seemingly in
danger of collapsing inward (Fig. 5.1).
WHERE POWER RESIDES: SACRIFICE VERSUS
VOTIVE DEPOSIT
Historically and ethnographically, cases of human or
animal sacrifice suggest the power of the foundation
 S. MOSES: ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS: RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?

Fig. 5.1. A hurried wall burial of a two-year-old child at Neolithic Çatalhöyük,

possibly to add stability to the wall, reconstruction by Sharon Moses

sacrifice lies in its cost to the individual and/or the
community performing the ritual, as well as the suffering
of the victim (Brown 1991; Green 2001). This is the core
of sacrificial efficacy toward coercing the will of super-
naturals toward granting benefits to the living such as
blessings, privileges, prosperity, protection, purification
and sanctification (Abusch 2002; Brown 1991).
When coupled with intramural interment, foundation
sacrifices have been found to be associated with ancestor
cults and lineage governing systems that dictate the act of
killing the victim is necessary for the offering to have
value. Ritual killing has been further linked to agricultural
societies, where seasonal changes, crop or animal fertility
and prosperity are entwined with religious mythologies
(Green 2001; James 2002). Folklore, songs, legends and
customs from historic periods reflect a long tradition in
many societies that stress the importance of living crea-
tures as sacrifices or scapegoats in order to communicate
or make requests of the supernatural world. Supernaturals
are perceived to respond most to the act of sacrifice
through the emotional impact, blood, tears, or release of
essence of the victim that symbolize the life force in order
to propitiate the gods (Brown 1991; Green 2001; James
2002).
Sacrificial rituals existed in Native American cultures of
North America (Gill 1982; Underhill 1953). In the Pacific
Northwest for example, foundation sacrifices utilizing
slaves or captives when erecting a new community use or
storage house was practiced. The victim was placed in
one of the corner post holes and was subsequently
crushed when the foundation post was lowered in over the
top of them. Those who survived the weight of the post
met death through suffocation as the post hole was filled
with dirt and rocks.
In the Midwestern region, a captive young girl was
periodically sacrificed as part of an ancient Pawnee
ceremony commemorating the journey from this world to
the supernatural world from where a medicine bundle was
believed to have originated. After the four day ceremony,
the girl was struck on the head with a sacred war club and
shot with a sacred bow and arrow as well. Her blood was
used to sanctify dried buffalo meat and corn seeds (Gill
1982).
Blood letting and ritual killing were closely connected to
re-enactment of mythological events and transformation
in many Native American cultures. Loss of life-essence
and blood of victims were also necessary catalysts in

49
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
ritual acts intended to bring about change or acknow-
ledge it, either literal or figurative, through cosmological
forces.
In another example from historic Europe, Slavic countries
such as Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and
Yugoslavia local customs originally demanded human
sacrifices for foundation deposits for bridges, fortification
walls and places of worship since pre-Christian times.
However, tradition changed in that human beings were
replaced with hens, cocks, cats and dogs as Christianity’s
influence spread in rural communities throughout
the Middle Ages. Traditional rituals were closely tied
with community identities and were not completely
replaced with Christian ideas, even at the peak of
persecution.
Ritual victims when not sacrificed beforehand were typi-
cally caged or bound and buried alive beneath foundation
structures. Germanic peoples likewise give ethnographic
accounts of different sacrifices for different purposes
(Bartha 1983). Archaeological evidence from prehistory
forward demonstrates that victims were often children,
many times placed in boundary locations which could be
construed as “liminal” and near storage areas such as
grain or corn silos (Scott 1991; Skeates 1991). By the
Middle Ages a widespread shift to animals as ritual
substitutions can be noted and human beings (in the form
of body parts, secondary burials or representational
figurines, etc.) were used in more passive forms of
dedication rituals.
The ritual act of sacrifice was an active method by which
individuals and communities sought to incite supernatural
action or to generate reciprocal obligations from the
supernatural world. Its signature was a sense of individual
or collective empowerment via the ritual act.
Where neither human nor animal sacrifice is evident,
human and/or animal bones or body parts, and inanimate
objects have been used historically as votive deposits.
Alternately, votive deposits were designed to function as
a gesture, an expression of hopeful appeal, yet
something more than a prayer. These deposits can be
construed as evidence of a passive ritual act in that they
lacked immediacy and the course of action was
ultimately left to the discretion of supernatural entities.
The depositor lacked the empowerment inherent in a
sacrificial act.
Furthermore, the votive deposit placed little or no great
loss upon the depositor; that is to say, the deposit had
value, but this may have been more symbolic than
economic or lower in emotional cost. Votives were often
placed after the request had been granted as a form of
thank you, acknowledgement, and to act as a visual
marker and/or performance. These performances were
meant as much for the living as for the dead, acting as a
form of communal or familial bonding and reinforcement
of group identity.
50
SUMMARY
The three neonate foundation burials nearest the crawl
space of Building 1 appear to fulfill a dual purpose. While
foundation deposits are often located in corners or
literally within a foundation structure, these foundation
burials seem to be defined by the liminal status of the
internal threshold between two rooms. Thus, while the
construction phase of the house establishes the general
context, the focus of intent appears to be the room-to-
room access point.
Sacrificial threshold rituals are often made to purify and
consecrate a doorway, where the crossing over point is
perceived as a dangerous zone to the health and vitality of
the occupants and the house itself if not properly treated.
Threshold sacrifices normally consist of taking the life of the
offering, its blood, etc. utilized to make this liminal space
sacred (Brewster 1971; Green 2001; Whitehouse 1992).
A votive deposit, in this case the burial of stillborns, I
posit, would be an unlikely ritual choice considering the
context; the importance of the ritual is correlated and
defined by its limited performance, in this case in
Çatalhöyük’s Building 1. As mentioned earlier, this
building contained no other neonates for the duration of
its house-life which constituted sixty-two burials.
Because one of the neonates was buried in a primary
burial with an adult female and separated in location from
the other three neonates clustered nearest the threshold
and no clear association with a particular wall or struc-
ture, it seems less clear whether the mother and child died
in childbirth and were therefore used as votive burials
during the construction phase because they belonged to
the lineage of the house. There is not enough contextual
evidence to suggest association with the main neonate
burial cluster beyond the age of the infant, also a neonate.
The infant buried with the woman with a plastered skull
of the foundation deposit for Building 42, however, seems
a more likely candidate for a sacrificial event rather than a
timely, convenient death. The purposeful and highly
significant burial interred with a rare plastered skull
suggests a ritual event worthy of a sacrificial catalyst. If
the establishment of a new building over a previous
midden necessitated the inclusion of an “ancestor” via a
plastered skull, this implies forethought and planning
associated with a change of space use as seen in the
extramural child burial.
The change-of-space ritual from a midden to a penning
area for sheep and goats stands out as a one-time event,
complete with a bonfire fueled with special wood
consecrating the ground in the burial’s vicinity. Again, the
deposit of a stillborn, I posit, would seem to run counter
to the special context and intent of this ritual.
It is not unprecedented to assume that children played an
important role in the daily shepherding of livestock and
 S. MOSES: ÇATALHÖYÜK’S FOUNDATION BURIALS: RITUAL CHILD SACRIFICE OR CONVENIENT DEATHS?
were thus associated more closely with animal care. Most
agrarian and shepherding societies utilize its children to
help with crops and/or animals while adults are largely
engaged in activities that require more refined knowledge,
skill and strength. Beyond the physical qualities and uses
children posed in the care of animals and food gathering,
they also represented a spiritual element in the protection
of these resources.
Children have often represented a purity or closeness to
the supernatural world in a way that adults did not (Green
2001). Perhaps the consecration of ground and change of
space necessitated the ritual death of a child to promote
health and protection.
Çatalhöyük’s special emphasis on the religious symbo-
lism of children and their bodies would seem to be con-
sistent with sanctifying the health and prosperity of the
animals to be penned in this space. It would be of utmost
importance to facilitate the well-being of such an im-
portant aspect of the settlement’s economy and survival.
Finally, the in-wall infant burials provide us with an
insight into the conceptual differences between votive and
sacrificial rites. Hodder posits that the deposit from the
wall in the 4040 area did not appear to be a “careful” one,
that is to say, not evidenced by an obvious ritual, but may
have been hurriedly placed there possibly to “‘strengthen’
the wall” (Hodder 2006, 217).
Mellaart’s infant was encased in a mudbrick inside a
basket with grave offerings suggesting that more thought
and preparation went into the deposit. He described the
infant as stillborn, but in actuality this would be nearly
impossible to confirm. The room in which this deposit
was found was replete with reliefs, plastered bucrania,
horn cores and a stylized handprint of a child in two pla-
stered bucrania sequences, suggesting a strong connection
between young children and the overall religious sym-
bolism in the room.
There are many ethnographic examples of non-living
deposits placed in walls for the purpose of buttressing
architectural stability or for apotropaic purposes (Brew-
ster 1971; Green 2001). Typically, these are symbolic and
culturally imbued ideological representations embodied
by inanimate objects, i.e. utensils, jewelry, seeds, hair,
figurines etc. and include body parts of humans or
animals. However, where the entire person or animal is
entombed within a structure, new significance may be
associated with the entirety of the body itself. I would
posit we take a more careful examination of contexts to
ascertain the possibility that a sacrifice may have taken
place, even hurriedly if necessary, and the victim used to
infuse the structure or space with an intent and power
distinctly different from the symbolic gesture of a votive
deposit.
The fact that the wall in the 4040 area was notably
unstable, may indicate the inhabitants were motivated
51
with an urgency to strengthen it quickly and permanently,
and this would imply an active course of action rather
than a passive one associated with votive deposits.
I posit the pivotal factor involved with contextual reading
of foundation rituals, whether they involved ritual killing
or represent a votive deposits, would be indicated by
immediacy and intentionality of the ritual act.
Empowerment and urgency toward specific outcomes
links ritual behavior with active machinations of religious
magic, the hallmark of ritual death. Toward that end, the
likelihood of sacrifice would be greater where these
factors are in place.
This paper is not an attempt at definitive labeling of
controversial or specialized child burials as sacrifices;
rather, it is an attempt to address the need for
archaeologists to look more closely at the archaeological
record and its contextual values for a richer understanding
of children in the religious development of a community.
In closing, the significance of children and children’s
bodies in the religious and ritual fabric of Çatalhöyük is
difficult to deny. The extent to which we explore the
implications at this and other archaeological sites is
limited only by our willingness to examine contextual
clues despite an absence of clear forensic evidence for
ritual death.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the Çatalhöyük Research Project and
members; the National Science Foundation which
financially supported my graduate program, enabling me
to spend more time in research; to Luiz Oosterbeek and
the UISPP 2006 Congress and Krum Bacvarov, organizer
of the “Babies Reborn” session of the Congress.
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 DES MORTS PEU FIABLES: LES SEPULTURES NEOLITHIQUES
1
D’IMMATURES EN GRECE
Maia POMADÈRE
Ecole française d’Athènes, Greece, maia.pomadere@efa.gr

Abstract: The number of sub-adult burials is very scarce in the Greek Neolithic. Therefore, it must be borne in mind that those we
know are probably exceptional, and that we should be very cautious about their interpretation. This paper presents some recurrent
child mortuary practices that appear to be very similar to the adult mortuary practices until the Late Neolithic. The data available
rule out any possibility to interpret children’s status in Greek Neolithic society.
Keywords: Funerary practices, children, Greece, Neolithic

Résume: Le nombre de sépultures d’immatures connues pour le Néolithique grec est encore très faible. Il s’agit donc souvent de
tombes potentiellement exceptionnelles, ce qui exige une grande prudence dans leur interprétation. Quelques pratiques récurrentes
dans le traitement funéraire des immatures peuvent toutefois être mises en évidence, surtout à partir du Néolithique Récent: des
indices d’une différenciation fondée sur l’âge apparaissent alors sur certains sites. Les données funéraires ne permettent toutefois
pas de restituer la place des enfants dans la société néolithique.
Mots Clefs: Pratiques funéraires, enfants, Grèce, néolithique

INTRODUCTION1 Les individus que nous considérons comme “immatures”

L’étude du traitement funéraire des enfants pendant le
Néolithique en Grèce est actuellement fondée sur des
données excessivement limitées. Environ 200 sépultures
d’immatures sont recensées pour la très longue période
néolithique (ca. 6500-3300/3100), et elles se concentrent
essentiellement aux Néolithique Récent et Final (ca.
5300-3300/3100). Ces tombes sont en outre inégalement
réparties dans l’espace égéen, leur carte résultant des dis-
parités et hasards des recherches archéologiques (fig. 6.1).
étaient âgés de 12/14 ans au plus lors de leur décès. La
classe d’âge des nouveau-nés (0-1 ans) est distinguée de
celle des petits enfants (1-5 ans) lorsque les données le
permettent2. Ces dernières ne sont pas assez précises pour
opérer d’autres subdivisions: il est ainsi impossible de
repérer une différenciation du traitement funéraire des
périnataux (6 mois lunaires gestationnels à un mois civil
après le terme), bien que cette distinction soit poten-
tiellement significative pour l’interprétation.

Peut-on bâtir un raisonnement archéologique sur le traite- PROBLEMES ET LIMITES METHODOLOGIQUES

ment funéraire des immatures à partir d’une documenta-
tion aussi faible? Les études sur les pratiques funéraires
proposent souvent des conclusions qui semblent bien
audacieuses et définitives en regard du corpus. L’objet de
cette communication est donc de présenter les données
archéologiques et de s’interroger sur la validité des
interprétations ou sur les présupposés qui y sont parfois
attachés.
La question essentielle que je me pose au sujet du
traitement funéraire des immatures est celle de sa
spécificité: les enfants morts faisaient-ils l’objet des
mêmes pratiques funéraires que les adolescents et les
adultes? La détermination d’une éventuelle différencia-
tion en fonction de l’âge dans le recrutement funéraire est
fondée sur le postulat que les immatures devraient former
environ 50 % d’une population funéraire, selon le schéma
de mortalité archaïque auquel se conforment les popula-
tions anciennes (Sellier 1996).
1 dans les études paléoanthropologiques portant sur le monde égéen, en
Je me suis permis d’emprunter ce titre à J. Guilaine (introduction à
Chambon 2005). Cet article s’inscrit dans une étude diachronique menée
dans le cadre d’une thèse de doctorat d’archéologie intitulée “Les
enfants du Néolithique à la période géométrique dans le monde égéen”,
sous la direction de R. Treuil, université de Paris I-Sorbonne. J’adresse
mes remerciements à ce dernier, ainsi qu’à V. Chankowski, pour leur
relecture et leurs remarques.
DE L’ETUDE DES SEPULTURES D’IMMATURES
EN GRECE
Le manque de représentativité des données funéraires
La faiblesse du nombre de sépultures n’est pas spécifique
aux immatures: on connaît moins de 500 tombes pour
l’ensemble du Néolithique en Grèce (Cavanagh & Mee
(1998, 6) en recensaient 400, sans prendre la Crète en
considération). Ce nombre est bien entendu infime par
rapport à la population de morts “réelle”3. La question de
l’invisibilité des tombes néolithiques a ainsi été soulevée
à plusieurs reprises (Treuil 1987, 11-14; Cavanagh & Mee
1998, 6; Perlès 2001, 273). La géomorphologie de
certaines régions grecques, et surtout les hasards des
fouilles, expliquent partiellement ces faibles effectifs.
Dans le Nord de la Grèce, plusieurs mètres d’alluvions
recouvrent ainsi vraisemblablement les ensembles funé-
2
Par nécessité, ces regroupements sont fondés sur les catégories utilisées
particulier Triantaphillou 2001, 36 & 2005, 68. La classe des petits
enfants correspond à celle des “infants”.
3
C. Masset a démontré qu’un village de 200 habitants dont l’espérance
de vie avoisinerait 25 ans, utilisant un cimetière pendant 500 ans,
“produirait” 800 décès par siècle. On attendrait donc 4000 inhumations
pour ce seul village (Masset 1987, 115).

53
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 6.1. Sites mentionés dans le texte
raires situés dans les plaines. Les seuls cimetières
identifiés y furent découverts fortuitement, lors de travaux
de drainage profonds (Gallis 1982, 10; Treuil 1987, 12-
13; Alram-Stern 1996, 113). En outre, un très faible
nombre de sites néolithiques a été fouillé de manière
systématique et exhaustive. La nature des explorations
archéologiques et de la sédimentation naturelle ne
constituent toutefois pas des facteurs d’explication
suffisants à l’échelle de la péninsule, ce d’autant moins
que les fouilles se sont multipliées ces dernières années.
Un choix culturel, délibéré, doit donc être postulé: la
majeure partie des morts néolithiques est invisible parce
qu’ils n’étaient pas enterrés (ou pas de manière définitive)
54
et/ou qu’ils ne reçurent pas de sépulture matériellement
formalisée.
L’échantillon funéraire disponible pour la Grèce néolithi-
que correspond donc à une part infime de la population de
cette période. Le problème de sa représentativité se pose
de manière encore plus aiguë dans le cas spécifique des
tombes d’enfants: il est en effet avéré que leurs cadavres
reçoivent en général des aménagements funéraires peu
visibles, moins profondément enfouis et moins protec-
teurs que ceux des adultes (Bello et al. 2006, 29 et 31-32).
De plus, l’état de préservation des ossements est
proportionnel à l’âge: les squelettes de la classe des 0-4
 M. POMADERE: DES MORTS PEU FIABLES: LES SEPULTURES NEOLITHIQUES D’IMMATURES EN GRECE
ans se désintègrent plus rapidement que ceux des sujets
plus âgés (Bello et al. 2006, 36). L’interprétation de
l’absence des sépultures d’enfants doit donc prendre en
considération des facteurs géographiques, archéologiques
et culturels, mais aussi l’action taphonomique et la
conservation différentielle des ossements. Le choix et la
hiérarchisation de ces critères pour chaque site sont
nécessaires, mais le plus souvent subjectifs en raison de
l’insuffisance des données contextuelles.
L’INSUFFISANCE DES EXAMENS
ANTHROPOLOGIQUES EN GRECE
L’anthropologie physique, indispensable pour raisonner
sur le paramètre de l’âge au décès et le recrutement
funéraire, est un domaine d’étude relativement récent en
Grèce, et encore peu développé. J.L. Angel, pionnier dans
cette discipline, a examiné une quantité importante de
matériel osseux issu de fouilles américaines diverses dès
les années 1950-1960. Mais l’anthropologue était alors
guidé, comme tous ses collègues à l’époque, par un
questionnement spécifique, lié à la recherche de l’origine
des Grecs. Il a ainsi parfois limité son étude à
l’observation de la morphologie des crânes, ignorant les
petits ossements parmi lesquels les chances de
rencontrer les restes d’immatures étaient plus élevées.
Les premiers examens anthropologiques systématiques
d’échantillons funéraires datent des années 1980 en
Grèce, et il ne s’agit pas encore d’une pratique ré-
pandue4. Or, de nombreux sites grecs furent fouillés dès
la fin du XIXe s. ou dans la première moitié du XXe s.
Les conditions de fouille alors en usage et le désintérêt
pour les vestiges osseux ont ainsi conduit à la perte
presque totale d’informations pour plusieurs gisements
funéraires, malgré les observations ponctuelles de
certains archéologues.
Avant d’examiner et d’interpréter les données archéo-
logiques, il faut donc être conscient que, le plus souvent,
seules des sépultures “marginales”, potentiellement
exceptionnelles, nous sont parvenues (Chambon 2005, 24-
27).
L’addition de ces données ponctuelles ne permet pas de
restituer les modes de sépultures, et encore moins les rites
funéraires pour l’ensemble du Néolithique: les données
fragmentaires mises “bout à bout” risquent de créer un
ensemble composite, qui estompe artificiellement les
contrastes et les ruptures régionales et chronologiques.
S’il me semble nécessaire d’exprimer ces précautions, ce
n’est pas pour abandonner toute tentative d’interpréter les
tombes d’enfants. Il est en effet possible de faire émerger
certains traits récurrents du traitement funéraire des
immatures; en inférer des conclusions sociales semble en
revanche prématuré.
4 Fowler 2004, 40 ; elles ne traduisent que leur surmortalité.
Les fouilles de sauvetage qui se multiplient ne permettent pas au
service archéologique grec d’assurer ce type d’examen pour toutes les
opérations.
55
LES SEPULTURES D’IMMATURES
NEOLITHIQUES EN GRECE
Néolithique Ancien
Pour le Néolithique Ancien, l’habitat de Néa Nikomédia
concentre la moitié des effectifs d’immatures, en dépôt
primaire et secondaire (ca. 40 sujets : Angel 1973, 103 et
105 individus au total sont recensés, dont 35 en position
primaire). Le nombre d’enfants ensevelis dans cette zone
(22, dont 9 nouveau-nés) est sensiblement identique à
celui des adultes. La représentation des hommes et des
femmes y est aussi numériquement comparable. Cela
infirme l’idée de I. Hodder selon laquelle les sépultures en
zone domestique étaient essentiellement destinées aux
femmes et aux enfants, et auraient ainsi reflétées leur
relation privilégiée à l’espace domestique (Hodder 1990,
51). Deux sépultures triples sont rapportées: la première
rassemble deux enfants et un nouveau-né, la seconde deux
enfants et un adulte. Dans ce dernier cas, les squelettes
étaient soigneusement disposés, l’adulte semblant enlacer
l’un des deux immatures qui lui faisaient face. L’inven-
teur a identifié l’adulte comme une femme, mais l’exa-
men anthropologique n’a pu confirmer cette détermination
(Rodden 1962, 286, Pl. XLII5). La disposition volontaire
de ces corps suggère seulement l’existence de relations
familiales entre ces défunts. Ces deux occurrences de
sépultures multiples pourraient être le résultat de morts
simultanées, dues à des épidémies, qui touchent naturelle-
ment surtout les immatures6.
Le traitement funéraire des enfants et des adultes observé
à Néa Nikomédia, très peu différencié selon l’âge et le
sexe, est comparable à celui de Karanovo7 en Bulgarie ou
de Menteşe dans le Nord-Ouest de l’Anatolie (Bacvarov
2000; Bailey 2000, 122; Alpaslan-Roodenberg 2001;
Roodenberg et al. 2003, 22). Sur les autres sites grecs, où
les surfaces fouillées sont réduites, seules une à quatre
sépultures d’immatures sont attestées dans les zones
habitées, à Argissa en Thessalie, Axos Giannitsôn en
Macédoine, Aghios Pétros dans les Sporades et Lerne
dans le Péloponnèse. Un groupe de six nouveau-nés et
petits enfants découvert dans l’habitat le plus ancien de
Cnossos a d’abord été interprété comme un “dépôt de
fondation”, mais les indices matériels manquent pour
étayer cette hypothèse rituelle (Evans 1964, 138): une
septième sépulture d’immature, située à quelques mètres,
pourrait indiquer qu’il s’agit de simples sépultures en
contexte d’habitat, comparables aux autres occurrences
égéennes. Il s’agirait toutefois du seul site sur lequel les
ensevelissements en zone domestique étaient réservés aux
5
Les examens anthropologiques n’étaient pas encore réalisés lors de la
rédaction de son rapport.
6
Angel, qui avait repéré de nombreuses cribra orbitalia sur les crânes
des adultes et des immatures, les mettait en relation avec des anémies,
selon lui causées par la malaria (1973, 103-104). Les sépultures
multiples n’étaient donc pas “réservées” aux enfants, comme le postule
7
À Karanovo, les immatures ne sont prédominants que pendant la
première phase d’occupation (NA) (Bacvarov 2000).
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
enfants, même si la faible superficie explorée empêche
d’en être assuré.
Sur le continent, hors de Néa Nikomédia, des sépultures
isolées d’adultes apparaissent aussi sporadiquement près
de bâtiments (A Sesklo, Souphli Magoula et Képhalov-
rysso en Thessalie). À l’exception de Cnossos, aucune
différentiation funéraire n’est perceptible en fonction de
l’âge: enfants et adultes reposaient en général dans des
fosses simples ou des fosses à détritus en remploi, et le
mobilier était absent ou indigent. L’usage d’un récipient
en terre-cuite comme contenant funéraire n’est attesté que
pour un nouveau-né, à Axos Giannitsôn. Comme à Anza,
cette pratique est exceptionnelle (Chrysosomou 1996,
162-164; Gimbutas 1976, 412). Si elle ne s’y applique
qu’à des nouveau-nés, c’est peut-être en raison, d’une
part, de la faible production céramique et, d’autre part,
des dimensions réduites des vases en terre cuite du
Néolithique Ancien ; leur hauteur ne dépasserait normale-
ment pas 30 cm (Perlès 2001, 214 et 217).
Un seul ensemble funéraire aménagé hors de l’habitat est
documenté: la petite nécropole de Souphli Magoula
rassemblait 15 tombes à incinération et deux inhumations
(Gallis 1982; certaines sépultures devraient peut-être être
rattachées au NM, Perlès 2001, 274; Cavanagh & Mee
1998, 8). Les immatures (un petit enfant, un enfant
inhumé de 6-8 ans et un adolescent) sont sous-
représentés, mais l’âge au décès de cinq sujets ne put être
déterminé et pourrait expliquer ce biais (Xirotiris dans
Gallis 1982, 199). Le dépôt de biens ou d’offrandes
semble en revanche conditionné par l’âge, puisque seul
l’adolescent et les adultes étaient accompagnés de
récipients et d’ossements animaux, probables restes
d’offrandes alimentaires.
NEOLITHIQUE MOYEN
La documentation est extrêmement lacunaire pour le
Néolithique Moyen. Un seul site a fourni plus d’une
sépulture d’immature: dans la grotte de Franchti, 16
enfants furent inhumés dans des fosses ; des ossements
humains désarticulés appartenant à une vingtaine
d’individus étaient par ailleurs dispersés sur le site, dans
la grotte et sur la paralia (Jacobsen & Cullen 1981;
Cullen 1999; Vitelli 1993, 43; une partie des sépultures
pourrait être rattachée au Néolithique Ancien). Alors que
les immatures sont bien représentés dans les inhumations
primaires, dont ils constituent la moitié, ils sont peu
nombreux au sein de l’échantillons d’ossements dispersés.
Ces derniers résultent-ils d’une pratique funéraire
secondaire volontaire ? Si c’est le cas, les enfants en
étaient peut-être exclus, mais il est plus vraisemblable que
leurs ossements plus fragiles se soient dissous lors de leur
exposition à la surface du sol. Le même facteur
d’explication est valable pour Néa Nikomédia au
Néolithique Ancien, où aucun ossement de nouveau-né
n’est recensé parmi les ossements dispersés dans l’habitat
(Angel 1973, 103). Il est au moins assuré qu’une partie
56
des immatures a fait l’objet d’un traitement funéraire
primaire semblable à celui d’adultes. En outre, seuls deux
défunts avaient reçu un mobilier, parmi lesquels un
nouveau-né accompagné d’un bol de marbre miniature, un
objet rare et certainement luxueux à Franchti.
Non loin, dans la grotte de Prosymna, un immature se
trouvait parmi les six sujets partiellement incinérés et en
dépôt secondaire. Les restes osseux n’ont pas été
examinés par un anthropologue (Blegen 1937, 27). Enfin,
en Grèce septentrionale, deux petits enfants ont été
inhumés dans l’habitat de Liménaria (Thasos) et dans
celui de Makri en Thrace (Malamidou & Papadopoulos
1993, 564-565; Touchais 1998, 902). Ces dernières ne
reflètent pas non plus un traitement spécifique en fonction
de l’âge, si l’on prend en considération les tombes
d’adultes isolées aussi recensées dans d’autres habitats du
Péloponnèse et de Macédoine (Treuil 1983, 428-429;
Pappa 1993, 304). Hors de Franchti où cette pratique
paraît plus répandue, une petite fraction d’immatures et
d’adultes était donc ensevelie dans les zones domestiques,
comme au Néolithique Ancien. Les critères présidant au
choix de ces défunts nous échappent complètement.
NEOLITHIQUE RECENT
Au Néolithique Récent, des sépultures isolées d’enfants
proviennent des habitats d’Alepochori en Laconie, de
Sarakinos en Eubée, d’Elatée en Grèce centrale, et de
Rachmani en Thessalie. Au moins quatre immatures, ainsi
qu’un à trois adultes, furent inhumés dans la zone
d’habitat de Lerne (Caskey 1958, 136; 1959, 205). Les
tombes d’un petit enfant, d’un adolescent et de deux
adultes proviennent de l’habitat de Stavroupolis, à
Thessalonique (Triantaphyllou 2002, 836-838; 2004,
614). Une sépulture secondaire plus élaborée, réunissant
un enfant et un adulte sous un petit tumulus, a été mise au
jour dans l’habitat d’Haghia Sophia en Thessalie
(Milojčić et al. 1976, 6-7; le tumulus d’argile était sur-
monté d’une cuvette contenant des cendres). Enfin, huit
sépultures d’enfants à incinération et une à inhumation se
trouvaient dans l’habitat de Dimini (Hourmouziadis 1982,
81; Adrymi-Sismani 1989, 226). Il s’agit du seul site pour
lequel on peut supposer que l’ensevelissement était
réservé aux jeunes enfants dans l’habitat, les adolescents
et adultes étant manifestement ensevelis ailleurs; une
unique tombe, d’adulte, est rapportée pour l’habitat de
Pevkakia (Weisshaar 1989, 11). En Égée orientale, cette
différenciation spatiale apparaît à Bakla Tepe, près
d’Izmir, où un grand nombre de sépultures, appartenant
exclusivement à des nourrissons, est localisé dans
l’habitat8.
Des ossements disloqués, formant des petits effectifs, ont
par ailleurs été découverts dans les zones domestiques de
plusieurs sites de Macédoine (phase du NR II à Makri-
gialos, avec 12 individus; une dizaine d’individus à
8
http://www.geocities.com/irerp_tr/bakla.html.
 M. POMADERE: DES MORTS PEU FIABLES: LES SEPULTURES NEOLITHIQUES D’IMMATURES EN GRECE
Stavroupolis) et dans les grottes habitées de Kitsos en
Attique (18 individus), de Skoteini à Tharrounia en Eubée
(14 individus), et de Kalythies à Rhodes (20 individus).
Les immatures sont représentés dans des proportions
variables, formant seulement 17 % de l’échantillon à
Makrigialos mais 55 % à Kitsos ; à Skoteini, ils sont
prédominants, puisque neuf des 14 sujets identifiés étaient
des immatures (Stravopodi 1993, 381). Le mode de
sépulture pratiqué n’est pas clair. Comme à Franchti au
NM, il n’est pas toujours sûr que l’on soit en présence
d’un rite funéraire secondaire: la perturbation involontaire
de sépultures antérieures par les habitants pourrait
expliquer la fragmentation et la dissémination des
ossements. A Kalythies seulement, la prédominance des
petits ossements (provenant des mains et des pieds) et de
dents de 13 sujets adultes suggère la pratique d’un dépôt
secondaire des sépultures à l’extérieur de la grotte, après
la “vidange” de leurs squelettes, peut-être à l’occasion
d’un changement de fonction du lieu. Selon cette pratique,
seuls les os longs et ceux du crâne auraient été collectés
pour être déposés ailleurs (Halstead & Jones 1987, 138-
139). Halstead et Jones proposent à partir de l’examen des
restes fauniques une occupation saisonnière de la grotte
(1987, 143-145). La présence de quelques os longs de
jeunes enfants (au moins 7 individus) indique qu’ils ne
firent pas l’objet du même traitement et furent laissés
dans la grotte. Doit-on l’interpréter comme le témoignage
d’une pratique différenciée, traduisant une relation
particulière entre les sépultures d’enfants et l’espace
domestique? Ou bien montre-t-elle seulement que leurs
petits ossements, désarticulés, n’ont pas été reconnus
comme des restes humains lors d’une réoccupation de la
grotte?
La grotte d’Alepotrypa (Magne messénien) et des fossés
creusés autour de l’habitat de Makrigialos au NR I
comprenaient les ossements de plusieurs dizaines
d’individus, le plus souvent désarticulés. Il s’agit alors
d’ossuaires séparés de l’habitat. Les immatures y sont
relativement bien représentés. Ils constituent 20 % des
effectifs à Makrigialos et 50 % à Alepotrypa. Le mode de
dépôt, primaire ou secondaire, n’est pas toujours clair,
mais les enfants, même nouveau-nés, y recevaient
apparemment un traitement funéraire comparable à celui
des adultes.
Les nécropoles de tombes construites, séparées de
l’habitat, se développent au Néolithique Récent, mais
trois d’entre elles seulement fournissent des données sig-
nificatives. Celle de Képhala, sur l’île de Kéa, est
composée de tombes à sépultures collectives ou individu-
elles, primaires ou secondaires, comprenant une soixan-
taine d’individus. Des immatures de tous âges y sont
recensés (30 % de la population funéraire), et reposaient
le plus souvent avec des adultes, ou dans des tombes
identiques, mais plus petites. Deux nouveau-nés font
partie des effectifs, bien qu’Angel n’ait pas observé tous
les petits fragments d’ossements, ce qui conduit naturelle-
ment à une sous-représentation de cette classe d’âge
(Coleman 1977, 44-51 et 64; Angel 1977, 134). En
57
revanche, seul un enfant de moins de 6 ans est rapporté
pour la petite nécropole de Tharrounia, en Eubée. Les
immatures de plus de 6 ans sont bien représentés et
forment 25 % des effectifs, comptant 25 individus
(Sampson 1993, 239; Stravopodi 1993, 384). La sous-
représentation des jeunes enfants doit y être mise en
parallèle avec la découverte des ossements d’immatures
dans la grotte située à proximité, évoquée plus haut. Elle
pourrait traduire une différenciation des espaces
funéraires, sans codification stricte car “l’âge-limite”
semble flou. Des “pré-adolescents” étaient aussi inhumés
dans la grotte (Stravopodi 1993, 381).
Enfin, dans la nécropole thessalienne à incinération de
Platia Magoula Zarkou, les immatures, parmi lesquels
sept petits enfants, représentent au moins 25 % de la
population funéraire (Gallis 1982, 215). Ce pourcentage
est relativement important, si l’on considère que l’âge au
décès de 39 individus seulement put être déterminé, pour
67 tombes fouillées. Le regroupement de deux à six urnes
cinéraires contenant des individus d’âges divers était
peut-être fondé sur leurs relations familiales.
À l’exception de Tharrounia, les immatures semblent
donc bien intégrés dans ces espaces funéraires formels et
distincts de l’habitat. On connaît trop rarement l’habitat et
le cimetière d’un même site pour esquisser un tableau
général des pratiques. Toutefois, on ne distingue nulle
part une différenciation aussi stricte que sur le site de
Bakla Tepe, près d’Izmir, où la nécropole était
exclusivement réservée aux tombes d’adultes9.
La spécificité des sépultures d’enfants se manifeste
essentiellement au NR par le type de tombe et le
traitement des corps: le dépôt du cadavre dans un vase
devient une pratique spécifique aux jeunes enfants et
nouveau-nés dans le Sud du monde égéen, même si ce
mode de sépulture ne concerne jamais l’ensemble de cette
classe d’âge. Des sépultures à enchytrisme apparaissent
dans les habitats comme dans la nécropole de Képhala. Il
s’agit généralement de récipients issus de la vaisselle
domestique et commune, mais certaines sépultures sont
remarquables: dans la grotte d’Alepochori, un nouveau-né
reposait dans un vase de céramique fine, lui-même placé
dans une jarre dont l’ouverture était soigneusement
obturée. Les autres sépultures mises au jour dans la grotte
ne sont représentées que par des ossements humains
désarticulés (Kontaxi et al. 1989, 25). À Platia Magoula
Zarkou, où les restes osseux brûlés se trouvaient
normalement dans des jarres ou des bols, la sépulture d’un
enfant fut déposée dans un vase zoomorphe. Ce récipient
portait des marques d’usure et de cassure antérieures
(Gallis 1982, 99-101). Il constitue pour cette période le
seul objet – non périssable – qui paraît avoir été fabriqué
pour l’enfant et utilisé par lui, peut-être dans ses
jeux, avant sa mort. En revanche, à Képhala comme à
Platia Magoula Zarkou, ni les figurines ni les vases
9
Le rapport en ligne ne précise pas le nombre de sépultures:
http://www.geocities.com/irerp_tr/bakla.html.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
miniatures ne peuvent être corrélés aux sépultures
d’enfants, contra Fowler, qui établit des corrélations entre
le type de mobilier et l’âge des défunts, en se fondant sur
des données incertaines ou erronées (Fowler 2004, 58-
59).
Sur plusieurs sites, le traitement du corps par
l’incinération paraît réservé aux immatures: à Dimini, où
l’on ignore tout du mode de sépulture des adultes,
l’incinération des seuls enfants dans l’habitat pourrait
contribuer à biaiser notre impression. En outre, il ne
semble pas que les restes osseux aient fait l’objet d’une
analyse scientifique, ce qui pose même la question de
l’identification d’immatures. En revanche, à Makrigialos
et à Alepotrypa, où plusieurs dizaines de sépultures ont
été identifiées, respectivement un et deux petits enfants
seulement furent incinérés. D’autres immatures d’âge
comparable étaient inhumés, ce qui indique que
l’incinération ne dépendait pas seulement du critère de
l’âge, mais aussi d’un choix familial ou du statut social de
cette dernière, ou encore des causes du décès. À
Stavroupolis, la seule incinération est celle d’un adulte, ce
qui montre que le facteur de sélection prédominant n’était
pas l’âge. Il est en outre peu probable que le critère
déterminant dans le Sud du Péloponnèse corresponde
exactement à celui qui a prévalu pour l’enfant incinéré en
Piérie. Le caractère exceptionnel de la sépulture à
incinération d’enfants d’Alepotrypa y est par ailleurs
souligné par les biens associés: les ossements étaient
recouverts de fragments de vases en céramique fine,
brûlés, et de perles en pierre et en os finement travaillées.
Cette sépulture reflète donc probablement des gestes
rituels complexes. Hormis ce cas, les défunts étaient le
plus souvent ensevelis au Néolithique Récent sans aucun
bien en matériau non périssable, et les enfants ont
globalement reçu encore moins de mobilier que les
adultes.
CONCLUSIONS
Cette revue des rares sépultures d’immatures néolithiques
appelle quelques remarques. En premier lieu, les pratiques
funéraires sont peu différenciées en fonction de l’âge dans
les espaces funéraires les plus représentatifs. La
variabilité du traitement des enfants morts s’accroît au
Néolithique Récent. La sous-représentation ou l’absence
de jeunes enfants parmi les échantillons de sépultures
secondaires du NR pourrait s’expliquer par la dissolution
de leurs ossements, mais l’exemple de Kalythies montre
qu’un traitement différencié était parfois appliqué. De
même, l’usage de contenants funéraire en terre cuite ou de
l’incinération pour certains nouveau-nés et petits enfants
au NR est déterminée par leur âge, mais aussi par d’autres
critères (affectifs, rituels, pathologiques ou économi-
ques?). Le dépôt de mobilier, très sporadique, est le plus
souvent conditionné par l’appartenance au groupe d’âge
des adolescents et des adultes: seuls ces derniers étaient
parfois ensevelis avec des objets personnels ou avec des
offrandes. Cela suggère que les enfants ne possédaient pas
58
de biens, ou que l’absence “d’identité sociale” reconnue
pour ces individus conduisait à les ensevelir plus
simplement.
Le don ponctuel d’objets de valeur à de jeunes enfants
suggère un système héréditaire de transmission du statut,
même si on ne peut exclure d’autres critères
d’explication. Il semble que les enfants étaient bien
insérés, et relativement tôt, dans le groupe social, mais
leurs tombes ne permettent pas de cerner la place qu’ils
occupaient dans la société néolithique. Les rares dépôts
funéraires associés ne témoignent pas de l’existence d’une
culture matérielle enfantine spécifique. Dans l’état actuel
de la documentation, le traitement funéraire relativement
indifférencié en fonction de l’âge, par rapport à des
régions environnantes (Bulgarie et Anatolie), évoque une
société moins hiérarchisée, mais il ne peut être
directement mis en relation avec une organisation sociale
particulière.
L’immense majorité des adultes et des enfants nés et
morts pendant la période néolithique, aujourd’hui invisib-
les, faisait-elle aussi l’objet d’un traitement funéraire
indifférencié? Nos conclusions partielles, forcément
prématurées (sic), seront certainement modifiées par les
résultats de fouilles futures, dont on doit espérer qu’elles
seront exhaustives, incluront le tamisage de tout le sédi-
ment issu des tombes, et la présence d’un anthropologue
sur le terrain. Alors seulement disposera-t-on de morts
plus fiables.
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 A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS
IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST
Krum BACVAROV
National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia,
krum.bacvarov@gmail.com

Abstract: Appearing in the early – although probably not the earliest – phases of southeast European neolithization, jar burial
developed in several territorially and chronologically restricted “waves”: Neolithic core area in the Struma and Vardar river valleys
and the west Rhodope Mountains in the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, and later, late/final Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and/or early
Bronze Age – depending on local terminology – examples scattered from Argolis in Greece to the Great Hungarian Plain and dating
from the second half of the 6th to the 3th millennium BC, with huge chronological gaps within. However, their central Anatolian and
Levantine parallels give a solid base for the expanding of our understanding of this obviously cross-cultural phenomenon.
Key words: Southeast Europe, Anatolia, Levant, jar burial, neolithization

Résumé: Les sépultures en vases apparaissent pendant les phases si non les plus anciens, au moins anciens de la néolithisation de
l’Europe du sud-est. Elles se développent en certaines ‘vagues’ qui sont territorialement et chronologiquement restreintes: le noyau
néolithique comprend les vallées des rivières Struma et Vardar et les parties ouest des Rhodopes. Sa position chronologique date au
début de VI millénaire BC. Plus tard, pendant le Néolithique récent/finale et/où Chalcolithique et Bronze Ancien (selon la
terminologie locale), les exemples de ces sépultures se dispersent de l’Argolide en Grèce jusqu’à la grande plaine hongroise. Les
termes chronologiques de ce processus sont: de la deuxième moitié du VI millénaire BC au III millénaire BC avec un grand
intervalle intermédiaire. Ces sépultures trouvent des parallèles en Anatolie centrale et au Levant, ce qui donne une base assez solide
pour étendre notre compréhension sur ce phénomène intra culturelle.
Mots-clés: l’Europe du sud-est, Anatolie, Levant, sépultures en jarre, néolithisation

INTRODUCTION SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN JAR BURIAL RECORD

Southeast European later prehistory yielded a relatively
scanty mortuary record but one that demonstrates the
relevance of certain phenomena to the general
understanding of prehistoric development. Appearing in
the early phases of southeast European neolithization,
although certainly not the earliest ones, jar burial
developed in several territorially and chronologically
restricted “waves”: a Neolithic core area in the Struma
and Vardar river valleys and the west Rhodope Mountains
in the early sixth millennium BC, and later, late/final
Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and/or early Bronze Age –
depending on local terminology – developments scattered
from Argolis in Greece to Transdanubia in Hungary and
dating from the late sixth to the third millennium BC,
with huge chronological gaps within. Their Anatolian and
Levantine parallels give a solid ground to the expanding
of our understanding of this obviously cross-cultural
phenomenon.
This paper considers the appearance of early jar burial
tradition on the background of southeast European
neolithization, and traces it back to the primary
distribution zones, following the directions of its early
developments, in a chronological framework spanning the
Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and the early Bronze Age, in
terms of southeast Balkan chronology, i.e., the time from
the early sixth to the mid-third millennium BC. For the
purposes of this paper, the term “jar burial” is defined as
primary burial in a ceramic vessel, not to be mistaken
with the contemporaneous secondary and cremation
burials that can also use ceramic containers.
The earliest jar burials thus far found in southeast Europe
– and throughout Europe, for that matter – come from
early Neolithic sites in the Struma and Vardar valleys as
well as the West Rhodope Mountains, which seems to be
the area of neolithization of the southeastern Balkans
(Nikolov 2007).
Kovačevo (see Fig. 7.1 for all sites mentioned in the text)
This stratified site in the Struma River Valley covers an
area of ca. 7 hectares. It has been excavated since 1980s
by a joint Bulgarian-French team (Lichardus-Itten et al.
2002). The cultural deposits extend to a depth of ca. 2.00
meters. The partially destroyed upper layers – Kovačevo
III and II – contain late Neolithic and early Bronze Age
material. The lower four layers – Kovačevo Ia-Id – belong
to the early Neolithic and represent a southwestern variant
of the Karanovo I culture. Later periods – Iron Age,
Roman, Middle Ages etc. – are sporadically present.
Different periods could be distinguished within Kovačevo
II and III, based on typological observation, since there
was no stratigraphic evidence to separate them on the site.
The four early Neolithic periods are established on the
grounds of stratigraphic evidence. Several 14C dates are
available from the early Neolithic layers, the earliest
being 6075-6005 cal BC for Kovačevo Ia, and the latest
being 5800-5630 cal BC for Kovačevo Id (Reingruber &
Thissen 2005).
Five burials were found in the Kovačevo I layer, generally
belonging to the southwestern variant of the Karanovo I

61
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 7.1. Map showing the location of the sites mentioned in the text: 1 Tel Qatif; 2 Teluliot Batashi; 3 Nahal Zehora II; 4 Tel
Te’o; 5 Tel Dan; 6 Byblos; 7 Tell el-Kerkh; 8 Tell Kurdu; 9 Tell Halula; 10 Tell Hazna II; 11 Tell Sotto; 12 Tell Hassuna; 13 Kösk
Höyük; 14 Pınarbaşı-Bor; 15 Berikldeebi; 16 Alepochori; 17 Lerna; 18 Kephala; 19 Rachmani; 20 Mandalo; 21 Anzabegovo; 22
Kovačevo; 23 Rakitovo; 24 Yunatsite; 25 Nova Zagora; 26 Galabovo; 27 Dyadovo; 28 Ezero; 29 Karanovo; 30 Kran; 31
Durankulak; 32 Mórágy-Tűzkődomb; 33 Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur; 34 Polgár 7

culture; two more came from the layer, which the
excavators define as middle Neolithic. The burials belong
to just born or even stillborn infants and children up to 6.5
years. They had been interred between houses in a flexed
or crouched position on the side or in a semi-seated
position, and were aligned with their heads to the east,
west or north. In three of the burials, it is assumed that
children had been wrapped up in a thick fabric, most
probably a leather bag or a mat. Various contexts in the
site yielded separate fragments of human bones.
infant, probably a boy, buried in a pot (ca. 30 cm high)
covered with a clay lid. The skeleton was complete; the
boy has been buried in a highly flexed position on the
right side, with the head aligned to the north.
The second child burial still has to be published. It
probably belongs to a very young infant, also buried in a
clay pot.
Rakitovo

Two jar burials were found in the early Neolithic This stratified site in the west Rhodope Mountains was
Kovačevo Id layer. The first burial belongs to a stillborn completely excavated in 1974-1975. It covered an area of

62
 K. BACVAROV: A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST
ca. 3300 square meters. The destroyed upper layers
belonged to the late Neolithic Karanovo III-IV period and
probably to the early Neolithic Karanovo I culture. Both
lower layers have been preserved, extending to 0.54 m
and 0.80 m depth, respectively. Both of them belonged to
the Karanovo I culture (Raduncheva et al. 2002).
The only jar burial was found in Layer II, under the floor
of house # 16, by the western wall. It belonged to a
neonate, buried in a fine-ware necked jar. The soil matrix
in the jar yielded grave goods, which is very rare for an
early Neolithic infant burial: lumps of red ochre and a
flint blade.
Anzabegovo
This stratified site in the Vardar River Valley was
excavated by Milutin Garašanin and Marija Gimbutas in
1969-1970 (see Gimbutas 1976; Garašanin 1998, among
others). Three early Neolithic layers (Anza III-I) were
revealed yielding painted pottery. Anza IV layer is
generally simultaneous to Vinča A. The 14C dates from
Anza III-I outline a time framework between 6110 and
5460 cal BC, the relevant dates for Anza Ic showing a
development right after 5900 cal BC (Reingruber &
Thissen 2005).
The three early Neolithic layers and the Vinča А layer
yielded skeletal remains of at least thirty four individuals
– in most cases, separate bones – belonging to seventeen
new-born babes and children, five juveniles, and twelve
adults. Five inhumations in crouched position were
excavated under house floors in M. Garašanin’s trench.
Infant bones were found in a pit from the Anza Ic layer;
the same layer yielded a grave of two young females
buried in crouched position one on the other.
A jar burial was found in the Anza Ic layer. It belonged to
a neonate buried in a necked jar, whose four handles have
been broken together with the bottom, most probably
intentionally.
These four early Neolithic jar burials have been followed,
after a chronological gap of several hundred years, by
certain southeast European later Neolithic develop-
ments.
Ezero
This prehistoric tell has been excavated since 1952, most
recently by a joint Bulgarian-Russian project in the 1960s
and early 1970s (Georgiev et al. 1979). Featuring a base
of 200 X 145 meters and 10 meters high, it was occupied
in the late Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age.
Layers IV and III belong to the late Neolithic Karanovo
II-III, Karanovo III, Karanovo III-IV and Karanovo IV
periods. Two 14C dates are available from the relevant
Karanovo III layer, 5280-5070 and 5430-5280 cal BC
respectively (Görsdorf & Bojadžiev 1996, 137ff).
63
A jar burial was found in the Southwestern trench, layer
IV, horizon V (Karanovo III period), in a shallow pit
under a house floor. The skeletal remains belonged to a
neonate, covered by a deep dark-burnished bowl with
channeling. This burial yielded a shell and a retouched
flint blade.
More jar burials have been found in the Early Bronze Age
layer; they will be considered separately.
Durankulak
The prehistoric cemetery at Durankulak yielded more
than 1200 burials. It was excavated by Henrieta Todorova
in the 1980s and 1990s and belongs to Hamangia I-II, III
and IV, Varna I and II-III cultures (Todorova 2002).
Two jar burials were found there belonging to the
Hamangia III phase (4950/4900-4650/4600 cal BC),
which has been defined as early Chalcolithic and thus
contemporaneous with Maritsa I-III, Dikilitash II, Sitagroi
III, classical Dimini, Boian-Vidra etc.
The first burial belonged to an infant put in two necked
jars lying horizontally, with the mouths pushed close to
each other. Six clay vessels have been deposited upon the
burial with their bottoms up. More sherds covered the
surface under the burial.
The second infant has been buried in a conical bowl, put
in a larger bowl and covered with a clay lid. A cattle skull
was accompanying this burial.
Mórágy-Tűzkődomb
This prehistoric cemetery in southern Transdanubia was
excavated by István Zalai-Gaál in the 1980s and belongs
to the Lengyel culture (Zalai-Gaál 2002).
Two jar burials were found in the so-called Gräbergruppe-
B1. Both belong to boys (0-5 months) buried in high-
pedestalled bowls, crouched on the right side, with their
heads aligned to the west or southwest and facing to the
south or northeast respectively. One more high-pede-
stalled bowl contained the skull of a girl (0-5 months).
Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur
This Lengyel culture cemetery in southeastern Trans-
danubia is still being excavated by István Zalai-Gaál, in
the framework of M6 motorway salvage project. One jar
burial has been found thus far containing the remains of
an infant, unfortunately destroyed almost completely by a
bulldozer (Zalai-Gaál, pers. comm.).
Polgár 7 (Polgár-Kengyel-kőz)
This stratified site in the Great Hungarian Plain was
excavated by Pál Raczky in 1994, in the framework of
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
M3 motorway salvage project. The remains belong to the
Alföld Linear Pottery Culture.
A jar burial was found in one end of a big – and perhaps
ritual – ditch near a long house of the AVK. The skeletal
remains belonged to an infant, buried in a ca. one meter
high necked knobbed jar (Raczky, pers. comm.).
Mandalo
The tell site of Mandalo, Central Macedonia, is situated
about twenty kilometers NW of the ancient Pella, in the
foothills of Mount Paikon; it was excavated between 1981
and 1988 by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and
the Ephoreia of Classical and Prehistoric Antiquities of
Edessa on a large area covering more than 50% of the
site. It was occupied in the final Neolithic and early
Bronze Age (Papanthimou & Papasteriou 1993; Papa-
efthymiou-Papanthimou & Pilali-Papasteriou 1997). Two
burials were found in the final Neolithic layers (14C dated
to 4600-4000 cal BC: Kotsakis et al. 1989), a formal
inhumation under a house floor and a child burial in
an open bowl covered with another bowl (both undecora-
ted).
Rachmani
This Thessalian tell was excavated by Wace and
Thompson in 1910. The cultural deposits extend to a
depth of more than 8 meters and yielded four layers,
belonging to the Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
(Wace & Thompson 1912). Two infant jar burials were
found there, in layers II and IV respectively.
Lerna
This low tell in the foothills of Mount Pontikos, near the
Lerna Lake, on the western coast of Argolis, was
excavated by John L. Caskey in the 1950s and yielded
layers from the early, late, and final Neolithic as well as
the early and middle Bronze Age (Caskey 1957).
Five burials came from the early Neolithic layer, all of
them representing formal inhumations in pits and
containing articulated skeletons in crouched position on
their sides. A black burnished clay vessel was found near
the head of a five year old child.
The final Neolithic of Lerna II yielded a neonate burial in
a patterned beaker found in a layer consisting of
successive floors of Neolithic houses.
Alepochori
The Kouveleiki cave is located some 5 km to the south of
Alepochori village in Laconia. Deep archaeological
deposits were accumulated in the both chambers of the
cave: the dates of 4947-3362 BC for the inner chamber,
and 4922-4360 BC for the outer chamber generally refer
them to the final Neolithic (Kontaxi et al. 2001).
64
The only jar burial belonged to an infant in a carinated pot
with two vertical lugs inserted in an open-mouth jar
tapering down to its bottom, with four horizontal lugs on
the belly. The bottom has been pierced after firing, most
probably in relation to its funerary use.
Kephala
The site and cemetery of Kephala are located on a head-
land on the northwest coast of the Cycladic island of Keos;
they represent the best evidence for initial settlement of the
island during the second major colonization of the Aegean
in the Final Neolithic (3300-3200 BC). They were excava-
ted in the 1960s by a team from the University of Cincin-
nati and by John Coleman in the 1970s (Coleman 1977).
Four infant jar burials were found in the cemetery, all of
them disturbed by later interments. One of these burials
belonged to two infants put together in a large jar. Two
female figurines were discovered as grave goods in
another jar burial.
The latest chronological “wave” in the jar burial develop-
ment refers to the Early Bronze Age and was restricted to
a relatively small area in Upper Thrace, with only one
example found in the neighboring region of Thessaly.
However, these were the most numerous cases of jar
burials in the later prehistory of southeast Europe.
Yunatsite
This prehistoric tell has been excavated by several teams
since 1939, including two joint projects, Bulgarian-Russian
and Bulgarian-Greek, the latter still carrying out active
research there. With a base covering 120 x 115 meters and
a relative height of 12 meters, the tell yielded material da-
ting back to the Middle Ages, the late Thracian period, the
late and early Iron Age, the middle and early Bronze Age,
and the late Chalcolithic (Katincharov et al. 1995). 14C dates
between 3010 and 2350 cal BC came from the relevant
EBA horizons XVII-X (Görsdorf & Bojadžiev 1996, 158ff).
At Tell Yunatsite, a total of twenty-eight infant burials
were found in the Early Bronze Age horizons, which refer
to EBA I and II, twenty-two of them being jar burials, all
related to houses (see Mishina, this volume). Nineteen jar
burials represented single burials of infants, while three
burials contained the bones of two babies each. Various
vessel types were used as burial containers: jugs, bowls,
pots with or without lugs, or even bottom parts of broken
vessels. Among these, jugs clearly dominated; pots were
used more rarely. Single infants were buried in amphoras
and bowls. All these types are represented in the
household ceramic assemblage of Tell Yunatsite. Some
burial vessels were closed with lids.
Kran
This small tell site in Upper Thrace, with a base of 80 x
70 meters and 5 meters high, is still being excavated
 K. BACVAROV: A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST
yielding material from the late Neolithic and Early Bronze
Age (Karastoyanova 2004). Five jar burials of babies/fe-
tuses have been found under house floors in the EBA III
layers (Nikolov et al. 2005, 36f; Nikolov, pers. comm.).
Jugs ca. 45 centimeters high as well pots as have been
used as burial containers; a flint artifact was found in the
filling of one burial pit.
Karanovo
This is one of the biggest southeast European tells, with a
preserved base measuring 250 x 180 meters and cultural
deposits extending to a height of 12.40 meters. It has been
excavated since 1936, more recently in the framework of
a Bulgarian-Austrian joint project. Cultural deposits from
the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Early Bronze Age have
been revealed. The latter yielded six jar burials of new
born babies and fetuses, all of them under house floors
referring to the EBA III period (Hiller & Nikolov 2002,
11, Abb. 17; Hiller et al. 2005, 13, Abb. 10-11). One of
the burials contained a small flint artifact; in the same
burial, the mouth of the ceramic vessel was sealed with a
conical bowl and the pit was topped by seven stones,
arranged with their flat sides up, after which its opening
has been plastered.
Dyadovo
The tell site of Dyadovo has been excavated since 1977
by two joint teams, Bulgarian-Dutch-Japanese and
Bulgarian-Japanese, the latter still continuing the excava-
tions. With a base of 220 x 150 meters, the tell is 18
meters high, yielding material from the Middle Ages,
Roman period, Iron Age, Bronze Age, and Copper Age
(Leshtakov 1994). The Early Bronze Age layer contains
ten horizons belonging to the EBA III Ezero phase. The
results of these recent campaigns have not yet been
published but the preliminary reports mention several jar
burials of infants in the EBA settlement area (e.g.
Katincharov et al. 1986, 42).
Ezero
Since this tell site has already been considered in my
paper, I will detail here only the evidence from the Ezero
phase of the EBA III period. During the first excavations
at Tell Ezero in the early 1950s, at least four infant burials
have been found, at least two of them being jar burials;
the uncertainty coming from the unrecorded and
unpublished excavation project. Big pots have been used
as burial containers – 36 and 37 centimeters high
respectively – one of which featuring an intentionally
pierced bottom, most probably related to the ritual
meaning of its secondary function.
The excavations of the joint Bulgarian-Russian team
revealed ten infant burials in the EBA horizons, at least
three of them being jar burials of infants disposed of in
contracted positions (Katincharov 1979, 491, obr. 210).
Big ceramic pots have been used as burial containers,
65
with diameters exceeding 30 centimeters, lying on their
sides – and sometimes supported with stones – in pits
made under house floors and sometimes even under
heating installations. The pits’ filling included ashes as
well as coals and burnt animal bones. At least in one case,
the pot has been sealed with a badly fired clay plate.
Nova Zagora
This is the only EBA stratified site that yielded jar burials.
The excavations in the late 1980s and early 1990s covered
an area of 1,625 square meters in the NE part of the site.
The partially destroyed cultural deposits extend to a depth
of ca. 1 meter and included four building horizons dating
back to the EBA III period (mid-3rd millennium B.C).
Six jar burials of babies have been found under house
floors or between houses belonging to all four horizons
(Kancheva-Russeva 2000). Although five of the ceramic
vessels ware too fragile to be preserved, it is clear that big
pots ca. 30 centimeters high had been used as burial
containers.
At one more tell site in Upper Thrace, Tell Galabovo,
featuring late Chalcolithic, Early, and Middle Bronze Age
layers, a jar burial of a baby was found in the late 1980s,
interred under an EBA III house floor, near an oven
(Panayotov 1991, 34f).
Concluding this general consideration, I should remind of
the jar burial from the Thessalian tell of Rachmani,
coming from the EBA horizon IV.
DISCUSSION
As seems obvious from the evidence available, the early
development of jar burial can be divided into three
chronologically differentiated ‘waves’ alternating with
periods when this specific ritual has not been practiced.
The area of the Struma and Vardar river valleys, and the
west Rhodope Mountains in the early 6th millennium BC
– or the early Neolithic according to the southeast Balkan
periodization – was the only place in Europe where jar
burial was practiced, at three sites, which shared similar
cultural developments and ‘Neolithic packages’, whatever
the latter term could possibly mean. Moreover, one of the
most authoritative neolithization models considers this
very territory as the point of first Neolithic penetration as
well as a contact zone between these early settlers and
their new neighbors in the second phase of the local early
Neolithic (Nikolov 2007). It is thus possible to relate the
earliest jar burials in southeast Europe – whose appea-
rance logically followed the phase of early experimenta-
tion with ceramic production and use – to these mutual
exchange processes and to trace them back to their
hypothetic point of origin. In Western Anatolia, however,
which is considered as the home of early Neolithic
painted pottery cultures in the central Balkans, no jar
burials have been found, the closest parallels being the
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
central Anatolian tell sites of Kösk Höyük and Pınarbaşı-
Bor, defined as late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic
according to the Anatolian periodization (Silistreli 1989;
Öztan 2003). Is this perhaps due to the excavation
strategies leaving ‘blind spots’ in our knowledge of the
Neolithic development or there is another reason
associated with the directions and routes of the early
neolithization? One can find certain hints in the Levan-
tine influence on life and death at Kösk Höyük most
clearly expressed in the local variant of the ‘skull cult’,
which was observed at that Anatolian tell (Bonogofsky
2004).
To the southeast, another huge territorial gap in jar burial
practice had been followed by three infant graves at Tell
Kurdu in the Amuq valley, coming from the Halaf-related
Amuq C phase and dating between 5900 and 5700 cal
BC., i.e., more or less simultaneously with the southeast
European and central Anatolian finds (Yener et al. 2000,
43; Özbal et al. 2004, 50, 70ff).
In the easternmost and southernmost parts of the study
area respectively, two territories can be outlined. First,
these are the sites – besides Tell Kurdu – at Tell el-Kerkh,
Tell Halula, Tell Hazna II, Tell Sotto, and Tell Hassuna,
in the northern Levant (Tsuneki et al. 1997, 9f, Pl. 2/1;
Tsuneki et al. 1999, 18ff; Anfruns & Molist, 1998;
Munchaev et al. 1993, 27f, ris. 2/2; 3; Bader 1989, 132ff;
Lloyd & Safar 1945, 264, 267f), yielding jar burials
related to certain cultural developments starting with the
pre-Hassuna culture; the coarse ware thick-walled jar
(with a rim diameter of more than 50 centimeters and
same as high) of the burial from Tell Hazna II belongs to
the most common ceramic ware for the earliest phases of
Pottery Neolithic in Mesopotamia, which seems to
suggest that this is one of the earliest examples of jar
burial. The one year old child was buried in a highly
contracted position on the right side, with the head
aligned to the east. The skull was lying with the face
down and according to the excavators had been detached
from the body before the burial. This jar burial yielded
grave goods: a small clay cup, a half of a polished stone
vessel, and over two hundred beads of stone, copper
and shells, most probably making up one complete
necklace. The jar had been probably covered with a
discoid lid of unbaked clay, fragments of which were
found inside.
The second area of interest, generally covering the
southern Levant, includes the somewhat later Néolithique
Ancien layers at Byblos (Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 26; see
also Orrelle, this volume) as well as the Pottery Neolithic
and Wadi Raba layers at Tel Dan, Tel Te’o, Nahal Zehora
II, Teluliot Batashi, and Qatif, that yielded jar burials of
infants and fetuses (Gopher & Greenberg 1996, 68; Bar-
Gal & Smith 2001, 164ff; Gopher & Orrelle 1995, 27;
Epstein 1984, 210f).
It is thus reasonable to assume that jar burial originated in
the northern Levant, sometime in the pre-Hassuna period,
66
and for a relatively short time influenced culture develop-
ments as far as the central Balkans; the appearance of this
mortuary practice in the southern Levant followed soon
after. The absence of relevant remains in western and
eastern Anatolia – bridged by the two central Anatolian
sites of Kösk Höyük and Pınarbaşı-Bor – could also hint
at southeast European autonomy; however, this can hardly
be substantiated since the four burials in the Struma and
Vardar river valleys, and the west Rhodope Mountains
share common diagnostics with their Anatolian and
Levantine parallels. What is more plausible is that the
idea of burial of fetus/infant/child in a ceramic pot, as an
element of the social reproduction and cohesion networks,
was transferred along the neolithization routes and its
expressions were triggered by certain stimuli, most
probably natural events, as is demonstrated by the burials’
contemporaneity as well as the sites’ clustering both in
southeast Europe and central Anatolia.
In the later Neolithic and Chalcolithic, jar burial has been
further developed, reoccurring at various settlement sites
as well as at cemeteries in southeast Europe, sending
distinct echoes as far as southern Transdanubia (Fig. 7.2).
Burial in a ceramic container was to gradually become a
dominating burial practice in Anatolia and the Levant,
elaborated in such forms as the pithos burial of adults,
e.g., at Ilıpınar in Anatolia, and at Byblos in the southern
Levant. To the north, in the southern Caucasus, a baby jar
burial was found at Berikldeebi, in the Kura River Valley,
Kareli district, in a pre-Kura-Araxes culture context
(Glonti & Dzhavahishvili 1987, 85).
The early development of burial in a ceramic vessel
climaxed in the Early Bronze Age, almost completely
covering Anatolia as well as the Levant, in both its forms,
pithoi- and jar burials. To the north, in the southern
Caucasus, a few burials in ceramic vessels appeared at
sites belonging to the Kura-Araxes period in Georgia and
Dagestan. In southeast Europe, however, the jar burial
area drastically shrank down to a small region in Upper
Thrace – with one Thessalian exception (Fig. 7.3) –
although the number of graves at the various sites much
exceeded the earlier cases, demonstrating once more close
relations to Anatolia and the Levant, also evidenced by
direct ceramic imports as well as local imitations
(Leshtakov 2002).
The southeast European burial patterns, however, strictly
stuck to the original idea of intramural inhumation of
fetuses/babies only, and never adopted later elaborations
as the Anatolian pithoi burials of adults or the Palestinian
ceramic ossuaries; this fact seems to support the theory of
the Neolithic origins of this burial practice – repeatedly
stimulated by new eastern impulses – together with some
more details such as the occasional flint artifacts found as
grave goods, perhaps related to the ritual of cutting the
baby’s umbilical cord, or the intentional piercing of the
burial vessel’s bottom or damaging its mouth rim, both
occurring since the first appearance of jar burial in
southeast Europe as well as in the Levant.
 K. BACVAROV: A LONG WAY TO THE WEST: EARLIEST JAR BURIALS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE NEAR EAST

Fig. 7.2. Map showing the jar burial distribution area in the later Neolithic
and Chalcolithic: 1 Alepochori; 2 Lerna; 3 Kephala; 4 Rachmani; 5 Mandalo; 6 Ezero;
7 Durankulak; 8 Mórágy-Tűzkődomb; 9 Alsónyék-Kanizsa-Flur; 10 Polgár 7

Acknowledgments fellowship at the University of Saarland that this paper

Last but not least I would like to thank the following
colleagues who generously supported my project with
unpublished material or information: Gassia Artin,
Zvonko Beldedovski, István Zalai-Gaál, Stoilka Ignatova,
and Pál Raczky. Special thanks are due to Joni Apakidze
for sharing with me some of his extensive knowledge on
the Caucasian prehistory. Thank you to the Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation; it was during my AvH research
has been completed.
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BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

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 INFANT JAR BURIALS – A RITUAL ASSOCIATED
WITH EARLY AGRICULTURE?
Estelle ORRELLE
University of East London, UK, astal7@zahav.net.il

Abstract: Jar burials of infants exposed in Pottery Neolithic sites in the Southern Levant, share common features with ethnographic
data from Africa and the New World, and later historical data on burials of ritually killed infants. Features of the various analogies
are analyzed to see whether they allow similar implications to be made for the Neolithic data to suggest that human sacrifice was
associated with this period of early agriculture. Using a methodology for research into symbolic subjects which pursues ontological
and not scientific truths, mythical, ethnographic and historical evidence is assembled and weighed up against this, and various other
hypotheses.
Key words: jar burial, infants, Neolithic, southern Levant, sacrifice

Résumé: Des sépultures d’enfants en récipients céramiques ont été exhumées dans les gisements de l’époque néolithique céramique
du Levant Sud. Elles partagent des traits communs avec des inhumations modernes d’Afrique et d’Amérique, et avec celles d’enfants
immolés (sacrifices) pendant les périodes historiques. Une analyse est faite pour constater si ces caractéristiques permettent une
interprétation semblable des données néolithiques, c’est-à-dire si l’on peut proposer qu’il y avait immolation de victimes humaines
pendant cette première époque de l’agriculture. Une méthodologie de recherche des sujets symboliques, du point de vue ontologique,
pèse le pour et le contre des témoignages mythiques, ethnographiques et historiques pour tester l’hypothèse.
Mots Clefs: sépultures en jarres, très jeunes enfants, néolithique, sud Levant, sacrifices

Infants buried in jars are known from many places and
periods in the world. In the southern Levant, they first
appear in the Neolithic and continue to appear during the
following Chalcolithic period (e.g. Azor: Perrot &
Ladiray 1980), the Early Bronze Age (e.g. Tell Te’o:
Eisenberg et al. 2001), and were common Middle Bronze
Age mortuary practices (Ilan 1995, 126). They appeared
in Mesopotamia in the late fourth or early third millenni-
um BC becoming quite usual in third and second millen-
nia Mesopotamia and Syria (e.g. Dornemann 1979, 138).
Modern examples of this burial rite for fetuses and infants
can still be found today in parts of Africa. A useful source
for analogy is the Sudan, where jar burials of children and
infants were found both in the Neolithic site of El Kadada
dated to a little later than the Near Eastern material (Geus
1984) and in modern times. I will draw analogies from
Sudan and other African and New World sources. The
long history and global distribution of this burial form
makes comparisons with a larger context useful.
THE SAMPLE
this study. The Wadi Raba examples include one from the
Wadi Raba site of Tel Dan (Gopher & Greenberg 1987),
one from the Qatifian site Qatif Y-3 (Epstein 1984), and
five from Tell Te’o (Eisenberg et al 2001; Kahila Bar-Gal
& Smith 2001). The only known fetus burial, recorded in
the Neolithic of the Levant, was found in the Wadi Raba
site of Nahal Zehora II in the Menashe Hills (Gopher &
Orrelle 1995, 27).
In pre-state societies, the passing of children makes little
disturbance in public life and it is assumed that they will
have rudimentary graves (Barley 1995, 179). A new
elaborate burial rite for infants in a period known for few
known onsite burials seems to require explanation.
These Neolithic jar burials have not been subjected to
detailed research, but some regarded them as burials of a
few selected infants who died natural deaths, carrying
possible implications of ascribed status (Gopher & Orrelle
1995, 28; Gopher 1995). Other hypotheses hint at
unnatural deaths such as sacrifice of the firstborn, male
infanticide with motivations of lineage (Kahila Bar-Gal &
Smith 2001, 169).

This paper focuses on an assemblage of twenty six burials
of infants and children exposed in sites of the Pottery
Neolithic Period of the sixth and fifth millennium BC in
Lebanon and Israel. Found in the Neolithic levels at
Byblos, and from Wadi Raba culture sites in Israel, they
span much of the PN sequence of Israel and neighboring
countries.
Some thirty jar burials were recorded in the three Pottery
Neolithic levels of Byblos in Lebanon (Dunand 1973).
Data is available on 18 of these, and they are included in
Interpretations offered for infant jar burials from later
periods include womb simulations indicating symbolism
of passage rites, rebirth and interconnection of death and
fertility (Middle Bronze period: Ilan 1995, 135) and a
sacrificial rite of the firstborn (Middle Bronze Age Gezer:
McAlister 1912, 402, 405-6).
This paper examines the Southern Levantine Neolithic jar
burials to evaluate claims for natural or unnatural death,
and what the elaborate ritualization of burial of pre-social
subjects could imply for the period.

71
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
To test these hypotheses I follow what von Gernet calls
the “New Analogy”, the provision of richer analogical
inferences by triangulation, whereby explanation can
derive strength from the combined exploitation of diverse
and independent lines of evidence linked by structuring
principles to assess the strength of different hypotheses
(von Gernet 1993; Wyle 2002; Postgate 1994).
In areas of research that engage with symbolic origins, a
method must be applied, whose “truths” are ontological in
nature. For these subjects, archaeological theory must
overcome the basic contradiction between the epistemo-
logy of discovery defining science, and the ontology of
meaning underlying the symbolic aspect of the world. The
paralyzing demands for certainty born out of the strict
deductivism of New Archaeology, whose results are often
acknowledged to be trivial, must be exchanged for
making fuller and more systematic use of analogies.
Analogies should be drawn from a rich knowledge of
cultural subjects which anticipate underlying structures in
ritual, in particular anthropological studies of religion and
ritual. These demonstrate the conservative nature of ritual
forms making it likely that meanings or the germ of an
original intent may be retained over time and in different
places. This challenges archaeological skepticism about
constancy of meaning over time and place.
Analogical inference is always insecure and so analogical
conclusions must be treated as tentative, being assessed
for closeness of fit with an archaeological subject,
checked for “degrees of likelihood” associated with a
range of interpretive options (Ascher 1961, 323). Archa-
eologists must choose “between a significant pursuit
based on a faulty method or one which is methodo-
logically sound but trivial in purpose” (Wylie 2002, 144;
De Boer & Lathrap 1979, 103; Klejn 1977, 6-11).
I will suggest that in this case study, the degree of
corroboration and good fit that exists between clusters of
analogies and the archaeological subject can help identify
common determining structures underlying the formal
analogy and allow a degree of reconstructive inference.
SOURCES
In view of the ontological nature of proof, both earlier and
later source analogies can be brought in support of
hypotheses. Mythical evidence from the area represents
earlier sources while historical and ethnographic the later.
Analogies for this burial form from Africa and the New
World and historical data from Iron Age Europe, help to
distinguish rites of unnatural deaths from those of natural
deaths.
ANALYSIS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA
Typology, decoration and context of vessels of this
assemblage of 26 jar burials were analyzed for possible
72
correlations with the skeletal contexts with a view to
discerning qualities which might assist an understanding
of the logic active in vessel selection.
Two jar shapes were recorded, a globular and an ovoid
(elliptical) shape. The globular shape came from earlier
sites of Byblos NA and Tell Te’o; the subsequent Byblos
NM vessels were both globular and ovoid, while the
ovoid is the only recorded shape for the later Byblos (NR)
and the Wadi Raba sites Tel Dan, Qatif and Nahal Zehora
II burials. Thus vessel shapes revealed a trend from an
earlier globular shaped vessel to a later elliptical ovoid
shaped vessel for these burials. Some vessels were found
whole, while in some, large sherds used could be
reconstructed into whole vessels. In others large sherds of
more than one vessel were used to house the infant
skeletons.
Decorative and typological features of the jars were found
to be rare to the assemblages. Some burial vessels had
rare handle types (e.g. Tell Te’o: Sadeh 1994, 85-6, 92);
one had unique decoration of red stripes over white
wash/slip (Tell Te’o: Sadeh 1994, 82, 86). Rare incised
bands of cardium shell combing were found on some of
the Byblos jar burials (e.g. Dunand 1973, 100: burial
T986); others had two or four handles removed. The
homogeneity of shapes and these rare features of vessels
could indicate a choice of special vessel.
Modification to necks was noted in several vessels.
Jagged mouths and missing notches on the rim of
drawings of jar burial vessels at Byblos suggest neck
removal or possible intentional notching. (e.g. Byblos
NA: Dunand 1973, Pls. XLI and LXXVI, Fig. 4). The
“modifications” may be related to reconstruction short-
comings, but the standard of vessel reconstruction for
Byblos seems to be competent, and notching appears too
on other burial vessels (e.g. Pl. XXXIX). There is an
example too of a broken off rim with filed down neck at
Tell Dan (Gopher & Greenberg 1987, 4: 8, 11). Modifica-
tions to vessel necks and the use of large sherds were
thought to be connected to neck size to facilitate the
insertion of the infant body into the jar. There were,
however, many other wider necked vessels such as kraters
in the pottery assemblages which could have fulfilled the
purpose; thus modification to facilitate insertion may not
have been relevant.
Context
The jars were deposited in relation to structures, on and
below limestone surfaces, in corners, by entrances, under
thresholds, by walls (Dunand 1973), beneath a paved area
and in relation to posts and circular space (Epstein 1984).
The fetus jar burial was deposited near a wall (Gopher &
Orrelle 1995, 27).
Most were laid on their sides, but some were placed
upright and some were inverted, placed with the mouth
face down.
 E. ORRELLE : INFANT JAR BURIALS – A RITUAL ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY AGRICULTURE?
Inclusions
No inclusions were reported in these infant burial jars but
sheep bones were found close to a jar burial of a child at
Byblos (NR T1332) possibly related to it, and bird bones
were found in a bowl close to an earth burial Byblos (NM
T1141).
No signs of disease or violence were reported on the ske-
letons. However, only two of them were stated to be com-
plete; many were incomplete or consisted of odd bones.
The age of the subjects buried ranged from fetus to 10
years old, but the main categories were newborn and
extremely young infants. Infant remains from Tel Te’o
analyzed so far for ancient DNA were found to be males
(Smith et al. 1999; Kahila Bar-Gal and Smith 2001). The
Nahal Zehora II fetus was calculated at a gestational age
of some 24 weeks (Avi Gopher pers. comm).
WOMB METAPHOR
The jars used to bury infants can be envisaged as wombs
as was suggested for the Middle Bronze Age burials (Ilan
1995). Jar shapes, especially the earlier globular shape
could be analogous to full term pregnant bellies and by
the same logic, jar openings could be regarded as the birth
canal and cervix.
The pot as womb analogy is not uncommon in
ethnography in Africa, some African peoples likening the
openings of some vessels to vulvas (Evers & Huffman,
1988, 739).
If this symbolic system operated in the Neolithic, we can
anticipate that like a human cervix, the mouth of the
vessel might open widely for a full term birth and close
again after delivery. The neck or birth canal would
shorten for the birth and then return to normal.
I tested information for 22 burials to see whether a
correlation between the openings and necks of vessels
used and infant ages could be established. In the result,
the expectations for correlations of ages and neck ope-
nings were met for about 16 of them. Vessels with wide
apertures, non-existent or removed necks were associated
with burials of neonates and very young infants sugges-
ting a very recent birth (this worked better for the Wadi
Raba culture than for Byblos), while long necks and nar-
row openings – a post-birth state – were often the choice
for older infants and children. This may provide a hint
that a womb metaphor was involved in the burial vessels.
ETHNOGRAPHY
Ethnographic data of modern jar burials offered further
hints about burial location, vessel type and the womb
metaphor.
73
In a community from Northern Sudan, a fetus is placed in
a pot and buried in relation to the house enclosure. A
stillborn baby who has not drawn breath is buried just
outside the outer wall. Only if the delivery of a fetus
required a midwife to open up the woman (draw blood?
“modify” the cervix?), the ritual disposal of the fetus is
called for. The vessel which is used to bury fetuses is one
used to mix a staple food; it is non-porous and watertight,
like a womb should be; a broken vessel is a womb whose
contents have escaped (Boddy 1982).
In another African example from Zimbabwe, a premature
or aborted baby is buried in a jar in the sand of a dry
river-bed. The first rains swell the river, washing the sand
from the jar and the baby out of it. The jar is likened to a
womb that has not yet given birth, and cannot become
pregnant again until it goes through this birth process.
Here the jar used is the first pot used in the process of
brewing beer (Barley 1994, 158, note 74; Aschwanden
1982, 285).
In the pre-literate Olmec culture in Mexico (ca 1200-400
BC), fetus effigies and disarticulated fetus femurs and
skulls, deposited in ritual locations, were thought to
represent fetuses of women who had died in pregnancy or
labor, or had been cut out of women as sacrifices.
Researchers link the archaeological evidence with modern
Mesoamerican folklore where the human gestation cycle
correlates with the life cycle of maize and the ritual
calendar. Sacrifices of different aged humans were made,
to coincide with stages of development of maize, the fetus
representing the vital phase equivalent to the quickening
of the fetus in the womb (Tate & Bendersky 1999; Frazer
1987, 380). The sacrifice of a fetus would ensure rainfall,
crucial at this stage to germinate the maize.
Amongst the Kgatla of south eastern Botswana, the body
of a miscarried embryo, or preferably of twins, was an
essential ingredient in rainmaking “medicine”. Kept in a
small new pot it must be buried inside a hut or in some
other shady spot; exposure to the sun would stop the rain
and cause drought (Schapera 1971, 48-50; Frazer 1987,
209). A link between vessel rim modification and death
was described for the Thonga of South Africa; here a
mother is informed of the death of a son during initiation
by a notch being cut on the pot she uses to bring him food
(Barley 1994, 107).
CULTURAL INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA
The analysis of the pottery containers of the burials,
revealed a hint of a womb analogy and selection for
vessels. Vessel selection does not appear to have been
made for ease of insertion, but rather, the womblike
appearance and cervical nature of opening suggest that
perhaps a particular kind of vessel was chosen whose
shape and neck type were significant. Large sherds may
indicate a broken womb, and a notched rim could signal
intentional cutting to remove the infant hinting that
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
notches and rim modifications in the archaeological
material were significant.
Deposition was related to structure and the skeletons, like
the vessels, were both whole and fragmented (and male?).
These facts relate the archaeological assemblage to a
wider net of historical and ethnographic analogies and
associated symbolic structures.
In the ethnographic contexts rules governing selection of
vessel and contexts of burial locations were found to
relate to drought prevention and rainfall. In addition they
were connected to production cycles of elite beverages.
The womb analogy was present in some accounts and
related to rebirth. Age is a factor in the manner of burial
and in two source cases, intentional drawing of blood or
“violence” accompanied ritual burial.
Context
Mortuary ritual theories regard burial location as an act of
classification and a statement of social position and the
deposition location of a ritualized death may provide
clues as to intention. (Barley 1995, 132 and 143).
In historical sources, the same structure-related locations
as occur in the PN subject carry an implication of
unnatural death as foundation deposits or offerings. This
was claimed for burials in the Pre Pottery Neolithic in
Israel, e.g. for Jericho (Kenyon & Holland 1981, 48, 305,
Pl. 170b), Kfar Hahoresh (Goring-Morris 2000, 128), and
for Ain Ghazal, (Rollefson 2000, 170).
Historically, “foundation deposits” or offerings repre-
sented a donation of energy for the gods in return for
benefits protection or thanks. By definition they relate to
sacrificed objects or persons which have been ritually
killed, and deposited in a liminal context at the
foundation or termination of a structure. Deposition
locations of these infant bodies in the Neolithic sample
in peripheral contexts such as between floors, thre-
sholds, entrances and boundaries indicate a choice of
such traditionally significant liminal contexts (e.g. Hum-
phrey & Vitebsky 2003, 128; Bloch & Parry 1982). The
deposition of infants, who had died natural deaths, in
these significant locations, is not recorded historically.
Thus contexts of the Neolithic jars match those of
sacrificial rituals.
Limestone surfaces as found in Pre Pottery Neolithic B
site of Kfar Hahoresh (Goring Morris 2000, 114-5) were
regarded as sealing or separating devices hinting at
notions of pollution and sanctity (Goring-Morris 2000,
126), and I suggest that burial contexts in relation with
these floors carried liminal symbolic significance of this
kind in the Pottery Neolithic period.
The inverted position of jars too relate to sacrifice to
divinities – probably chthonic – and to the dead (Åström
1987, 13), while the vertical position of subjects could
74
attach to status (Parker-Pearson 1999, 77; O’Shea &
Zvelebil 1984; Eliade 1974, 355; Barley 1995, 119).
A link is found too with the notion of sacred space. In
symbolic terms, a jar is a circular micro-context, which
carries implications of sacrality, perhaps a sacral womb.
Indo European versions of creative flood myths describe
the miraculous preservation and renewed creation in a pot
after a catastrophe (e.g. Shulman 1988, 303-9). Burial in
the earth too might imply a liminal context of preserva-
tion and concealment (e.g. Humphrey & Vitebsky 2003,
128; Bloch & Parry 1982; Smirnov 1989).
Conkey has drawn attention to the wider social formations
within which symbolic artifacts engage, and the
multiscalar nature of context (Conkey 1997). Thus these
burials might be said to have several levels of meaningful
contexts, the primary sacral micro context of a symbolic
womb jar, placed in earth below the surface and a
secondary structure related context of foundation
sacrifice. An even greater macro context too provides
significant meaning to the phenomenon.
The evidence of domesticated faunal and botanical
remains from some of the sites, e.g. Nahal Zehora II and
Tell Te’o indicate a context of early cultivation.
The sacrifice of humans in relation to the growth of
agricultural crops, sometimes referred to as fertility rites,
is a common practice recorded all over the world, in
ethnographic accounts and myths to do with the origins of
agriculture. “All over the world human sacrifice seems to
be closely linked with the mystery of food-production”
(Merrifield 1987, 23; Frazer 1987, 425-447). Although
Clark amongst others has pointed out that “we know from
our knowledge of living people that a great diversity of
cultural expression may be found among communities
subject to the same economic limitations and occupying
similar if not identical environments” (1953, 355), in this
case, economic and climatic conditions represent another
match between the ethnographic sources and Neolithic
subject and one can anticipate that common ritual needs
existed between the two. The unpredictability of rainfall
in areas of the Levant could well provide deterministic
explanation for the practice of rituals for fluid
preservation, and rainmaking devices through specialized
agents. Traditionally, the most reliable device for assuring
seasonal regeneration was to placate the divine forces
with the killing of a human victim and it would be most
surprising not to find versions of such “fertility rites” in
the context of early agriculture in the Levant.
While the development of symbolism and rituals relating
to fluid preservation are understandable devices in
marginal regions such as the Southern Levant with its
record of fluctuating climatic condition, the questions of
how bodies of fetuses might solve the problem, or why
the rainmaker needed fetuses to work his magic, or why
the blood signal was associated with the selection for
ritual treatment must be answered. Bloody sacrificial acts
 E. ORRELLE : INFANT JAR BURIALS – A RITUAL ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY AGRICULTURE?
transformed infants into powerful forces whose proper
deposition could prevent drought. The subjects of the
African jar burials are not stated to be sacrificed infants,
but the elaborate rules surrounding the suitable locations
for their deposition and its connection to controlling the
weather hints at sacrificial origins of these elaborate
customs.
Can we therefore infer for the Neolithic material that they
were scheduling sacrifices and that unnatural deaths of
fetuses and neonates were related to procuration of
rainfall?
Historical Sources
Like the Neolithic jar burials, sacrificial burials were
historically characterized as having few or no grave goods
(Brown 1991, 17). Further conditions for recognition of
sacrifice were “separation”, evidence for a supernatural
recipient, and violence (e.g. Green 1998, 185; Merrifield
1987, 65; Hughes 1991, 3).
The notion of separation has the specific sense that in the
course of giving sacrifice, proximity to the supernatural
occurs. Any person or artifact that has approached or
touched the divine, partakes itself of that divine quality.
This quality is sanctity, and a difference is created
between sacred and profane, the Hebrew word kadesh,
separate. In Latin, sacrifice derives ultimately from the
Latin sacer (holy) and facere (to make), and this implies a
ritual act of the highest order in which the offering
becomes sanctified. The act of separation is significant in
separating the sacred from the profane. Intentional earth
burial of infants, in elaborated containers, in liminal
contexts can be interpreted as early manifestation of
separation of a sacral kind.
The archaeological requirement of evidence for violent
death is problematic. Single bones or partial skeletons
hint at pre or post-mortem mutilation or dismemberment.
The bones were preserved, closed in jars, and so tapho-
nomic causes can be ruled out. Complete bodies with no
signs of violence may have been subjected to forms of
violent killing such as drowning or suffocation which
leave no traces on the body; some “gods” might demand
perfect whole victims and this creates an objective
difficulty in recognizing violent death. Egyptian and Indo
European creation myths describe the ritual killing and
dismemberment of an original victim and the dismem-
bered bodies can provide evidence of reenactments of
such rituals, and be considered as indirect indications of
violent acts.
Supernatural Recipient
“In any consideration of sacrifice as a concept, the issue
of the recipient is crucial” (Green 2001, 22). The presence
of human figurines in archaeological assemblages can
assist a reconstruction of the ideological context in which
anthropomorphic divinity was venerated. In historical
75
periods, archaeologists and theologians rely both on
textual and visual sources to recognize deities (Keel &
Uehlinger 1998, xi). In addition, Boyer has described
criteria for the recognition of gods which are universally
recognized as being in anthropomorphic form with coun-
ter intuitive features (Boyer 2001). The rich repertoire of
this kind of anthropomorphic imagery in the Neolithic
suggests that supernatural recipients were present.
Thus, to some extent, the historical requirements of
recognizing sacrifice in the archaeological record appear
in the PN. The identification of a supernatural recipient,
acts of “giving” which involve the killing of animate and
inanimate, and their subsequent separation are met by the
figurines, dismembered skeletons, jar contexts and earth
burial.
Indications of Religion
The cultural symbolic aspects of the Neolithic data have
implications for the period for identifying features of
religion. Repetitive symbolic aspects relating to rebirth,
liminal deposition locations and hints of sacral space
suggest formulaic ritual behavior orchestrated and
carefully managed by professional religious officials. The
characteristics of sacrificial ritual seem to be present. The
same features over such a large area and period may
reveal a cultural koine, or interaction sphere with a
common belief system for the Pottery Neolithic period as
was described for the PPNB (Cauvin 1989; Bar-Yosef &
Belfer-Cohen 1989).
In most historical analogies quoted, patterns of ritual
behavior surrounding the deposition of dead fetuses and
infants indicated that they were an active mechanism in
disaster control; the Iron Age sacrifices were supported by
textual evidence and the African examples by live reports.
If the motivation for sacrifice was anxiety about rainfall,
then a link with status might be established. Rainmaking
was a heavy responsibility for decision makers, but also
brought status. In fragile African cultivation communities,
the survival importance of rainfall meant that a successful
rainmaker could qualify for the role of king. Historically,
royal and elite families donated victims for sacrifice. A
frequent theme in classical textual references to child
sacrifice is that the initiative was taken by the ruling class
(Mosca 1975, 16; de Vaux 1964, 84 note 111; Quintus
Curtius Hist. Iv iii. 23. trans. H. Bardon) or ritual leaders
(Green 2001, 194). The “voluntary” auto sacrifice, an
apparent altruistic act saving the community from disaster
enhanced a leader’s power, or if it failed, his or her death.
The status lay with the patron of the act, the cost of the
gesture. In addition, participants in a sacrificial act
acquired divinity.
Can we infer some form of elite auto sacrifice for the
Neolithic remains? Was the potency attached to these
infant burials that could in some way influence the
powers that controlled the weather, or the future of a
structure, a source of status?
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
If “selection” for male victims is found to operate, as the
sex testing so far reveals, this would have implications for
the hypothesis of male infanticide, or sacrifice of the
firstborn male. Proving ritual killing is notoriously
difficult but the clustered interrelated symbols of a ritual
which link the Neolithic and ethnographic data tend
towards such an explanation.
In a period of early agriculture, evidence for unnatural
death could be interpreted as religious sacrificial ritual
associated with crops. In the Pottery Neolithic period
context of elaborate pottery vessels, one may even
hypothesize that an elite beverage culture was present
suggesting that crops were grown for this purpose.
Finally, the different possible interpretations for this
cluster of symbols must be weighed against the different
possible hypotheses to explain elaborated infant burial;
that it represents sentimental natural burial, rebirth, burial
of high status infant or unnatural death of ritually
sacrificed infants.
The special vessels and womb metaphors might support
the first explanation of sentimental burial. The symbol of
the inverted womb discharging its contents through a
vulva aperture can be seen as a metaphorical birth process
and links to ideas of death and rebirth (Hertz 1960, 81;
Bloch & Parry 1982).
When combined with special locations, and selection for
males, one may, at a stretch be looking at privileged
burial of a natural death. If ascribed status was the
motivation behind the jar burials, one must ask what the
elaborated burial of a dead infant might signal? How
would the elaboration of the loss of a child of a socially
powerful group member enhance his status? If the burials
were involved in some way with territorial rights, why
were fetuses, infants and children accorded this rite and
not adults? Finally, the possibility of mutilation and
dismemberment and the selection of “cut” infants for
ritual burial requires that one must consider the option of
ritual killing.
If the burials represents ritually killed infants, sacrificed
to avoid a disaster such as drought, this pseudo-altruistic
voluntary act (Merrifield 1987, 65; Green 2001, 67) could
bestow honor and status on a lineage head. Neolithic
hierarchy might be supported by divine favor acquired
through ritual and social means, as a forerunner of divine
monarchy (Quigley 2005).
The model attempts to describe how socio-economic and
political motivations might be enmeshed in a religious
rite. It provides a key to explaining the possible
relationships between hierarchy and mortuary ritual
practice and indicate very early presence of agricultural
ritual.
This symbolic device for solving problems of rainfall and
fluid preservation expressed in ritual was the product of
76
the new mythico-religious cosmology. A hypothesis such
as this, where economic, political and religious elements,
status, religion and society are inextricably meshed,
provides compelling Neolithic structure with which to
unravel the significance of these burials.
This Neolithic assemblage, known but neglected for some
30 years, when placed in its cultural ontological context
reveals how apparently unrelated observations and ideas
from the sources seem to link up with the archaeological
data to expand the interpretive potential which might
apply. Implications have been voiced here which extend
beyond the conventions of the archaeological discipline
and the expectations of a conservative audience. To
ignore this greater context, however, in spite of its
insecure nature, is to lose the interpretative potential from
multivariate symbolic contexts and the important matches
between source and subject, which are revealed when
archaeological data is correlated with ethnographic
historical and mythical sources.
Ideas presented here drawn from such similarities
encouraged the drawing of inferences; if caution demands
that these inferred ideas be described as speculations, then
in the spirit of interpretive archaeology, this detailed
informed speculation is offered to support an interpret-
tation, which gives greater weight to one hypothesis but
that embraces all the others.
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 THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS”
AT BYBLOS
Gassia ARTIN
Université Lyon 2, CNRS UMR 5133, “Archéorient: Environnements et Sociétés de l’Orient Ancien”,
Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux, Lyon, France
gassiart@hotmail.com

Abstract: Excavated by Maurice Dunand between 1925-1973, Byblos represents a key site for the study of the Chalcolithic in the
central and northern Levant. One of its major interests is its “necropolis”1, which has yielded 2097 inhumations in jars. Despite the
remarkable character of this funerary assemblage and the abundance of data collected during the excavations, only about 24% of
the burials were published. This new analysis involves a detailed study of the unpublished records and a geospatial analysis of the
evolution of the “necropolis” in relation to the associated settlement. This involved a systematic and comprehensive study of
funerary contexts, human remains and grave goods. The results suggest multiple phases of inhumation and chart the spread of both
the “necropolis” and settlement during the Chalcolithic2.
Key Words: Byblos, Chalcolithic, Central and Northern Levant, jar burials

Résumé: Fouillé par Maurice Dunand entre 1925 et 1973, Byblos nous a livré, une importante installation “énéolithique” dont une
des grandes richesses est sa “nécropole” comprenant 2097 inhumations dans des jarres. Malgré le caractère remarquable de cet
ensemble funéraire et l’abondance des données recueillies pendant la fouille, seule 24 % des tombes ont été publiées. L’exploitation
et la relecture critique des données inédites, par des méthodes nouvelles étayées par des outils informatiques nous a permis de
présenter les différentes caractéristiques inédites des trois composantes de l’ensemble funéraire (les structures funéraires, les restes
humains et le mobilier d’accompagnement) et d’en faire une étude archéo-anthropologique. D’autre part, l’analyse spatiale de la
distribution des tombes, de leur contenu et des relations des tombes avec les structures d’habitat nous a permis d'établir une
sériation chrono-spatiale de la “nécropole” et de l’“installation”.
Mots-clés: Byblos, énéolithique, Levant Central et Levant Nord, sépultures en jarre

INTRODUCTION12 described in publications. Furthermore, the analysis of the

Byblos is located 40 km north of Beirut on the Lebanese
coast, and occupies rocky promontory 30 metres above
sea level. The excavations at this site were mainly
directed by the archaeologist Maurice Dunand between
1925 and 1973. In the course of his work, he excavated an
extensive “necropolis” and settlement from the period he
defined as énéolithique, which he divided on the basis of
ceramics and architecture into the énéolithique ancien and
the énéolithique récent (Dunand 1973)3. The “necropolis”
and settlement are very important, being one of the few
excavated examples from this time in the central and
northern Levant.
The énéolithique layers of Byblos are characterised by
inhumations in jars, and an exceptionally rich and varied
corpus of grave goods. Despite the remarkable quality of
the énéolithique material, the “necropolis” remains
relatively unknown. Only 24% of the burials have been
1
“Necropolis” is the term used by Maurice Dunand who directed the
majority of Byblos excavations.
2
This article is based on research undertaken as part of my PhD at the
University of Lyon in France (2005), which focused on reinvestigating
the archaeological material from the énéolithique “necropolis” at
Byblos.
3
Today, the term Chalcolithic is more frequently used than énéolithique
to describe the period which dates to approximately 6100-5000 14C BP
or 5000-3800 cal. BC. Unfortunately, dating Byblos and its various
chronological phases has been controversial, due to the absence of
radiocarbon analysis, and to the lack of related studies. For this reason, I
have retained the term énéolithique for the purpose of this study.
site proposed by Dunand (1973), and by other individual
studies is partial, as only certain elements of the énéo-
lithique have been studied. Statistical, qualitative and
spatial analyses of the data are absent, thus past interpret-
tations and synthesises are too general and incomplete to
be of value to the scientific community.
To undertake an exhaustive study of the fourth
millennium layers of Byblos, it was vital to examine the
archives of the original excavations, including all the
unpublished data. In this way, the mass of information
from the past was not to be lost or left unevaluated. These
records were critically re-evaluated where necessary, and
at the same time, the various terminologies were
standardised. The re-evaluation of the archives permitted
the confirmation or reconsideration of past hypotheses,
and where appropriate, the development of new ones.
THE RECORDS
The unpublished records include the Fonds Dunand
archives, the personal records of Jean Lauffray (the
architect who worked with Dunand), and the archaeo-
logical finds, which have been scattered in different
university, museum and institute collections.
The Fonds Dunand were saved from destruction in the
Lebanese war and are now housed in the Faculté des
Lettres at the University of Geneva. These archives are

79
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
the most complete and important source of information
that we have of the Byblos excavations (1926-1975).
These records include excavation notes, arranged into
boxes and drawers without having been classified. Thus,
the utilisation of these archives becomes complicated.
Furthermore, the Fonds Dunand in Geneva are not
exhaustive because certain documents that belonged to
other excavation members are missing. For example, the
notes about the énéolithique “necropolis” and the
topographic accounts have not been found. Many
documents may in fact have been lost for a thorough
inventory was never taken.
The Byblos archaeological finds are housed at Musée
National de Beyrouth, Dépôt de la citadelle de Byblos,
Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in Paris, Département
d’Anthropologie de l’Université in Geneva, and the
Institut de Préhistoire Orientale in Jalès (France).
However, the archaeological material in the Musée
National de Beyrouth was often inaccessible, either due to
looting during the war or to the limited access to the
collections. Director of Antiquities’ fear of losing
artefacts because of theft hindered access to the material
during the first few years of my work4.
METHODOLOGY
The choices regarding my methodology and the quality of
results that could be obtained were constrained by the
limitations of the available records.
My primary concern was the controversial methods used
during the original excavations. This methodology used a
grid system of 10 metres to divide the entire area. The site
was excavated in uniform 20 cm spits, without
consideration for the archaeological stratigraphy or
natural topography. Unfortunately, these methodological
problems could not be resolved through further
excavation due to the condition of the site. The very
dispersed, incomplete and inconsistent nature of the
documentation as a whole was additional constraints to
this study.
The methodology of this research consisted of the
creation of two bodies of data from the available
documentary sources and archaeological material. The
first corpus included all archaeological and palaeoanthro-
pological information, and the second all the geo-spatial
data. The archaeo-anthropological corpus incorporated all
the information regarding the burials and their associated
grave goods and human remains, while the geo-spatial
corpus integrated the spatial parameters relative to the
burials and the habitation structures.
The available documentation was computer analysed
using FileMaker™ for the text, and MapInfo™ for the
4
An authorisation was eventually given in 2000-2001, which allowed
me to examine a certain number of the archaeological items.
80
geo-spatial disposition of the “necropolis”. The use of
these two programmes made it possible to investigate the
varying characteristics of the three elements, which
compose the funerary material (funerary contexts, human
remains and associated grave goods) and to conduct an
archaeological-anthropological study. In addition, the
spatial analysis of the distribution of burials, their
contents as well as the relation between burials and
habitation structures made it possible to establish the
chrono-spatial development of the “necropolis”.
However, to understand more clearly the organisation and
development of the occupation at Byblos in the
énéolithique, the site had to be divided into sectors or
zones, which take account of the morphology of the
terrain.
At the centre of the area is a small valley, which in later
periods contained a well and a “sacred pool”. There may
have been a well or a spring there in the énéolithique, but
no evidence has ever been reported. For the purpose of
my study I drew three concentric circles around this
central feature and subdivided the area contained within
these circles into zones (Fig. 9.1). Thus zones A and B are
divisions of the inner circle, which has a diameter of
about 80 m. Zones C, D, E, and G are divisions of the
middle circle, which has a diameter of about 200 m.
Zones I and M are divisions of the outer circle, which has
a diameter of about 350 m. The final two sectors are two
hills, which are contained within the area of the circles.
Zone F is the higher hill (colline haute) to the north of the
well, and zone H is the lower hill (colline basse) to the
south.
ANALYSIS OF FUNERARY CONTEXTS
A rich variety of funerary contexts were found at the
Byblos énéolithique “necropolis”. The site has 2097
burials, 2059 of which are jar burials5. The information
gathered allowed us to quantitatively analyse the
characteristics of the three main groups of material:
funerary contexts, human remains, and grave goods.
Funerary contexts
The énéolithique “necropolis” is characterised by 98% of
jar inhumations. The remaining 2% of the sample consist
of inhumations in other types of vessels as well as plain
burials, both at the site and in nearby caves (Fig. 9.2).
The form, dimensions, position and orientation of the
various inhumation types were not systematically
recorded in the publications and archives, and to date, no
typological archaeometric studies of the jars have been
undertaken.
5
The exact number of burials is never given in publications and
excavation reports. This is not surprising as the authors of these records
do not indicate their source, and they never had access to the Fonds
Dunand to complete and verify their findings.
 G. ARTIN: THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS” AT BYBLOS
Fig. 9.1. Geo-spatial corpus: topographic distribution (Artin 2005)
Fig. 9.2. Funerary contexts: jar burials
(Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)
From the available data, a variety of shapes can be
observed, amongst which are the ovoid, globular and
elongated jars. Their lengths vary between 0.20 and
1.95 m. The majority (67%) were positioned horizontally,
but the orientation varied considerably.
Human remains
An anthropological study of the human remains was
impossible as most of the bones had been lost. To
81
complicate matters even further, the records for Byblos
are incomplete in the areas of funerary anthropology and
palaeontology. Taphonomic studies of human remains
from the Chalcolithic sites in the Near East were rarely
done (Le Mort & Rabinovich 1994 & 2002), so the
present study is based on the analysis of documentary
sources indicated in the corpus.
63% of the jars contained human remains. Individual
burials represent the standard burial type with multiple
graves comprising only 6% of the total number found6.
However, the lack of information and the unavailability of
the osteological material for future study prevent one
from establishing any relationship between individuals
within multiple burials. 35% of the skeletons in jars were
oriented with the skull to the opening. The skeletons were
also positioned facing both right and left, and 21% were
in a contracted position (Fig. 9.3).
The fact that 45% of the sample are identified as adults
(buried in 581 jars) and 39% as immatures (children)
(buried in 499 jars) suggests that there was no age based
selection for this “necropolis”. We can thus assume that
6
37 children and 54 adults were interred in burials classified as multiple.
Only 20 graves contained both adults and children. An identical number
of adults were buried with other adults. Unfortunately, the sex of the
individuals buried in the multiple graves is not known.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 9.3. Human remains (burial No. 801)
(Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)
all members of the population were buried in the same
intramural “necropolis”. The same spatial distribution of
both adult and child burials reveals that there was no
spatial separation by age into separate burial zones.
However, the methods used to determine age mentioned
in the documentary sources were based on a crude
empirical system, and differ greatly from today’s
methods.
The notes concerning Byblos give only a rough estimation
of age based on the size of the bones found. It is therefore
impossible to classify the remains according to normal
age groups. For this study, three categories were chosen:
adults, immatures (children), and human remains that are
too poorly preserved to be categorised. The remains
considered to be immature are those described as being a
“young child,” a “very young,” a “newborn,” an “infant,”
an “8 year-old child,” a “child a few months old,” a “very
small child,” a “child a few years old.” The imprecise
nature of dating this information made further division of
human remains into more specific groups impossible.
Hypotheses or conclusions concerning the individual’s
sex have been avoided, as the categories “male” and
“female” were arbitrarily assigned and represent only 3%
of the total number of human remains found7.
Grave goods
In general, the burials yielded abundant grave goods, with
an average of 3 objects per burial. According to the
7
The sex of 62 individuals was identified from a total of 644 adults
(Özbek 1976).
82
available records, a total of 3652 objects were found. The
grave goods are extremely diverse, and included cera-
mics, metal and stone artefacts. The lithic industry
included stone implements and weapons (either flaked or
polished), the bone industry included tools made of bone
and/or ivory, and the art objects and ornaments (non-
functional items) included human or animal figurines, as
well as amulets, necklaces, bracelets, beads, and pendants
made of different material (Fig. 9.4).
Fig. 9.4. Grave goods in a jar
(Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)
Only a small percentage of animal and plant remains are
mentioned in the Fonds Dunand archives.
Ceramics
Ceramics are the most abundant artefact type; they are
present in almost 56% of the jars. These ceramic grave
goods, as defined by Dunand, include several series of
pots, goblets, bowls, and cups. The fact that the jars were
protected contributed to the good preservation of the
ceramic ware.
Ceramics were found in inhumations in all zones of the
site.
Metal artefacts
This category includes all metal objects (88% made of
copper, 11% of silver), with the exception of
ornaments; they represent 1% of the inclusions found in
jars. This artefact type varies, from the first metal hooks
made of copper to daggers, which were found in large
numbers.
A total of 44 metal objects were discovered, and very few
of them came from non-funerary contexts of the same
period at Byblos. It is interesting to note that metal
artefacts were absent from zones C, H and K.
 G. ARTIN: THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS” AT BYBLOS
Stone artefacts
Stone artefacts, which include the heavier items, are rare
and constitute only 1% of the total grave goods found. 26
stone objects were discovered; they were made from
either limestone or basalt, and were, for the most part,
distributed in the south-western zones and more rarely in
the central and northern zones. The most frequently found
stone artefacts were cups, mace-heads, goblets, bowls and
polished pebbles. Many different types of stone were
used, but the majority of the artefacts were made of
limestone.
Lithic industry
Of the 209 lithic objects found in burials, the majority
were made of flint and 8% of obsidian. Although these
grave goods were found across the site, they were
somewhat rarer in the northern and eastern sectors.
Lithic industry comprises 6% of the grave goods
discovered. In spite of the abundance of polished axes and
adzes in domestic contexts, flint weapons were rarely
discovered in burials. Flint flakes were frequently found,
but only a small number of tools were discovered in jars.
Bone and ivory artefacts
The bone and ivory artefacts were completely absent from
the central and the northern zones, and represent only 1%
of the grave goods discovered. Amongst the bone
artefacts that were re-worked, there were awls (found in
abundance), blades, pins and goblets (somewhat rarer).
The bone artefacts represent 91% of the objects belonging
to this category, while only 9% were made of ivory.
Art objects and ornaments
1271 art objects and ornaments made from silver,
limestone, cornelian, bone, ivory, shell and obsidian were
recovered from 255 burials. This category of objects was
frequently found throughout the entire site, and adds up to
a total of 35% of the grave goods discovered. It is
interesting to note that various elements of adornments
are frequently found, and in particular discoid, biconical
and spherical beads, rings and pendants. The majority are
made of silver; artefacts made of gold are very rare.
The art objects are represented by some small sculptures,
notably figurines made of stone or ivory. The glyptics
includes several clay cylinders and stone or ivory seals.
SPECIFICITY OF THE BYBLOS BURIALS
From the funerary contexts, human remains and the grave
goods just mentioned, certain associations within the
entire sample become evident. By compiling the available
evidence from the analysis of funerary contexts, the
following preliminary observations can be made:
83
First of all, the inhumations in non-typical jars contained
exclusively infant burials. Unfortunately, the sex of
infants could not be determined. In 9 of the burials,
various jar shapes were used (baratte8, bocal9, cratère10,
jatte, pot, vase tripode). In each case, the atypical jar
shape was reserved for newborn and infant burials. This
tradition is common in the Neolithic (Dunand 1973).
Next, the vast majority of infant burials were found in
small jars (between 0,20 and 0,70 m high) that had been
interred in a vertical position. This differs from the
majority of adults who were buried horizontally, for the
most part, in larger jars. These receptacles were rarely
found in a vertical or inclined position. We can deduce
from these findings that jars of different sizes were used
according to the age of the deceased, and that the position
of the containers depended on their size and weight. The
vertical position was reserved for the smallest individuals.
Finally, the funerary material found in the Byblos burials
consists of commonly used objects (tools, “vaisselle”,
ornaments), and ceramic artefacts made for burial
purposes (Dunand 1973; Balfet 1962; Epstein 2001). The
presence of this type of inclusions suggests that the
deceased were not always buried with their personal
belongings.
Certain authors of the Byblos inventory description cards
consider burials containing jewellery and ornamental
headdresses as having belonged to women, while male
burials included “weapons” and “daggers”. M. Chehab
(1950) believed that burials containing a large number of
grave goods (especially metal objects) had belonged to
chiefs. Can we speak of social hierarchy if we only take
into consideration the presence or absence of metal to
arbitrarily attribute grave goods to one sex or the other?
Ceramic grave goods were frequently associated with
metal and stone goods, and were discovered, for the most
part, in multiple burials. Art objects and other orna-
ments were often found in child inhumations (Figs. 9.5
and 9.6).
If we consider the differences in the nature and quantity
of grave goods found in the burials, it may seem that
certain individuals had a higher status than others in
Byblos’ énéolithique society. However, one has to be
cautious with this hypothesis as the site was occupied for
a millennium. During this period, new materials and
techniques were introduced while others were abandoned.
Certain objects were also made especially for burial with
their owner. Thus, the establishment of a hierarchical
order based on grave goods is very problematic.
8
The baratte (burial No. 1735) is displayed in case No. 2, first floor of
the Musée National de Beyrouth.
9
Word used by M. Dunand (1939, 379 & 1973, 281). It is not listed in
Dictionnaire illustré multilingue de la céramique du Proche-Orient
ancien (Yon 1981).
10
The cratère (burial No. 1329) is on display at the Musée de la
Citadelle de Byblos, which opened in 2001.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 9.5. Metal artefact (burial No. 1669)
(Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)
Fig. 9.6. Ornaments (burial No. 92) (Cliché Fonds Dunand archives)
84
SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF FUNERARY CONTEXTS
The analysis of chrono-spatial data provided information
on two research areas: the spatial development of the
“necropolis”, and the relations existing between burials
and habitation structures.
In the absence of stratigraphical and chronological data,
and with the impossibility of making any qualitative
analysis, the reconstruction of the site’s development is
based on the quantitative study of grave goods, and the
pattern of the construction of habitation structures
throughout the site. The quantitative study of grave goods,
based on the observation of rarity of certain materials,
enables us to understand the development of the
“necropolis”.
The stone goods were present in abundance in zone L (in
the south-west), which corresponds to the ancient area of
the site. The presence of this artefact type fades away
progressively to the east and south, and disappears
completely in zone C (in the hills and to the north). In
addition to this, no goods made of bone were found in
 G. ARTIN: THE JAR BURIALS OF THE CHALCOLITHIC “NECROPOLIS” AT BYBLOS
zones A, B and C (the central zones). These facts reveal
that the inclusion of bone and stone artefacts in funerary
contexts was abandoned prior to the spread of the
“necropolis” to the centre and to the north. This phenol-
menon coincides with the development and inclusion of a
new material, metal. It appears that the “necropolis”
developed gradually from south-west to north-east, going
around the central zones A, B and C (fig. 9.1).
The occupation of the space by burials and habitation
structures has the same chronological progression
throughout the site. Spatial occupation and the use of the
site appear to have started in the west and progressed to
the east, with a tendency to occupy the flat areas. The
site’s occupation terminated in the north (fig. 9.1).
After having studied the plans closely, analysing (a) the
distribution of habitation structures, (b) the burials for
which geographic coordinates are available, and (c) the
burial below the floors of the habitations, we come to
further interesting conclusions.
First of all, only 5.5% of the burials were situated under
the house floors (sous les logis is the term utilised by
Dunand to designate houses). An equal number of adults
and immatures (children) were buried there. This
observation contradicts the hypothesis that the under floor
burials were reserved for children only. Secondly, only
4% of the other burials were found within 2.5 metres of
habitation structures. This distance is double the average
length of the jars from Byblos.
We can say that only 10% of the burials were under the
habitation structures or in their immediate vicinity and
that the inhabitants of Byblos normally buried their dead
at least some distance from their houses. It is highly
probable that certain areas of the settlement were
forgotten or abandoned after having been occupied by
burials or habitation structures. The growth of the site was
at times limited, or even diminished. These facts reveal
the complexity of the énéolithique “necropolis” of
Byblos.
CONCLUSION
Byblos differs from other sites in central and northern
Levant, but similar sites probably exist, and their
85
discovery would modify our hypotheses. Even though we
lack certain information which would contribute to our
understanding, Byblos stands as one of the most
important discoveries of human occupation in the region
during the 4th millennium. Hopefully in the future, a
comprehensive qualitative study of material from Byblos
will be made, which will give us a much better
understanding of this formative period in the eastern
Mediterranean.
References
ARTIN, G. 2005. La “nécropole énéolithique” de
Byblos: nouvelles interprétations. Thèse de Doctorat,
Université Lumière Lyon 2.
BALFET, H. 1962. Céramique ancienne au Proche-
Orient, Israël et Liban, VIIe-IIIe millénaires: étude
technique. Paris: Thèse de 3e cycle.
CHEHAB, M. 1950. Tombes des chefs d’époque
énéolithique trouvées à Byblos. Bulletin du Musée de
Beyrouth 9: 75-85.
DUNAND, M. 1973. Fouilles de Byblos, tome V.
L’architecture, les tombes, le matériel domestique des
origines néolithiques à l’avènement urbain. Paris:
Maisonneuve.
EPSTEIN, C. 2001. The Significance of Ceramic
Assemblages in Chalcolithic Burial Contexts in Israel
and Neighboring Regions in the Southern Levant.
Levant 33: 81-94.
LE MORT, F. & R. RABINOVICH 1994. L’apport de
l’étude taphonomique des restes humains à la
connaissance des pratiques funéraires: exemple du site
chalcolithique de Ben Shemen (Israël). Paléorient
20/1: 69-98.
LE MORT, F. & R. RABINOVICH 2002. Taphonomy
and Mortuary Practices, in Y. Goren & P. Fabian
(eds.) Kissufim Road. A Chalcolithic Mortuary Site.
Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 16.
ÖZBEK, M. 1976. Hommes de Byblos. Étude compa-
rative des squelettes des âges des métaux au Proche-
Orient. Thèse de 3e cycle. Université de Bordeaux.
YON, M. 1981. Dictionnaire illustré multilingue de la
céramique du Proche-Orient ancien. Lyon: Maison de
l’Orient.
 MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS:
CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE
Yavor BOYADŽIEV
National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, yavordb@abv.bg

Maria GUROVA
National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, gurovam@yahoo.fr

Abstract: Prehistoric Bulgaria is well known thanks to the spectacular finds of the Chalcolithic cemeteries. Varna cemetery is the
wealthiest, with the pronounced social differentiation and hierarchy of the deceased manifested. The cemetery of Durankulak has
always been somewhat in the shadow of its famous counterpart near Varna, although it offers certain purely cognitive advantages.
The complete analysis and publication of the cemetery, with its exhaustive catalog of the grave goods, reveal a spectrum of problems
and one of them is the grave goods differentiation related to the sex and age of the deceased. This article is focused on the flint
artifacts as gifts at the baby and child burials.
Keywords: cemetery, grave-goods, neonatus, infans, flint artifacts, Hamangia and Varna cultures

Résumé: La Bulgarie préhistorique est bien connue grâce aux trouvailles spectaculaires de ses nécropoles chalcolithiques et surtout
celle de Varna, où le contexte funéraire manifeste une forte différentiation sociale et hiérarchique des défunts. Malgré le fait d’avoir
toujours été un peu éclipsée par la célébrité de Varna, la nécropole de Durankulak présente certains avantages proprement cognitifs.
Une étude et une publication complète, accompagnées d’un catalogue exhaustif des sépultures, permettent de relever une problé-
matique nuancée, dont une partie consiste en une différentiation du mobilier en relation avec l’âge et le sexe des inhumés. L’article
aborde ce problème du point de vue des artefacts en silex, présentés comme mobilier funéraire dans les sépultures enfantines.
Mots Clefs: nécropole, mobilier funéraire, neonatus, infans, artefact en silex, cultures de Hamangia et Varna

INTRODUCTION du Chalcolithique. Dans la plupart d’entre elles, le

Dans notre lecture et notre compréhension du passé,
l’analyse exhaustive du mobilier funéraire permet de
concevoir le concept épistémologique de “sacré” versus
“profane et domestique”. La présence des objets en silex
parmi le mobilier funéraire révèle autant leur statut sym-
bolique secondaire que l’importance de les considérer au
même titre que les autres offrandes et objets personnels
des dépôts rituels. Les sépultures des nouveau-nés et des
enfants représentent une catégorie intéressante à cause du
statut particulier que les défunts ont eu comme vivants au
sein du réseau familial et du système social. D’autre part,
il y a une tentation perpétuelle de dévoiler autant que
possible les croyances méconnues de la vie après la mort,
toujours séduisante et jamais perceptible. Les besoins spi-
rituels des nos ancêtres, concrétisés par des rites funéraires
variés, représentent un domaine compliqué, où la lecture de
faits archéologiques peut facilement être suivie d’interpré-
tations spéculatives et non pertinentes. Il faut souligner
l’importance des études complexes du mobilier et des
pratiques funéraires issues de nécropoles préhistoriques,
afin d’éviter une précarité gnoséologique, consistant en des
reconstructions basées sur des données archéologiques
insuffisamment fiables (c.-à.-d isolées et anecdotiques).
DURANKULAK – UN PHENOMENE
ARCHEOLOGIQUE
Sur le territoire de la Bulgarie, il y a 11 nécropoles
préhistoriques (avec plus de 10 sépultures) – datant surtout
nombre des tombes d'enfants est considérablement
inférieur au nombre des tombes d’adultes (tableau 10.1).
Il y a une exception – le cimetière de Demir baba où,
parmi 10 tombes au total, 7 contiennent des enfants. A
l'autre extrémité se trouve le cimetière d’Omurtag, où
aucune inhumation d’enfant n’est attestée. Par principe, la
détermination précise de l’âge des enfants décédés est
assez rare et la distinction des groupes Infans I et Infans II
varie d’une nécropole à l’autre. En règle générale, les
données anthropologiques fiables sur les nouveau-nés
(jusqu’à 1 an) sont plutôt exceptionnelles. Cette situation
factuelle est en totale contradiction avec la mortalité
ordinaire des enfants à cette époque-là, qui est au plus
haut chez les nouveau-nés et diminue graduellement avec
l’âge. La nécropole de Durankulak nous offre une réponse
plausible à ce paradoxe, issue du contexte même du
terrain – l’utilisation d’une structure sépulcrale en pierre
qui matérialise la fosse primaire. Cet aménagement des
sépultures, y compris de nouveau-nés, en vigueur pendant
la culture Varna, permet de constater la présence de
tombes même s’il n’y a ni squelette, ni mobilier funéraire:
un fait qui est très important relativement aux nouveau-
nés et aux enfants dont les ossements sont les plus
vulnérables aux altérations post-dépositionnelles. Ce fait
et cette démarche d’identification des sépultures de
nouveaux-nés expliquent le fait que dans le tableau 10.1
le nombre de ces sépultures est si élevé.
Il convient de présenter ici dans un cadre général ce réel
phénomène archéologique. Cette nécropole, en effet, est
l’unique dont les restes archéologiques aient été complè-

87
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Tableau 10.1. Tableau général des sépultures d’après l’âge et le mobilier en silex: total - ◘ silex -▲
Goliamo Targovi- Dеmir
Durankulak Varna I Devnia Vinitsa Polianitsa Radingrad Balbunar
Delchevo shte baba
tombe ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲ ◘ ▲
noveau-né 125 17 2 1
Inf I 43 2 1 1 1 3 1 2 1 1
Inf. II 28 6 1 1 0 6 1 6 1 1
enfant 80 5 10 2 3 2 2 1 8 1 5 3
Juv. 74 3 19 3 1 1 2
Adult. 667 140 66 24 5 4 14 3 25 2 8 1 8
indeterminé 110 61 47 6 4 2 1 6 1 7 10 5 3 1 19 6
detruit 87 37 6 2 4 4 1 4 1 3 2 1
cénotaphe 53 20 49 32 4 1 3 7 3
total 1190 191 295 146 26 13 30 5 53 9 11 1 23 2 21 6 10 2 24 7

tement étudiés et publiés (Todorova 2002). Bien qu’elle
ait été éclipsée par la célébrité du cimetière de Varna (où
le contexte funéraire manifeste une forte différentiation
sociale et hiérarchique des défunts), la nécropole de
Durankulak possède quand même certains avantages
proprement cognitifs. Située près de la frontière roumaine
sur le littoral bulgare, elle illustre une séquence très
importante du Néolithique récent jusqu’au Chalco-
lithique final, qui permet d’observer et de reconstituer de
manière diachronique les pratiques funéraires (avec leurs
caractères variables) de la communauté locale, dont le site
d’habitat se trouve à 200 m au nord. Cela représente un
intervalle de temps de presque un millénaire, et une bonne
illustration du développement des cultures Hamangia et
Varna, qui se présentent de la manière suivante:
Hamangia ancienne (phases I, II) – Néolithique récent;
Hamangia III – début du Chalcolithique;
Hamangia IV – Chalcolithique moyen, période de tran-
sition évolutive;
Varna – Chalcolithique final.
Le cadre chronologique absolu des étapes culturelles est
présenté ci-dessous:
Hamangia I-II 5250/5200 - 4950/4900 cal. BC
Hamangia III 4950/4900 - 4650/4600 cal. BC
Hamangia IV 4650/4600 - 4550/4500 cal. BC
Varna I 4550/4500 - 4450/4400 cal. BC
Varna II-II 4450/4400 - 4250/4150 cal. BC (Bojadžiev
2002a, 67)
SEPULTURES DE NOUVEAU-NES ET
D’ENFANTS: PROBLEMATIQUE
De la nécropole de Durankulak proviennent les restes de
squelettes en différents états de conservation: depuis les
ossements bien préservés jusqu’à ceux complètement
détruits. On peut distinguer 3 groupes de sépultures:
I. Les squelettes suffisamment bien conservés pour une
expertise anthropologique fiable. D’après l’âge des
défunts, on peut les déterminer comme:
– Neonatus – nouveau-nés 0 - 1 an;
– Infans I – enfant d’1 jusqu’aux 7 ans;
– Infans II – enfant de 7 jusqu'aux 14 ans.
II. Les sépultures dont les restes osseux ne permettent
pas une expertise anthropologique, et dont l’âge est
intégré dans la catégorie globale “enfants”.
III. Il y a une autre catégorie de tombes ne possédant
aucune trace de squelette. L’indication que dans un tel
cas il s’agit de tombe porte sur 2 faits du terrain:
a/ la présence de la structure sépulcrale. Dans le
paléosol loessique les fosses primaires ne sont pas
visibles. Ces structures (agencements) en pierre
sont traitées comme indices de sépultures; elles
apparaissent à la fin de la culture Hamangia et
représentent une pratique ordinaire pendant la cul-
ture de Varna (Bojadžiev 2001, 109-112; 2002b).
Le plus souvent, il s’agit de dalles en pierre posées
horizontalement au dessus de la sépulture, mais
dans certains cas plus rares, ces dalles sont
attestées en position verticale, entourant l’espace
d’inhumation.
b/ la présence du mobilier funéraire – offrandes et
objets personnels. L’absence de restes humains
pourrait être expliquée soit par le squelette com-
plètement détruit, soit par une sépulture symboli-
que (cénotaphe). La distinction entre cénotaphe et
bébé (squelette disparu) est possible, mais cela
varie en fonction du contexte culturel. En ce qui
concerne Hamangia, il faut savoir que le mobilier
funéraire est relativement pauvre et ne révèle pas
de manière bien marquée l’âge et le sexe. Le mobi-
lier des enfants et des adultes n’est pas clairement

88
 Y. BOYADŽIEV AND M. GUROVA: MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE

Fig. 10.1. Durankulak, sépultures de nouveau-nés avec du mobilier funéraire.

L’illustration est faite par M. Gurova (adaptée du catalogue publié dans H. Todorova 2002, 2/2)

distinct, parfois les offrandes liées aux enfants
dépassent en quantité et valeur celles des adultes
(Bojadžiev 2003, 51; 2004, 73-74). Pour cette
raison la distinction claire bébé/cénotaphe est très
difficile et incertaine au sein de cette culture. A
l’inverse, cela ne pose pas grand problème de les
distinguer parmi les sépultures de Varna, où le
mobilier est beaucoup plus différencié en fonction
de l’âge et du sexe. Un élément complémentaire de
comparaison provient de la dimension d’agence-
ment des dalles de pierre (respectivement – de la
fosse primaire).
Malgré les circonstances et les obstacles mentionnés ci-
dessus, l’analyse du contexte funéraire à Durankulak
montre que les enfants ont été inhumés dans la nécropole
comme les autres membres de la communauté, mais le
nombre et la densité des tombes d’enfants varient d’une

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BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
phase à l’autre. Par ex. le nombre des sépultures d’enfants
enregistrées à Hamangia I-III est de 29 (5,8 %), et il
augmente progressivement pendant les périodes suivantes
de Hamangia IV et Varna. A la différence de Hamangia,
durant la phase Varna les ossements de nouveau-nés sont
sûrement attestés et identifiés, mais les cas semblables ne
sont pas nombreux. L’analyse des sépultures en total
montre un taux très élevé de sépultures d’enfants – 40%.
Il faut pourtant souligner que la plupart d’entre eux ne
possèdent aucun reste osseux et que l’identification re-
pose sur les données contextuelles – caractère du mobilier
et agencement de la structure sépulcrale (Bojadžiev 2003,
56-57).
Presque la moitié des sépultures enfantines contiennent un
certain spectre d’offrandes dans lequel on peut distinguer
les catégories suivantes:
– objets considérés comme habituels et ordinaires pour un
enfant – les récipients en argile qui sont présumés
comme contenant de la nourriture1 et effets personnels,
comme de la parure par. ex.2
– à côté de ces objets il y du mobilier qui peut être moins
naturellement attribuable aux enfants – ce sont éléments
des outillages en silex, pierre taillée et os, parmi
lesquels il y a des outils utilisés.
En règle générale les artefacts en silex sont (après la
poterie bien sûr) parmi les objets les plus répandus
comme mobilier funéraire d’enfants. C’est la raison pour
laquelle on va se concentrer ici sur cette catégorie de
mobilier. En effet, M. Gurova a eu la possibilité
d’effectuer une étude tracéologique du mobilier en silex
de la nécropole Durankulak, dont les résultats mettent en
évidence une information supplémentaire sur la sélection
(consciente ou aléatoire) des artefacts en silex de leur
contexte inhérent et domestique et leur transition
postérieure au “fonctionnement” sacré des offrandes
funéraires3.
MOBILIER FUNERAIRE EN SILEX
Les artefacts en silex sont rarement isolés dans le mobilier
de la nécropole. C’est également valable pour les tombes
d’enfants/nouveau-nés. Les combinaisons d’offrandes et
d’effets personnels sont les moins nombreuses pendant les
phases anciennes Hamangia I-III. Dans certains cas
exceptionnels il n’y a que du silex (Gr 76: Hamangia I-II
et Gr 782: Hamangia III), de même que Hamangia IV (Gr
701). La tombe № 154 constitue un cas intéressant où une
lame retouchée et utilisée est accompagnée d’une dent de
Cervidae. Les plus nombreuses sont les combinaisons
avec de la céramique. Pendant la phase Varna la diversité
1
Malheureusement, il n’y a pas d’analyse de résidus sur les poteries, qui
permettraient d’éclaircir ce problème.
2
La distinction offrande/effets personnels qu’on utilise est d’après J. et
M. Lichardus (Lichardus & Lichardus-Itten 1985).
3
L’analyse tracéologique a été effectuée à l’aide des microscopes MBS
10 (x 100) et METAM P1 (x 400).
90
du mobilier funéraire augmente sensiblement, parallèle-
ment à l’accroissement général du nombre des sépultures
et de leur représentativité (sur le plan du mobilier et des
pratiques funéraires).
A Durankulak il y a 7 tombes identifiées par un anthro-
pologue comme tombes de nouveau-nés (№ 525, 531,
719, 724, 876, 1194, 1194A), mais aucune d’elles ne
contient d’artefacts en silex. Il n’y en a pas non plus
parmi les tombes d’Infans I (1-7 ans), au nombre de 43.
Le second groupe d’Infans II (7-14 ans) contient certaines
sépultures avec du mobilier en silex (№ 154, 236, 358,
433, 559 et 649) qui représentent un taux de 20% de la
totalité des tombes de ce groupe (Fig. 10.2).
En règle générale il faut souligner le fait que les
sépultures des groupes Infans I et surtout Infans II sont les
plus significatives du point de vue de la compréhension
(et de l’interprétation) adéquate des sépultures d’enfants.
A cause du squelette conservé (dont la position est
d’habitude allongé sur le dos - pour les garçons, et replié
sur le flanc droit – pour les filles) on peut concevoir la
sépulture comme un ensemble clos et intact, offrant une
image fidèle du rituel funéraire et de ses suggestions
symboliques et spirituelles. D’autre part (et on aborde ici
le problème qui mérite la discussion épistémologique) la
démarche interprétative doit se limiter à la considération
et à la corrélation des faits étudiés (dans ce cas les
sépultures) pour qu’ils gardent leur valeur adéquate au
sein du contexte funéraire global.
Le tableau 10.2 montre le ratio 4/2 des tombes des
différentes phases en faveur de celles de Varna. L’analyse
des artefacts en silex révèle un petit assemblage
hétérogène: les produits de débitage (lames et éclats bruts)
aussi bien que les outils retouchés sont présents. Les
fonctions déterminées sont variées autant du point de vue
des matières travaillées que de la cinématique d’opéra-
tions, mais néanmoins la découpe prédomine parmi les
gestes effectués. Il n’est pas exclu, mais il n’est pas
certain non plus, que ces outils aient été utilisés par les
défunts de leur vivant.
Les artefacts en silex sont attestés dans 8 sépultures sans
ossements humains, mais les petites dimensions des
structures sépulcrales en dalles de pierre incitent à les
considérer comme des sépultures de nouveau-nés (№ 415,
573, 700, 701, 716, 782, 234, 5664) (Fig. 10.1).
Il est évident à l’examen du tableau 10.3, que dans le cas
de nouveau-nés il n’y a pas différence prononcée en
comparaison des données déjà présentées pour les enfants
du IIème groupe: il y a une variété de types d’artefacts
aussi bien qu’une variété de fonctions. D’autre part il faut
souligner que les tombes attribuées aux phases de
Hamangia et, surtout Hamangia IV prédominent considé-
rablement par rapport aux sépultures de phase Varna, un
4
D’après les dimensions des agencements de pierres, les 2 dernières
sépultures appartiennent probablement à des individus dont l’âge
dépasse 1 an.
 Y. BOYADŽIEV AND M. GUROVA: MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE

Fig. 10.2. Durankulak, sépultures de l’Infans II avec du mobilier funéraire.

L’illustration est faite par M. Gurova (adaptée du catalogue publié dans H. Todorova 2002, 2/2)

91
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Tableau 10.2. Sépultures d’enfants (Infans II 7-14 ans)

tombe artefact en silex fonction période
154 lame retouchée – fragm. raclage de bois Hamangia I-II
649 éclat brut non identifiée- poli naturel Hamangia III
outil combiné tritranchant: découpe de roseaux;
358 grattoir sur LR
raclage de bois; assouplissement de peau
Varna I
lame brute – fragm. découpe de tissus carnés x 1
433
lame brute – fragm. sans traces d’utilisation
559 lame brute – fragm. découpe de tissus carnés x 2 Varna II-III
236 grattoir sur lame raclage de bois Varna

Tableau 10.3. Sépultures de nouveau-nés déterminées d’après le contexte funéraire

tombe artefact en silex fonction période
716 lame retouchée – fragm. non identifiée - poli naturel
Hamangia III
782 lame tronquée armature de faucille x 1
234 lame brute – fragm. découpe de tissus carnés x 1
566 lame tronquée Indéterminée - altération naturelle
Hamangia IV
701 grande lame brute outil combiné bitranchant: découpe de roseaux et de tissus carnés
415 éclat brut sans traces d’utilisation
700 grattoir semi-circulaire grattage de peau Varna I
573 lame brute – fragm. non identifiée – poli naturel Varna

fait qui ne corrobore pas le ratio diachronique des autres
catégories de sépultures (y compris de celles d’enfants).
L’explication repose probablement sur des difficultés
réelles de distinguer les sépultures de nouveau-nés,
dénuées d’ossements. De même, il n’est pas exclu que
pendant les phases les plus anciennes de la nécropole, il y
ait eu une affinité spéciale des objets en silex comme
objets funéraires pour l’inhumation de nouveau-nés.
Cinq sépultures (№ 76, 217, 218, 365, 423) avec des
artefacts en silex sont interprétées comme tombes
d’enfants “lato sensu” sur la base des dimensions de la
fosse sépulcrale, de la présence de petits fragments osseux
(y compris de dents) et du caractère du mobilier funéraire
disponible (tableau 10.4).
Dans le contexte de la nécropole sont attestés 9 cas de
découvertes d’artefacts en silex, soit isolés (№ 50A et
837A), soit en combinaison avec d’autres types de
mobilier: poteries (№ 2A, 510A, 476A, 764A), parures
(№ 39A, 614A), les deux (№ 571A). Malgré l’absence
d’indices sûrs (ossements et construction sépulcrale), ces
tombes sont interprétées dans la publication comme
nouveau-nés/enfants (Todorova et al. 2002). D’un autre
côté, il n’est pas exclu que certaines d’entre elles (et
surtout les tombes de la phase Hamangia) soient des
cénotaphes (Bojadžiev 2004).
de sépultures reste incomplète parce que un certain
nombre des pièces n’ont pas été mis à disposition pour
l’étude.
CONCLUSION
Pour concevoir de manière adéquate les rapports entre les
sépultures d’enfants et les connotations fonctionnelles des
silex présents comme mobilier funéraire, il convient de
rappeler en bref les conclusions tirées de l’étude
tracéologique d’assemblages entiers en silex (Gurova
2002, 252).
– Dans un aspect diachronique la situation pendant les
phases Hamangia I-III est très semblable. Hamangia IV
est marqué par une réduction quantitative du silex, et une
augmentation du nombre de pièces utilisées. La phase
Varna montre un nombre sensiblement accru de sépultu-
res contenant du silex, de pièces déposées et de spécimens
utilisés (Gurova 2002, 252).
Dans cette optique les résultats issus des tombes d’enfants
(malgré leur aspect un peu partiel) montre une augmen-
tation progressive du nombre de silex ayant servi comme
mobilier funéraire H I-III: H IV: V respectivement 8: 9:
12.

Malheureusement, cela ressort de l’examen du tableau – Parmi les fonctions déterminées sur le total de silex de
10.4, l’information tirée des objets en silex de ces groupes la nécropole les plus fréquentes sont la découpe de tissus

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 Y. BOYADŽIEV AND M. GUROVA: MOBILIER FUNERAIRE DE NOUVEAU-NES ET D’ENFANTS: CAS D’ETUDE DE LA BULGARIE

Tableau 10.4. Sépultures d’enfants identifiées sans certitude

tombe artefact en silex fonction période
76 grattoir sur éclat sans traces d’utilisation Hamangia I-II
423 lame retouchée x 2 sciage de bois
Hamangia IV
365 lame brute non analysée
218 burin sur cassure sans traces d’utilisation Varna I
217 grattoir semi-circulaire sans traces d’utilisation Varna II-III
614A lame retouchée x 2 non analysée Hamangia I-II
476A lame? non analysée
HamangiaIII
764A lame brute – fragm. non analysée
39A lame brute – fragm. non analysée
510A lame brute – fragm. non analysée Hamangia IV
571A lame tronquée? non analysée
837A lame? non analysée Varna
lame retouchée x 2; raclage de bois;
2A Varna II
lame brute découpe de tissus carnés x 2
50A perçoir non analysée indéterminé

carnés; armature de faucille et pointe de projectile
(flèche).
Les fonctions attestées sur les silex de tombes d’enfants
sont assez variées et sans aucune prédominance marquée.
Il y a 2 cas avec des pièces représentant des outils
combinés avec des fonctions clairement multiples et
sophistiquées. Les pointes de projectile sont totalement
absentes, parce qu’elles ne sont attribuables qu’aux
sépultures masculines.
– Parmi le mobilier de la nécropole sont attestés les soi-
disant “outils/nécessaires de tailleurs de vêtements” à
priori attribués à une activité assez particulière et plutôt
féminine. Ils consistent en 3-4 types d’objets: poinçon
(parfois aiguille) en os, artefact en silex, petit galets
(lissoirs) en pierre et coquillage, mets dans un vase
céramique. L’analyse plus détaillée de cet outillage a
montré la variabilité fonctionnelle des éléments en silex
que n’indique pas une cohérence entre l’idée du départ et
la situation révélée (Gurova 2006, 4-5).
Même parmi les tombes d’enfants il y a 3 de ces
“nécessaires de tailleurs de vêtements”, dont un possède
un artefact en silex.
L’analyse des artefacts en silex met aussi en évidence le
fait qu’il n’y a pas une préférence prononcée vis-à-vis
des types de pièces en silex sélectionnées pour être
déposées dans les tombes d’enfants. En générale les
silex-offrandes ne varient pas considérablement en
fonction de l’âge et du sexe des défunts. Il y a quand
même 2 exceptions: les pointes de projectile et les
grandes (super lames) qui n’existent pas parmi le
mobilier des enfants.
Il n’y a pas non plus un rapport direct entre les silex–
offrandes et leur valeur utilitaire et domestique. Pour
qu’ils aient été introduits dans le contexte mortuaire, ils
ont évidemment été chargés d’une connotation spirituelle
et symbolique.
Le mobilier funéraire (considéré de manière égale dans un
sens quantitatif et qualitatif) permet de supposer que les
enfants ont été l’objet de rites cérémoniels de la même
manière que les adultes. Ce fait les rend, malgré leur mort
prématurée, respectés et considérés comme les membres
normaux des réseaux familiaux et sociaux auxquels ils
appartenaient. C’est une conclusion assez générale et peu
spectaculaire, mais elle est pertinente, parce qu’elle ne
cherche pas à révéler les valeurs symboliques exagérées
des faits extraits de leur contexte.
DISCUSSION
Les problèmes du culte et de la religion ont été depuis
toujours abordés par les archéologues. Néanmoins, une
analyse véritablement épistémologique, effectuée récem-
ment par T. Insoll, montre que l’archéologie de la religion
doit surmonter beaucoup de préjugés et de difficultés
méthodologiques (Insoll 2004). C’est le cadre le plus
général de la problématique.
Depuis des décennies, dans les recherches sur les
pratiques funéraires, il y a un malentendu qui demeure et
qui se reproduit: c’est la détermination des sexes. Les
déterminations qui s’appuient sur la composition du
mobilier sont qualifiées d’“archéologiques” et elles s’op-
posent aux déterminations anthropologiques (Jeunesse
1997, 95). Ce problème entraîne beaucoup de consé-

93
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
quences nuisibles, mais il persiste toujours et, dans un
certains sens, il semble être inévitable et insoluble.
En ce qui concerne le cas concret de notre recherche sur
Durankulak, on a déjà mentionné le problème des
données archéologiques et de la pertinence des
interprétations élaborées sur leur base. Pour illustrer ces
effets consécutifs, on va avancer ici un simple exemple.
Si on prend le pourcentage des artefacts en silex des
différents groupes de sépultures d’enfants, les résultats
apparents sont assez bizarres: un taux élevé et inattendu
de nouveau-nés (proche de celui des adultes), aucun
exemple parmi les Infans I, tandis que pour les Infans II le
taux est le plus élevé parmi tous les groupes d’âge. Ces
pourcentages ne peuvent pas être admis comme réels à
cause des difficultés, déjà mentionnées, liées à la
distinction adéquate les sépultures de bébés. Une partie
d’entre elles sont probablement des enfants d’âge
supérieur à un an. Il n’est pas exclu non plus qu’une autre
partie constitue en effet des cénotaphes. Troisièmement,
le groupe d’enfants “lato sensu” pourrait contenir un bon
nombre d’Infans II, ce qui va mener à une réduction du
taux de sépultures avec du silex parmi ce groupe.
Encore plus graves et frappants deviennent ces
différences et inconvénients si on prend les autres
nécropoles où le sépultures au total et celles d’enfants
sont très peu nombreuses. Dans les cas pareils, chaque
tentative de tirer des comparaisons et des conclusions
valables à partir des données empiriques non fiables
risque de créer une image inconsciemment spéculative et
irréelle, ce qui ne fait pas partie des objectifs proprement
scientifiques de notre recherche.
Bibliographie
BOYADŽIEV, Y. 2001. Погребални съоръжения в
праисторическия некропол при село Дуранкулак,
Годишник на Археологическия институт с музей
1: 95-128.
BOYADŽIEV, Y. 2003. По въпроса за местополо-
жението на детските гробове през неолита и
халколита, Добруджа 21: 48-62.
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BOJADZIEV, J. 2002a. Die absolute Chronologie der
neo- und äneolithischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak,
in H. Todorova (Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die
prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak: 67-69.
Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.
BOJADZIEV, J. 2002b. Die Grabanlagen der prähisto-
rischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak, in H. Todorova
(Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die Prähisto-rischen Grä-
berfelder von Durankulak: 71-80. Sofia: Deutsches
Archäologisches Institut.
BOYADZHIEV, Y. 2004. Über die frühesten symbo-
lischen Bestattungen, in V. Nikolov & K. Bacvarov
(Hrsg.) Von Domica bis Drama. Gedenkschrift für Jan
Lichardus: 73-77. Sofia: Archäologisches Institut mit
Museum
GUROVA, M. 2002. Mobilier en silex de la nécropole
Dourankulak – analyse fonctionnelle, in H. Todorova
(Hrsg.) Durankulak, 2/1. Die prähistorischen Grä-
berfelder von Durankulak: 247-256. Sofia: Deutsches
Archäologisches Institut.
GUROVA, M. 2006. Prehistoric flints as grave goods/
hoards: functional connotation, Archaeologia Bulga-
rica 1: 1-14.
INSOLL, T. 2004. Archaeology, Ritual, Religion. London
& New York: Routledge.
JEUNESSE, C. 1997. Pratiques funéraires au Néolithique
ancien. Sépultures et nécropoles des sociétés
danubiennes (5500/-4900 av J.C.). Paris: Editons
Errance.
LICHARDUS, J. & M. LICHARDUS-ITTEN. 1985. La
protohistoire de l’Europe. Le Néolithique et le
Chalcolithique. Paris: Presse Universitaire de France.
TODOROVA, H. (Hrsg.) 2002. Durankulak, 2/1,2. Die
prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak. Sofia:
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.
TODOROVA, H., T. DIMOV, J. BOJADŽIEV, I.
VAJSOV, K. DIMITROV & M. AVRAMOVA. 2002.
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Prähistorischen Gräberfelder von Durankulak: 31-
125. Sofia: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.
 LATE NEOLITHIC BOYS AT THE GOMOLAVA CEMETERY (SERBIA)
Sofija STEFANOVIĆ
Belgrade University, Serbia, smstefan@f.bg.ac.yu

Abstract: The aim of the sex and age-at-death determination of seven subadult skeletons from the late Neolithic cemetery at
Gomolava was to see if these biological categories had been critical for the subadult burials there. The results point to the sex as
possible choice criterion for subadult burials because at Gomolava only boys are buried. The age did not determine access to burial
since these subadults were of different age, from newborn babies to seven years old boy. The age could have been a possible burial
location determinate for all of the children except one boy were buried out of the cemetery’s center.
Key words: Vinča culture, Gomolava, subadults, sex, age, kinship

Résumé: L’analyse du sexe et de l’âge de sept squelettes d’enfants trouvés dans la nécropole du néolithique tardif à Gomolava avait
pour but d’établir si ces catégories biologiques ont été importantes pour la sélections d’enfants qui devaient être enterrés dans cet
endroit. Les résultats montrent que le choix d’enfants probablement dépendait de leur sexe, parce qu’à Gomolava n’ont été enterrés
que des garçons. L’âge ne représentait pas une condition restrictive pour obtenir un site funéraire car les garçons avaient des âges
différents, les plus jeunes étant des nouveaux nés et les plus âgés ayant sept ans. L’âge pouvait être important quand il s’agissait
d’obtenir un site funéraire sur une position spécifique sur la nécropole car tous les garçons, sauf un, ont été enterrés en dehors de
l’espace central.
Mots-clés: Vinča culture, Gomolava, enfants, sexe, âge, parenté

INTRODUCTION
At the late Neolithic cemetery of Gomolava, near the
village of Hrtkovci in Srem, twenty-seven inhumations
have been excavated, the most of them in contracted
position on the left side (Fig. 11.1). For now, this
intramural cemetery of the Vinča culture is believed to
date back to the first half of the fifth millennium cal BC.
Using anthropological analysis as well as ancient DNA
technique we defined the sex and age at death of 19 male
adults and 6 boys, while it was not possible to sex one
adult individual and one subadult (Zoffman 1987;
Čuljković 2000; Čuljković et al. 2002).
This paper examines the age at death and sex of the
subadults from the Gomolava cemetery to answer the
question if these biological categories are the critical
conditions for the presence of subadults there (Table
11.1). The spatial distribution of subadult burials is also
examined within this cemetery, i.e. their relation to the
adult burials. In addition, possible kinship among the
buried individuals at Gomolava is examined too.
Table 11.1. Gomolava cemetery: child burials
Burial
number
Age Sex Grave goods

3/75 newborn ? no grave goods

6 newborn ♂ no grave goods
8 1 year ♂ 4 ceramic vessels, 7 copper beads
9 3 years ♂ no grave goods
10 7 years ♂ 2 ceramic vessels, clay amulet?
14 1 year ♂ 2 ceramic vessels, 2 bone beads
19 newborn ♂ no grave goods

THE CEMETERY AT GOMOLAVA

Now we know of many Vinča settlements in Serbia but

Fig. 11.1. Burials at the Gomolava cemetery
(Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)
only two cemeteries of this culture have been excavated,
the extramural cemetery at the settlement of Žanićeva
dolja in Botoš, near Zrenjanin, and the intramural
cemetery at Gomolava site. The Neolithic burials at Botoš
were discovered by chance in 1925; 17 graves were
examined archaeologically (Saria 1925). The human
bones were very brittle; therefore they were not preserved
for anthropological analysis but left buried at the site
(Grbić 1934). Three excavation campaigns were conduc-

95
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

ted at Gomolava, in 1953-1957, 1965-1969 and 1969- two are infants about one year old (Burial No. 8, Fig.
1985. The first two burials were discovered in 1973 and 11.2), one is a boy three years old (Burial No. 9, Fig.
the other 25 were excavated between 1975-1977. Some 11.3) and one is seven years old (Burial No. 10, Fig.
information of the Gomolava cemetery was reported in a 11.4). To conclude with, since both adults and subadults
few papers by Bogdan Brukner (Brukner 1975, 1978, of different age were buried at Gomolava, it seems that
1980, 1988 & 1990; Brukner & Petrović 1977) but it was age as a biological category did not affect someone’s
not published completely. Zsuzsanna Zoffman (1973 & chance for burial at the cemetery. But if age was not the
1987) has done the first anthropological determinations condition, which determined the presence of children, one
and her results about the age at death of subadults and could ask if they were treated differently in any way than
adults are used in this work as is Dušan Borić’s analysis adults because of their age? To answer this we need to
of the social aspects of burial practice (1996), in relation consider the spatial distribution of these graves and their
to the distribution of grave goods in subadult burials. relation to the adult burials. Speaking about boys’ burials,
Recently Biljana Čuljković DNA sexed 25 skeletons from it was not possible to establish for sure the position of
Gomolava using the PCR technique; her results are burial No. 3/75; we can only say that it was somewhere in
especially precious when sexing subadults, which is very the cemetery’s periphery. Even such evidence is good
hard to do by standard anthropological methods (Čuljko- enough to demonstrate that this burial was found out of
vić 2000; Čuljković et al. 2002). Besides, she investigated the center of the cemetery. The plan of the cemetery
three Y bound STR loci (Short Tandem Repeat) that are shows that five boys were buried out of the center of the
important when following up with kinship degree in cemetery, maybe because of the different treatment in
paternal line. comparison to adults (only burial No. 6 was not in the
outskirts). Although the age of the deceased was not
critical to give them burial access to the cemetery, the
‘MALE DEATH’ AT GOMOLAVA spatial distribution points to the age as the significant
factor of a “central” burial.
The analysis of Gomolava human bones was aimed at
sexing subadult skeletons because standard sexing techni-
ques are not reliable for them. Since secondary sex
characteristics appear only after the age of puberty, it is
very hard or almost impossible to determine the sex of
subadults. This problem was overcome using the ancient
DNA technique since the sex of 6 subadults was deter-
mined. In addition, the sex of all other adult individuals at
Gomolava was tested by this analysis. Ancient DNA
analysis allows precise sex determination by amplification
of DNA sequences specific for X and/or Y chromosomes
(Hummel & Hermann 1991; Faerman et al. 1995; Stone et
al. 1996). Skeletons of 25 individuals were available for
the ancient DNA analysis using molecular-biological
methods. The results demonstrate that all adult individuals
are male (only the sample from burial No. 12 was
unavailable). Besides, this analysis helped to sex 6
subadult skeletons as boys (the sample of the newborn
baby from burial No. 3/75 was not available). This result
is very interesting for it appears that only males had
access to burial at the Gomolava cemetery. The sex-based
selection has been strictly applied both for adults and
subadults. Since sex – maleness – was a significant
criterion to be met by the individuals who were to be
buried there, the next relevant question is if age was also a
criterion giving burial access to that cemetery? Fig. 11.2. Burial No. 8, 1 year old boy, buried
with 4 ceramic vessels and 7 copper beads
(Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)
AGE AT DEATH, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AND
GRAVE GOODS FOR THE BOYS
Grave goods are missing in the burials of newborn babies
Former determinations by Zoffman revealed adults bet- as well as in the burial of a three years old boy (burial No.
ween 20-60 years old. It means that there were probably 9). Burials Nos. 8, 10 and 14 have the same grave
no age criteria for adults because individuals of different inclusions as the adults at Gomolava. The grave goods in
age were buried at Gomolava. Of the subadult skeletons, burial No. 8 consist of four ceramic vessels and seven
three are newborn babies (Burials Nos. 3/75, 6 and 19), copper beads; burial No. 10 yielded a clay amulet and two

96
 S. STEFANOVIĆ: LATE NEOLITHIC BOYS AT THE GOMOLAVA CEMETERY (SERBIA)
Fig. 11.3. Burial No. 9, 3 years old boy, buried without
grave goods (Photo courtesy of B. Brukner)
Fig. 11.4. Burial No. 10, 7 years old boy, buried
with 2 ceramic vessels and 2 bone beads
(Photo: courtesy B. Brukner)
ceramic vessels; and burial No. 14 included two ceramic
vessels as well two bone beads. In these burials, the
subadults were treated as ‘future adults’ and this suggests
that the treatment of boys as future adults could have been
the reason of the burial access of boys to this intramural
and in a way ‘exclusive’ funeral site.
KINSHIP
The small number of individuals buried at the intramural
cemetery of Gomolava could point to their exclusive right
within the community of the living. Besides, the selection
of deceased to be buried there because of their biological
sex as well as the lack of age limits made us believe that
these individuals could have represented a kinship group;
thus it was decided to test this hypothesis using ancient
DNA analysis. After all samples were identified as males,
three Y bound STR loci that are used in the population
genetics to follow the male migrations, were also
analyzed (Čuljković 2000); polymorphological loci bound
97
to Y chromosome for their exclusively paternal line of
inheritance and the lack of recombination in certain
sequences are of special interest for the anthropological,
archaeological, forensic, genetic, and demographic studies
(see Kayser et al. 1997; de Knijff et al. 1997; Abbey
1999). The special advantage of the use of Y bound gene
loci in the population studies lies in the fact that
haplotypes of Y chromosomes are inherited without
recombination so it is possible to follow very long
ancestor/descendent lines in human communities. This
technique is of great importance when investigating
kinship relations and there is a lack of samples of several
generations of individuals, because it is possible to follow
the male line inheritance using Y chromosome bound
loci. The analysis of STR loci DYS 393, DYS 19, and DY
390 was conducted with Gomolava samples and it
revealed the same profile for the all three analyzed bound
STR loci. Therefore these results need additional research
on larger number of loci to confirm the preliminary result
that the population buried at Gomolava is mono-
morphological regarding Y markers. This result is
indicative for the existence of a common ancestor from
whom men at Gomolava inherited this haplotype.
DISCUSSION
The sexing of Neolithic children at the Gomolava
cemetery demonstrated that biological sex had played an
important role in funerary practices. In other words, for
this cemetery, maleness was the basic condition both for
subadults as well as adults to be given a burial access.
Especially significant at the Gomolava cemetery is that all
of the subadults buried are boys, i.e. sex might have filled
an important role in funerary practices even for non-adult
individuals. Of course, this small sample is not enough for
more general conclusions about the Vinča culture. In any
case, such sex differentiation in the funerary practices
even for subadults shows that biological sex might have
had its own cultural meaning since the very birth of the
child. The biological category of age, however, was not a
burial determinate, as at the Gomolava cemetery both
adults as well as subadults of different age were buried,
from newborn babies to seven years old boy. According
to the age as a biological category, all subadults except
the newborn from burial No. 6 were buried out of the
cemetery’s center, i.e. males were differentiated by spatial
location. Boys’ location within the cemetery makes the
difference in comparison to adults. The fact that boys are
buried in the periphery does not necessarily mean that
they were treated as less important than adults; they were
simply treated differently according to their age. The
analysis of three Y bound STR loci indicated this
population as mono-morphological regarding Y markers.
Of course, this should be confirmed with more detailed
analyses; for the time being, the significant point is that it
was perhaps a common ancestor from whom Gomolava
men possibly inherited this haplotype. This opens the
possibility that all of these men belonged to a kinship
group, and it seems that it was this kinship which secured
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
the burial access to the intramural cemetery. If we assume
that a kinship group is buried at Gomolava and that it can
be traced back to a common male ancestor, it is note-
worthy that subadult males were also considered members
of the group. Their age, especially that of the three
newborns, suggests that boys by their birthright became
members of certain kinship groups. This hypothesis un-
derlines the necessity of more detailed, first of all genetic,
research on kinship in prehistory. Until now, the archaeo-
logical models of kinship groups were mostly based on
ethnographic parallels (Longrace 1966; Ember 1973) or
on biodistance analyses, which examine the metric/non-
metric characteristics of skeletons to deter-mine the genetic
distances (Conner 1990; Konigsberg 1990; Scuilli 1990).
The presence of newborns’ skeletons demonstrates that
not only male activities took place at the settlement of
Gomolava, which could have justified the exclusive
presence of male burials at the cemetery. In addition, it
confirms the presence of women as well in the
community of the living, and suggests that delivery itself
probably happened in one of the houses near the
cemetery.
Finally, the evidence from Gomolava points at the burial
access of subadults (in this case males) to an ‘exclusive’
intramural cemetery, and actually suggests that Neolithic
people considered them equal to adults, at least to a
certain degree.
In spite of recent research on various aspects of attitudes
toward subadults in the past (Sofaer Derevenski 1997;
Scott 1999; Politis 1999; Joyce 2000), it was not used
enough as a reconstruction tool for past cultures. In any
case, this academic bias, termed by some authors as
‘adultism’, should be gradually overcome.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the late Professor Bogdan Brukner for our
discussions about Vinča culture and for all his support.
This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and
Environmental Protection, Republic of Serbia (Project
No. 147011).
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 S. STEFANOVIĆ: LATE NEOLITHIC BOYS AT THE GOMOLAVA CEMETERY (SERBIA)
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the production of adulthood in ancient Mesoamerica.
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 CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS
FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC OF ROMANIA:
THE PROBLEM OF “INSIDE” AND “OUTSIDE”
Raluca KOGĂLNICEANU
“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi, Romania, raluca.kogalniceanu@gmail.com

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to discuss certain theories about the place of children in society according to the mortuary
practices. Large burial samples were taken into consideration, from the Early Neolithic to Late Chalcolithic, belonging to the
Starčevo-Criş, Hamangia, Boian, Gumelniţa, Sălcuţa and Bodrogkerestúr cultures. For the time being, we can say that there is not
enough evidence to support the theories, elaborated as a result of the analysis of particular cases that suggest the exclusion of
children up to a certain age from the standard mortuary practices of a community.
Key words: Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Romania, mortuary practices, children

Résume: Le but de cet étude est de mettre en discussion quelques théories concernant le lieu occupé par les enfants dans la société,
en vertu d’une analyse des pratiques funéraires. Plus grands groups de tombes ont été inclus dans l’étude, à partir du Néolithique tôt
jusqu’au tard Chalcolithique appartenant aux civilisations de Starčevo-Criş, de Hamangia, de Boian, de Gumelniţa, de Sălcuţa et de
Bodrogkerestúr. À ce moment nous pouvons dire qu’il n’y a pas assez de preuves pour soutenir la généralisation des théories (qui
stipulent l’exclusion des enfants jusqu’à un certain âge des pratiques funéraires habituelles d’une communauté) formulées après
l’analyse de quelques cas particuliers.
Mots clés: Néolithique, Chalcolithique, Roumanie, pratiques funéraires, enfants

It is difficult to find hints about children in society using
exclusively archaeological data. Usually, there are not
clear clues in the living space about the role of children in
society; these clues could more easily be found in the
mortuary space, respectively in cemeteries. When
children were brought into discussion, however, such
cases were mostly taken into consideration that regard
their status of marginalized, socially disabled persons or
objects related to the negotiation of the social power (see
Chapman 1983 and 1997; Hodder 1990, 51; Scott 1999,
90-102). This attitude tries to demonstrate that children
were something else than the rest of the community
members; it made us try an analysis of larger burial
samples that would allow more relevant and nuanced
observations than the analysis of more or less isolated
cases could have made possible.
HISTORY OF RESEARCH
and foundation offerings (Popovici). Although they bring
an important contribution to the understanding of
children’s life and death in prehistory, these studies are
somehow limited, lacking a wider angle and an analysis
of such features on a larger scale. One cannot find in any
of these articles a comparison with other child burials
belonging to the same culture that could be considered as
“normal”. Fortunately, child burials have always been
recorded when discovered (they are easily identifiable
even if bioarchaeological determinations are missing),
sometimes accompanied by observations and commenta-
ries about their spatial location with respect to the other
surrounding features / burials.
The second approach is reflected in the bioarchaeological
studies. Although an exclusive research on children has
not yet been made, we have to include here the general
study of the Iaşi Anthropological Center which gives a
useful review of the data available (Necrasov et al. 1990).

The problem of child burials has been approached in the
Romanian archaeological literature from two directions.
Only a few archaeological studies that treated exclusively
the subject of children can be mentioned, published by
Eugen Comşa (1988-1989), Dragomir Popovici (1996)
and Monica Bodea (1997). In all these, the main object of
analysis is represented by the child burials that can be
considered, in our opinion, as exceptional, such as burials
between houses (Comşa 1988-1989), burials of sacrificed
children (Popovici 1996) or children buried inside houses
and especially near the hearth (Bodea 1997). The possible
explanations for this exceptional burial treatment were, in
their turn, love of the mother (Comşa), possible existence
of certain rules and traditions that forbid the burial of non-
initiated individuals in cemeteries (Comşa and Bodea),
Unfortunately, either bioarchaeologists were not given
access to a large part of the human bones discovered or, in
case this happened, the lack of communication between
the research parties involved (archaeologists and bio-
archaeologists) resulted in a publication that makes
difficult, if not impossible, to consider this material in the
present study.
METHODOLOGY
Terms used
We termed as children both Infans I (0-7 years) and
Infans II (7-14 years) groups because of the lack of

101
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 12.1. Map of the archaeological sites mentioned in the text: 1 Trestiana; 2 Cernavoda; 3 Andolina; 4 Vărăşti;
5 Sultana; 6 Gumelniţa; 7 Chirnogi; 8 Radovanu; 9 Popeşti; 10 Căscioarele; 11-12 Cernica and Glina; 13 Dridu;
14 Gârleşti-Gherceşti; 15 Ostrovul Corbului; 16 Iclod; 17 Gura Baciului; 18 Cămin; 19 Urziceni
bioarchaeological determinations in many of the cases;
the “archaeological” use of the terms a (very) small child
or an older child makes a more subtle analysis impossible
at this point.
We termed as burial the disposal of a body in a grave,
excluding the special cases such as the remains of
foundation offerings as well as disarticulated human
remains scattered in the settlements.
Method of analysis
We consider that a thorough analysis could be done if
information is available about both settlements and
cemeteries at the level of the same culture, correlated,
where possible, with bioarchaeological determinations.
However, we will not exclude completely the contexts
that do not fulfill this basic condition. The analysis of
child burials should answer, in our opinion, the following
questions:
• What is the ratio between child and adult burials and
what is the ratio between child burials and expected/
normal child mortality?
102
• What is their spatial location with respect to the other
burials in a settlement or cemetery?
• Is there any difference in depth, burial position,
orientation or grave goods between the child and adult
burials?
Following this methodological introduction, we divided
the analysis in two parts. The first part is concerned
with the facts per se and consists of a review of the
analyzed burials (Fig. 12.1) whereas in the second part we
will consider the evidence according to the above
principles.
THE DATABASE
Early Neolithic
The most representative Early Neolithic burial sample
belongs to the Starčevo-Criş culture (over 60 burials).
Many of these assemblages are isolated or in small
number at the respective sites and are not statistically
relevant (Comşa 1974; Ursulescu 1978). None the less,
 R. KOGĂLNICEANU: CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC…
two larger groups can be divided from the rest, namely
those at Gura Baciului (Cluj County: Lazarovici & Maxim
1995) and Trestiana (Vaslui County: Popuşoi 1992 &
2005), both of them in the living space of the settlements.
The Gura Baciului sample consists of 10 burials, all of
them found inside the settlement; bioarchaeological
determinations are available only for a part of these
burials. From those that have been sexed and/or aged, one
is a double burial of a woman and a child; two belong to
children and three to women.
The Trestiana sample includes 11 burials, inside the
settlement and between houses: two double burials of two
men and of an adult with child, six individual burials of
two men, two women and two undetermined, and three
child burials.
Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic
Hamangia culture
A large cemetery belonging to this culture, with more
than 400 burials, has been discovered at Cernavoda (Con-
stanţa County), unfortunately yet unpublished completely.
Only the annual excavation reports have been at our
disposal (Morintz et al. 1955; Berciu & Morintz 1957 &
1959; Berciu et al. 1959 & 1961) as well as some
summarized data published in works of synthesis (Berciu
1966; Haşotti 1997). From a bioarchaeological point of
view, the distribution in age groups is as follows: Infans I
2.34%, Infans II 2.88%, Juvenis 2.88%, Adultus (20-30
years) 11.69%, Maturus (30-60 years) 63.67%, Senilis
(over 60 years) 2.52% (Necrasov et al. 1990).
The settlements that used this cemetery have been
identified in its immediate vicinity and are only partially
excavated. No information of any burials in the living
space has been given in the annual excavation reports.
Boian culture
A cemetery consisting of 378 burials attributed to the
beginning of this culture, have been excavated at Cernica
– Bucharest (Fig. 12.2); the settlement that used this
cemetery was situated at a distance of about 200 m from
it. No burials have been found in the settlement (Comşa &
Cantacuzino 2001; Kogălniceanu 2005, 288-295). Since
the Cernica evidence, due to the complete publication of
the cemetery, can be discussed in detail, we will consider
it in the second part of this study. The distribution in age
groups of the individuals buried at Cernica is given in
Table 12.1 (see also Kogălniceanu 2005, 288-295).
Two more Boian cemeteries have been identified and
excavated, referring to a later phase of this culture, both in
the Călăraşi County: Sultana-Valea Orbului (Şerbănescu
2002; Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2005 & 2006) and Popeşti
(Şerbănescu 1999). They were only partially published
and the burials were only partially aged and sexed.
103
At least 190 burials have been discovered at Sultana up to
now (Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2006) and the excavations
still continue. 106 burials have been determined bio-
archaeologically (Şerbănescu 2002, 70f), the distribution
in age/sex groups being as follows: Infans I 22.56%,
Infans II 4.70%, Juvenis 4.70%, men (adults and matures)
42.30%, women (adults and matures) 28.20%, Senilis
1.88%. Of 31 deceased found and aged and sexed in 2004
and 2005, ten were children (both Infans I and Infans II)
(Şerbănescu & Soficaru 2005 & 2006). The insufficient
archaeological data prevent us from a more detailed
analysis.
At Popeşti, 16 burials have been discovered belonging to
a later phase of the Boian culture. The distribution in age
groups is as follows (Şerbănescu 1999): Infans I 6.25%,
Infans II 12.50%, Juvenis 12.50%, Adultus 31.25%,
Maturus 37.50%. Again, the insufficient archaeological
data and the lack of correlation with the bioarchaeological
evidence do not allow a more detailed analysis.
The following three burial groups belong to the final
phase of the Boian culture:
At the migration period cemetery at Andolina, Călăraşi
County (Comşa 1974b, 203-206; 1998b, 21) seven
Neolithic burials have been discovered a few hundred
meters from a Neolithic settlement. This burial group
included six adults and a child. The child had no grave
goods; no information is available on its position and the
depth of the grave pit. Only two of the adults had grave
goods.
Fourteen burials have been excavated at Vărăşti, Călăraşi
County, one in a Boian settlement whereas the other
thirteen at its periphery. From the latter, eight are adults
and five are children. All the individuals have been buried
in a crouched position on the left side. The orientation of
the skeletons as well as the hands position varied. Only
three burials had poor grave goods: two had shell beads
while the third had a copper needle (Comşa 1974b, 206-
211; 1998b, 21f).
Eight child burials have been excavated between houses
in the settlement at Glina – Bucharest. All the deceased
were crouched on the side (most of them on the left).
Their orientation varied but the most were aligned with
heads generally to the east. This burial group has been
referred to the Vidra phase of the Boian culture (Comşa
1974b, 202f; 1998b, 20f).
The Iclod group
The recent excavations at Iclod, Cluj County, yielded a
complicated situation including two settlements and two
cemeteries (Lazarovici 1991). The operations there were
marked with letters from A to C. In operation B, there
were both settlement and cemetery while in operation A,
there was only cemetery, followed by a thin layer that
indicated a temporary settlement. In operation C, only a
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 12.2. Cernica (after Comşa & Cantacuzino 2001)

104
 R. KOGĂLNICEANU: CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC…

Table 12.1. Cernica: sex and age groups distribution

Sex
Women Men Indeterminate Total
Age
Infans I - - - - 9 3.09% 9 3.09%
Infans II - - - - 9 3.09% 9 3.09%
Juvenis 8 2.74% 6 2.06% 1 0.34% 15 5.15%
Adultus 45 15.46% 23 7.90% 5 1.71% 73 25.08%
Maturus 68 23.36% 93 31.95% 4 1.37% 165 56.70%
Senilis 4 1.37% 10 3.43% - - 14 4.81%
Indeterminate - - - - 6 2.06% 6 2.06%
Total 125 42.95% 132 45.36% 34 45.36% 291 100%

temporary settlement has been discovered. The operation
A cemetery yielded about 40 burials while the operation
B cemetery included about 170 burials, and the number
could still grow since the excavations go on (Lazarovici
1991; Maxim et al. 2006). The children (Infans I and II)
at cemetery A represent 12.14% while at cemetery B (at
least considering the first 40 burials, which have been
sexed and aged) they are 7.3% (Georgescu & Georgescu
1999).
Late Chalcolithic
Gumelniţa culture
Numerous burials belonging to this culture have been
found. In the present study we will use the following
samples that we consider as statistically relevant due to
the larger number of burials in each of them:
A settlement and a cemetery belonging to the transition
phase from the Boian to the Gumelniţa culture have been
excavated at Radovanu, Călăraşi County (the first
prehistoric cemetery in Romania, purposefully looked for,
discovered and excavated) (Comşa 1998a). Seventeen
burials have been discovered at the cemetery and six more
at the settlement. The repartition on age groups is
illustrated in the table below:
Another burial group, considered as a cemetery, was
excavated at Dridu, Ialomiţa County. It contained nine
individuals, none of them child (Necrasov & Cristesco
1961).
Twenty-eight burials have been excavated at Căscioarele
– D’aia Parte, Călăraşi County (Şerbănescu 1998),
belonging to a Gumelniţa A1 phase cemetery. Only half
of them have been aged and sexed; the age groups are
distributed as follows: Infans II 1, adults 13 (seven men
and six women) (Cantemir & Bălteanu 1993). The
insufficient archaeological information does not allow us
to make a more detailed analysis but it should be pointed
out that the excavations still go on.
A Gumelniţa culture cemetery with 62 burials (unclear
phase) has been discovered at Chirnogi – Şuviţa Iorgu-
lescu, Călăraşi County. The age groups distribution is as
follows: Infans I 3, Infans II 1, Juvenis 6, Adultus 11,
Maturus 37, and Senilis 4 (Bălteanu & Cantemir 1991).
Another cemetery from an unclear phase of this culture
has been excavated at Gumelniţa, Călăraşi County, and
consists of eight burials. Of these, only one belonged to a
child and the grave pit was somewhat shallower (0.40 m),
while the other grave pits, with only one exception, varied
between 1.20 and 2.65 m (Lazăr 2001).

Finally, a large cemetery, whose utilization covered more

Table 12.2. Radovanu: age groups distribution
than one phase of the Gumelniţa culture, has been
Settlement Cemetery Total excavated at Vărăşti, Călăraşi County (Comşa 1995) (Fig.
12.3). Due to its complete publication we are able to
Children 6 5 11
analyze the situation at this site in more detail. The
Adolescents + adults - 11 11 distribution of the age groups at the cemetery is as
Indeterminate - 1 1 follows: children 26.28%, adults 73.18%1.
Total 6 17 23
Sălcuţa culture

A cemetery belonging to the third phase of this culture

Usually, the burials had no grave goods. The depth of the has been found during rescue excavations at Gârleşti-
grave pits at the cemetery was not always given but it
varies between 0.7-1.00 m; most pits are about 0.80 m 1
The percentages were calculated by us according to the data given in
deep. Comşa 1995.

105
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 12.3. Vărăşti (after Comşa 1995)

Fig. 12.4. Gârleşti-Gherceşti (after Nica 1993)

Fig. 12.5. Ostrovul Corbului (after Roman & Dodd-Opriţescu 1989)

Gherceşti, Dolj County (Fig. 12.4). The settlement has
been identified in the vicinity; no burials are mentioned in
the inhabited area (Nica 1993).
Another cemetery from the final phase of this culture has
been discovered at Ostrovul Corbului, Mehedinţi County
(Fig. 12.5), demonstrating a mixture of influences, most
of them of Sălcuţa and Bodrogkeresztúr type (Roman &
Dodd-Oproţescu 1989). The human bones are still being
analyzed, but some preliminary data are available, with
the reservation that these can suffer some changes in the
future2. We will only mention that of 53 Chalcolithic
burials, 18 belong to children; two more could be added
to them with some reserves.
Bodrogkeresztúr culture
A cemetery belonging to this culture has recently been
identified at Urziceni, Satu Mare County. Only 40 graves
have been excavated and up to the present moment they
are only partially published, with little information about
the position of the deceased in the grave pits. Of the
information published, we can use the following data in
this study: one double burial has been excavated contain-

2
We thank Alexandra Comşa (V. Pârvan Institute of Archaeology, Academy, Iaşi) for their kind amiability and generosity to give us
Bucureşti) and Georgeta Miu (Anthropological Center at the Romanian information about material currently under study.

106
 R. KOGĂLNICEANU: CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC…
ning the skeletons of an adult and a child; another burial
belonged to a child. Grave no. 25, which contained the
skeletal remains of a child, had only a piece of pottery
(“milk pot”) as grave goods, while all the other burials
contained between two and fifteen objects. The double
burial had three pottery vessels (Virag 2004 & 2006).
THE ANALYSIS
Considering the three directions of analysis that must be
followed when comparing child and adult burials, we will
try to see to what degree we could speak of children as a
category that is excluded from or included in the usual
mortuary practices. Before that, however, we should point
out that since the age determinations have not always
been done in the same way, we will use only two terms,
child (both Infans I and Infans II) and adult (the rest of
the age groups).
Fig. 12.6a clearly demonstrates that the percentage of
children in the Early Neolithic burial sample is fairly high
(approximately one third). The transition to cemeteries is
not attested for this period; all burials were found between
houses in the living space. The large percentage of
children makes us believe that the exclusion of non-adults
or non-initiated individuals from the common mortuary
practices was not practiced at that moment. In addition,
the comparative analysis of burial depth and grave goods
of these two burial samples does not give arguments in
favor of the theory that special attention was paid to the
deceased children.
In the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, a
certain change in mortuary practices can be noticed. At
this chronological point, one of the most important events
took place, the appearance of cemeteries as spaces
dedicated exclusively to the burial of the deceased and
their separation from the space of the living. The first
large prehistoric cemeteries in Romania discovered so far
are those at Cernavoda, Cernica and Iclod, briefly
described in the first part of the study.
In the case of Cernavoda cemetery, we can only mention
the fact that the percentage of children has decreased with
respect to the previous period, being only 5.22%. Since
this cemetery has not yet been published entirely, we
cannot make any further observations.
At Cernica, a cemetery that is approximately contempo-
rary with Cernavoda, the situation is similar, the percent-
tage of child burials (5.44%) being quite small. We have
more information about this cemetery that allows us a
more detailed analysis. Thus, marking the child burials on
the cemetery plan (Fig. 12.2), we noticed no special
groupings. Moreover, the burials of women who died in
childbirth and were buried together with the fetus are not
situated at the cemetery’s periphery or in some particular
area as would have been expected if some kind of
exclusion of children from the usual mortuary practices
107
has been in practice. It is true, though, that we cannot
know with great precision if, at the moment of burial, one
grave or another was or was not situated at the periphery
of the already existing burial group. The evidence from
the Cernica cemetery did not make possible any relevant
observation about the dynamics of this assemblage.
The depth of child burials differed in no way from the
adult burials, varying between 0.7 and 1.13 m (with only
one exception, T 294, 0.48 m deep).
Only six of twenty-one child burials (28.57%) yielded
grave goods whereas the percentage of the adult burials
with grave goods is 31.50%. The comparison of these
percentages demonstrates that in this respect children
have not been treated in a way meant to distinguish them
from the adults. We should point out, however, that none
of the child burials contained animal bones as remains of
food offerings in contrast to some of the adult burials
(Comşa & Cantacuzino 2001).
An increase of the percentage of child burials could be
noticed in the following phases of the Boian development,
varying between 14.28% and 27.26%. The burial samples
from the site of Vărăşti, which yielded a large number of
child burials (38.46%: Comşa 1974b, 206-211; 1998b,
21f) and Glina, consisting exclusively of children (Comşa
1974b, 202f; 1998b, 20f) could be easily distinguished
from the other samples.
The site of Iclod is still being excavated, as said
previously, and the published material is replete with
significant ambiguities and gaps, so we will not go into
details in this study. We would only like to emphasize the
increased percentage of child burials that does not support
the hypothesis of the exclusion of this age category from
the common mortuary practices of the entire community.
The burial sample from Radovanu belongs to the transi-
tion phase from Boian to Gumelniţa culture (Comşa
1998a). The situation at this site is rather special since
burials were found both in the living space and in an area
reserved exclusively to the dead of that community, a
cemetery adjacent to the settlement. The fact that only
child burials were excavated in the settlement could
suggest, at first glance, the existence of certain mortuary
practices specific for the non-adults, but this hypothesis is
contradicted by the large percentage of children buried in
the cemetery, almost a third of the total number of dece-
ased buried there. Age determinations could have yielded
valuable information such as, for example, regarding a
possible age limit that marked the transition from burial in
the living space to burial in the cemetery (this hypothesis
suggests that after certain age, one acquired new social
power, including the right to be buried in the cemetery).
Since no age determinations have yet been made, we can
only argue here that the evidence from this site does not
corroborate the exclusion theory. No major differences
between child and adult burials (depth and position of
burial, grave goods) could be found.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 12.6. a) Percentages of child and adult burials at the sites mentioned in the text: 1 Gura Baciului; 2 Trestiana;
3 Cernavoda; 4 Cernica; 5 Sultana; 6 Popeşti; 7 Andolina; 8 Vărăşti (burials of the Boian culture); 9 Glina; 10 Radovanu (cemetery);
11 Radovanu (settlement); 12 Dridu; 13 Chirnogi; 14 Vărăşti (burials of the Gumelniţa culture); 15 Gârleşti-Gherceşti; 16 Ostrovul
Corbului (Black and white: percentage of burials in a cemetery; textured black and white: percentage of burials in a settlement)

Fig. 12.6. b) Comparison between child and adult burials’ percentage

in the burial groups and cemeteries (Neolithic and Chalcolithic)

The burial contexts at Dridu (Ialomiţa County), Căscioa- County), all of these sites belonging to the Gumelniţa
rele – D’aia Parte (Călăraşi County), Chirnogi – Şuviţa culture, do not offer a good discussion platform due to the
Iorgulescu (Călăraşi County), and Gumelniţa (Călăraşi insufficient archaeological and bioarchaeological data.

108
 R. KOGĂLNICEANU: CHILD BURIALS IN INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL CONTEXTS FROM THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC…
The fact that only adult burials have been discovered at
Dridu could mean nothing more than a research gap. At
Chirnogi, notwithstanding their percentage decrease, the
cemetery yielded child burials and therefore there are no
reasons to argue that they had been excluded from the
mortuary space.
The only site of the Gumelniţa culture that allows a more
detailed analysis is the Vărăşti cemetery (Fig. 12.3).
Children are well represented in this burial sample,
constituting almost a third of the total number. This aspect
alone invalidates the hypothesis of their treatment in a
different manner from the rest of the community
members. The depth of the child grave pits varies from
0.32 to 1.46 m, more or less the same as the adult burials.
This is also the case with the burial position. For what
regards the grave goods, we can make the following
observations: of the total child burials only 9.09% (three
of thirty-three) were furnished with grave goods,
compared to 19.51% (24 of 124) of the adult burials. The
decreased percentage of child burials with grave goods is
counterbalanced by a child burial (T 100) that contained
gold adornments and is considered as one of the “richest”
graves in the cemetery.
Finally, the cemeteries of Gârleşti-Gherceşti (Dolj
County), Ostrovul Corbului (Mehedinţi County) and
Urziceni (Satu Mare County) belong to the Late
Chalcolithic as well, but to a phase later than the
Gumelniţa culture.
The burials at Gârleşti-Gherceşti (Fig. 12.4) are not so
numerous, but being published in detail together with a
plan of the excavated area, they allow more significant
observations in the present study. Of the total 15 burials
excavated, five belong to children, representing 33.33%.
Although seemingly they had a peripheral position with
respect to the other burials, as the excavator noticed (Nica
1993, 10), this could easily not be the case. The excavated
area consisted of two long and narrow trenches with two
contiguous short sides; the burials were discovered in the
entire area and not as some nucleus. This makes us
believe that the cemetery had a larger area on both sides
of the excavated trenches, and the fact that the child
burials are at their extremities could be the result of the
limited excavation area. Neither the depth of the graves
nor the body position offer arguments in favor of a
possible “marginalization” of children. Moreover, the
only two burials with grave goods belong to children (T 9
and T 10) and contain copper adornments.
The percentage of child burials at the Chalcolithic
cemetery of Ostrovul Corbului (Fig. 12.5) is quite high,
reaching a third of the total burials. No preference for any
part of the cemetery could be observed; the child burials
were found in the entire excavated area. The excavators
made an interesting observation regarding a woman’s
burial in the northwestern part of the cemetery (T 22); this
was the deepest and richest grave in the cemetery (Roman
& Dodd-Oproţescu 1989, 13 and 17). This observation
109
made us pay special attention to the depth of the grave
pits. Unfortunately, it is mentioned in the very beginning
of the excavations report that all the altimetry data have a
fixed reference point (Roman & Dodd-Oproţescu 1989,
14), and therefore we do not have any information about
the “real” depth of the grave pit. We can only say that,
considering the depths in various parts of the cemetery
(and not in general), we could not notice any special
difference between child and adult burials. This is the
case also with the body positions, which vary according to
the orientation (or vice versa). The grave goods were
usually rich, without any differentiation according to age
groups.
The Bodrogkerestúr cemetery at Urziceni is chronologi-
cally the latest in our burial sample. Recently discovered
and still being excavated, it was published without a
spatial plan as well as without complete descriptions of
the burials or age and sex determinations, thus making it
impossible to try a detailed analysis. One of the few
observations that we can make at present is that the
number of child burials in this cemetery is insignificant
compared to the total adult burials (two of forty).
CONCLUSIONS
The comparative analysis of child and adult burials
yielded the following conclusions:
1. The percentage of child burials in larger and more
coherent burial groups generally fits in the normal
infant mortality limits (15-30%: see Scott 1999, 90).
The Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic – reflected
in the cemeteries at Cernavoda and Cernica – are the
only periods, for which a general tendency towards a
low representation of children in cemeteries or burial
groups could be noticed.
2. Neither the analyses of spatial distribution nor the
other elements of mortuary practices taken into consi-
deration (grave depth, body position, and grave goods)
generally support the hypothesis that non-adults were
given a special treatment.
3. Wherever age determinations were available, it could
be noticed that both Infans I and Infans II categories
were represented in cemeteries and burial groups,
which again questions the hypothesis of an age limit
that would allow the access to mortuary space.
4. Following the percentage of child burials in time (Fig.
12.6b), one notices that their presence in cemeteries or
burial groups is quite numerous and fairly constant, the
exception being the Late Neolithic. The cemetery at
Chirnogi seems to be out of this pattern as well, but it
is possibly due to some shortcomings of the excavation
methods. The underrepresentation of children in the
Late Neolithic burial sample can be explained in two
ways. We are dealing here either with a decreased
infant mortality or this situation is directly related to
the major change in mortuary practices which happe-
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
ned in that very period (the separation of the world of
the dead from the world of the living and the first
appearance of cemeteries). We tend to consider the
latter hypothesis as more plausible.
Summing up all said, we believe that there is insufficient
evidence to support the theories about the exclusion of
children from the usual mortuary practices. When there
seems to be a case of such attitude, it was rather an
exception from the rule than a valid general attitude. The
single child burials in settlements have given ground to
certain theories but it is not reasonable to apply them a
priori to all of the mortuary practices of the Charpato-
Danubian Neolithic and Chalcolithic.
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 THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE
DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE, TURKEY
David E. HOPWOOD
Binghamton University, SUNY, U.S.A., dhopwood1976@yahoo.com

Abstract: Burial practice patterns can provide insight into how individuals and communities negotiated their relationships between
the living and the dead. Seven child and infant burials from the multi-period mound site of Kenan Tepe, Turkey were analysed to
examine the variety of burial practices carried out and to address questions regarding the nature of the relationship between the
Kenan Tepe residents and their dead. During the time of occupation at Kenan Tepe at least three different methods of interment were
practiced. Further, changing burial patterns at Kenan Tepe indicate a shift towards a less intimate relationship with the dead.
Key words: Burial practices, pot burial, UTARP, Mesopotamia

Résumé: Les tendances dans la pratique funéraire peuvent fournir l’aperçu comment les individus et les communautés ont négocié
leurs rapports entre les vivants et les morts. Sept sépultures d’enfants et de bébés du site multi-période du Kenan Tepe en Turquie
ont été analysées afin d’examiner la variété des pratiques d’inhumation effectuées et d’adresser des questions quant à la nature du
rapport entre les résidants de Kenan Tepe et leurs morts. Pendant le temps d’occupation à Kenan Tepe au moins trois méthodes
différentes d’inhumation ont été pratiquées. En outre, les modèles d’inhumation changeants à Kenan Tepe indiquent un changement
vers un rapport moins intime avec les morts.
Mots-clés: Pratiques funéraires, sépulture en jarre, UTARP, Mésopotamie

The site of Kenan Tepe is located in the Diyarbakır dead within the site the inhabitants of Kenan Tepe would
province in southeastern Turkey. It lies approximately 20 have altered the perception of their own social geography
kilometres west of the Tigris-Batman confluence along and how they defined their own social world (Panelli
the northern bank of the Tigris River (Fig. 13.1) (Parker et 2004).
al. 2006). Members of the Upper Tigris Archaeological
Research Project (UTARP) have been conducting excava-
tions at Kenan Tepe since 2000. This work has revealed Table 13.1. Infant and child burials excavated from Kenan
that Kenan Tepe is a multi-period mound with occupation Tepe
phases occurring during the Late Ubaid period, the Late
Chalcolithic period, the beginning of the Early Bronze Skeleton Time Period* Age Burial Context
Age, the Middle Bronze Age and finally the Early Iron G-7-25-5 LC 5/EB 1 3-5 years Pot
Age (Parker et al. 2002; 2003; 2004; forthcoming). The
site consists of a main mound where the majority of the G-7-28-6 LC 5/EB 1 2-4 years Pot
occupation occurred and a large lower city that stretches G-7-38-2 LC 5/EB 1 1-2 years Pot
out to the east of the main mound and overlooks the G-7-41-2 LC 5/EB 1 1-2 years Pot
Tigris River (Fig. 13.2) (Parker et al. 2006). The lower
city was the primary area of occupation during the Late F-7-7200-1 LC5 1.5-2 years Mud brick pit
Chalcolithic period. F-21-6-8 LC5 2-4 years Pot
D-8-54-1 UB 3-9 months Plaster pit
Since 2000, UTARP team members have uncovered
several burials throughout the site, seventeen of which * EB = Early Bronze (3000-2800 BCE), LC5 = Late Chalcolithic Phase
5 (3360-3020 BCE), UB = Ubaid (4600 BCE)
were analysed during the 2006 season. The condition and
biological profile of these burials are detailed elsewhere
in Parker et al. (2008, forthcoming). In this paper I will
focus on the seven burials of infants and young children UBAID BURIAL PRACTICES
that were excavated in 2005 (Table 13.1). These burials
came from three separate occupation phases: the Late Excavation at Kenan Tepe has determined that Ubaid
Ubaid period (circa 4600 BCE), Phase 5 of the Late occupation only occurred in a limited area on the central
Chalcolithic period (3360-3020 BCE), and the transition mound. Restricted to a small area of less than 1 hectare in
between the Late Chalcolithic period and the Early Areas D and E of the excavation (see Fig. 13.2), the
Bronze Age. The span of this temporal sequence provides Ubaid settlement was located on the eastern face of the
an opportunity to examine and understand how the mound on what was likely a low natural hill (Parker,
practice of child and infant burial changed over time at forthcoming). Ubaid occupation at Kenan Tepe is
Kenan Tepe. Further, it is possible to examine how tentatively assigned to four phases based on carbon-14
members of the Kenan Tepe community negotiated their dating. This occupation is discussed in detail in Parker
relationship with the dead by taking a close look at the (forthcoming) and Parker et al. (2005 & 2006), and
changing burial patterns. By shifting the placement of the consists of three large cell-plan structures that are

113
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 13.1. Location of Kenan Tepe in southeastern Turkey

114
 D.E. HOPWOOD THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE

Fig. 13.2. Topographic map of Kenan Tepe showing the location of areas and trenches

associated with an array of domestic remains, including The skeleton was highly fragmented, particularly the
ceramics, lithics and animal bones. skull, and all elements had deteriorated appreciably.

Within Area D, a single burial of a three to nine month
old infant was the only Ubaid child burial recovered from
Kenan Tepe. Area D contains two of the Ubaid cell-plan
structures, as well as the remains of an additional do-
mestic structure. These buildings were likely part of do-
mestic residences as the structures and their surrounding
surfaces have produced a number of domestic remains in
situ (Parker et al., 2005 & 2006; Parker, forthcoming).
The infant was discovered buried underneath the floor
surface of the additional Ubaid structure, encased in a
plaster pit and covered with a shallow bowl (Fig. 13.3).
Characteristically, burials from the Ubaid are found along
the edges of a settlement, in an abandoned building or in a
cemetery outside of the village (Akkermans & Schwartz
2003; Thuesen 1996). However, it was not uncommon for
child burials from the Ubaid period to occur within the
settlement. At the Ubaid site of Tell Abada in central Iraq,
127 urn burials of children were found below the surface
of house floors. No adult burials had yet been found, but
these were likely located off site somewhere in the
surrounding plain (Jasim 1985). Further, the residents of
Tell Abada conducted separate age-based burial practices.

115
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
a through or broken and was still a viable tool. Rather, this
b slab was intentionally placed with the child when it was
Fig. 13.3. Plaster-lined Ubaid infant burial and the
shallow bowl that was used to cover the child
Very young babies, and those that were likely stillborn,
were interred in circular or oval pits and covered with a
bowl, whereas older children were placed within burial
jars (Jasim 1985, 35). In these instances the majority of
the infants were buried beneath floor surfaces, although
two infants were buried just outside of a building.
The burial of the Ubaid infant at Kenan Tepe bears some
striking similarities to the burials at Tell Abada. As with
the Tell Abada infants, the Kenan Tepe infant was placed
in an oval pit and covered with a bowl. Further, as with all
Tell Abada child and infant burials, the Kenan Tepe infant
was buried underneath the surface of a floor. Unfortu-
nately it is not possible to determine whether the Ubaid
residents of Kenan Tepe practiced differential burial
treatment based on age, similar to that observed at Tell
Abada, due to the absence of other child burials.
During the Ubaid period, as well as the later Chalcolithic
and Early Bronze periods, it was very rare for children,
particularly infants, to be interred with grave goods
(Akkermans & Schwartz 2003; Stein 1999 & 2001). In
contrast, the Ubaid infant from Kenan Tepe was buried
with several stone and shell beads as well as a well-used
and reused grinding stone (Fig. 13.4). The presence of the
large grinding stone is significant, as it suggests a
116
connection, even in death, between the infant, the mother
and the household (M. Hopwood 2007). Inferences based
on the ethnographic record have been made connecting
food processing tasks and tools to the domain of women’s
activities (Murdock & Provost 1973; Peterson 1994 &
1999). Further, ethnoarchaeological and bioarchaeological
studies of activity markers on bone have indicated a
connection between ground stone food processing
activities and women’s activities in the Levant (Peterson
1994, 1997 & 2002). At Kenan Tepe, once a grinding tool
had outlived its intended use, it was reused within the site.
Reused ground stone tools were then employed as surface
or wall cobbles, door sockets, or in building foundations
(M. Hopwood 2007). However, in this instance, although
heavily worn, the grinding slab had not been worn
buried within the home.
Fig. 13.4. Ubaid infant burial
with associated grinding stone
By placing the burial within the home the infant would
always remain a presence in the household, just as placing
the grinding slab with the infant maintains the infant’s
connection to the mother. This burial practice works to
maintain an intimate relationship between the living
members of a household and the dead. The dead, in this
case the infant, remain a tangible presence in the everyday
lives and memory of the household members. As the
occupation of Kenan Tepe shifts to the Late Chalcolithic
period we see how a slight shift in the practice of child
burial alters the social geography of the site and in doing
so the negotiated relationship between the living members
of the community and the dead.
LATE CHALCOLITHIC BURIALS
The Late Chalcolithic occupation at Kenan Tepe is
concentrated in the lower town, located on a flat terrace
northeast of the main mound. Excavation in this area has
 D.E. HOPWOOD THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE
revealed occupation spanning from Phase 3 of the Late
Chalcolithic period through to Phase 5 (ca. 3600-3000
BCE) (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). This area of the
excavation has been divided into seven levels that roughly
correspond to separate occupation layers (Parker et al.
2003, 2005, 2006 & 2008, forthcoming; Creekmore, in
press). In 2005, UTARP team members excavated
contexts spanning from Level 1 through to Level 5 that
date between ca. 3360-2890 calibrated BCE (Parker et al.
2008, forthcoming). This work uncovered the burials of
an infant, aged between one year and six months to two
years old and a young child between the ages of two and
four years old. The infant was discovered in very poor
condition and only a few of the cranial elements were
identifiable along with the teeth. The remaining skeleton
was present, but highly degraded. Similarly the child
burial was heavily fragmented and aside from the teeth
few elements were identifiable.
The two burials were recovered within the confines of the
lower village from Level 4 of Area F, but were placed
outside of any structure unlike the earlier Ubaid burial (D.
Hopwood 2007; Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). Level 4
occupation, dated between 3360-3020 BCE, is composed
of five separate building phases (A-E) primarily
distinguished by pebble surfaces and plaster floors and a
series of small overlapping walls without stone founda-
tions (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming).
The infant burial was associated with a Phase B multi-
roomed structure that opened onto an outside courtyard,
under which the infant was discovered. This structure was
composed of multiple connecting walls forming two
magazine-type rooms roughly 1 m wide by 2.5 m long. It
is likely that this structure was used to house animals or
for storage based on its poor construction and lack of
domestic remains. It is possible that an adjacent structure,
which requires further excavation, served as the primary
living space (Parker et al. 2008, forthcoming). Conver-
sely, the older child was placed more to the edge of the
settlement in an open area. Little has been discovered in
this area, but some domestic remains have been unco-
vered including a broken spindle whorl, part of grinding
stone and part of a fishing net weight.
The two children were buried in distinctly different
manners from each other. The infant was placed in an
ovoid pit that was lined on the north, east and south sides
by three separate unburnt mud bricks (Fig. 13.5). The
bricks were poorly preserved and likely the burial
contained a fourth brick on the west side that did not
survive. As is common with infant burials the grave was
also barren of burial goods. In contrast to the infant burial,
the young child was interred within a jar, but was also
lacking any grave goods. The burial jar had no special
treatment and it is not clear if the jar was made strictly for
the purpose of the child burial or was reused as a burial
vessel. At the Late Chalcolithic site of Hacınebi Tepe,
Şanlıurfa province, Turkey, young children and infants
were interred in pots that were both used only for burial
117
and others that were recycled cooking vessels (Stein 1996
& 1999). Unlike the Hacınebi Tepe pot burials, which
were capped with platters or bowls (Stein 1999),
excavation of the Kenan Tepe, Late Chalcolithic period,
pot burial found no evidence of a lid or cover for the
vessel. This suggests that either the covering did not
preserve or the burial was not capped.
Fig. 13.5. Mud-brick lined burial
of the Late Chalcolithic infant
The distinction between the two burials is interesting in
light of their age difference. As mentioned earlier, at the
Ubaid site of Tell Abada infants and young children were
subject to different burial practices. Infants were interred
in simple pits and covered with a ceramic bowl, whereas,
older children were placed within urns. A similar
differentiation is also seen at the early third millennium
site of Tell al-Raqa’i in Syria. In this instance infant
burials from level 2 of the site were never associated with
grave goods, whereas, children older than a year were
associated with a range of goods (Akkermans & Schwartz
2003; Dunham 1993). Although the sample is small, these
examples provide good evidence of age-based burial
practices, which may have been present at Kenan Tepe
during the Late Chalcolithic period. However, there is
also evidence that suggests that the difference in burial
treatment between these two individuals was related to
status rather than age. This interpretation is based on the
presence of a larger mud-brick lined burial of an adult
during this same period (D. Hopwood 2007). The adult
burial is clearly distinguished from other simple pit
inhumations present at the site during the Late
Chalcolithic period and contains features that indicate it
contained an individual of higher status than the other
adult burials. Further, the adult burial is in close
proximity to the infant, which is suggestive of a shared
relationship. Although rare, ascribing social status to
infants is not unknown in the Late Chalcolithic period. At
Hacınebi Tepe an infant was discovered buried with a
miniature ceramic vessel, a copper ring and two silver
earrings, clearly suggestive of an inherited elite identity
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
(Stein 1997 & 1999). Although there were no grave goods
associated with the Kenan Tepe infant, the similarity and
proximity to the adult burial suggests that this infant may
have belonged to a family of higher status.
The burials of the infant and child demonstrate a shift
away from the practice of burial within the home. By
placing the burials outside the home, yet within the
community, this practice alters the relationship between
the living and the dead. Whereas, in the Ubaid period the
placement of the infant within the walls of the home
suggests a more personal and intimate relationship, the
shift to extramural burial in the Late Chalcolithic period
would have resulted in a more communal remembrance of
the deceased. The dead now become part of the commu-
nity and the group consciousness, rather than that of an
individual family. This pattern of shifting the geography
of the community to reduce the intimacy of the relation-
ship with the dead is further elaborated upon during the
Late Chalcolithic period/ Early Bronze Age transition.
LATE CHALCOLITHIC/EARLY BRONZE
BURIALS
Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze occupation is present on
both the main mound and the upper levels of Area F in the
lower town. This occupation is represented by the
presence of mud-brick walls, cobblestone surfaces, ovens
and an array of domestic artifacts from Area F, as well as
the presence of a massive fortification/retaining wall that
was constructed in order to encircle the LC 5/EB 1
occupation located on the main mound (Parker et al.
2005; Creekmore 2007, in press).
In 2005 four pot burials were uncovered in Area G (see
Fig. 13.2), located on the northern side of the main mound
and to the west of the lower town. This area is notable for
its lack of any domestic remains and absence of building
or wall construction. Area G is offset from the areas of
occupation on both the main mound and the lower town.
The Area G burials are all of young children. Burials
G.7.25.5 and G.7.28.6 consist of a three to five year old
child and a child between the ages of two and four years
old. Their skeletons were discovered in relatively good
condition with the majority of elements identifiable. Both
children were placed into their burial jars in a flexed
position with their heads oriented towards the opening of
the jar (Fig. 13.6). Burials G.7.38.2 and G.7.41.2 were
both of young children between the ages of one and two
years old. Unlike the previous two burials, both skeletons
were in poor condition and highly fragmented. It was not
possible to determine the position of the burial in either of
these cases, but it is likely based on the G.7.25.5 and
G.7.28.6 burials that these children would have been
similarly flexed and oriented.
The pots used to inter the children were all of a similar
make and design. They were relatively large and thick
118
vessels made of a coarse chaff-tempered fabric. They
exhibited no special treatment or design and were likely
constructed specifically for the purpose of the child
burials. Similar to the jar burial from the Late Chalcolithic
period none of these jar burials appear to have been
capped.
Fig. 13.6. Flexed burial of G.7.25.5
In contrast to many child pot burials from Late
Chalcolithic period or Early Bronze Age sites, three of
these individuals were associated with burial goods.
Although not richly adorned, burial G.7.25.5 contained
two ceramic vessels, a bowl and a burnished pedestal
bowl (Fig. 13.7). These vessels were placed outside the
burial pot in the northern corner of the burial. Similarly,
burial G.7.28.6 contained a single ceramic bowl under the
northern corner of the pot (Fig. 13.8). These vessel forms
are not uncommon at Kenan Tepe and in particular the
pedestal bowl is associated with LC 5/EB 1 transitional
occupation elsewhere on the site (Creekmore 2007, in
press). The third burial, G.7.41.2, contained a copper
alloy pin within the burial jar. It is possible that this pin
was simply used to hold together swaddling that the child
could have been wrapped in, however, metal is rare at this
site and its presence is interesting.
It is notable that the location of these four burials differs
from the inhumations discussed earlier. These children
were interred in an area specifically dedicated to the
burials. As mentioned earlier no construction had
occurred in this area. There were no walls, domestic
structures or tombs, nor was any domestic debris found. It
appears that these children were buried away from the
main living space, in an open air cemetery. This pattern
was not unusual for an Early Bronze occupation. In
general, during the Early Bronze Age, children, as well as
adults, were no longer buried within domestic structures
and burials took place away from the living space
(Alpaslan-Roodenberg 2002; Peltenburg 1996). However,
the placement of these burials continues the trend of
shifting burial practice at Kenan Tepe. With the move-
 D.E. HOPWOOD THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: CHILD BURIAL AT THE SITE OF KENAN TEPE
a
b
Fig. 13.7. Burial goods associated
with the G.7.25.5 burial
ment of burials now outside the confines of the living
area, the dead are removed from the everyday perception
and consciousness of the Kenan Tepe residents.
DISCUSSION
The span of Kenan Tepe’s temporal sequence, encom-
passing occupation from the terminal Ubaid period to the
transition between the Late Chalcolithic period and the
Early Bronze Age, has provided an opportunity to
examine changes in the burial practice of children, as well
as to comment on the shifting relationship between the
living and dead at Kenan Tepe. Albeit a small sample,
analysis of the child burials have demonstrated that over
the course of Kenan Tepe’s occupation three separate and
119
a
b
Fig. 13.8. Bowl found against northern corner
of the G.7.28.6 burial
distinct burial methods were practiced. In the Ubaid
period the single infant present was encased in a plaster
pit and covered with a shallow bowl. Due to the lack of
remains it is not possible to determine if other burial
methods for children were carried out at this time.
However, if the practice at Kenan Tepe is indeed similar
to that observed at Tell Abada, it is possible that older
children would have been buried within pots. During the
Late Chalcolithic period two distinct burial methods were
present. An infant was buried in a mud-brick lined pit,
whereas, an older child was interred within a ceramic jar.
Although, this differentiation suggests a practice of age-
related burial similar to that seen at Tell Abada and Tell
Raqa’i, the similarity and proximity of the mud-brick
lined burial to that of a similar adult burial of higher
status also implies that the difference in burial practice
might be related to status and not to age. Finally, during
the LC 5/EB 1 transition it appears that all child interment
was carried out within burial jars.
In addition to the various burial methods, the changing
burial practices at Kenan Tepe have implications for how
residents would have perceived their social geography
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
within the site and the negotiated relationship between the
living and the dead (Boyd 1995). According to Parker
Pearson (1999, 140) “where to put the remains of the dead
is generally not a matter of functional expediency. The
place of the dead in any society will have significant and
powerful connotations within people’s perceived social
geographies”. The shifting pattern of child burial at
Kenan Tepe provides partial evidence for how the social
geography within the site was constructed, negotiated and
changed over time. The Ubaid period at Kenan Tepe
represents a time when even after death a connection was
maintained between the child and the household for both
the dead infant and the mother. By placing the burial
within the home the infant always remains a presence in
the household, whereas, placing the grinding slab with the
infant maintains the connection to the mother.
The transition to the Late Chalcolithic period at Kenan
Tepe is accompanied by a change in burial location and
with it a shift in the relationship between the deceased and
the living. Burials are now moved outside of the home,
but they still remain within the domestic area. This slight
change in burial practice alters the deceased’s direct
connection to the home but maintains their memory
within the community (Akkermans & Schwartz 2003).
There is still a personal connection to the dead, but now
there is an immediate representation of them on the
community landscape and therefore the community’s
consciousness.
Finally, at the transition between the Late Chalcolithic
period and Early Bronze Age, burial practice once again
shifts and with it the relationship negotiated between the
living and the dead. The location of LC 5/EB 1
transitional burials continues the trend of moving the dead
away from the living space. No longer are the dead
directly associated with the community as they have been
moved away to an area specifically for burials. In this
manner burials are no longer encountered in daily life.
The dead have been removed from the living. This shift in
burial practice and placement potentially underscores a
larger shift in the place of the dead in the everyday
consciousness of the community. By moving the dead
away from the living space they are removed from the
immediate memory of people (Akkermans & Schwartz
2003). The dead are now only remembered when one
chooses to do so, rather than on an everyday basis.
CONCLUSION
Burials represent a unique cultural artifact that archaeo-
logists have used to examine a number of questions
relating to a communities social structure. Binford (1971)
and Saxe (1970) spearheaded the theoretical position that
individuals will represent their social position in life with
their treatment in death. However, burial practices are
also a direct reflection upon how individuals and a
community as a whole negotiated the relationship
between the living and the dead (Boyd 1995). Changes in
120
burial practice at Kenan Tepe provided an opportunity to
understand how the alteration of the burial landscape can
shift the social geography of a community and in doing
so, their negotiated relationship with the dead. The sample
size from this site is small and the interpretations derived
from this analysis must be considered with this in mind.
However, although not discussed here, when the adult
burials from Kenan Tepe are also considered the same
pattern observed for the infant and child burials holds true
(Hopwood, in prep.).
The examination of the child burials at Kenan Tepe
revealed a trend towards a less personal and more distant
relationship with the dead. There is a shift from an
intimate relationship between the home and the deceased
in the Ubaid period, to a more general awareness and
memory of the dead within the community during the
Late Chalcolithic period. Finally, this relationship
transitions to a point where the dead are no longer part of
the everyday consciousness of the community as they
have been removed from the domestic area of the
settlement during the Late Chalcolithic period/ Early
Bronze Age transition.
Acknowledgments
This paper would not have been possible without the
support of Bradley Parker and Lynn Swartz Dodd. They
provided me with the opportunity to travel to Bismil,
Turkey to study the burials from Kenan Tepe, as well as
provided several helpful comments of earlier versions of
this paper. I am grateful to Susan Pollock, Marie Hop-
wood, Catherine Painter and Jenni Henecke for comments
and suggestions on earlier drafts. Finally, thank you to the
UTARP team for all their assistance.
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 CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM:
BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS
LIFE STAGE
Marc OXENHAM
Australian National University, Canberra, marc.oxenham@anu.edu.au

Hirofumi MATSUMURA
Sapporo Medical University, Hokkaido, Japan, hiromura@sapmed.ac.jp

Kate DOMETT
James Cook University, Townsville, Australia, kate.domett@jcu.edu.au

NGUYEN Kim Thuy

NGUYEN Kim Dung
NGUYEN Lan Cuong
Institute of Archaeology, Hanoi, Vietnam, 61 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Hanoi

Damien HUFFER
Australian National University, Canberra, damien.huffer@gmail.com

Sarah MULLER
Australian National University, Canberra

Abstract: This paper looks at a late Neolithic cemetery site dated to approximately 3500 years BP in northern Vietnam. The purpose
is to: (1) use the techniques of mortuary archaeology to shed light on the role of children and adult attitudes towards children at this
site; and (2) assess the level of health and well being of the children. Mortuary methods included an examination of a range of traits
including burial position and orientation as well as the number and manner of grave furniture in respect to age-at-death and sex
where possible. In terms of health, measures or signatures of cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia and oral health were investigated.
It was found that many of the non-surviving children at Man Bac suffered from physiological insult and severe dental caries. Fertility
was elevated in comparison to other prehistoric Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages and the number of living children at Man Bac,
at any given time, was likely elevated. Despite high infant mortality, all individuals, regardless of age, received some form of basic
mortuary treatment. The nature and type of mortuary treatment at Man Bac suggests children were recognised as members of the
community, with economic and social value. There is some indication that different developmental and/or social stages were recog-
nised through mortuary treatment and that childhood may have finished rather early, in terms of chronological age, at Man Bac.
Key Words: Vietnam, Neolithic, childhood, health, mortuary, behaviour

Résume: Cet article concerne un cimetière du Néolithique tardif dans le nord du Vietnam vers 3500 BP. Son but est d’employer les
techniques de l’archéologie mortuaire pour (1) clarifier le rôle des enfants et les attitudes des adultes envers les enfants sur ce site et
(2) juger du niveau de santé des enfants, L’analyse mortuaire examine la position de l’enterrement et son orientation, ainsi que le
type et la quantité du dépôt funéraire vis-à-vis de l’âge du défunt et de son sexe, si possible. Pour étudier la santé, nous avons
examiné les mesures ou signatures des cribra orbitalia, l’hypoplasie de l’émail dentaire et la santé orale. On constate que beaucoup
des enfants décédés à Man Bac ont subi des insultes physiologiques et de sévères caries dentaires. Le taux de fertilité étant assez
élevé par rapport à d’autres ensembles de squelettes préhistoires en Asie du sud-est, il y a eu sans doute à Man Bac, à tout moment
donné, un assez grand nombre d’enfants. Malgré le taux élevé de mortalité infantile, tous les individus, de n’importe quel âge, ont
reçu un traitement mortuaire de base. La manière et le type du traitement mortuaire à Man Bac laissent penser que les enfants
étaient membres à part entière de la communauté, des points de vues économiques et sociaux. Il ya quelque indications que le
traitement mortuaire tenait compte de certaines étapes de développement physique et/ou d’étapes sociales; à Man Bac l’enfance a pu
se terminer assez tôt, par rapport à l’âge chronologique.
Mots Clefs: Vietnam, Néolithique, enfance, santé, funéraire, comportement

INTRODUCTION logical perspective, the children have always been there

and have formed an important, and highly visible, portion
Kamp (2001, 1) asked “where have all the children of the data set both globally (see contributions in Cohen
gone?” in reference to a lack of archaeological studies & Armelagos 1984, published over two decades ago) and,
that focused on children in the past. From a bioarchaeo- more recently, in Southeast Asia (see contributions in

123
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Oxenham & Tayles 2006, for example). However, despite
a recent increase in the number of volumes focusing on
the archaeology of children (e.g. Sofaer Derevenski 2000;
Wileman 2005; Ardren & Hutson 2006) the emphasis on
mortuary studies in Southeast Asia, represented by
Thailand for the most part, has remained fixed on aspects
of social organisation (see for example Higham &
Kijngam 1984; Higham & Thosarat 1998 & 2004; Talbot
2002). Nonetheless, the tide seems to be turning with
Bacus’ (in press) analysis of gender in prehistoric Thai-
land and now with this current examination of aspects of
childhood in northern Vietnam. Much is now known
regarding aspects of adult health and disease in prehistoric
and proto-historic northern Vietnam (Oxenham et al.
2005 & 2006; Oxenham 2006), but very little is known of
childhood health and well being during this period of
time. Excavations of a late Neolithic cemetery site in
northern Vietnam has now provided the opportunity to
learn more of a very poorly sampled period of Vietna-
mese prehistory in the context of childhood behaviour,
attitudes towards children and child health and well being.
The aim of this paper is to: (1) examine aspects of
mortuary behaviour, particularly in terms of what this can
tell us of the role of children and adult attitudes towards
children in late Neolithic Man Bac, Vietnam; and (2)
discuss biological characteristics of the human sample,
again focusing on the children, in order to explore aspects
of childhood well-being, or palaeohealth, at Man Bac.
BIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
The following account is based on preliminary analyses
reported on by Dung (2005). The site of Man Bac is
located next to Bach Lien Village, Yen Thanh Commune,
Yen Mo District, 20°08’00” North and 109°59’017” East.
Man Bac was identified by Colani in 1916 (see Trinh
2004) and was first excavated by a Vietnamese archaeo-
logical team in 1999 where a 5x5m pit to approximately
2m in depth revealed three clear stratigraphic layers, two
upper occupation and one lower burial level that con-
tained six inhumations. A subsequent 5x6m excavation
directly west of the first by the same team uncovered 12
inhumations. Work at the site continued in 2004/5, again
to the west of the previous excavation, with a consortium
of Vietnamese, Japanese and Australians uncovering a
further 30 inhumations in a 6x6m pit. Preliminary
analyses suggest that two distinct cultural phases are
associated with three stratigraphic levels: phase one with
the upper level and phase two with the second occupation
level and the lower, third, burial level. Further, Dung
(2005) believes that these occupation layers were of a
relatively brief duration.
The site is best seen as an example of the late Neolithic/
early Bronze Age in the region (referred to as the Phung
Nguyen) with some material cultural evidence suggesting
links to the previous established Neolithic Da But period
culture. Further, pottery styles and motifs have been
124
interpreted as indicating the inhabitants of Man Bac
maintained connections with surrounding coastal cultures
such as the Ha Long and Hoa Loc groups. An enormous
array and variety of objects have been excavated to date.
For the 2004/5 season alone, 394 stone artefacts
(including adzes, axes, chisels, blades, grinding stones,
net sinkers, nephrite beads and rings), 100 complete
ceramics (in the form of cooking pots, bell-mouthed
vases, footed bowls and cups) and 50.000 pottery sherds
were recovered.
Work on the faunal remains from the 2004/5 season
indicates a subsistence base rich in both terrestrial and
aquatic resources. Sawada and Vu (2005) have identified
a range of fish species with Black sea bream (Acantho-
pagrus sp.) followed by Perch (Percichthyidae indet.)
being particularly common and indicating fishing beha-
viours that concentrated on bay and coastal regions. A
wealth of terrestrial remains including rhinoceros, various
forms of deer, rat, dog, serow and pig indicate both rich
terrestrial resources and ability to successfully target such
mammals. Sawada & Vu (2005) also suggest there is
evidence for the domestication of pigs, at least, based on
the high number of juvenile Sus remains. Presumably
some form of horticulture or agriculture was practiced at
Man Bac although the direct floral evidence for this is
currently lacking. The remains and associated material
culture of the three excavation seasons, 46/48 inhuma-
tions, forms the focus of this study. Huffer (2005) in a
Masters thesis has already examined aspects of social
organisation at Man Bac and found the community to
have had limited social differentiation and been more
heterarchical in structure, as opposed to hierarchical or
ranked. Huffer also suggested that social differentiation
was more strongly expressed in terms of age, rather than
sex or gender. The current paper will add further mortuary
dimensions to our understanding of the Phung Nguyen
Culture in northern Vietnam generally and Man Bac in
particular.
METHODS
Given the emphasis on the archaeology of childhood in
this paper, the mortuary analysis focused on: (1) the
spatial distribution of graves by age class and the (2) type
and relative frequency of preserved grave inclusions by
age class. Given the high proportion of subadult remains
at Man Bac the chief biological discriminator was age
rather than sex, which cannot be reliably determined in
individuals under 15 years without DNA typing.
Adult age-at-death was determined using appropriate
osteological methods (Buikstra & Ubelaker 1994). Sub-
adults were aged predominantly through observations of
the dentition alone. The dentition, both calcification and
eruption, is the most reliable way in which to estimate the
age-at-death of subadults, particularly those aged less than
15 years. Published standards from White (2000) and
Buikstra & Ubelaker (1994) were used to establish dental
 M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE
16
14
12
10
% individuals
0
<1 1 to 4
Fig. 14.1. Age specific mortality at Man Bac (all excavation seasons, n=46)
age. It is appreciated that these published standards have
been derived from non-Asian populations and are used in
the absence of more population specific information.
Scheur & Black (2000) provide detailed information
regarding the development of individual skeletal elements
and these were used to estimate the age-at-death of MB05
B7 (MB: Man Bac; 05: year of excavation 2005; B7:
burial number 7) as a possible 38 week foetus or stillborn.
It was not necessary to use diaphyseal lengths from
published standards to estimate age-at-death in other
individuals as most had a reliable dental age. Those
individuals who also had diaphyseal lengths measured
were used to assist in the aging of other individuals
without dentition. This created a ‘population-specific’ set
of standards rather than relying on age estimates from
diaphyseal lengths of unrelated populations. Epiphyseal
fusion stages were predominantly from Scheur & Black
(2000) and were useful for aging older children and
adolescents. There were two individuals (MB05 B6 and
MB05 B22) who had neither dentition nor diaphyseal
lengths with which to estimate age-at-death. For these
individuals, sections of their long bones were compared to
similar bone sections in individuals aged by their
dentition.
Three palaeodemographic measures of fertility were
calculated for the complete sample. The juvenile/adult
ratio (JA: ratio children aged 5 to 15 years to adults 20+
years old), and mean childhood mortality (MCM) both
increase with increasing fertility, while the D20+/D5 ratio
(proportion of those living beyond 20 years to all those
that made it to at least 5 years) decreases with increasing
fertility. Details and assumptions underlying these
palaeodemographic measures, that have previously been
5 to 9 10 to 14 15 to 20 20+
age class (years)
used on Southeast Asian assemblages (see Pietrusewsky
& Douglas 2002; Domett & Tayles 2006) can be found in
Jackes (1992; see also Chamberlain 2006).
When recording signatures of physiological well-being,
all cranial material with at least the preservation of the
anterolateral and anteromedial portions of the orbital roof
of at least one orbit was assessed for cribra orbitalia (CO).
Lesions were recorded as active or remodelled after Webb
(1995, 90). All visible teeth were macroscopically
assessed for signs of linear enamel hypoplasia (defects
corresponding to the DDE index type 4, Federation
Dentaire International 1982), severity was recorded using
Duray’s (1996) categories and only deciduous teeth
results are reported here. Oral health was assessed by way
of macroscopic examination of the teeth and surrounding
boney tissues. Ante mortem tooth loss and changes to the
alveolar bone were assessed for any signs of infection
and/or remodelling. Carious lesions were assessed after
the protocol outlined in Hillson (2001).
RESULTS
Health Analysis
Palaeodemography
Figure 14.1 summarizes the age specific mortality
distribution of Man Bac. Over 54% of the sample is aged
less than 5 years at death while nearly 33% are adult
(older than 15 years at death). The absence of individuals
aged 10 to 14 years reflects the very low risk of death in
this age category (Chamberlain 2006, 62). A comparison
125
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 14.1. Demographic attributes of several Southeast Asian skeletal assemblages

date (years BP)1 subsistence12 <5 5-9.9 10-14.9 15-19.9 20+ JA Ratio D20+/D5+ MCM DR
Man Bac 3500-4000 A?/F 54,3 13,0 0,0 15,2 17,4 0,78 0,500 0,417 4,48
Khok Phanom Di 3500-4000 A/F 48,1 4,5 3,2 5,2 39,0 0,20 0,750 0,091 1,30
Early Non Nok Tha 4800-3400 M 27,7 4,8 2,4 2,4 62,6 0,12 0,867 0,047 1,27
Early Ban Chiang 4100-2900 M 20,6 5,4 2,2 7,9 64,5 0,12 0,851 0,052 0,52
Late Non Nok Tha 3400-2200 M 5,0 5,0 2,5 1,3 86,3 0,09 0,908 0,032 0,30
Ban Lum Khao 3000-2500 M 32,7 10,3 4,7 4,7 47,6 0,30 0,708 0,108 1,38
Late Ban Chiang 2900-1800 M 17,4 6,5 0,0 10,9 65,3 0,10 0,842 0,055 0,48
Noen U-Loke 2300-1700 A/H 43,0 2,8 2,8 3,7 47,7 0,11 0,709 0,058 1,45
1
Adapted from Oxenham et al. (2006)
2
A: agriculture; H: horticulture; M: mixed; F: foraging/hunting

Table 14.2. Early childhood caries (≤3 years) experience in prehistoric Southeast Asia
deciduous teeth individuals
site n obs 3 % n obs %
Man Bac 71 6(5) 8,5 6 3 50,0
Ban Na Di1 46 9(7) 19,6 4 1 25,0
Ban Lum Khao1 133 3(3) 2,3 12 2 16,7
Khok Phanom Di2 62 3(2) 4,8 6 2 33,3
1
Domett (2001, & unpublisged data); 2Tayles (1999), Sian Halcrow pers. comm.
3
Number of affected incisors/canines in parentheses

with other skeletal assemblages in the region (Table 14.1)
indicates that Man Bac has an elevated level of sub-five
year old mortality. Khok Phanom Di, Noen U-Loke and
Ban Lum Khao are similar to Man Bac in terms of high
young child mortality. Ban Chiang and Non Nok Tha have
depressed levels of young child mortality which suggests
they may be unrepresentative and of limited comparative
value. An examination of a range of palaeodemographic
indicators (Table 14.1) suggest that there was an excep-
tionally high rate of fertility at Man Bac as indicated by a
low D20+/D5+ ratio, and relatively high juvenile: adult
(JA) and mean childhood mortality (MCM) ratios. The
closest assemblage to Man Bac in terms of these measures
of fertility is Ban Lum Khao, followed by Noen U-Loke
and also Khok Phanom Di which shows somewhat elevated
levels of fertility. A further demographic indicator is the
dependency ratio, which indicates what can be termed a
“hard life’ at Man Bac with a high number of children per
adult. Noen U-Loke, Ban Lum Khao and Khok Phanom Di
also show elevated dependency levels.
Table 14.2 summarizes caries in the limited samples of
young children in Southeast Asian prehistoric sites. While
the Man Bac data set is still incomplete, this table
indicates that Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is elevated at
Man Bac. Further, only Man Bac children display carious
lesions that cause massive crown destruction (Fig. 14.2).
This illustration also displays staining to what would have
been exposed enamel during life (the unstained band of
enamel near the neck of the teeth in this photo would have
been covered by soft tissue during life and prevented sta-
ining of the protected enamel). Two of the three children
with massive crown lesions displayed this staining.

Oral Health

A little over half the entire assemblage of children (18/31,

58%) aged 10 years or younger has been assessed for
various aspects of health. Of these 18 children, six were
less than a year old and none of their teeth had erupted,
while 3/18 were aged between 1 and 3 years and did not
have assessable teeth. Of the remaining nine children, six
were aged 1 to 3 years and three between 3 and 10 years
old. Of these nine children four displayed carious lesions Fig. 14.2. Massive carious lesion to right dm1
and three of these were aged 1 to 3 years (1/2 of this age and note also focal demineralisation of left d12
class). (MB05 B18, 18 month old infant)

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 M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE

Table 14.3. Frequency of cribra orbitalia in Man Bac children ≤ 10 years old at death
age n slight/mild severe active remodelled total%
< 1 year 4 1 0 1 0 25,0
1 to <3 years 4 2 1 3 0 75,0
3 to 10 years 3 0 1 1 0 33,3
total 11 3 2 5 0 45,5

15-17 years Unanalysed burial

<1 year

1-4 years 18-20 years

Putative burial cluster

5-10 years 21+ years

Fig. 14.3. Distribution of burials by age for the three excavation seasons at Man Bac

Physiological Health: Cribra Orbitalia and LEH
Table 14.3 summarises the evidence for cribra orbitalia in
the sample. Of the 11 children with assessable orbits,
45.5% displayed active (no sign of remodelling) lesions.
Two infants, approximately 18 months old, had severe
forms of this lesion (the same two individuals with
massive deciduous tooth lesions) while the remaining
cases were mild. In comparison with other Southeast
Asian Assemblages the frequency of cribra orbitalia in
subadult remains is not unusual. At Khok Phanom Di
75% (10/14 individuals) of subadults aged from 1 to 14
years displayed cribrotic lesions, while most (7/8
individuals) aged between 6 and 14 years had lesions.
However, no (0/63) infants less than one year old
displayed lesions (Tayles 1999). At Ban Chiang the
overall frequency of cribra orbitalia was 40% (6/15
individuals) in children aged 7 years or less, while no
children (0/4) aged less than 2 years old had lesions
(Pietrusewsky & Douglas 2002).
Enamel hypoplasia was not evident in any of the nine
individuals and 78 deciduous teeth observed so far.
Observations in the deciduous dentition would coincide
with events during the last five months in utero through to
one year of age (Goodman et al. 1984). These findings are
comparable to other Southeast Asian subadult assembla-
ges where no signs of enamel hypoplasia were found at
Nong Nor, Ban Lum Khao and Ban Na Di (deciduous
tooth sample sizes were 86, 182 and 69 respectively;
Domett 2001). While linear defects were not seen at Khok
Phanom Di, Tayles (1999) recorded 7%, 14/200 deci-
duous teeth, with hypoplastic defects.
MORTUARY ANALYSIS
Burial Distribution and Orientation
Figure 14.3 shows the distribution of all burials for each
of the three excavation seasons. The squares represent
putative clusters, defined by way of spatial proximity to
other burials. An untested hypothesis is that such clusters
may represent groups of related individuals that were
interred beneath elevated houses. Of these nine potential
clusters, all include an adult and a range of younger
individuals. The majority of burials (95%, 40/42), where
position could be assessed, were extended with arms at
sides. Two burials (an adult male > 40 years and a young

127
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 14.4. Distribution of Man Bac grave goods by age-at-death

Individuals with Individuals with Individuals with non-ceramic grave goods by type
age n grave goods 1 ceramics non-ceramics shell stone tool bone tool pellet bead
<1 10 6/10 (60) 6/6 (100) 3/6 (50) 2/10 (20) 1/10 (10)
1 to 4 15 8/15 (53) 6/8 (75) 3/8 (38) 1/15 (7) 1/15 (7) 1/15 (7) 1/7 (15)
5 to 9 6 6/6 (100) 6/6 (100) 3/6 (50) 2/6 (33) 1/6 (17) 1/6 (17)
10 to 14 0 0/0 (0) 0/0 (0) 0/0 (0)
15 to 20 7 7/7 (100) 7/7 (100) 1/7 (14) 1/7 (14) 1/7 (14)
20+ 8 7/8 (88) 6/7 (86) 4/7 (57) 2/8 (25) 1/8 (13) 1/8 (13) 1/8 (13)
Total 46 34/46 (74) 31/34 (91) 14/31 (45) 7/46 (15) 4/46 (9) 2/46 (4) 3/46 (7) 2/46 (4)
1
observed/n (%); shell refers to ornaments and/or implements; pellets are clay (projectile?) balls; beads are worked nephrite

100%

90%

80%

70%

60% 3+ ceramics
% ceramics

2 ceramics
50%
1 ceramic

40%
0 ceramics

30%

20%

10%

0%

<1 1 to 4 5 to 9 15 to 19 20+
age class (years)

Fig. 14.4. Frequency of ceramics per grave by age class

adult aged 15, likely male) were flexed and one child
(possibly two) was interred in a ceramic pot. For those
burials where an axis of orientation could be determined
88% (37/42) were placed in an east (head) to west (feet)
direction while the remaining burials were oriented
approximately, or slightly varying from, north (head) to
south (feet).
General Mortuary Treatment
Of the 46 individuals examined here, 34 (74%) possessed
some form of grave good. Of all those individuals with
grave goods, 91% (31/34) had at least one ceramic object
while 65% of these cases (20/31) only possessed
ceramics. Of all burials with ceramics, 90% (28/31) had at
least one redware vessel. The positioning of ceramic
goods did not vary by age or sex with placement by the
head (55.6%) being most common, followed by positi-
oning by the torso (28.9%), between the legs (8.9%) and
finally at the feet (6.7%).
Of all individuals with grave goods, 41% (14/34) were
interred with at least one non-ceramic object. Further,
71% (10/14) of these people had only one type, 21% had
2 types and 7% had 3 types of non-ceramic artefact.
Among individuals with non-ceramics, 37.5% of indivi-
duals had some form of shell, 25% had stone artefacts
with bone artefacts, clay pellets and stone beads each
being found in 12.5% of interments.
Mortuary Treatment by Age
Table 14.4 summarises mortuary goods by age class. It
can be seen that, with one exception, all individuals 5
years or older have some form of grave good. Children
aged less than 5 had a 50:50 chance of receiving a grave
good. The number of ceramics placed in graves increases
with increasing age-at-death (Fig. 14.4). An exception
to this trend is seen in burial 3 (six month old infant:
Fig. 14.5) that was interred with two small red ware
pots and a clay pellet. There are only three other children,

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 M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE

Fig. 14.5. Six month old infant (MB05 B05) with two small pots (a clay pellet, ~1cm diameter,
was also recovered amongst broken pottery in this grave)

Fig. 14.6. Close up of the hands of an 8 to 9 year old child (MB05 B25) grasping large bivalve shell

aged between 7 and 10 years, that possessed two cera-
mics.
Table 14.4 also summarises the distribution of non-
ceramic grave furnishings by age. Shell was found in all
age classes except one (15-20 years), tools (bone and
stone) were not found with very young children and only
children aged less than 5 years and a single adult male
aged approximately 20 years had clay pellets. Further,
nephrite beads were only found with young children and
mature adults. An 8 year old child is unique (Fig. 14.6) in
being the only individual to have what may be “shell
knives” (large elongated bivalve shells) and be actively
engaging with a grave good (grasping these “knives”).
With the exception of two mature adults (MB 05 B28 and
B29), this child has the “richest” grave in terms of the
number and variety of material culture.
Regarding grave morphology, only children received
some form of obvious encasement or grave demarcation
and this was rare: one clear stone circle (18 month old
infant) and one probable deliberate multiple stone place-

129
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
ment (less than 12 month old infant); one pot burial
(approximately 2 year old child). The use of some form of
burial wrapping cannot be ruled out for many burials but
appears unlikely when examining the position of feet and
hands. As many of the younger children were positioned
with splayed knees it is improbable that they were
wrapped before burial.
DISCUSSION
Health
Early childhood caries (ECC) was clearly an important
health issue at Man Bac. There is an enormous literature
concerning ECC which has variously been referred to as
nursing-bottle or baby-bottle caries, rampant caries and
labial caries (Slavkin 1999). From this literature a number
of potentially relevant factors associated with increased
risk of ECC are discussed here. The risk of developing
ECC is greatly increased with increased levels of mutans
streptococci (Milgrom et al. 2000; Thorild et al. 2002).
While cariogenic bacteria can readily be transmitted from
mother to child (Caufield et al. 1993) the successful
transmission and subsequent colonization of the child’s
oral cavity by these organisms is complex and ultimately
related to a number of factors reliant on diet (Boggess &
Edelstein 2006). A recent study of a semi-urban/rural
community in Myanmar found an increased risk of ECC
associated with children that had been fed pre-masticated
rice by their mothers (van Palenstein Hilderman et al.
2006).
Fluoride is a well known caries prophylactic (Leverett
1982) and high rates of caries have been associated with
low levels of fluoride in the ground water (e.g. Sealy et al.
1992). The ground water fluoride levels are not known for
Man Bac and neither is it known if this community relied
on ground water or rain water, as is common in modern
rural communities in Thailand (Vachirarojpisan et al.
2004). Other studies of prehistoric populations (Kelley et
al. 1991; Larsen et al. 1991) have also indicated the
generally cariostatic nature of a marine diet. The analysis
of faunal remains from Man Bac suggests an important
marine component to the diet (Sawada & Long 2005).
Even discounting fluoride, protein rich marine diets have
been associated with the likely prophylactic effect of
increased levels of tooth abrasion (Sealy et al. 1992;
Littleton & Frohlich 1993) as well as increased oral cavity
alkalinity (Littleton & Frohlich 1993) inhibiting bacterial
activity (Powell 1985). Nonetheless, infants as young as
two years may not have been consuming the portions of a
marine diet that contain stored fluoride (the bones of fish)
or benefiting from coarse foods and attendant natural
abrasion.
There is a large modern clinical literature looking at the
relationship between ECC and bottle feeding; either
bottled formulae or fruit juices and other forms of
sweetened liquids taken through an artificial teat or straw
130
(e.g. Dennison 1996; Milnes 1996). While bottle feeding
would seem unlikely 3500 years ago in northern Viet-
nam, there is some evidence that breast feeding may in-
crease the risk of ECC, although a recent comprehensive
review of the literature disputes this (Ribeiro & Ribeiro
2004). While human breast milk has a very low cario-
genecity (Ribeiro & Ribeiro 2004), prolonged breast
feeding, in conjunction with night time feeding, has been
linked to an increased risk of developing ECC in one
Burmease study at least (van Palenstein Helderman et al.
2006). Prolonged breast feeding, including night time
feeding with children sleeping next to mothers, is
common in modern Southeast Asia (van Palenstein
Helderman et al. 2006).
Levels of oral hygiene also have an effect on the risk of
developing ECC but is difficult to isolate from other
factors such as feeding habits (see above), development of
the child’s immune system and so forth (Seow 1998). The
reddish staining observed on the teeth of both of the most
severely affected infants appears to be associated with the
carious lesions. While the staining is clearly ante mortem,
without further study it is not possible to determine if the
staining occurred before, and thus contributed to the
development of the lesions, or after the lesions appeared.
The deciduous dentition at this age (both children were
around 18 months old) would still be going through the
process of re-mineralisation and de-mineralisation and
would be at a relatively greater risk of discolouration
from certain foods and medications (such as tetracycline
staining in recent times). The colour of the staining
resembles the effects of betel nut (Areca catechu) con-
sumption in later Bronze Age communities in the region
(see Oxenham et al. 2002). A vast range of medical
conditions have attracted the use of betel nut (Perry 1980,
302), which may have included feeding infants with
extremely painful massive carious lesions the juice of pre-
masticated Areca catechu.
A further factor, not discussed above, is increased risk of
ECC through predisposing conditions such as deciduous
tooth enamel hypoplasia. It was pointed out earlier in the
paper that no evidence for deciduous tooth enamel
hypoplasia was observed. However, in the case of the two
infants with severe lesions, the massive crown destruction
may have disguised the presence of enamel hypoplastic
lesions. ECC aside, deciduous enamel hypoplasia would
develop between approximately 5 months in utero and
one year. If illness, stress or malnutrition was present
among the sampled children, it may have been acute
rather than chronic. Deciduous tooth enamel hypoplasia is
rare in Southeast Asian assemblages and it may be that
the stresses associated with weaning, solid foods and
various other factors that increase the risk of disease in
infants were not occurring until after the first year of life.
While only 11 children 10 years of age or younger could
be included in the study of cribra orbitalia, nearly half had
lesions and these were all active. Moreover, half of the
children aged 3 years or younger also had active lesions.
 M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE
These rates are similar to that seen in children at Ban
Chiang and Khok Phanom Di and suggest the non-sur-
viving children in Southeast Asia were under considerable
physiological stress at the time of death. Cribra orbitalia is
often associated with anaemia (e.g. Stuart-Macadam
1985), a condition with multiple potential aetiologies, a
range of inflammatory conditions (e.g. Wapler et al.
2004), or scurvy (e.g. Ortner et al. 1999). Intriguingly, the
two most severe cases of cribra orbitalia were associated
with the two infants with the most severe carious lesions.
The synergistic effects of the disease conditions respon-
sible for ECC and cribra orbitalia in these two children, at
the very least, may have played a role in their eventual
deaths.
The high proportion of subadults in the sample influence
the palaeodemographic indicators in suggesting very high
levels of fertility at Man Bac, greater even than seen at
roughly contemporaneous sites such as Ban Lum Khao
and Khok Phanom Di in Thailand. Competing reasons for
apparently high subadult mortality include sampling bias,
an epidemic or disease that targeted children at Man Bac,
or a culturally mediated form of infant mortality such as
infanticide. Sampling bias seems unlikely given that
children, even the very young, do not appear to have been
buried in separate locations and skeletal preservation was
excellent at the site. Epidemics and increased childhood
mortality due to some unknown disease factor cannot be
tested at present. An epidemic scenario, at least, does not
appear to be consistent with the time and energy spent on
child burials (all buried in possible family clusters, and
receiving site specific normative body positioning and
orientation). However, the observation that approximately
half of the burials of children aged five or younger do not
possess grave goods could be interpreted as lowered
mortuary investment in a high risk-of-death age class.
It has been suggested that in the past infanticide is more
often the rule, rather than the exception (Williamson
1978, 61). Scrimshaw (1984) distinguishes between more
overt forms of infanticide (deliberate killing) and more
passive forms (include a range of infant neglect strategies
that can take years to reach a conclusion). While the latter
would be very difficult to observe archaeologically, the
more overt type “almost always occurs at birth or very
shortly thereafter” (Scrimshaw 1984, 449). Given that
only a single neonate (MB05 B07) has been recovered
from Man Bac, the overt form of infanticide, at least, does
not appear to have occurred.
It is proposed that high rates of infant mortality at Man
Bac say more about fertility than sampling error,
epidemics or infanticide. Increasing levels of fertility are
seen in many sites around the globe with the adoption of
agricultural subsistence economies (e.g. Bocquet-Appel &
Naji 2006). While there is no direct evidence for rice
agriculture at Man Bac, long-grain rice has been recove-
red from other Phung Nguyen sites in the region (Nguyen
et al. 2004). The high rate of fertility at Man Bac was
perhaps tempered by an extremely high dependency ratio,
131
which suggests a rather difficult life. However, such a
conclusion needs to consider the observation that in many
agricultural societies children are, more often than not,
cared for by other children (Zeller 1987), thus freeing the
time of parents and other adult care givers for other tasks.
The costs associated with more children may not have
been that great at Man Bac, and indeed, the benefits in
terms of the economic contribution of the children may
have tipped the balance in favour of higher fertility.
Lillehammer’s (2000, 23) observation is relevant here:
“[i]n such a young population children could be raised in
a world of children, take care of other children and
contribute to society through child labour”.
Mortuary
Carr (1995, 165) found intra-cemetery grave location is
often reflective of kin relations. The apparent clustering
of inhumations as well as the observation that at least one
adult and a range of younger age categories form these
clusters, suggests family groupings, perhaps beneath
domestic, mortuary or other structures at Man Bac. Three
more basic aspects of mortuary treatment at Man Bac
include: (1) the orientation of the body (generally head to
the east and feet to the west); (2) supine burials with arms
at sides for the most part; and (3) the inclusion of the
default grave good, a ceramic that was often in the form
of a redware pot. Body orientation and positioning are
often, ethnographically, associated with philosophical
and/or religious beliefs (Carr 1995). The ubiquity of
pottery may also have a more fundamental eschatological
meaning as well, rather than being a signifier of
individual identity or some aspect of social organisation at
Man Bac.
The number of ceramic objects and other, non-ceramic,
material culture were perhaps used to denote aspects of
identity. For instance, adult males (outnumber females
7:4) are not uniquely distinguished by any form or
quantity of grave furnishings. Nephrite beads are not
found in adult female burials and are only seen in the
richest male grave and the 2 to 3 year old child interred in
a pot (MB05 B01). Further, clay pellets were found in the
same male grave and the graves of two young children
(MB05 B01 and B03) but not in adult female graves.
Adult females, on the other hand, are interred with a range
of non-ceramic objects absent in adult male graves but
seen in children’s graves, shell artefacts being the most
common. Intriguingly, one adult female and an unsexed
16 year old subadult possess the only two worked bone
implements used as grave furnishings, while another adult
female and a 5 year old child are the only individuals to
possess nephrite adzes.
In the absence of DNA sexing of the children it is difficult
to discuss the possible implications regarding the children
and gender. Nonetheless, it seems apparent, with the
current sample at least, that some females and some
children were interred with similar types of objects,
particularly shell ornaments and apparent implements
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
(nephrite adzes and bone tools for instance), while
nephrite beads and clay pellets are found in the graves of
children and an apparently high status male. If it is
accepted that modes of production are generally passed on
along gender lines in small scale societies (Goody 1989;
Grimm 2000), it may be that females controlled both the
economic activities, and the reproduction or transmission
of associated skill sets, associated with nephrite adzes,
bone implements and perhaps shell implements (only one
child has what may be interpreted as shell implements:
see below) and shell ornaments at Man Bac.
What the association between nephrite beads and clay
pellets with a high status male and two children is remains
more ambiguous. The small (approximately 1 cm
diameter) spherical clay pellets were ubiquitous in the
upper layers and have been excavated in many other sites
in prehistoric Thailand. Ethnographically, such pellets are
used as projectiles in a bamboo bow for the hunting of
small animals such as birds (Higham & Kijngam 1984,
197). The jar burial child (MB05 B01) was too disturbed
to determine exactly how the pellet related to the rest of
the material culture of this burial. However, with the other
child, aged 18 months (MB05 B03), the pellet was
associated with broken pottery. Crawford (2000) has
recounted several Anglo-Saxon examples of possible
rattles where children were interred with pots containing
nails or stones. At the least, it is worth considering the
types of objects children may collect or use in play.
Crawford (2000, 174) notes “that where Anglo-Saxon
children do use material objects as the focus of play, these
items are requisitioned from their environment or from
the adult world”.
One of the most interesting burials is the 8 to 9 year old
child (B24) interred with two globular pots at the head, a
cowrie necklace, a large bivalve (perhaps knives) grasped
in each hand and placed on what appears to be a compact
bed of crushed shell (for rather obvious reasons this child
was nicknamed the ‘shell child’). Because this individual
is unique it becomes particularly difficult to interpret.
Carr (1995, 174) notes there is a shift from personal
identity to social categories in mortuary treatment with
increases in socio-political complexity. The mortuary
treatment of the shell child may be more an expression of
important aspects of the child’s identity than anything
else. No other interment at Man Bac has provided an
example whereby the deceased had been positioned in a
way that suggests active engagement with a piece of
material culture. Without exception, material culture is
positioned by or on the body in a passive manner (adze
placed on the chest or pot placed between the legs for
instance).
Why was this child singled out for such treatment? What
is this staged engagement with these “knives” supposed to
represent? These questions are, of course, impossible to
answer but open to speculation. Minimally, it is argued
here, the shell child was an active social and perhaps
economic agent in this community. Children clearly
132
participate “in social and economic life” (Sofaer Dereven-
ski 2000, 11) and are not simply passive and dependent
consumers. Zeller (1987) summarises a number of ethno-
graphic studies of agricultural, pastoral and hunter-
gatherer communities and finds substantive economic
contributions can begin as early as 3 years of age,
although the period between 6 and 10 years appeared to
be more important or common in terms of initial eco-
nomic contributions. In such a context, an 8 to 9 year old
child might conceivably be seen as an accomplished craft-
sperson in their own right, if aspects of his/her economic
prowess are being observed here.
Both gender and vertical social position can be signified
by the type of grave furnishing placed with the deceased
(see Carr 1995, 169), although the type of artefacts, and
particularly the quantity, are weakly associated with
vertical rank (Tainter 1978; Carr 1995). That this inter-
ment is unique may be reason enough to see the child as
having some form of exceptional status in the community,
or within her/his family at least, while the presence of so
much shell suggests the child may have been female.
Whether such an individual was still a child is difficult to
assess. In 7th century Anglo-Saxon Britain, for instance,
children were legally adult at 10 years old (Crawford
1991).
If we focus on children’s interments it can be seen that
their graves are characterised by the exclusion and inclu-
sion of a range of objects, some shared with adult females
as already mentioned. With one possible exception only
children’s (all less than 3 years at death) interments can
lack any form of grave good. The possible exception
(B10, adult male approximately 40 years at death) was
poorly preserved and its lack of grave furnishings may be
more a feature of taphonomic process than a lack of
mortuary treatment. In fact 11/25 children, all aged 2
years or less, lack grave goods of any form. The lack of
non-perishable grave goods with many children less than
2 suggests an important threshold or social milestone is
achieved once a child turns 2 years of age.
While half of the children aged 2 years or younger did not
receive non-perishable grave furnishings, very young
infants, the six month old infant B3 for instance, could be
afforded potentially specially produced miniaturised
ceramics as grave furnishings. Further, only young
children, albeit rarely, received any clear form of grave
boundaries, whether in terms of encasement in a pot or
demarcation of the grave using stones. Such children
could be interpreted in the context of ascribed status, but
this seems unlikely as the only reasonably clear form of
vertical differentiation seen at Man Bac is age-based, with
a correlation between an increasing number of ceramics
and increasing age-at-death. Over compensated parental
grief is often the competing alternative in such cases (e.g.
Parker Pearson 1999, 77-78), but is impossible to verify.
It is worth noting that both social factors and philo-
sophical/religious factors are commonly associated with
formal grave demarcation (Carr 1995). Again, in lieu of
 M. OXENHAM ET AL.: CHILDHOOD IN LATE NEOLITHIC VIETNAM: BIO-MORTUARY INSIGHTS INTO AN AMBIGUOUS LIFE STAGE
any other evidence suggesting the presence of anything
other than some form of age-based vertical differentiation
at Man Bac, formal grave demarcation (by way of stone
arrangements or pot burials) may be saying more about
aspects of the eschatology of the Man Bac community
than anything else.
The reasons for the increased energy expenditure in some
children’s graves and minimal mortuary treatment in
others are unclear. Nonetheless, it is clear that children of
all ages were recognised as worthy of mortuary ritual and
thus arguably recognised as individuals, people or at least
members of the community. In what is otherwise a
relatively egalitarian community, differential mortuary
behaviour may be indicative of choice in individual
mortuary treatment open to parents and/or carers of
deceased children, in the sense of Hodder (1982, 186). As
long as certain conventions, perhaps burial in a certain
orientation and within a family cluster, were maintained
relatives of dead children may have had considerable
flexibility in what was interred, if anything at all, with
their young.
CONCLUSIONS
The aim of this paper was to explore aspects of how
children were perceived some 3500 years ago in northern
Vietnam and also to examine facets of the health of these
same children at Man Bac.
Interpretations of the health of children at Man Bac must
be tempered by the observation that we are looking at the
children that didn’t make it into adulthood. Presumably
those children that did survive into later life were
somewhat healthier than the ones that have left their
remains at an arrested period of development: death in
childhood. Nonetheless, it seems apparent that physiolo-
gical insult manifesting as cribra orbitalia was a serious
health risk associated with childhood at all ages, while the
lack of deciduous enamel hypoplasia perhaps indicates
some forms of physiological insult were not occurring
until at least after the first year of life. One of the greatest,
specific, health risks was in the form of early childhood
caries. The aetiology of ECC is complex and the risk
factors associated with this disease at Man Bac are un-
clear. However, in some individual cases extreme forms
of ECC and active cribra orbitalia no doubt contributed to
poor health, and perhaps even an early death. Many of the
children of Man Bac seem to have experienced sub-
optimal levels of well being.
The large number of children at Man Bac has been
interpreted as suggesting high levels of fertility, which is
consistent with a community either transitioning into an
agricultural mode of subsistence or intensifying their
agricultural base. The costs associated with caring for
the extra number of children alive at any given time in
this community was likely offset by the economic
contributions of these children. Further, it is likely that
133
children at Man Bac were raised in a community of
many other children that both cared for and took care of
each other.
In terms of attitudes towards children, everyone received
some form of basic mortuary treatment regardless of age.
That everyone buried at Man Bac had access to such
rights, and that some children (as young as six months
old) received special treatment suggests that children had
value or at least were worthy of recognition: in other
words, children were also people. While all children
received some form of mortuary treatment, by their
second birthday it was necessary for all children to
receive some form of non-perishable material culture.
This may be indicative of a special social and/or
developmental milestone in childhood.
In terms of gender, adult females and some children could
share certain forms of material culture, especially shell.
Whether this means that children were seen as having
gender is difficult to determine. Some children may have
received ‘female’ grave inclusions because they were
themselves female, or simply because they were not
perceived of as having gender and could thus be buried
with a range of otherwise adult gender-specific material
culture. Perhaps more important is that some of the arte-
facts interred with children have economic connotations
and suggest that children had an economic role in the
community. The case of the 8 or 9 year old shell child is
also suggestive of both economic value and a further
social and/or developmental stage: it may well be that
childhood finished rather early at Man Bac.
In summary, many of the non-surviving children of Man
Bac had demonstrably sub-optimal health prior to their
eventual death. The high level of fertility suggests many
children were alive in the community at any given time.
Many of these children were likely economic and
certainly social contributors to the community. Mortuary
treatment of children reflects the esteem in which they
were held and also, in some cases, certain life stages
through which they passed.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Sian Halcrow, University
of Otago, for providing comparative data on childhood
oral health in prehistoric Thailand. Part of this research
was made possible by way of a Grant-in-Aid from the
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No.
15405018), a Toyota Foundation Grant (D006-R-35), and
a National Australian University FRGS (2004/5) Grant.
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 A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS:
THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA
Tatiana MISHINA
Archaeological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, tnmishina@mail.ru

Abstract: The prehistoric tradition of burying infants within the settlements is well known from the wide territory of Mesopotamia,
Anatolia and southeast Europe. In the Balkans, this phenomenon has been known as early as the Neolithic; it has been also found in
Chalcolithic and early Bronze Age contexts. The early Bronze Age layers at Tell Yunatsite in Bulgarian Thrace have yielded a total
of 26 infant burials, all of them within the settlement’s area. The burial rite follows two patterns: jar burials (22), and pit burials (4
burials). They are considered according to a number of criteria: location within the settlement, association of the burials with
certain part of the house, their relation to the features of the house interior, burial construction, and age details.
Keywords: burial patterns, Early Bronze Age, Bulgarian Thrace

Résumé: La tradition préhistorique d’enterrer des enfants dans les territoires des sites est bien connue au territoire vaste de
Messopotamie, Anatolie et Europe de sud-est. Aux Balkans, ce phénomène est connu dès le periode Néolithique; on l’a aussi trouvé
aux contextes chalcolithiques et du Bronze ancient. Les couches du Bronze ancient a Tell Yunatsite en Thrace bulgare ont revelées
26 sépultures d’enfants et tous sont au territoire du site. Le ritual d’enterrement avait deux moyens differents: enterrement en vase
(22) ou enterrement dans la cavitée d'un tombe. Les sépultures ont été analyzés selon les indices plusieurs: location au territoire du
site, l’association avec une certaine partie de la maison, les relations avec certain attributes d'intérieur de la maison, construction et
l’age.
Mots Clefs: rites funéraire, Bronze ancien, Thrace bulgare

The tradition of burying infants within the settlement area
and often in the houses is a steady phenomenon,
practically spread over universally. It was preserved for a
very long time. In the Balkans, it is known from the
Neolithic, and then was widely spread in the Chalcolithic
and Early Bronze Age. Intramural burials are rather
common for the Early Bronze Age (EBA) sites in Thrace.
Besides at Tell Yunatsite (Ivantchik 1994; Katincharov &
Matsanova 1993; Mishina 2005), they are known from a
number of sites: Ezero, Nova Zagora (both burials of
adults and infants), Karanovo, Dyadovo, Galabovo,
Ognyanovo (Detev & Matsanova 1977, 52f; Georgiev et
al. 1979, 491ff; Katincharov et al. 1985, 68; Katincharov
1987, 63ff; Panayotov 1991, 34f; Nikolov et al. 2002,
24ff; Kancheva-Russeva 2000, 31ff), between others.
However, the rite of burying infants within the settlement
territory has not been yet unanimously explained. It seems
as if such interpretations can hardly be suggested at all. It
is also possible that these burials represent ‘foundation
offerings’ (Katincharov 1979). As a rule, children were
buried when the houses have still been used. Such burials
have also been explained with the ‘dead cult” (Bibikov
1953). The ‘dead cult’, however, more likely suggests a
relation of the living community members to their adult
dead but not to infants. These burials have also been
explained with the fertility cult (Antonova 1990, 106f).
Alternatively, it was suggested not to interpret them as
burial contexts at all (Boyadzhiev 2001, 22).
Only one cemetery simultaneous with these EBA
intramural burials was excavated, near Tell Bereketska
yielding a total of seventy four burials. This site was
investigated long ago, which is the reason for the rather
limited information one can find in the recent publication
(Kalčev 2002).
All the above-mentioned sites are situated in Central
Thrace, east of Yunatsite, and are encompassed in the
Ezero culture area. Unfortunately, it is difficult to use
them for a detailed comparative analysis, since the
available data are insufficient. This is especially true
when speaking of burial pits because they have very
rarely been established. This situation is mirrored by the
recent compendium on the EBA burials from Bulgaria
published by M. Menkova (2003, 136).
In this paper, the author will consider the infant burials
yielded by the EBA layers at Tell Yunatsite in Bulgarian
Thrace.
Balkan tells are characterized by more or less clearly cut
stratigraphic sequences, which is very important for
stratigraphic reconstructions. At Tell Yunatsite, cultural
deposits of the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze and Early Iron
Age were revealed. The EBA horizons overlay the layer
of buried soil and the Chalcolithic deposits, and are
overlaid by the layer of the Iron Age (Fig. 15.1).
Within the Yunatsite culture area (the western part of
Bulgarian Thrace), the eponymous site at Yunatsite is so
far the only one where such a numerous sample of
intramural burials was excavated. They could be divided
into two unequal groups. Only two adult burials have
been found (Mishina 2002), while the cultural deposits of
Tell Yunatsite yielded a total of twenty-eight infant
burials. Twenty-six of them are considered here because
their stratigraphic position is reliable enough. For the time

137
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 15.1. Horizontally compressed scheme of the central cross-section
being, this sample of infant burials is the most numerous
in Bulgaria.
All infant burials – coming from the EBA horizons from
XVI/XVII to X – are analyzed according to a number of
criteria, taking into account the stratigraphic data (Fig.
15.2).
No infant burials were found in horizon IX and further
upward. At Tell Yunatsite, this is an important, most
probably, transitional phase from EBA II to EBA III
(according to the Bulgarian chronology). All infant graves
have been attributed to EBA I and II, respectively. We
cannot rule out the fortuity of this situation because at
some sites in Thrace, infant burials have been also found
in the EBA III layers (Tell Karanovo).
Generally speaking, the pattern of infant burials’
distribution by horizons from XVI/XVII to X seems
constant and steady. This fact points to certain stability of
life at the EBA settlements; possibly, the population did
not suffer from mass diseases and epidemics. The number
of infant burials in the horizons of different dates is not
138
the same. It varies from three to five burials per horizon.
Burials were not found in all excavated houses. Of forty-
seven investigated houses, seventeen yielded burials
(somewhat over one third). On the other hand, one house
could contain several burials (Fig. 15.3).
Spatial distribution of intramural burials at archaeological
sites has long ago become a research subject. Different
criteria have been used to find a relation between the sex
and age of the dead, on the one hand, and their location
within the site, on the other hand (Binford 1968;
Antonova 1990, 86-89, 104-110; Bacvarov 2003, 111).
When discussing this aspect we should take into account
the spatial structure of Tell Yunatsite, with the houses
forming a curve. The spatial structure of all horizons up to
horizon IX is similar. The latitudinal or longitudinal
orientation was not relevant when discussing burials’
distribution; only the reference points related to the house
interior have been taken into account.
In order to establish which sections of the house have
mainly been used for burials, house interior was divided
into several zones:
 T. MISHINA: A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA

Fig. 15.2. Distribution of infant burials by horizons

Fig. 15.3. Houses with/without infant burials by horizons

Near the short wall 9 burials concerning the spatial distribution of infant burials (Fig.
Near the long wall 7 burials
15.4); therefore, infants did not have a central status in
family/community, but nevertheless they held a very
Near the partition wall 2 burials important place.
In the corner 5 burials
In the central part of the house 1 burial At first it seems that no specific features could be found
in the spatial distribution of burials within houses, as for
some ritual details such as burying infants in vessels – jar
No relation with the stratigraphy has been revealed: burials – or just in pits. Still, some characteristics may be
burials were located near the long walls of the houses in pointed out. First, the only burial in the central part of the
all horizons where they have been found. It was house was deposited in a pit. Second, almost all pit
established that the graves have mostly been arranged in burials (three of four) were overlaid by house floors.
the peripheral sections of the house: near the walls and in Third, the jar burials were located near the house walls
the corners. Obviously no strict regulations existed only.

139
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 15.4. Location of burials in the houses

Fig. 15.5. Houses with double burials

In the most cases of a burial cluster in one house, the are situated at some distance from each other; certain
spatial distribution shows that the burials were not opposite symmetry could be found in their spatial
simultaneous. This is completely clear because the burials distribution (Fig. 15.5). These ‘symmetrically arranged’

140
 T. MISHINA: A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA

burials were placed near the long wall of the house close
to each other or at a distance but on the same line. They
also could have been deposited near the same long or
short wall, near the opposite short walls or rather far from
the long wall, approximately parallel to the burials.

No superimposed burials attributed to the same horizon

have been discovered. It means that the inhabitants of this
house knew of the earlier burials. At the same time, infant
burials were often disturbed by the post-holes of later ho-
uses belonging to upper horizons/settlements. Obviously,
the memory about the burials’ location was preserved
during the life-cycle of one settlement, i.e. during the life-
time of one generation of its inhabitants only.

The most of the burials had no surface indications. There

are eleven such cases. Five burials were found under
houses, four of them near or under the oven (Fig. 15.6).
Noteworthy, as late as the end of nineteenth century in
south Europe, infants were often buried near the ovens.
An infant was considered “socially inferior and related to
its mother only. This relation was preserved in the Fig. 15.7. Burial # 17, with surface marking
afterlife as well. Even in the nineteenth century, the
southern Slavs practiced infant burials not in coffins but
in vessels, which symbolized mother’s womb” (Lozakova
1989, 27f).

Fig. 15.6. Burial # 13, near the oven

Fig. 15.8. Burial # 25

Five burials had got surface marks. These were as
follows: two flat stones placed over the grave (1); an area
covered with small pebbles (2); an enclosure built of
seven posts and two big flat stones (1); an area separated
from the house interior (Fig. 15.7). A wide set of surface
marks were used to indicate burials within the house; their
character was probably determined by various factors but
it is clear that special attention has been paid to the burial
location.
Infants were buried in pits or in vessels deposited in pits.
Four burials were performed in pits, without vessels (Fig.
15.8). Pits were used for burials both of infants under 1
year of age and somewhat older. No connection was
established between the age of the dead and the type of
burial context. The orientation of the dead varied; most
probably, it was determined by the location of the burial
within the house. The position of the infants buried in pits
was various as far as the house interior is concerned.
Thus, one infant was buried with its head aligned to the
house wall, and the rest were buried along the long axis of
the house. This group comprised one infant buried in the
central part of the house, and two more by the walls. The
latter were in various positions with regard to the
wall: one with its face and the other with its back turned
to it.

141
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 15.9. Burial # 41, slanting pit

Fig. 15.10. Burial # 45, slanting pit

142
 T. MISHINA: A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA
Fig. 15.11. Types of burial vessels
Another group, rather numerous (22), includes jar burials
in pits. Six jar burials were performed in oval pits, and
only one in a rectangular pit. Two pits have not been dug
vertically but with certain obliquity (Figs. 15.9 and
15.10).
At Tell Yunatsite, no special vessels were produced for
burials (Fig. 15.11). For this purpose, various types of
vessels were used: jugs, bowls, pots with or without lugs,
or even bottom parts of broken vessels. Among these,
jugs clearly dominated (10), and were in use from horizon
XVI/XVII till X. Pots were used more rarely (5) during
the same period. Single infants were buried in amphora-
like vessels, and in bowls (Fig. 15.12). All these types are
represented in the household ceramic assemblage of Tell
Yunatsite. Some burial vessels were supplied with lids
(Fig. 15.8). Those were found in six cases when jugs had
been used for containers. Bowls or big potsherds were
used as lids (Figs. 15.11 and 15.13). Besides, the field
logs suggest that not all of the vessels were discovered
full of soil. This fact may point to non-preserved lids, first
of all made of some other, most likely, organic material.
In this sense I should also stress on the variability of
mortuary practices.
No special shapes of burial vessels existed; it was the size
of the container that mattered. All the above-mentioned
vessels were of big size. Certain authors have pointed to
143
the “special types of coffin-vessels used for infant
burials”. Bulgarian ethnographer Lozakova argued that
burials of the discussed type had been practiced in the
Balkans until the late nineteenth century. Such vessels
symbolized mother’s womb. In this sense, the usage of
vessels was evidently related to the idea that the infant,
who had not passed the first stage of initiation, was
regarded as unborn yet, and as such closely related to the
mother. Burial rite brought it back to its origins (Van
Gennep 1960).
The data available on the burial vessels’ context at Tell
Yunatsite has also been considered. In most cases, the
spatial distribution of burials in jugs and pots is identical.
Single burials in bowl or amphora have parallels in the
more numerous groups. As for the burials outside of the
houses (in the ‘yards’), the dead were deposited in pots or
in a vessel of unclear shape. Thus, it may be argued, that
no correlation existed between the type of the vessel used
as burial container, and the burial’s location within the
house.
Nineteen jar burials represented single burials of infants.
For the first time in this sample, three burials contained
the bones of two babies.
The infants’ position in the vessels could rarely be esta-
blished. As a rule, skulls were discovered on the top of
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 15.12. Burial # 10, in a bowl with a lid
the heap of other bones uncovered in disorder on the
bottom or at the vessel’s side. This position is typical of
jugs and high pots used as containers, and could
conventionally be termed as ‘contracted/sitting’. Most
probably, the infants were put in high vessels their feet
down, in contracted position similar to that of an embryo
(with contracted legs, and arms bent in the elbows).
The only burial in a bowl covered with another bowl
belonged to an infant six months old (burial # 10). The
body was laid on its side in strongly contracted position,
which was determined by the necessity to put it in the
bottom of the bowl. Obviously, position of the dead
144
depended on their age and the shape of the vessel; it was
also important to imitate the position of an embryo.
No reliable data exists on the presence of grave goods in
the jar burials. As with the infant burials in pits, single
artifacts recovered from burial vessels could have been
accidental; for instance, two flint blade fragments in
burial # 45. Equally arbitrary is the attribution of several
beads found close to the disturbed burial # 8. It is
noteworthy that the infant jar burials from the tells at
Ezero, Dyadovo and Galabovo as well as from the sites at
Nova Zagora and Ognyanovo did not contain grave
goods.
 T. MISHINA: A SOCIAL ASPECT OF INTRAMURAL INFANT BURIALS’ ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF EBA TELL YUNATSITE, BULGARIA
Fig. 15.13. Typological distribution of burial vessels
Of special interest is the fact that these burial phenomena
coexisted for centuries with the universally spread
Christian ritual standards. And this is only a particular
case, a detail of a general picture, since infant jar burials
deposited under house floors were practiced for millennia
parallel to various models of burial rites performed for
other age groups. They appeared in the early farming sites
of the Near East.
CONCLUSIONS
From this consideration it becomes clear that, on the one
hand, the intramural infant burials from Tell Yunatsite
form a group with variable burial rites. Burials were
performed both in pits and jars; the positions of the dead
varied; various types of ordinary vessels were used as
burial containers; the location for burial in the house was
not strictly regulated. Jar burials are considered as an
exception from the general burial practice of the time
known from a number of sites. (Thus, at the simultaneous
cemetery at Tell Bereketska, seventy-two burials of adults
have been excavated; they demonstrate absolutely
standard and steady burial rite, which included standard
orientation and position of the dead (contracted on their
sides); all burials contained fixed set of grave goods.)
These considerations seem to be true exactly of infant
burials, which should be interpreted separately from the
other age groups, as it was already demonstrated. The age
group under discussion (infants and children under
eighteen months) held special social status. Actually, it
was a status of non-persons, which well corresponds to
the view formulated by Leach (1976). Infants had not yet
passed the ‘separation/socialization rite’, and therefore for
certain period they were perceived as ‘socially inferior’
individuals, having not passed the first rite of passage, as
Van Gennep argued. The burial of an infant, who had not
achieved the first stage of initiation, was probably con-
sidered a private business of its mother (relatives/family).
These persons performed the traditional rite aimed at pro-
viding new births, which is clear from the vessel’s symbo-
lism of a womb, and the embryo-like position of the dead.
On the other hand, the jar burials from Tell Yunatsite
evidence of certain regulation of the burial practice,
145
although its many aspects remain unclear because of
numerous information gaps. Like many other sites, all
infant burials at Tell Yunatsite were performed within the
settlement area, mainly in the houses. Within the houses,
burial vessels were disposed in secluded places, not to be
disturbed. Various types of ordinary vessels were used as
burial containers, mostly jugs and pots. One cannot rule
out that the choice of vessel type was determined by the
dead infants’ sex. Vessels were sealed with lids. No grave
goods were given to the infants.
The separate position occupied by infant burials in
general burial practices is a specific ritual phenomenon,
which may be extrapolated to all archaic farming
societies. It emerged in these cultures, coexisted with
various systems of world-outlook and corresponding
forms of burial rite; in traditional farming societies, it has
survived till now. In certain regions, this rite sporadically
manifested itself among Christian population, which
obviously should be regarded as an archaic element of the
traditional culture. The ubiquitous presence of the
discussed phenomenon in human culture points to the
fundamental nature of this archetype. That is why
intramural infant burials must be regarded separately from
the burials of other age groups characterized by changing
burial rite reflecting transformations in their world-
outlook. The burial rites performed for infants, who had
not received certain social status, remained unchanged for
millennia. No doubt, different cultural traditions had some
specific ritual details. To bring them to light, however,
new research is necessary.
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 PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB
CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?
Marina V. ANDREEVA
Archaeological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, amvlad@rambler.ru

Abstract: This paper considers the individual and collective burials of the East Manych catacomb culture dating back to the second
half of the third millennium BC (the Middle Bronze Age). 440 individual and 60 collective burials were analyzed, the major part of
these being dug in kurgans of the earlier Pit Grave, North-Caucasian or Early Catacomb cultures. Using the categories of infants,
children, pre-adults and adults, four groups each of individual and collective burials were created.
Key words: Catacomb culture, East Manych, pre-adult burials, adult burials, infanticide

Résume: Cet article considère les sépultures individuelles et collectives de la culture des sépultures à catacombes de Manych-Est
remontant à la deuxième moitié du troisième millénium avant J.-C. (l’âge de bronze moyen). 440 sépultures individuels et 60
collectifs ont été analysés, la plupart de ces dernières étant creusées dans les kurgans des cultures précédentes de Yamnaya, Nord-
Caucasienne ou Pré-Catacombes. En utilisant les catégories d’enfants en bas âge, d’enfants, de pré-adultes et d’adultes, quatre
groupes, chaqun d’enterrements individuels et collectifs, ont été créés.
Mots Clefs: Culture des sépultures à catacombes, Manych-Est, sépultures de pré-adultes et d’adultes, infanticide

INTRODUCTION MATERIAL AND METHODS

The archaeological cultures in the steppe and forest-
steppe zone of Eastern Europe in the Bronze Age are
known mainly because of the research on materials from
kurgan (barrow) cemeteries containing individual and
collective burials of all ages and both sexes. Unfortuna-
tely, the large-scale kurgan excavations carried out in
1970s and 1980s, which yielded thousands of Bronze Age
burials, rarely included qualified bioarchaeological
research. Recent investigations gradually fill in this gap.
Using accumulated archive data, however, archaeologists
often have to work with approximate age determinations
and rarely can be quite sure about the sex of the buried
individuals.
The starting points for a reconstruction of the social
relations according to cemetery evidence are as follows:
– All common cemeteries (where rest the skeletal remains
of all social groups of the respective society) of
traditional societies were family based;
– Steppe kurgans in the Eneolithic and Bronze Age were
not only cemeteries but also ancestor sanctuaries as
well as territory markers of clan/lineage pasture
grounds that claimed them as “ancestors’ lands”;
– Deposing of several bodies in one grave can be
regarded as representation of close family relations.
This paper considers the individual and collective burials
of the East Manych catacomb culture (the name is derived
from the River Manych, left tributary of the Lower Don,
important river way of the steppe region north of the
Caucasus). Burial sites of this culture, left by nomadic
pastoral tribes, are found in the steppes of Kalmykia and
Stavropol krai; according to the series of calibrated
radiocarbon dates, they date back to the second half of the
third millennium BC.
The database compiled for investigation of general ritual
characteristics includes 581 East Manych burial assembla-
ges (459 individual burials, 65 collective burials and 57
cenotaphs) coming from 248 barrows at 27 sites. All
assemblages from these sites referred to as East Manych
were included in the database.
The major part of these assemblages was dug in kurgans
of the earlier Pit Grave, North-Caucasian or Early Cata-
comb cultures. The density of East Manych assemblages
in kurgans is not high; it averaged to 2.6 burials per
kurgan (from 1 to 12). The burials were made in various
directions from the center, mostly in the eastern side of
the barrow. The low density and the diversity of age-and-
sex combinations of the deceased in the same kurgan as
well as the variability of kurgan plans do not give us any
chance to associate any kurgan with certain family group.
The burial structures were dug in the sub-soil or in the
mound itself. Two structure types, catacombs and pits,
were used simultaneously. The deceased were buried on
the left side, in a contracted position, with their heads to
the south. The burial chambers contained handmade
pottery and incense-cups, bronze knives, awls and in a
number of cases, stone tools (pestles and anvils). Rare and
prestigious things were represented by wooden wagons,
bronze hooks, adzes and axe-adzes, stone axes and mace
heads, personal adornments as bronze and gold temporal
rings, beads and pendants made of various materials,
mainly of glass, bronze and bone.
This research is based on 440 individual and 60 collective
burials1.
1
The general selection contains 19 individual burials with unspecified
age; for 5 collective burials, the contemporaneity of the skeletal remains
disposed of in one burial structure but in different chambers, or in a
chamber and entrance shaft of the same catacomb, cannot be proved.

149
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 16.1. Individual burials: 1 Chograi – VIII, к.30 b.9; 2 Chograi – II, к.10 b.3; 3 Veselaya Rosha – III, к.15 b.9;
4 Chograi – VIII, к.30 b.2; 5 Zunda Tolga к.1 b.1; 6 Chograi – IX, к.9 b.4; 7 Arharinsky к.28, b.5

The age of only 81 of 440 skeletons (18.4%), coming the rest, the archaeologists who had excavated them,
from individual burials, and 15 skeletons of a total of 127 determined their age using such terms as baby, child, pre-
(11.8%), coming from collective burials, was determined adult, juvenile or adult. I had to use the generalized
(mostly by the bioarchaeologist G.P. Romanova). As for determinations of both archaeologists and bioarchaeolo-

150
 M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

gists. This is stressed by the commonly accepted terms
used in this paper: infant, 0-2 years; child, 3-7 years; pre-
adult, 8-15 years, adult, older than 15 years. When
possible, more accurate data are used2.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
young children only; see Korobov 2003, 165f). Such a
natural socio-biological border could have coincided with
the end of breast feeding. This moment is known to be
celebrated by special rituals (feasts) in many traditional
societies, especially those related with the pastoralist
economy. Also, the discussed border could coincide with
the moment when a child is able to walk independently.

I. Individual burials (Fig. 16.1)
According to these categories, four groups (selections I-
IV) of individual burials were created (Table 16.1,
Diagram 1).
As far as children (selection II) are concerned, the small
size of this group makes us assume that only a part of
them was buried in the kurgans individually. To make this
situation clear, it would perhaps be necessary to consider
the child sex determination in particular.

The infant and child burials are distinguished from the

Table 16.1. Individual burials age selections pre-adult and adult ones by some particular features:

Selection Age Number % 1. Individual infant/child burials never occupied central

position in a kurgan. These graves are usually smaller
I infant 11 2.5%
than pre-adult/adult graves, according to the bodies’
II child 42 9.5% size.
III pre-adult 52 11.8%
2. As a rule, infant/child burials were not the only burials
IV adult 335 76.1% in a barrow. Deposition of infants and children was
Total: 440 100.0% therefore regulated by the presence of a burial of senior
person who can be termed “a child’s guide” (to
designate this specific function we use the original
meaning of the Greek word pedagogue). This child’s
guide could have been buried in the same burial
Infants structure together with the guided child or in a separate
structure1 but in the same barrow. The role of a child’s
guide most often was played by a bearer of the East
Children
Individual Manych cultural tradition, but it could have been
played also by a representative of an earlier cultural
Collective
Pre-adults phase, if accompanied by children graves of the same
culture.
Adults 3. On rare occasions, a special cemetery of 2 to 5 burials
of children and/or pre-adults was created in the barrow.
0,0% 20,0% 40,0% 60,0% 80,0% It could have belonged entirely to the East Manych
culture or it could have been a multicultural unit,
comprising burials of different chrono-cultural phases.
Diagram 1. Age groups ratios in individual (440
individuals) and collective (127 individuals) burials 4. The grave goods also vary; infant and child remains
were accompanied mainly by pottery vessels and in-
cense-cups. Bronze tools and prestigious things appear
only in some pre-adult and adult burials (Table 16.2).
The first thing to mention is that individual infant burials
are practically absent while children are poorly repre-
So, the dependent status and stressed identity of mortuary
sented. Even taking into account both poor state of
ritual of the younger age groups seem obvious.
preservation of young children and inadequate excavation
techniques, this difference is too large to be considered
accidental. Besides, it is noteworthy that infant mortality II. Collective burials (Figs. 16.2-5)3
rate must have been much higher than it is demonstrated
by individual burials. Obviously “standard” burial prac- The bulk of double burials and all of the graves conta-
tices required no deposition of infants in the kurgan until ining larger number of deceased (over a half of all burials)
they reached certain moment of socialization and cones- clearly belong to individuals of different generations
quent separation from their mothers as individuals (for (adults with infants and children) (Table 16.3).
instance, Caucasian Alans reserved certain cemeteries for
The number of adults in one burial does not exceed two.
2
The number of sex determinations made by bioarchaeologists is even Double burials of adult and infant, adult and child or two
more meager: 53 assemblages in the selection of individual burials
3
(12.1%) and 15 in the selection of collective burials (11.8%). More detailed analysis of collective burials see in Andreeva 2005.

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BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 16.2. Grave goods in individual burials (number of burials)

Selections Total
Grave good
I. Infants II. Children III. Pre-adults IV. Adults
categories
% % % % %
Vessels 11 100.0% 20 47.6% 27 51.9% 192 57.3% 250 56.8%
Incense-cups 3 27.3% 11 26.2% 15 28.8% 84 25.1% 113 25.7%
Knives 0 0.0% 2 4.8% 8 15.4% 71 21.2% 81 18.4%
Awls 0 0.0% 2 4.8% 6 11.5% 52 15.5% 60 13.6%
Pestles 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 1.9% 25 7.5% 26 5.9%
Temporal rings 0 0.0% 1 2.4% 2 3.8% 12 3.6% 15 3.4%
Hooks 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 1.9% 8 2.4% 9 2.0%
Wagons 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 4 7.7% 9 2.7% 13 3.0%
Burials total 11 42 52 335 440

Table 16.3. Collective burial age selections Selection C: double burials of adults (14 burials, primary
group 7) (Fig. 16.4);
Primary
Age Number % Selection Selection D: double burials containing the remains of pre-
group
2 individuals adults in various combinations with pre-adults,
children or adults (12 burials, primary groups 3, 5, 6,
1 infant + adult 11 18.3% A 10) (Fig. 16.5). Selection D, unlike the first three
2 2 children 2 3.3% - selections, clearly displays its mixed and, so to say,
3 child + pre-adult 3 5.0% D buffer nature. It would be reasonable to resume this
discussion, however, only having considered the
4 child + adult 16 26.7% B
specific features of collective burials of adults with
5 2 pre-adults 4 6.7% D infants and children, on the one hand, and double
6 pre-adult + adult 4 6.7% D burials of adults.
7 2 adults 14 23.3% C
Collective burials in one burial chamber are represented
3 individuals
mainly by double burials (90%) whereas 5 assemblages
8 2 infants + adult 1 1.7% A containing 3 skeletons in one chamber each and the only
9 infant + 2 adults 1 1.7% A assemblage with 4 skeletons taken together make up 10%
of this selection.
10 2 children + pre-adult 1 1.7% D
11 2 children + adult 1 1.7% B It should be noticed that first and foremost, kurgan
child + pre-adult / collective burials from the Early and Middle Bronze Age
12 1 1.7% B
adult + adult are represented practically in all cemeteries and are an
4 individuals integral part of their structure though they neither define
nor distort it in any obvious way. On the other hand, it is
13 3 infants + adult 1 1.7% A
of importance that the ratio of collective burials in the
Total: 60 100.0% whole database of East Manych burial assemblages is
very similar at various sites; it approximately corresponds
to the average ranging from 8% to 13%. Therefore, the
adults represent steady series. The remains of infants are natural death of these individuals is disputable, as far as
not found together with non-adult individuals; child rema- the primary burials are concerned.
ins are always found together with skeletons of older indi-
viduals (pre-adults or adults). Four selections can be made: Of the specific features of collective (double) burials, I
Selection A: burials containing adults accompanied by should point to the relatively high ratio of secondary
infants (14 burials, including 11 double and 2 triple (partial, disarticulated; see the terminological discussion
burials as well as one containing 4 skeletons; primary in Smirnov 1997) burials of adult individuals: 12%
groups 1, 8, 9, 13) (Fig. 16.2); against 2.5% in the individual selection. No partial burials
of pre-adults in East Manych contexts, both collective and
Selection B: burials of adults accompanied by children (18 individual, are reliably recorded, perhaps partly because
burials, including 16 double and 2 triple burials; of the meager field logs. The discussed practice was
primary groups 4, 11, 12) (Fig. 16.3); applied to only one of the dead deposited in double

152
M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

Fig. 16.2. Double adult/infant burials (selection A): 1 Chograi – IX к.01 b.04; 2 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.54 b.06;
3 Arharinsky к.31 b.01; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.04 b.01; 5 Arharinsky к.02 b.05; 6 Elystinsky к.12 b.03;
7 Elystinsky к.08 b.06; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.34 b.04

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BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 16.3. Double adult/child burials (selection B): 1 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.34 b.06; 2 Vostochny Manych (left)
– I к.36 b.05; 3 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.54 b.04; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.04 b.07; 5 Elystinsky к.13 b.04;
6 Elystinsky к.02 b.08; 7 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.36 b.03; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) - II) к.33 b.03;
9 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.11 b.02

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 M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

Fig. 16.4. Double adult/adult burials (1-7, selection C) and adult/pre-adult burial (selection D): 1 Chograi – VIII к.09 b.03;
2 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.22 b.06; 3 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.37 b.06; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – II к.23 b.03; 5 Lola
– I к.04 b.07; 6 Chograi – IX к.05 b.05; 7 Vostochny Manych (left) – к.07 b.05; 8 Vostochny Manych (left) – I к.43 b.01

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BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Fig. 16.5. Double burials of pre-adults (1-5, selection D); collective burials of 3-4 individuals (6 and 8, selection A; 7,
selection B): 1 Veselaya Rosha – III к.24 b.07; 2 Veselaya Rosha – III к.07 b.13; 3 Ostrov к.03 b.27; 4 Vostochny Manych (left) – I
к.45 b.01; 5 Veselaya Rosha – III к.06 b.07; 6 Lola – I к.04 b.08; 7 Veselaya Rosha – III к.05 b.02; 8 Veselaya Rosha – I к.03 b.03

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 M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?
burials (three of seven assemblages contained burials of
adults accompanied by infants; four graves contained
skeletons of two adults). Taking into account the sharply
increased share of disarticulated skeletal remains in the
selection of collective burials, it seems possible to
suggest, at least hypothetically, that dismemberment of
the dead bodies – or the exhumation of burials described
by the excavators as disturbed – was due to the intention
to deposit these human remains in a future collective
burial.
Collective burials were performed in the traditional burial
structures, catacombs and pit graves both dug in the
subsoil or kurgan mound. The strict observation of the
collective burial rituals seems to be made clear from the
fact that their structures were dug in the subsoil more
often than the individual burial structures. These two
burial patterns do not differ in any substantial way from
each other, such as location in the mound (mainly its
eastern half), and orientation of the dead (mainly to the
south and east).
Compared to the age of the deceased in individual burials,
a trend to a sharp and clearly deliberate departure from
the collective burial practice for the younger individuals is
obvious (Diagram 1). The above circumstances are rather
convincing evidence of the existence of ritual standards
regulating the division of groups buried in one chamber as
well as of the domination of vertical (generation) relations
between the deceased.
Selections A and B
Of special interest is the unusually high percentage of
collective burials containing remains of adults accompa-
nied by infants up to 2 years (14 assemblages or 24.4%)
compared to the percentage of individual infant burials
(11 assemblages or 2.5%).
The comparison of selections A and B to the individual
infant and child burials yielded the following conclusions:
1. The variability of infants’ and children’s positions in
the burial chambers against the background of the
steady adults’ position (Figs. 16.2-3) is a convincing
evidence that it was the remains of the adult individual
that were considered as structure forming in the burial
chamber space.
2. As it was made clear by the analysis of individual
burials, it was not the presence of infants in the
collective burials that was the reason for the expanded
repertoire of prestigious grave goods categories (Table
16.4, Diagram 2); on the contrary, the prestigiousness
of funerary ritual involved deposition of newborns’
remains in the kurgan.
3. Bioarchaeological determinations of the age and sex of
deceased, buried in the same chamber together with
infants (5) and children (2), are not numerous, but the
data obtained disprove the common illusion of the
157
assemblages under investigation as obviously female,
or the mother and child/children cliché (Table 16.5).
4. Developing further the already proposed interpretation
model for the above burial structures as wagon houses
in which the closest relatives sojourn, I suggest here to
consider the simultaneous double burials of individuals
belonging to different generations, deposited together
in the same chamber, as symbolic manifestations of an
ancestor-descendant relations type.
5. The obviously intentional burial of members of
generations as “distant” as infants and senile in the
same graves makes their closest biological relationship
(parent – child) doubtful; they could hardly have been
brothers or in-laws as well. What we have here is
possibly the practice of adoption, which must have
been widely spread in a society based on blood
relationships and having a rather low life expectancy
(especially as far as women are concerned). Anyway,
when investigating the bearers of the East Manych
burial tradition, one should not reject a priori the
possibility of adoption practices as well as institutiona-
lized class relationships as an alternative of the
biological kinship.
Selections C and D
What is most important about selection C, which includes
double burials of adults, is that neither archaeologist nor
bioarchaeologist has ever recorded a single case of burial
of two individuals of the same sex together in the same
chamber. On the contrary, 6 burials contained the remains
of male/female pairs; the sex of the deceased in 3 burials
was determined by a bioarchaeologist and the rest were
determined by an archaeologist (Table 16.6).
In the rest of the burials, the sex of one or both
individuals has not been determined. Noteworthy, the
deceased buried together in the same chamber fall within
the same age group. At the same time, no triple burials of
individuals belonging to the same age group (in the wide
meaning assumed here) have been recorded in the studied
East Manych selection. Therefore for the time being,
despite the insufficient data, the rare examples of double
burials representing pairs of adults (male and female) may
be considered as evidence of the dominating standard of
pair (monogamous?) marriage.
Both males and females buried according to the standard
ritual practice could have been deposited in the burial
structure in an identical position: contracted on the left
side in front or behind the partner, i.e. “one behind the
other”; contracted on the left side near the partner’s
disarticulated remains arranged in a “heap” or “package”
(the sex of not a single individual of all four burials with
disarticulated remains has been determined); contracted
on the right side, with the face turned to the partner lying
on the left side. This latter type of spatial interrelation of
skeletal remains deserves special attention since it well
correlates, on the one hand, with a certain burial structure
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 16.4. Grave goods in collective burials (number of burials)

Selections Total
Grave goods
A B C D
categories
% % % % %
Vessels 14 100.0% 11 61.1% 10 71.4% 10 83.3% 46 79.3%
Incense-cups 5 35.7% 2 11.1% 5 35.7% 6 50.0% 19 32.8%
Knives 6 42.9% 4 22.2% 4 28.6% 3 25.0% 17 29.3%
Awls 7 50.0% 1 5.6% 4 28.6% 2 16.7% 14 24.1%
Pestles 2 14.3% 2 11.1% 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 6 10.3%
Temporal rings 3 21.4% 0 0.0% 1 7.1% 0 0.0% 4 6.9%
Hooks 3 21.4% 0 0.0% 1 7.1% 1 8.3% 5 8.6%
Wagons 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 2 14.3% 0 0.0% 4 6.9%
Burials total 14 18 14 12 58

Individual
100,0% Collective
80,0%
Selection A
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%
vessels

incense-cups

knives

awls

pestles

temporal rings

hooks

wagons

Diagram 2. Grave goods in individual, collective and selection A burials

Table 16.5. Bioarchaeological determinations of age and sex (selections A and B)

Adults
Selection Assemblage4 1st infant 2nd infant 3rd infant
Sex Age
A VR-I к.03 b.03 male ? 1-2 years 1-2 years newborn
A VR-III к.21 b.15 male ? 1,5 year newborn -
A Ch-II к.18 b.09 female ? baby - -
A Ch-IX к.01 b.04 male Mat-Sen 3-9 months - -
A Ch-VIII к.12 b.01 female Adult-Mat newborn - -
B VR-I к.07 b.08 male > 55 years 4-5 years 5-6 years -
B Spas. к.01 b.08 female? Adult inf 1 - -

4
VR-I, III: Veselaya Rosha – I, III; Ch-II, VIII, IX: Chograi – II, VIII, IX; Spas.: Spasskoe.

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 M.V. ANDREEVA: PRE-ADULT AND ADULT BURIALS OF EAST MANYCH CATACOMB CULTURE: WAS INFANTICIDE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE?

Table 16.6. Sex-and-age determinations made by archaeologists and bioarchaeologists (selection C)

Assemblage5
VML-I к.07 b.05
VML -I к.22 b.06
VML -I к.50 b.03
VML -II к.23 b.03
VML -II к.37 b.06
Gr-I к.03 b.02
Gr-I к.08 b.02
Lola-I к.04 b.07
SP-I к.03 b.05
Ch-IV к.04 b.05
Ch-IX к.05 b.05
Ch-V к.02 b.01
Ch-VI к.02 b.09
Ch-VIII к.09 b.03
Archaeologists Bioarchaeologists
Sex/Age Age Sex Age
male + female ?+? - -
male + “adult” ?+? - -
“adult” + female both “young” - -
“adult” + female ?+? - -
“adult” + “adult” both Juv - -
- - male? + ? > 45 years + 20-25 years
“adult” + “adult” ?+? - -
male + female both middle-aged - -
- - male + female both 40-50 years
“adult” + female ?+? - -
- - male? + female? Juv + Juv
“adult” + “adult” ?+? - -
male + female ?+? - -
- - male + female Ad-Mat + Juv

type – a pit grave dug in the subsoil or mound – and on CONCLUSIONS

the other hand, with prestigious grave goods categories.
Developing further the hypothesis of a wagon symbolism
in the mortuary practices of the catacomb cultures in the
North Caucasus piedmont, one may suggest that pit
graves represented counterparts of an open carriage (cart)
and that catacombs symbolized a carriage whose cover
had been taken off and put on the ground. Burials in an
open carriage suggested particularly spectacular rituals
whereas symmetrical depositions of two deceased
partners were considered as an imitation of marital rituals.
This has been evidenced by numerous mutual correlations
between the burial and marital rituals (as rites of passage)
studied in the folklore and ethnography of many peoples,
for example, the Eastern Slavs (Bayburin & Levintov
1990).5
When considering selection D, one should pay special
attention to the relatively small number (4 burials of 13)
of “pre-adult and adult” combinations in the same
assemblage. Comparing it to the above interpretations, it
seems reasonable to suggest that unlike children, pre-
adults did not need a child’s guide; moreover, they
apparently could have played this role themselves. On the
other hand, in the selection under study, collective burials
of infants and pre-adults are virtually absent. Thus, in the
framework of standard mortuary practices, pre-adults
seem as if linked mainly to individuals of their age as well
as to infants; the situation seems to remind of those
specific and scanty “children – pre-adults” cemeteries
consisting of 2-5 burials in a barrow.
5
VML-I, II: Vostochny Manych (left) – I, II; Gr-I: Grushevka – I; SP-I:
Suhaya Padina - I; Ch-IV-VI, VIII, IX: Chograi - IV-VI, VIII, IX.
The deposition of children in kurgans was obviously only
possible if there had been older child’s guides (adult men
or women, seniors from pre-adult to senile) buried
together in the same grave or separately but in the same
kurgan. Infants were usually buried in kurgans in the
same grave with an adult. On the contrary, pre-adults
didn’t need a child’s guide and sometimes – although
rarely – they could have been buried individually in a
central grave. If this was the case, they could have been
accompanied only by child and pre-adult burials. Ritual
limitations of the above younger groups’ access to the
cemetery may be interpreted as the “socialization” stages
of an individual.
The evidence of a male/female structure of collective
adult burials allows us to suggest the existence of a pair
(monogamous?) marriage, which, in its turn, can witness
to the existence of a nuclear family. However, the
collective burials reflect parent/child relations more often
than husband/wife relations. This can be considered as an
evidence of a low degree separation (ideological and
probably economic) of nuclear families inside the
extended family.
The steady percentage of collective burial in various
cemeteries (about 10%) shows the regularity of this
mortuary practice. Since the simultaneity of articulated
burials demanded simultaneous deaths (only 10 of a total
of 53 were double adult burials and the rest contained
younger individuals), we should consider these assem-
blages as sacrificial. It is disputable of these deaths were
natural. On the other hand, the possibility of infanticide

159
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
cannot be ruled out. Notwithstanding the absence of exact
demographic data, it is now clear that a population
explosion happened in the Middle Bronze Age Whatever
was the ideological meaning of these sacrifices, it served
as the most efficient means of demographic control or
some kind of extensive family/lineage planning.
References
ANDREEVA М.V. 2005. Синхронные совместные
погребения восточноманычской катакомбной кул-
ьтуры как источник палеосоциальных реконструк-
160
ций. OPUS: Междисциплинарные исследования в
археологии 4: 68-93.
BAYBURIN, A.K. & G.A. LEVINTON 1990. Похороны
и свадьба, in Исследования в области балто-
славянской духовной культуры Погребальный
.
обряд Москва Наука
: 64-99. : .
KOROBOV, D.S. 2003. Социальная организация алан
Северного Кавказа IV-IX вв. Санкт-Петербург:
Алетейя.
SMIRNOV, Y.A. 1997. Лабиринт. Морфология пред-
намеренного погребения: Исследование, тексты,
словарь. Москва: Восточная литература.
 INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION
IN THE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE (C. 2100-800 BC)
OF CENTRAL ITALY
Erik van ROSSENBERG
Leiden University, The Netherlands, e.a.van.rossenberg@arch.leidenuniv.nl

Abstract: Special treatment of the remains of children is a well-known feature in Central Italy from the Neolithic onwards. Here I
will focus on the evidence for the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in two adjacent Central Italian regions (Abruzzo and Lazio). It will
be argued that mortuary practice involving neonates, infants and children was connected with domestic symbolism, showing the
enhanced cultural significance of infant/child burials. Investing child burials with domestic symbolism, burying communities singled
out fundamental values in the social reproduction of households and local communities in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of
Central Italy.
Key words: Central Italy, prehistory, child burials

Résumé: Le traitement spécial des ossements d’enfants est une caractéristique connue de la préhistoire en Italie Centrale. Cet
article concerne des données de l’Age du Bronze et du premier Age du Fer dans deux régions limitrophes, notamment Abruzzo et
Lazio (Italie Centrale). Les pratiques funéraires des enfants étaient liées au symbolisme domestique, montrant une signification
culturelle élevée dans sépultures d’enfants. Avec ce symbolisme domestique dans les sépultures d’enfants, les gens de l’Age du
Bronze et du premier Age du Fer en Italie Centrale mettaient l’accent sur des valeurs fondamentales de la reproduction sociale des
communautés locales.
Mots clés: Italie Centrale, préhistoire, sépultures d’enfants

INTRODUCTION former case will lie on qualitative observations that can be

Special treatment of the remains of children is a well-
known feature of prehistoric society in Central Italy from
the Neolithic onwards. The inclusion of children in
funerary and other ritual practices has increased their
archaeological visibility, but leaves us with a number of
questions. First of all, there is the issue that in most
prehistoric situations burial was selective, i.e. we can
assume that selection of individuals for burial took place.
In general, the treatment of the majority of prehistoric
people escapes us archaeologically. Therefore we should
be aware that not only infant/child burials, but also adult
burials represented a select group in prehistoric funerary
traditions. The issue of selection brings us to the second
question: To what extent do prehistoric burials have to be
regarded as acts of structured deposition in a wider social
and cultural context? To answer this question, burials
should be compared with contemporary acts of deposition
at other places in the framework of a cultural landscape
approach.
With these two main questions in mind, the aim of this
paper is to give a contextualized overview of the evidence
for infant/child burials in the Bronze Age and Early Iron
Age of Abruzzo and Lazio, two adjacent regions in
Central Italy, stretching from the Adriatic to the
Tyrrhenian side of the peninsula. The chronological scope
covers transformations from collective to individual
burial, and from selective to non-selective burial. The
limited space available here does not provide the
opportunity to go into as much detail in the overview of
the situation of non-selective burial in the Early Iron Age,
as will be the case in the overview of the situation of
selective burial in the Bronze Age. The emphasis in the
used in comparison with the latter case.
INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN THE BRONZE AGE
OF ABRUZZO AND LAZIO
In this section an overview of infant/child burials in
Abruzzo and Lazio will be presented for the four phases
of the Italian Bronze Age. Given the circumstance of
selective burial in this period, the approach adopted is a
qualitative one – including wider contextual information –
rather than a quantative one. In general, archaeological
visibility of mortuary practice is low for the earlier phases
of the Bronze Age.
Early Bronze Age (c. 2100-1700 BC)
In line with the overall scarcity of evidence for the Early
Bronze Age, only a few burial contexts are known from
Central Italy as a whole (Cocchi Genick 1998). This
suggests that burial was very selective and/or took forms
that are archaeologically invisible. In Lazio the Eneolithic
tradition of collective burial in rock-cut chamber tombs
(Dolfini 2006) may have continued into the first phase of
the Early Bronze Age. Its use of man-made structures for
repeated, collective burial including the deposition of
ceramics, can also be found in a ritual structure at Fosso
Conicchio that was used during the Final Eneolithic and
the first phase of the Early Bronze Age. Among the
disarticulated remains from this structure, two children
have been identified (Table 17.1). In Abruzzo, on the
other hand, predominantly natural places (i.e. caves) seem
to have been used for repeated, collective burial and for
the deposition of ceramics and foodstuffs (Cocchi Genick

161
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 17.1. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Early Bronze Age
site context children adults references
Fugazzola Delpino &
Fosso Conicchio structure used for ritual practices child (7-8y)
3 adults Pellegrini 1999, 152-
(Viterbo, Lazio) (including disarticulated human remains) adolescent (14-15y)
154
Grotta Sant’Angelo infant (3y)
cave used for burial (disarticulated human Mallegni & Ronco
(Civitella del Tronto, child (10y) 1 adult
remains) and domestic ritual practices 1996, 266-267
Teramo, Abruzzo) adolescent (15y)

Table 17.2. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Middle Bronze Age
site context children adults references
structure used for domestic ritual
Torre dei Passeri
practices (including disarticulated foetus/neonate (femur) adult (skull) Recchia 2003
(Pescara, Abruzzo)
human remains)
Prato di Frabulino
rock-cut chamber tomb with
(Farnese, Viterbo, 1 child (6-10y) 3 adults Casi et al. 1995
disarticulated human remains
Lazio)
Crostoletto di Lamone
cairn of stones with inhumations in 1 child Cocchi Genick
(Ischia di Castro, 2 adults
an area used for ritual practice (at the feet of the adults) 2002, 124-125
Viterbo, Lazio)
rock fissure used for burial
Felcetone (Ischia di 2 “very young” 12 adults (and Rittatore 1951b,
(disarticulated human remains) and
Castro, Viterbo, Lazio) individuals adolescents?) 164
domestic ritual practices
Grotta Di Carli (Ischia cave used for burial (disarticulated
di Castro, Viterbo, human remains) and domestic ritual 1 child (10y) 3 adults Allegrezza 2000
Lazio) practices
cave used for burial (disarticulated
Grotta Misa (Ischia di Rittatore 1951a,
human remains) and domestic ritual 4 children 6 adults
Castro, Viterbo, Lazio) 18
practices
Grotta dello Sventatoio cave used for burial (disarticulated 3 young children
Angle et al.
(Sant’Angelo Romano, human remains) and domestic ritual (secondarily burnt pieces
1991/1992
Roma, Lazio) practices of skull)
Grotta Regina cave used for burial (disarticulated 1 neonate
Guidi 1981,
Margherita (Collepardo, human remains) and domestic ritual 1 child 2 adults
53-54
Frosinone, Lazio) practices 1 adolescent
cave used for burial (disarticulated Guidi
Grotta Vittorio Vecchi 11 children
and articulated human remains) and 29 adults 1991/1992,
(Sezze, Latina, Lazio) (a.o. 0-1y and 6-7y)
domestic ritual practices 428-431

1998). In the assemblage from Grotta Sant’Angelo,
disarticulated remains of three children have been
identified (Table 17.1). In addition, a couple of man-made
burial contexts have been found (Cocchi Genick 1998),
which were exclusive to adults.
of children were primarily associated with secondary
treatment in the context of domestic ritual practices that
probably served a collective purpose.
Middle Bronze Age (c. 1700-1350 BC)

Despite the small size of this sample, we can make the
following observations about child burial in the Early
Bronze Age. In general, the majority of burial places were
used repeatedly and incorporated practices of secondary
burial, given the disarticulated state of human remains.
These places were not only used for collective burial, but
simultaneously for other depositional practices, arguably
with a domestic connotation. Children have only been
identified as disarticulated remains in such collective
burial and/or ritual contexts. This shows that the remains
In line with the wider availability of evidence for the
Middle Bronze Age in Central Italy (Cocchi Genick
2002), the number of burial contexts known from
Abruzzo and Lazio has increased. As in the previous
period, the majority of human remains have been found in
a disarticulated state, in the context of collective burial
places. Although there is some evidence for the continued
use of caves for burial and domestic ritual practices in
Abruzzo, no remains of children have been identified in
these assemblages. The only instance of an infant/child

162
 E. VAN ROSSENBERG: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE
Table 17.3. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Late Bronze Age
site context
Grotta Sant’Angelo cave used for burial (disarticulated
(Civitella del Tronto, human remains) and domestic
Teramo, Abruzzo) ritual practices
urnfield comprising of at least 40
Cavallo Morto
individual cremation burials
(Anzio, Roma, Lazio)
(17 of which could be analysed)
burial is represented by the femur of a foetus or neonate
found in a man-made underground structure at Torre dei
Passeri (Table 17.2). The ritual character of this structure
is represented by a skull fragment of an adult male, and as
wide a range of objects with a domestic connotation (e.g.
miniature vessels and spindlewhorls) as in contemporary
ritual cave assemblages (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 80f).
Burial evidence in Lazio is overwhelming for the Middle
Bronze Age, and derives predominantly from caves that
were used simultaneously for other depositional practices.
The latter are mainly represented by offerings of
foodstuffs, in combination with depositions of objects
with a domestic connotation, such as ceramic vessels,
spindlewhorls and quernstones and/or mullers (Cocchi
Genick 2002, 125-148). The predominantly disarticulated
state of human remains found in caves suggests that these
bones represent instances of secondary burial or handling
of human remains, in the context of domestic ritual
practices. The disarticulated human remains amount to a
minimum number of eighty individuals, among which
approximately twenty-five children have been identified
(Table 17.2). Children were also represented in other, less
frequent types of burial, i.e. as disarticulated remains in a
chamber tomb (Prato di Frabulino) and as a primary
burial in the context of a cairn of stones (Crostoletto di
Lamone) (Table 17.2).
The relative abundance of burial evidence, especially in
Lazio, should not be interpreted in the sense that burial
was less selective in the Middle Bronze Age than in the
previous period. The peak in the use of caves for the
(re)deposition of human remains – as part of a body of
domestic ritual practices – may simply represent a case of
increased archaeological visibility. Significantly, all
Middle Bronze Age burial contexts in Abruzzo and Lazio
can be regarded as collective places, and again the
remains of children have been found exclusively at sites
that were used simultaneously for burial and ritual
practice (Table 17.2). The young individuals selected for
burial included neonates (Torre dei Passeri, Grotta Regina
Margherita, Grotta Vittorio Vecchi). In some cases there
is evidence that the skulls of children were singled out for
particular ritual practices, such as secondary burning
(Grotta dello Sventatoio) and acts of structured deposition
163
AND EARLY IRON AGE …
children adults references
infant (2-3y)
Mallegni & Ronco
child (6-8y) 1 adult
1996, 267
child (13y)
infant (1-2y)
child (3-7y)
child (4-5y) Angle et al. 2004,
11 adults
child 139-140
adolescent (<17y)
adolescent (<17y)
in combination with ceramic vessels (Grotta Vittorio
Vecchi). These instances highlight the secondary
treatment of human remains – and children in particular –
as part of a body of ritual practices that served a collective
purpose.
Late Bronze Age (c. 1350-1200 BC)
For the Late Bronze Age only a limited number of burial
places are known in Central Italy, which suggests that
burial was selective, as in the previous phases of the
Bronze Age. In Abruzzo, a number of caves remained in
use as places for burial and other ritual practices in the
Late Bronze Age, whereas in Lazio all caves had been
abandoned at this stage (Guidi 1991/1992). The decrease
in the use of caves has made mortuary practice of the Late
Bronze Age archaeologically less visible than the
previous phase. In Abruzzo, three children (2-3y, 6-8y
and 13y) have been identified among the disarticulated
remains of four individuals in the assemblage of Grotta
Sant’Angelo (Table 17.3), buried before the cave was
abandoned at the start of the Final Bronze Age. At the
same time, a tradition of individual inhumation burials
emerged in Abruzzo and continued in the Final Bronze
Age. At Paludi di Celano a series of inhumations under
barrows started with the burial of a young adult male (20-
23y) in the Late Bronze Age (D’Ercole 2001).
After the abandonment of caves, the only burial evidence
for the Late Bronze Age in Lazio is represented by an
urnfield excavated at Cavallo Morto (Angle et al. 2004).
Of the approximately forty cremation burials that were
excavated at this site, seventeen could be analysed; four
of these incorporated children and two incorporated
adolescents (Table 17.3). Bronze objects were overrepre-
sented in the burials of young individuals, with respect to
the adult burials. Whereas only four out of eleven adult
burials included a fibula and/or a razor, a fibula was
included in the burials of three children and one ado-
lescent (four out of six). Moreover, the fibulae in the three
infant/child burials were complete, whereas those in the
adolescent and adult burials were fragmented, possibly as
a result of the actual cremation. The differentiation in the
treatment of these grave goods coincides with the age gap
between children and adolescents represented in this
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
cemetery (Table 17.3). This age-related phenomenon sets
the infant/child burials apart as acts of structured depo-
sition including complete valuable objects. As such, it
might contradict the common notion in Italian prehistory
that grave goods in individual burials have to be regarded
indiscriminately as personal items and that wealth in child
burials represents ascribed status, indicative of pronoun-
ced social stratification (cf. McHugh 1999, 24ff. on
wealthy child burials).
Given the socially disruptive implications normally
attributed to the transition from collective to individual
burial, here I will develop the argument by highlighting
similarities with the situation in the previous period. The
relative scarcity of burial evidence in the Late Bronze
Age – both in terms of the total number of buried
individuals and the number of burial places – shows that
burial, as far as we know it, was selective. It seems likely
that the limited number of new open-air cemeteries with
primary, individual burials (i.e. inhumation in Abruzzo
and cremation in Lazio) would have served a collective
purpose as central burial places for a number of settle-
ments (contra Angle et al. 2004, 125-128 on Cavallo
Morto), similar to that of caves. As in selective burial in
caves (Grotta Sant’Angelo), children were included in the
new traditions of individual burial (Cavallo Morto). In
fact, the proportion of children identified at Cavallo
Morto recalls the proportion in cave assemblages of the
previous period (i.e. approximately one third). Finally,
there is circumstantial evidence that – as acts of structured
deposition including metalwork – the primary infant/child
burials at Cavallo Morto had domestic connotations
similar to secondary burial as part of domestic ritual
practices in caves, if we extrapolate the domestic
connotation of bronze ornaments in contemporary acts of
structured deposition in the context of settlements (Van
Rossenberg 2005a, 79-82).
Final Bronze Age (c. 1200-1000 BC)
In the Final Bronze Age caves in Abruzzo were aban-
doned as places for burial and other ritual practices, and a
new regionally specific tradition of inhumation under
barrows emerged (Cosentino et al. 2003). This concerned
selective burial, as only ten primary burials are known in
the region, half of which make up a small cemetery
excavated at Paludi di Celano (D’Ercole 2001). In this
series of six inhumation burials in tree coffins under
barrows, two children have been identified (Table 17.4).
On the basis of the assumption that ornaments were gen-
der specific grave goods, all individuals in Final Bronze
Age burials have been identified as female, including the
two children from the cemetery at Paludi di Celano, who
are regarded as girls. Given the domestic connotation of
the deposition of ornaments in settlements in the Final
Bronze Age (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 82), like in the
previous period, we can argue that burials were acts of
structured deposition with a domestic connotation.
Another element of the shift in location of burial and
domestic ritual practices from caves to settlements in the
164
Final Bronze Age (Van Rossenberg 2005a, 82) can be
found in the curation of disarticulated human skulls in
settlements. One of two fragments from the settlement at
Fondjò has been attributed to a child (Table 17.4).
Burial evidence for the Final Bronze Age in Lazio
represents a tradition of cremation burials in cemeteries or
urnfields (Di Gennaro & Guidi 2000, 111-114; Pacciarelli
2000, 202-216). Osteological analysis of cremated re-
mains has been adopted in archaeological research only
relatively recently, which limits the availability of infor-
mation on age and sex of buried individuals to modern
excavations. Infant/child burials have been identified both
in smaller cemeteries (Le Caprine) and in nuclei of burials
in larger cemeteries or areas reserved for burial (Monte
Tosto Alto, Poggio La Pozza) (Table 17.4). From this
limited sample, the striking pattern emerges that almost
all of the infant/child burials can be characterised as
elaborate, in the context of both multiple and individual
burials (Table 17.4). They were invested with domestic
symbolism (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86ff.), in the form of
grave goods with a domestic connotation, such as pottery
(e.g. storage vessels as containers of cremation burials;
smaller accessory vessels), spinning and/or weaving
equipment (e.g. spindlewhorl, bobbin, distaff) and, as
argued above, bronze ornaments (e.g. fibulae, rings).
Domestic symbolism was also highlighted in miniaturism
(cf. Bailey 2005, chapter 2) of grave goods, such as
accessory vessels and bronze objects (e.g. fibulae,
knives), and the containers of the cremated remains (e.g.
smaller urns), epitomized in the urns in the form of
houses (so-called hut urns, e.g. Le Caprine). Finally, the
majority of the children that were singled out for these
burials seem to have belonged to a specific age group
(<6y) (Table 17.4, cf. the age distribution of Cavallo
Morto in the previous period, see Table 17.3). This age
group may have had a domestic connotation in itself, if
we assume that until the age of six to ten years children
would have been confined to the settlement and thus
linked metaphorically with the domestic sphere. Indivi-
duals belonging to this ‘domestic’ age group, i.e. those
who had died before they had been vested with a social
persona beyond the domestic sphere, became incorporated
in the larger social group in the act of burial, invested
with domestic symbolism, in the context of a communal
cemetery.
Here I will develop the argument that the category of
“wealthy child burials” (cf. McHugh 1999, 24ff.) should
be regarded as acts of structured deposition with a
domestic connotation. An important question that arises in
the context of structured deposition is to what extent
cremation burials should be regarded as primary
depositions, or rather as final acts in a prolonged funerary
sequence. Especially in the largest cemetery (Poggio La
Pozza) there is ample evidence for secondary handling of
cremated remains in the form of multiple burials (Table
17.4) and emptied burials (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86). In
this respect, it should be appreciated that this particular
cemetery was situated in a large area that provided a focus
 E. VAN ROSSENBERG: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE …

Table 17.4. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo and Lazio: Final Bronze Age
site context children adults references
Paludi di Celano individual inhumation D’Ercole 2001
infant (2-3y) with fibula
(L’Aquila, Abruzzo) under barrow 5
(cemetery with at least individual inhumation child (7-10y) with fibula and two D’Ercole 2001
6 barrows) under barrow 6 fingerings
disarticulated human Grifoni Cremonesi
Fondjò (Collelongo, adult (skull
remains in settlement child (skull fragment) 1973, 521
L’Aquila, Abruzzo) fragment)
context
Luni-Tre Erici (Blera, inhumation under Östenberg 1967, 42-
child (10-12)
Viterbo, Lazio) house floor 43
multiple cremation adult (in Bastianelli 1939,
“young child” with fibula (in one urn)
burial (in two urns) other urn) 45-47
Peroni 1960, 345-
individual cremation child (5-9y) with fibula, ring and 10
346, 351; D’Ercole
burial F1 amber beads (in the urn)
1998, 182, n.1
child (0-6y) with a.o. 2 bronze Peroni 1960, 346-
multiple cremation fibulae, 2 pendants, 2 spirals, wheel- 347, 351-352;
2 adults
burial F2 (in one urn) shaped pin-head and 26 amber beads D’Ercole 1998, 182,
(in the urn) n. 1
Peroni 1960, 347-
Poggio La Pozza individual cremation adolescent (13-21y) with accessory
349, 353; D’Ercole
(Allumiere, Roma, burial F3 vessel
1998, 182, n.1
Lazio) (cemetery with
multiple cremation infant/child (0-6y) with bone disk D’Ercole 1995, 177-
at least 40 cremation adult
burial 6 (in one urn) fragment decorated with circles 178
burials)
infant/child (0-6y) with fibula and D’Ercole 1998, 183
individual cremation zoomorphic miniature vessel (with
burial 13 bronze lid), and 2 rings on the lid of
the urn
individual cremation D’Ercole 1998, 184
infant/child (0-6y)
burial 17
individual cremation infant/child (0-6y) with ring and D’Ercole 1998, 185
burial 19 accessory vessel
multiple cremation infant/child (0-6y) with fibula and D’Ercole 1998, 185-
adult
burial 20 (in one urn) ring 186
Monte Tosto Alto infant (0-1y) with 2 small or Trucco et al. 2000,
individual burial
(Cerveteri, Roma, miniature vessels 488
Lazio) (nucleus of at child/adolescent (12-15y) with fibula Trucco et al. 2000,
least 3 cremation burials individual burial and chain of rings (in small urn), and 487-488
in a larger cemetery) set of 5 small or miniature vessels
infant (c. 1y) in hut urn (incorporated Damiani et al. 1998,
multiple burial 2 in cremation burial of adult), with set adult 204-205
of 9 miniature vessels
adolescent (female) with fibula, set of Damiani et al. 1998,
individual burial 4
Le Caprine (Guidonia, 5 miniature vessels and 7 bobbins 205-206
Roma, Lazio) (cemetery
infant (6m-2y) with miniature knife, Damiani et al. 1998,
with 5 elaborate
large number of ornaments, 10 glass- 206-208
cremation burials)
paste beads, spindlewhorl, 4 bobbins,
individual burial 5 bronze distaff, bone comb, ivory
comb, bronze object decorated with
two stylized birds (in miniature urn),
and set of 8 miniature vessels

for communal practices by a number of settlements (Di depositions of metalwork – often predominated by orna-
Gennaro & Guidi 2000, 112). Apart from burial, Final ments – contained in ceramic vessels (Fugazzola Delpino
Bronze Age depositional practices included hoards or 1975). Such acts of structured deposition of objects in a

165
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
ceramic container show a conceptual link with the urn as
a container in cremation burials. On a smaller scale,
similar depositional practices can be discerned in the
cemetery at Le Caprine (Table 17.4), including a multiple
burial, incorporating the cremated remains of an infant in
a curated or redeposited ‘hut urn’, and a wealthy child
burial with grave goods that show many similarities with
contemporary hoards of metalwork (Van Rossenberg
2005b, 88). These connections underscore that cremation
burials as depositions were comparable with contempo-
rary, non-funerary acts of structured deposition. The
selection of individuals from a ‘domestic’ age group, i.e.
infants/children, and grave goods with a domestic
connotation, made that elaborate burials represented com-
munal values in social reproduction rather than personal
status per se (Van Rossenberg 2005b, 86). In this respect,
the instance represented by the inhumation of an older
child (10-12y) under a house floor (Luni-Tre Erici) (Table
17.4), deviating from the norm of cremation, highlights
both the domestic connotation of burial and in contrast the
elaborateness of cremation burials. In the context of
communal cemeteries in the Final Bronze Age (Di Gen-
naro & Guidi 2000, 112), elaborate infant/child burials
were instrumental in community formation, articulating
domestic with collective identities.
INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN THE EARLY IRON
AGE (C. 1000-800 BC) OF ABRUZZO AND LAZIO
Traditionally, socially disruptive implications have also
been attributed to the transformation of mortuary practice
at the Bronze Age-Iron Age transition. In Abruzzo burial
became less selective in the Early Iron Age than in any
phase of the Bronze Age, whereas in Lazio burial seems
to have become non-selective in the Early Iron Age.
Consequently, larger cemeteries predominate the burial
record for this period in Central Italy. Given the limited
space available in this paper, the better known situation in
Lazio will be presented in the form of established
interpretations, whereas infant/child burials in Abruzzo
will be discussed at more length. The emphasis in this
section will lie on qualitative observations on infant/child
burials in the Early Iron Age that can be used in com-
parison with the Bronze Age case. With this particular
focus, it shows that there were many similarities between
mortuary practice in the Early Iron Age and in the Bronze
Age, mainly in the connections between infant/child
burials and domestic symbolism.
Abruzzo
Burial evidence for the Early Iron Age in Abruzzo
represents a continuation of the tradition of individual
inhumation burials under barrows, in a less selective
manner, thus giving rise to a number of smaller and larger
cemeteries (Cosentino et al. 2003). So far the largest
cemetery has been excavated at Fossa, which consists of
approximately fifty barrows dating to the Early Iron Age
and the first phase of the Late Iron Age (Cosentino et al.
166
2001b). Among these at least fifteen infant/child and
adolescent burials have been recognised (Table 17.5). On
the basis of grave goods, age groups of children (<10y),
adolescents (<18y) and adults (>20y) have been distin-
guished. The distinction between the latter two categories
seems to have been one of degree. Four adolescent burials
have been attributed to young men (Cosentino et al.
2001b, 66f, 73f, 74-77 and 79ff), on the basis of
weaponry (i.e. swords and spearheads) as a male gender
indicator in adult burials. The treatment of swords in two
child burials was different, i.e. one positioned with the
point towards the face instead of the feet and the other
(deliberately?) fragmented (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 92f.
and 115f). This distinction suggests that adolescents
would have been familiar with handling weaponry,
whereas younger boys were not. One adolescent burial
has been attributed to a young woman, with a necklace of
amber beads and an ivory ornament (Cosentino et al.
2001b, 120ff), on the basis of the absence of weaponry
and the presence of elaborate ornaments as female gender
indicators in adult burials. Apart from the two swords
mentioned, no gender indicators have been singled out to
tell boys and girls apart on the basis of their grave goods.
The predominance of ornaments, such as fibulae, brace-
lets and rings, in infant/child burials however, does recall
the later Bronze Age association between ornaments and
this age group.
In the cemetery at Fossa the following chronological and
spatial patterns can be discerned. Whereas in the first
phase of the Early Iron Age only adults were buried (save
one neonate), in the second phase child and adolescent
burials comprised one third (Table 17.5). In the first phase
of the Late Iron Age only children and adolescents (save
one adult) were selected for an Early Iron Age type of
burial under barrows (Table 17.5). In general, the smaller
barrows of children and adolescent burials were situated
in the spaces left open by the larger barrows of adult
burials that had been built in the earlier phases of the
cemetery. Given the occurrence of storage vessels in
direct association with the earliest barrows, it has been
argued that these spaces were used for ancestralising
practices of communal and commemorative food con-
sumption (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 197-203). Con-
ceptualised as domestic and ancestral, these spaces were
not inappropriate places for child burials, given their
domestic connotation in the Bronze Age. The ancestral
dimension is underscored by the fact that the majority of
Late Iron Age interments – including child burials – took
place in earlier barrows. One of the barrows that was
selected as a focus for these later interments, had already
provided a focus for the neonate burial in the first phase
of the Early Iron Age (Cosentino et al. 2001b, 104 and
126).
Patterns similar to those discerned at Fossa (i.e. the long-
term use of the same area for burial; the positioning of
infant/child burials in particular plots; the reuse of earlier
barrows for interments, or as a focus for infant/child
burials) can be found in Iron Age cemeteries with a
 E. VAN ROSSENBERG: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE AND EARLY IRON AGE …

Table 17.5. Infant/child burials in Abruzzo: Early Iron Age and Late Iron Age (first phase)

site context children references

Early Iron Age (first phase), Cosentino et al.
Fossa (Casale, neonate (0-3m)
with 12 adult burials 2001b, 191, fig. 56
L’Aquila) (cemetery
child (3-5y), child (5-9y), child (5-9y),
with approximately Early Iron Age (second phase), Cosentino et al.
child (6-10y), adolescent (14-17y),
50 inhumations under with 10 adult burials 2001b, 191, fig. 56
adolescent (15-18y)
barrows, Early Iron
Age & first phase of 2 infants, infant/child (2-4y), infant/child
Late Iron Age (first phase), Cosentino et al.
the Late Iron Age) (2-8y), child (6-8y), adolescent (12-15y),
with 1 adult burial 2001b, 191, fig. 56
adolescent (14-16y), adolescent (15-17y)
neonate (0-6m), with fibula, necklace,
pendants and spirals (Early Iron Age)

Piani Palentini infant/child (0-6y), with 4 fibulae,

group of four elaborate infant/child bracelet, 2 rings and necklace
(Scurcola Marsicana, Cosentino et al.
burials in simple graves, (Early Iron Age)
L’Aquila) (cemetery 2001a, 185-187,
Early Iron Age-Late Iron Age
with at least 13 neonate (0-6m), with small spearhead 190-191
(first phase)
barrows, Early Iron outside grave (Late Iron Age)
Age & first phase of
child (5-6y), with 2 fibulae, necklace,
the Late Iron Age)
and ring (Late Iron Age)
elaborate child burial under barrow, child (4-8y) with decorative belt, fibulae, Cosentino et al.
Early Iron Age (final stage) necklaces, pendants, bracelets 2001a, 196-199
infant/child, with 2 fibulae D’Ercole & Grassi
San Benedetto in earliest burial, Early Iron Age
and necklace 2000, 201
Perillis (L’Aquila)
infant/child, with dagger, 2 fibulae,
(small Iron Age
2 elaborate infant/child burials, rings, bracelet, torques and 3 vessels D’Ercole & Grassi
cemetery with 7
burials) Late Iron Age (first phase) infant/child, with bracelet, ring, fibula, 2000, 201
and torques
early (earliest?) elaborate burial
Cosentino et al.
under barrow (Early Iron Age-Late
Bazzano (L’Aquila) 2001b, 215-217;
Iron Age transition), in area used for child (4-6y?), with bracelets, fibulae,
(large Iron Age Costentino et al.
neonate and infant burials, dress-pin, sword and knife
cemetery) 2003, 435-438,
Late Iron Age
D’Ercole et al. 2003
(first phase)
Campo di Monte D’Ercole & Grassi
(Caporciano, infant/child burials next to earlier neonate 2000, 199-201;
L’Aquila) (small Iron barrows, Late Iron Age (first phase) 2 infants/children Cosentino et al.
Age cemetery) 2001b, 220-222
infant/child or adolescent, Cosentino et al.
Campovalano earliest burial, Early Iron Age
with small fibula 2001b, 225
(Campli, Teramo)
(large Iron Age elaborate child burial in barrow
child, with a vessel containing Cosentino et al.
cemetery) (possibly as act of reuse),
spindlewhorl and 8 bobbins 2001b, 225
Late Iron Age (first phase)
elaborate child burial interred in child (2-4y) with torques, rings,
D’Ercole & Grassi
earlier barrow, Late Iron Age pendants, fibulae, knive, spearhead and 6
2000, 194-195
(first phase) vessels
neonate (0-3m), with necklace, fibula,
pendants, rings and small vessel
group of three infant/child burials
La Cona (Teramo) infant/child, D’Ercole & Grassi
next to earlier barrow,
(large Iron Age with 2 vessels 2000, 195
Late Iron Age (first phase)
cemetery with several child (4-6y), with pendant, fibula,
clusters of burials) knive and vessel
area reserved for elaborate
infant/child burials, in association
with two interred storage Savini & Torrieri
2 neonates, child (6-8y), child (6-10y)
vessels, Late Iron Age 2003
(first phase)

167
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
smaller number of Early Iron Age burials (Table 17.5).
Both in larger and smaller cemeteries infant/child burials
were restricted to particular plots within the cemetery.
They occurred under smaller barrows and in groups of
graves situated in the spaces left open by earlier barrows
(e.g. Fossa, Piani Palentini) in the Early Iron Age and the
first phase of the Late Iron Age. In the latter phase they
were situated either in connection with earlier barrows
(e.g. Bazzano, Campo di Monte, La Cona) or in segre-
gated spaces in a larger cemetery (e.g. La Cona). In the
smaller cemeteries children (<10y) were singled out for
elaborate acts of structured deposition that were mostly
unparalleled in adult burials.
These elaborate burials probably coincided with the
inception and lay-out of a cemetery (e.g. San Benedetto in
Perillis, Bazzano) or a change in its use (e.g. Piani
Palentini). At Piani Palentini the most elaborate child
burial, dated to the end of the Early Iron Age, was
situated in the part of the cemetery that became the focus
for reuse, in the form of interments in earlier barrows, in
the Late Iron Age. Given the reuse of the central graves
under barrows in this period (Cosentino et al. 2001a,
184), this elaborate child burial could in itself represent
the reuse of grave goods from an earlier burial. Its NE
orientation marked the broadening of the range of
orientations from ENE to ESE in the Early Iron Age to
NE to SE in the Late Iron Age. At Bazzano the first child
burial incorporated two orientations – the body to the SE
and the sword to the S in line with a row of standing
stones running from the edge of the barrow – that were
followed in two rows of infant/child burials in the first
phase of the Late Iron Age. A N/S orientation was rarely
used and most likely had particular religious connotations,
thus conceptually segregating this group of burials. This
is not unlike the physically segregated group of infant/
child burials at La Cona, which incorporated an equally
inferquent orientation of NNE.
In the case of Fossa it was argued that infant/child burials
were connected with domestic concerns in the Early Iron
Age, in the sense that commemorative practices of food
consumption took place in the same spaces used for child
burial in the cemetery. This commemorative ancestral
dimension of these spaces may explain the absence of
vessels as grave goods in infant/child burials in the Early
Iron Age, as opposed to adult burials. Infant/child burials
also included a range of ornaments as grave goods,
arguably with a domestic connotation in the later Bronze
Age. Commemorative practices of food consumption
were also recognized in two storage vessels in the
infant/child burial plot at La Cona, in the first phase of
the Late Iron Age. Starting with this phase, vessels
became normal accessories in infant/burials, as they had
been earlier in adult burials. They can be regarded as a
domestic dimension and should be seen in the light of
the contemporary elaborate child burial at Campovalano
with a vessel that contained spinning equipment (i.e.
spindle-whorls, bobbins) as an act of structured depo-
sition.
168
The majority of child burials in the Early Iron Age and
the first phase of the Late Iron Age belonged to a specific
age group (<6y). Only the largest cemetery excavated so
far (Fossa) has provided a considerable number of burials
of older children (<12y) and adolescents (<18y). These
age groups are underrepresented in smaller cemeteries for
which information is available on the age of buried
individuals. One explanation is that burial was simply less
selective at Fossa than in the other cemeteries. Another
possibility is that the size of cemeteries was related to
scales of social interaction and that we have to distinguish
between smaller cemeteries with a local character and
large cemeteries with a regional character. In that case,
the fact that infants and young children (<6y) were
selected for elaborate acts of burial in smaller cemeteries
could have been connected with a threshold age of
initiation into social life beyond the local, domestic
sphere, as argued for the previous period. The elabo-
rateness of child burials, as acts of structured deposition
unparalleled in adult burials in local cemeteries, suggests
that it was this young age group that was singled out to
articulate domestic with collective identities in the Early
Iron Age and the first phase of the Late Iron Age.
Lazio
In Lazio burial became more or less non-selective in the
Early Iron Age, which gave rise to larger cemeteries, in
some cases consisting of hundreds of burials. Given the
wealth of burial evidence, the focus in this section will lie
on established interpretations and, more in particular,
previous studies on child burials in the region. Although
this suggests that Early Iron Age burial in Lazio is well
known, child burials remain underrepresented, with
respect to adult burials, in the archaeological record. The
debate on child burials focuses on the transition from the
Early Iron Age to the Late Iron Age, when a tradition of
infant burials emerged that was associated with houses in
a number of settlement contexts (among other places,
Rome) in the southern part of the region, and coincided
with the disappearance of this age group from cemeteries
(Bietti Sestieri & De Santis 1985, 39ff; Modica 1993).
Before we turn to this later tradition of special treatment
of infants with its obvious domestic connotations, I will
illustrate the situation in the Early Iron Age and make
comparisons with the situation in the Final Bronze Age,
by taking one of the largest and best-published Iron Age
cemeteries, Osteria dell’Osa (Bietti Sestieri 1992a &
1992b), as an example. In an attempt to explore the
domestic aspects of burials in this cemetery on an earlier
occasion (Van Rossenberg 2005c), I have given the
wrong impression by presenting a number of elements
that are specific to distinct phases of the cemetery, as if
they occurred simultaneously. Here I will be more precise
and elaborate on the Early Iron Age phases of the
cemetery.
In terms of burial traditions in the Early Iron Age the
Lazio region can be divided roughly into two parts, one to
the north of the Tiber river, i.e. Southern Etruria, where
 E. VAN ROSSENBERG: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION IN THE BRONZE AGE
cremation predominated, and the other to the south, i.e.
Latium Vetus, where inhumation and cremation co-
existed, albeit the latter as a minority. For instance, at the
Iron Age cemetery of Osteria dell’Osa approximately
twenty cremation burials are outnumbered by some five
hundred inhumation burials. The majority of the
cremations can be dated to the first phase of the cemetery,
in the first phase of the Early Iron Age. They were
invested with domestic symbolism (Van Rossenberg
2005c, 130), epitomised by the house shape of more than
half of the urns. Unlike the situation in the Final Bronze
Age, in the Early Iron Age infants/children were excluded
from cremation burials, save two adolescents or young
adults (17-20y) (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 563 and 616). In
comparison with the Final Bronze Age situation that
showed an overrepresentation of infants (<6y) followed
by an underrepresentation (or age gap) including adoles-
cence (6-18y), the age distribution of young individuals
buried in the cemetery of Osteria in the first phase of the
Early Iron Age seems normal. The age distribution of
child burials dated to this phase is as follows: seventeen
infants (0-5y), eleven children (6-10y), eleven older
children/adolescents (11-15y) and six adolescents/young
adults (16-20y).
If we take a look at the spatial distribution of cremations
and child burials in this first phase of the cemetery, both
categories stand out. Half of the cremation burials can be
found dispersed at the centre of the cemetery and seem to
have served as a focus, surrounded as they are by
inhumation burials. The other half make up a cluster in a
relatively open space at the margin of the cemetery that
was reserved for cremation burials and structured
(re)depositions of cremation assemblages, consisting of
the urn and miniature objects (metalwork and accessory
vessels), placed in graves normally used for inhumation.
Given the apparent significance of the handling of
cremation assemblages, this area of the cemetery can be
regarded as a focus for ritual practices with a domestic
connotation. Some child burials (<10y) were situated at
the margin of this particular area, but the majority were
spatially clustered with the dispersed cremation burials at
the heart of the cemetery. The paradox of the exclusion of
children from cremation burials, on the one hand, and the
spatial connection between cremations and child burials,
on the other, highlights that they were equally con-
ceptualised as acts of structured deposition with a
domestic connotation in the context of the cemetery. This
is reinforced by the fact that elaborate child burials at
Osteria included ornaments, for which a domestic
connotation has been argued both in the Final Bronze Age
and in the Early Iron Age in Abruzzo. Such a long-term
and interregional perspective might argue against the
interpretation proposed by the excavators (Bietti Sestieri
1992b, 504) that ornaments were gender specific (female)
grave goods in infant/child burials, rather than of a
generic domestic connotation.
In the second phase of the cemetery a new type of burial
for infants/children was introduced, in the form of
169
AND EARLY IRON AGE …
inhumations in large storage vessels, i.e. objects with an
obvious domestic connotation. These vessels were placed
horizontally in a grave and contained infants/children in a
supine position, which restricted this burial practice to
children with a particular height and age (<6y). The
excavators argue that this practice was gender specific
(boys) (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 503f), probably given the
absence of ornaments, rather than of a generic domestic
connotation (cf. above). In this second phase, the
cemetery at Osteria expanded and new burial plots were
laid out, while the old plots remained in use.
Significantly, in the first phase, the first pair of burials in
this new area had been an elaborate child burial (7-8y)
and a structured (re)deposition of a cremation assemblage
in a grave (Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 634 and 698f), in this
case associated with the laying-out of a new part of the
cemetery (cf. child burials in Iron Age cemeteries in
Abruzzo). This element of foundation underscores the
domestic connotation and central position of cremations
and child burials as acts of structured deposition in the
cemetery at Osteria. With the expansion of the cemetery
in the second phase and the rarity of new cremation
burials, child burials became a focus in themselves and
started to cluster in their own right. In the overall
distribution of the first and second phases of the cemetery
(i.e. the first phase of the Early Iron Age) child burials
were situated on the reconstructed boundaries between
groups of burials that are regarded by the excavators as
family plots. Rather than at the margins of one group (i.e.
a household or extended family), this would have situated
child burials – as acts of structured deposition with a
domestic connotation – between groups, and thus at the
centre of community formation in the context of the
communal cemetery.
In the third phase of the cemetery (i.e. the second phase of
the Early Iron Age), the emphasis in elaborate burials
shifted from infants/children to adolescents, in the form of
so-called weaver (or spinner) burials with large numbers
of ornaments, spindlewhorls and bobbins. On an earlier
occasion, I have argued for the conceptual complement-
tarity between “weaver burials” and cremations as acts of
structured deposition with a domestic connotation (Van
Rossenberg 2005c, 130), but presented these practices as
if they were contemporaneous phenomena at Osteria
(following the ‘synchronic’ approach of the first three
phases in Bietti Sestieri 1992b, 491-513). One reason for
this mistake is the persuasiveness of stereotypical gender
identities, i.e. male cremations (or “warrior burials”) and
female “weaver burials”, which are often generalised to
such an extent that the limits of contemporaneity are
stretched (Whitehouse 2001, 83-87). Here it should be
stressed that both practices, one following the other, can
be regarded as elaborate burials or acts of structured
deposition with a domestic connotation (Van Rossenberg
2005c). In this respect, we also have to consider to what
extent the expression of idealised gender identities may
have been confined to the context of burial and was
connected with particular age groups. In the cemetery of
Osteria “weaver burials” predominantly represented older
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
children (>12y) and young adults (<25y) (Bietti Sestieri
1992b, 504ff). This shows a shift in focus at Osteria in
terms of the elaboration of child burials from younger age
groups (<12y) in the first phase of the Early Iron Age to
older age groups (>12y) in the second phase of the Early
Iron Age, probably in connection with the expression of
age groups eligible for marriage. Significantly, the
decrease in emphasis on infants/children (<12y) coincided
with the emergence of the practice of infant/child burials
in the context of settlements at the transition from the
Early Iron Age to the Late Iron Age (Bietti Sestieri & De
Santis 1985; Modica 1993).
As mentioned in the introduction of this section, the
discussion of this category of burials focuses on the
evidence from a number of settlements (i.e. Rome,
Ficana, Lavinium and Ardea) in the southern part of Lazio
(Bietti Sestieri & De Santis 1985; Modica 1993; Teegen
1997; Roncoroni 2000). In the north, in Southern Etruria,
only one child burial has been reported from Tarquinia as
a putative example of the settlement burial tradition
(Teegen 1997, 238). However, this child (8y) was not
buried in a settlement context in the second phase of the
Early Iron Age, but in an area that had been in use as a
communal cult place since the end of the Final Bronze
Age (Bonghi Jovino 2005). In the context of ritual
practices, four neonates were buried in the same plot in
the Late Iron Age (Chiaramonte Treré 1995). This shows
an interesting parallel with the situation in the south of the
region, where the age groups buried in settlement plots
changed from children (7-12y) at the end of the Early Iron
Age, to neonates and infants (0-5y) in the Late Iron Age
(Modica 1993, fig. 8). As at Tarquinia, the plots that were
reserved for infant burials in the context of settlements in
the south, were connected with domestic ritual practice,
given the spatial association with houses. These plots
provided a communal focus for additional burials and
other domestic ritual practices, and were in some cases
institutionalised at a later stage. For instance, the
foundation of the sanctuary with domestic connotations at
Satricum at the end of the Late Iron Age was spatially and
conceptually associated with an earlier settlement burial
plot (Teegen 1997, 240f), possibly similar to the strati-
graphically more complicated situation of early settle-
ments in Rome itself (Modica 1993; Roncoroni 2000).
This shows that we should not underestimate the degree
of conceptual continuity in the historical trajectory of
particular ritual practices and places. It may also explain
why there is an opportunity to prolong the tradition of
early historic Roman attitudes to child burial (Norman
2002) into the Late, if not Early Iron Age (Modica 1993;
Roncoroni 2000).
INFANT/CHILD BURIALS AND SOCIAL
REPRODUCTION
In adopting a long-term approach to child burial in
Abruzzo and Lazio, the aim of this article has not been to
retroject early historic sources back into the Bronze Age.
170
What has been shown, is that the treatment of the
youngest age groups in a distinctive manner at death had a
long history and can be recognised throughout the Bronze
Age and Early Iron Age, although the position of child
burials in the cultural landscape changed continuously.
Whereas in the earlier phases of the Bronze Age
infant/child burial was connected with collective places of
burial and ritual practice, with the emergence of
individual burial traditions in the later phases of the
Bronze Age special treatment of infants/children in the
context of cemeteries can be recognised more easily. The
latter practices show continuity in the selection of
younger age groups (<6y or <10y) for elaborate burials in
the context of communal cemeteries in the earlier phases
of the Iron Age. As such, we should regard child burials
as an opportunity to express central values in an act of
structured deposition. Contrary to the simple notion of
“wealthy child burials” as a reflection of personal status
per se, I have argued that child burials were used to
articulate domestic with collective identities. In this res-
pect, child burials can be regarded as one of the signi-
ficant locales where social and cultural reproduction took
place, and where we can locate social and cultural change.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I would like to thank Krum Bacvarov
and Tatiana Mishina for inviting me to present a paper in
the context of their workshop “Babies Reborn: infant/
children burials in prehistory”. My participation in the
UISPP conference at Lisbon was made possible with
funding by the Leids Universiteits Fonds (LUF) and the
Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. This paper is
based on my PhD research “Social reproduction and
transformation in cultural landscapes in the long term.
The material conditions of social life in the Bronze Age
and Early Iron Age of Central Italy” in progress (2003-
2007) at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University.
From its inception, this project has been funded partly by
the Royal Dutch Institute at Rome with invaluable one-
and two-month scholarships on a number of occasions.
I’d like to thank Krum Bacvarov, John Bintliff, Quentin
Bourgeois, Laura Crowley, Marjolijn Kok, Alice Samson
and Hanna Stoeger for their comments upon reading
drafts of this paper, although not preventing me from
making my own mistakes. Finally, I would like to thank
my supervisors John Bintliff and Harry Fokkens (Leiden
University), and Peter van Dommelen (University of
Glasgow) for their continuous support.
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173
 A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN
FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA
Eileen M. MURPHY
Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, eileen.murphy@qub.ac.uk

Abstract: The cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg is located in the Autonomous Republic of Tuva in south Siberia. The paper will focus
on information derived from a group of 3rd and 2nd centuries BC burials, attributed to the Scythian period, who were semi-nomadic
pastoralists. An overview of certain findings derived from the osteoarchaeological analysis and of relevance to subadults will be
provided. The adoption of a biocultural approach has enabled this information to be married with relevant archaeological and
historical data. The paper will conclude by suggesting how a better understanding of prehistoric Eurasian nomadic children might
be gained through the use of modern anthropological research in the area today.
Keywords: Iron Age, Siberia, osteoarchaeology, biocultural, ethnography

Résumé: Le complexe funéraire d’Aymyrlyg est situé en République Autonome de Tuva en Sibérie du Sud. L’article se concentre sur
les données obtenues à partir d’un groupe de sépultures de pastoralistes semi-nomades du 3ème et 2ème siècle avant J.-C., attribué à la
période Scythienne. Une vue d’ensemble de certaines des trouvailles résultant de l’analyse ostéo-archéologique, et concernant le
groupe juvénile, est fournie. L’adoption d’une approche bioculturelle a permis l’association de ces résultats avec de pértinentes
données archéologiques et historiques. L’article conclu en suggérant comment on peut obtenir aujourd’hui, grâce à la recherche
anthropologique moderne dans la region, une meilleure compréhension des enfants préhistoriques nomades d’Eurasie.
Mots clefs: Age du Fer, Sibérie, ostéo-archéologie, bioculturel, ethnographie

INTRODUCTION
The paper will discuss findings derived from a study of a
population of 809 Scythian period individuals that proved
to include the remains of 171 subadults (i.e. those under
approximately 17 years of age)1. The results obtained
during this research programme have provided evidence
for a wide variety of palaeopathological lesions, including
those characteristic of developmental defects, infection,
metabolic disease and traumatic injuries. A biocultural
approach has been followed which has enabled the
information derived from the human skeletal remains to
be married with archaeological and historical data related
to this culture. A summary of some of the main findings
of the osteoarchaeological analysis of relevance to
children will be provided (a more detailed discussion of
the research can be found in Murphy 1998). This work
has enabled many insights to be gained concerned the
health and lifestyle of the subadults, and the attitudes
shown towards them by their adult counterparts. The final
section of the paper will discuss how we might gain a
more holistic understanding of the children from pre-
historic Eurasian steppe nomadic populations through
recourse to modern ethnographic evidence.
It is first necessary to provide an overview of the archaeo-
logical context to explain who was buried at Aymrylyg.
1
The following age-at-death categories are used throughout the text:
infant (0-2 years); child (2-6 years); juvenile (6-12 years); adolescent
(12-17 years). Age-at-death determinations were made on the basis of
dental calcification (Moorrees et al. 1963; Smith 1991), dental eruption
(Ubelaker 1989, 64), epiphyseal fusion (Ferembach et al. 1980, 530-2;
Ubelaker 1989, 75) and diaphyseal lengths of the long bones (Ubelaker
1989, 70-1). Where possible, most emphasis was placed on the age
determinations derived from the more reliable dental calcification and
development methods (see Scheuer & Black 2000, 13 for further
discussion).
The group under study derived from the Scythian period
and form part of the broader Scythian World. This term is
applied to a group of archaeological cultures dating from
approximately the 7th to the 2nd centuries BC and located
in the steppes, forest-steppes, foothills and mountains of
the Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the
northern part of China (Clenova 1994, 499; Yablonsky
2000). The culture of the Scythian World in Tuva is
called the Uyuk Culture, and it would have been bordered
by the Pazyryk Culture to the west and the Tagar Culture
to the north (Mandelshtam 1992, 179).
The material culture of the Eurasian steppe nomads and
semi-nomads was markedly similar, as too were the
political and economic practices which they each appear
to have followed (Abetekov & Yusopov 1994, 23). The
common material culture of the Scythian World is known
as the Scythian Triad and consists of weapons, horse
harnesses, and objects decorated in the Animal Style of
artwork (Moskova 1994, 231). Other components of the
Scythian World (such as dwellings, burial customs,
ceramics and adornments) differ considerably, however,
between the various cultures. Consequently, this is why it
is not possible to envisage a single Scythian Culture but
rather a variety of cultures of the Scythian World
(Clenova 1994, 500-501; Yablonsky 2000).
Artefacts discovered in Tuva’s Scythian period funerary
monuments indicate that the economy of these highland-
steppe peoples was based upon semi-nomadic pastoralism
augmented with land-cultivation, hunting and gathering
(Murphy 2003a, 9-10). It is generally accepted that steppe
nomads lived in portable felt tents known as yurts. The
skilled carving and building techniques evident in the
remains of their burial structures – log house tombs and
stone cists – suggest, however, that permanent buildings

175
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 18.1. Map showing the location of the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tuva, south Siberia
may also have been used, possibly at the site of their
winter camps. The important role that warfare played in
society is betrayed by the great variety of weaponry
contained within the tombs of the Uyuk Culture (Murphy
2003a, 11-12).
THE CEMETERY OF AYMYRLYG
The cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg is located in the
Ulug-Khemski region of the Autonomous Republic of
Tuva in south Siberia (Fig. 18.1). The burials originated
from two main groups, with the majority of earlier
interments dating to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, and
attributed to the Scythian period. The burial ground was
excavated between 1968 and 1984 by archaeologists from
the Sayano-Tuvinskaya Expedition Team of the Institute
for the History of Material Culture in St. Petersburg. The
excavations were directed by Dr. A. M. Mandelshtam
during the period between 1968 and 1978, and the
research programme then continued under Dr. E. U.
Stambulnik until the mid-1980s.
The interior structure of the Scythian period tombs most
frequently encountered at Aymyrlyg were rectangular log
house tombs. A considerable number of individuals could
be buried within a log house tomb, with as many as 15
skeletons being recovered from individual examples.
176
These communal tombs are generally thought to have
been family tombs. Large and small stone cists of
Scythian period date were also commonly encountered at
Aymyrlyg (Fig. 18.2). Interestingly, the majority of
smaller cists have been found to contain the remains of
subadults (Mandelshtam 1983, 33). Although a detailed
statistical analysis of Scythian period mortuary practice at
Aymyrlyg has not been undertaken, a variety of funerary
rites appear to have been applied to subadults, with some
having been buried within communal log house tombs,
while others were interred individually within the smaller
cists.
In terms of the grave goods recovered from the burials at
Aymyrlyg a wide variety of weaponry (daggers, pointed
axes, arrowheads), horse accoutrements (bits, cheek
pieces, bridles), utilitarian tools (knives, awls, needles),
pottery and wooden vessels, foodstuffs (joints of mutton,
spoons in empty bowls), items of clothing (scraps of
leather, fur, woollen fabric), jewellery (belts and belt
buckles, earrings, bracelets, pendants), personal items
(pins, combs, bronze mirrors) and possible ritual objects
(two handled bronze pots, birch bark portraits) have been
recovered. No attempt has yet been made to associate the
artefacts with individuals of different age and/or sex.
Indeed, it would be difficult to undertake a valid statistical
analysis of the artefacts associated with specific skeletons
within the log house tombs due to their communal nature.
 E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA

Fig. 18.2. (a) Infant buried within a stone cist of unknown context from Aymyrlyg, (b) Log House Tomb X. 1 from
Aymyrlyg that contained the remains of at least two adults, both of whom displayed weapon trauma, as well as at least
three subadults. One of the subadults appears to have been an infant whose remains were placed in the bottom left
corner of the tomb and it is considered possible that the baby’s cranium may also display weapon trauma (Both images
are courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture, St. Petersburg)

A perusal of the site archive indicates that subadults were
buried with a variety of grave goods, however, including
pots and wooden vessels. Some subadults were associated
with a rich repertoire of items; a 6-7 year old juvenile
recovered from Log House II. 8 (Sk. 4), for example, was
associated with an iron pin, a bead, three gold plates, a
wooden vessel, a clay jar, gold earrings, a bronze knife, a
bronze awl and a bronze mirror in a leather bag. Such a
finding may indicate that Scythian period subadults could
hold a relatively high status position in society.
HISTORICAL SOURCES
The main historical sources which provide an insight into
the lifestyles of the Scythian tribes are the Histories of
Herodotus and the Pseudo-Hippocratic Writings by an
unknown Greek doctor. Herodotus, writing in the 5th
century BC, devoted Book IV of his Histories to discussing
the Scythians, while the Pseudo-Hippocratic Writings
include some interesting, and rather unflattering, views on
the health of the Scythian populations in the treatise on
Airs, Waters, Places, probably written in the second half of
the 5th century BC. It is generally considered, however,
that the descriptions of these authors were biased by alien
sensitivities to the nomadic way of life (Rolle 1989, 54).
Nevertheless, Herodotus’ work is considered to provide
the most informative descriptions of the non-literate socie-
ties of his time. There has been considerable disagreement
over the reliability of his account but many 20th century
archaeological discoveries have generally corroborated
with his writings, especially his descriptions of the burial
rites associated with the death of a ‘Royal Scythian’ and
his accounts of female warriors (Murphy 2004).
Both of the above accounts indicate that the Scythians
were nomadic and lived in wagons drawn by oxen and
enclosed by felt walls. The wagons were divided into two
or three sections and built like houses, thereby providing
protection against rain, snow and wind. The Scythian
females lived in the wagons, while the males rode on
horseback followed by their herds. They would stay in
one spot and only moved on when there was no longer
enough grass to feed their herds (Chadwick & Mann
1978, 163).
Pseudo-Hippocrates stated that the Scythians were the
least prolific of all races, and attributed this to the harsh
environment in which they lived. The people were all of
similar physique since they ate the same sorts of food,
wore the same clothes, breathed moist thick air, drank
water from the snow and ice and did no hard work. Both
males and females were described as being fat and hair-
less, with the two sexes resembling one another (Chad-
wick & Mann 1978, 164). Pseudo-Hippocrates was of the
opinion they were flabby and stout because they were not
wrapped in swaddling clothes as infants and were not
accustomed to horse-riding when they were children. The
writer also thought that they were too inactive as children,
with the male children spending most of their time sitting
in wagons, while the girls were described as being
‘amazingly flabby and podgy’. The Scythian people also
had ruddy complexions because of the cold environment,
which caused their fair skins to become reddened and
burned (Chadwick & Mann 1978, 164-165).
It is clearly evident that the historical sources generally
remain silent when it comes to the children of Iron Age
Eurasia, and the nature of their role within society largely
remains invisible within these accounts. The next section
of the paper will provide an overview of some of the main
lines of osteological and palaeopathological evidence
from Aymyrlyg to see what insights this approach can
provide about the children of Scythian period Tuva.

177
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
DEVELOPMENTAL DEFECTS
Developmental defects are relatively common in modern
populations, occurring with a frequency of between 1%
and 5% in all live births. The defects occur with even
greater frequencies in stillbirths and natural abortions, and
are one of the highest causes of neonatal and infant death
(Kennedy 1967, 1). The causes of developmental defects
in humans are complex. They may occur as a result of
specific dominant or recessive genes, arise sporadically or
follow a familial tendency (Fraser 1959, 97-99). In
addition, environmental factors such as maternal dietary
deficiencies (e.g. hypovitaminosis A and lack of
riboflavin) and excesses (e.g. a fatty diet) during early
pregnancy can result in the occurrence of developmental
defects (Seller 1987, 227). It is generally considered that
the majority of defects arise from complex interactions
between genetic predispositions and subtle factors in the
intrauterine environment (Fraser 1959, 108).
Minor anomalies
Many Scythian period individuals displayed minor
developmental anomalies, such as cleft neural arches,
cranial-caudal border shifting and metopic sutures, all of
which would have been of little or no consequence to the
affected individual (Murphy 1998). It is possible that the
relatively high levels of these minor anomalies are an
indication that a small gene pool was present within the
group. The practice of communal burial in the log house
tombs of the Scythian period provided a rare opportunity
for the examination of supposed familial groups within an
archaeological population. Support for the assertion that
sporadic congenital defects occur along familial lines
(Barnes 1994, 293) may be found in the presence of
specific defects among individuals buried within the same
communal tombs.
Possible parent - child relationships may be suggested
through the occurrence of cleft neural arch defects in a
woman (Sk. 5) and a subadult (Sk. 6) from Log House
Tomb I. 3 who both displayed clefting at the lumbosacral
border. Clefting was also apparent at the lumbosacral
border of a woman (Sk. 6 (i)) and two children (Sk. 5; no
number) buried together in Log House Tomb II. 5, and
clefting of the sacral vertebrae was evident in the remains
of a man (Sk. 4) and a child (ii) from Log House Tomb
XXI. 4. Both adults and subadults displayed clefting
defects in these three tombs and it is possible that the
skeletons were those of parents and their children.
Major defects
A number of Scythian period individuals displayed more
serious defects that would have interfered with the day to
day existence of the affected persons (see Murphy 2000
for a detailed description of these individuals). Although
most of the individuals included in the discussion were
adults when they died it is important to remember that
such defects would generally have arisen before the
178
individuals were born and would in all likelihood have
affected them throughout their childhood.
A 25-35 year old probable male (i), and a 35-45 year old
probable female (iv) from Log House Tomb XXIII. 13
displayed hypoplastic mandibles and may have had
abnormal facial appearances. The hypoplasia would pro-
bably not, however, have caused major disability apart
from eventual degenerative joint disease of the temporo-
mandibular joints. A 17-25 year old possible female (D. 5.
Sk. 6) and a 25-35 year old female (VI. 10. Sk. 1)
displayed developmental dysplasia and congenital dislo-
cation of the hip. Both individuals would have had
abnormal gaits, and less efficient locomotory powers than
most unaffected members of society. Three individuals
(E. 1, 25-35 year old male; VII. B/E, 35-45 year old male;
XXIII. 17, 35-45 year old female) with possible slipped
femoral capital epiphyses may also have had gait
disturbances and less powerful locomotory capabilities
relative to the unaffected members of society.
Three individuals were identified as having had poly-
tropic defects (i.e. defects which affected multiple parts of
the body) and they would definitely have displayed
abnormal facial characteristics. A 25-35 year old female
(XXIII. 10. Sk. 2), with possible neurofibromatosis,
would have had a dysplastic facies with a grossly
enlarged and probably protruding eyeball. In addition, she
would probably have had reduced vision in the affected
eye. Other physical characteristics of neurofibromatosis
include the occurrence of café au lait spots, skin tumours,
kyphoscoliosis, pseudoarthroses as well as a large range
of other abnormalities (Gorlin et al. 1976, 536-538). An
8-10 year old juvenile (IV. 2. Sk. 7), with possible
Goldenhar syndrome, would have displayed unilateral
hypoplasia of the left side of the skull. He or she may also
have displayed abnormalities of the external ear and been
deaf, had eye defects possibly including microphthalmia
or anophthalmia, suffered from mental retardation, and
had vertebral anomalies (Gorlin et al. 1976, 548-550). A
25-35 year old adult male (IV. 2. Sk. 3a), with possible
frontometaphyseal dysplasia, would also have displayed
abnormal facial characteristics. His facial features would
have been coarse with large brow-ridges, widely spaced
eyes and an asymmetrical face and chin. He may also
have been deaf, had poor vision, had a short trunk with
long extremities, elongated fingers and relatively
immobile joints (McAlister & Herman 1995, 4207). It is
unfortunate that in all three cases only the skull was
preserved and it is therefore impossible to determine the
full extent of skeletal involvement.
The appearance of individuals with major developmental
defects in an archaeological population group can enable
us to elucidate information about the society’s attitude
towards these affected individuals (see Murphy 2000).
The occurrence of adults with such prominent develop-
mental defects in the group from Aymyrlyg indicates that
even after the development of observable physical disa-
bilities and disfigurements, presumably during childhood,
 E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA
the individuals were not deliberately excluded or killed.
Indeed, the inclusion of a number of these individuals in
communal graves with apparently unaffected people
might suggest they were held in a similar regard to other
members of society. At its most basic level clearly these
individuals were allowed to reach adulthood, and some
effort must have been made to enable them to survive.
The historical and ethnographic sources stress the semi-
nomadic nature of this society and it is probable the
individuals would have spent a proportion of their time
travelling in wagons across the steppes between their
seasonal camps (Sélincourt & Burn 1972, 286; Chadwick
& Mann 1978, 163; Vainshtein 1980, 51-52). Conse-
quently, certain individuals with physical disabilities of
their limbs would probably have needed assistance with
the most basic of activities such as getting in and out of
the wagons.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Periosteal new bone formation
Only a small number of adults and children from
Aymyrlyg displayed signs of non-specific infection. The
occurrence of skeletal indicators of infection is a sign of a
long-term response to pathogenic attack and therefore
reflects a vigorous immune response (Larsen 1999, 107).
It is difficult to know if the lesions arose because the
individuals were genuinely healthy or if many of them
had succumbed to death as a result of infection before any
lesions had a chance to develop in their remains. A total
of 19 individuals displayed periosteal new bone formation
on one or more bones2. No infants or children displayed
signs of infection, with four 6-12 year olds and two 12-17
year olds displaying the lesions. This trend might be an
indication that the youngest children were more likely to
die as a result of the processes that caused the periosteal
new bone formation before they had a chance to develop
to the stage whereby they had affected the bone.
Tuberculosis
Four Scythian period individuals, including two sub-
adults, displayed possible signs of tuberculosis3. Lytic
lesions were evident in the proximal epiphysis of the right
2
An approximate prevalence of 2.3% (19/809) can be estimated for the
prevalence of periosteal new bone formation among the Scythian period
group. This does not take into account, however, the differential
preservation of the individuals.
The author is aware that periosteal new bone formation can also be due
to inflammatory responses as a result of direct trauma (Ortner &
Putschar 1981, 129-30), disease processes which cause physiological
stress (Ribot & Roberts 1996, 70) or haemorrhaging diseases, such as
scurvy (Roberts 1987, 14). A detailed discussion of the problems
involved with the interpretation of periosteal new bone formation is
beyond the scope of this paper but see Murphy (1998) for a more
detailed discussion.
3
An approximate prevalence of 0.5% (4/809) can be estimated for the
prevalence of possible tuberculosis among the Scythian period group.
This does not take into account, however, the differential preservation of
the individuals.
179
humerus of a 12.5-18.5 year old adolescent (X. 1. Sk. 2
(ii)). A 0.5-2.5 year old infant (XII. 4 (ii)) displayed thick
plaques of periosteal new bone on the posterior surface of
the right clavicle and on the anterior and visceral surfaces
of all ribs and the heads of five right ribs had been subject
to lytic destruction.
Given the semi-nomadic economy of this population,
characterised by extensive pastoralism and secondary
agriculture, the discovery of tuberculosis is not really
unexpected (Khazanov 1984, 19). Archaeological and
historical sources indicate that the Aymyrlyg groups
would have kept herds of sheep, goats, horses and cattle
(Mannai-Ool 1970, 91; Sélincourt & Burn 1972, 286).
They would obviously have been heavily reliant on
animal products for food and would have lived in close
proximity to their livestock, thereby making them
susceptible to catching the bovine form of the disease.
Indeed, M. bovis infection is known to occur in all of the
animals listed above (cf. O’Reilly & Daborn 1995; Moda
et al. 1996). The human-to-human form of the disease is
dependent on the existence of groups of individuals living
in close proximity to one another (Roberts & Manchester
1995, 136). It is possible that the semi-nomads would
have undertaken their migrations in small groups of
several families, although the historical evidence for the
succeeding Hunno-Sarmatian period indicates that people
travelled together in close proximity in wagons and were
capable of migrations which involved large numbers of
people (Watson 1961). As such, the semi-nomadic
lifestyle may also have been conducive to the spread of
the M. tuberculosis form of the disease. A DNA study of
Hunno-Sarmatian period individuals from Aymrylyg,
however, has revealed that this group were definitely
affected by the bovine form of tuberculosis (Taylor et al.,
2007) and it remains to be ascertained if the same was
true for the earlier Scythian period population.
METABOLIC DISEASE
Metabolic diseases are often regarded as indicators of
stress. The metabolic lesions present in skeletal and dental
remains are representative of an individual’s adaptive
response to the physiological stressors which would have
affected him or her during childhood when their body was
still growing and developing (Roberts & Manchester
1995, 163). The body’s response to stress is dependent on
several factors including the status of the individual’s
immune system, genetic predisposition, age and sex. The
soft-tissues of the body are generally more severely and
rapidly affected by stress relative to the skeleton. Conse-
quently, for the stress to have caused observable skeletal
changes it has to have been severe and/or occurred over a
long period of time (Martin et al. 1985, 230; Goodman et
al. 1988, 177). A skeleton with no lesions characteristic of
stress can either be indicative that the individual was
healthy and not under physiological stress, or that he or
she had been subject to constant stress and the body had
not had the opportunity to recover from the insults
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
(Roberts & Manchester 1995, 164). The metabolic lesions
recorded for the Aymyrlyg individuals comprised cribra
orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasia.
Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis
Cribra orbitalia is the term used to refer to generally
symmetrical lesions which have the morphology of small
perforations of varying size and density and are apparent
in the cortical bone of the superior aspects of the orbit.
The occurrence of lesions of similar morphology in the
skull vault, particularly the frontal, parietals and the
occipital, is referred to as porotic hyperostosis. In addi-
tion, in many cases the diploë reveals an increase in
thickness (Stuart-Macadam 1991, 36). The occurrence of
cribra orbitalia and/or porotic hyperostosis in adult
individuals is likely to be indicative of childhood iron
deficiency anaemia.
In total, 945 Scythian period orbits were examined, 18%
(168/945) of which displayed cribra orbitalia. Sixteen
percent (39/240) of observable subadult orbits displayed
cribra orbitalia; it is evident that the greatest proportions
of subadults with lesions were aged 0-2 years (6/20) and
6-12 years (19/98). It was possible to examine the crania
of 473 individuals, 9% (41/473) of which displayed
porotic hyperostosis. When the prevalence was calculated
on the basis of age-at-death it was evident that the lesions
were most prevalent in individuals aged between 12-25
years of age. Ten percent (12/121) of observable subadult
vaults displayed porotic hyperostosis.
It has been suggested that diet plays a role in the
development of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis
although the occurrence of iron-deficiency as a cones-
quence of inadequate diet in an otherwise healthy person
is rare (Stuart-Macadam 1989, 213). Heme iron is present
in high quantities in several foodstuffs, including red
meat, poultry and shellfish, and is easily absorbed by the
intestines (Mensforth et al. 1978, 17). Plants generally
contain nonheme iron which is less readily absorbed. In
addition, various components known as phytates and
found in nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts), cereal crops (eg.
maize, rice, whole wheat flour) and legumes (e.g. peas)
inhibit the absorption of iron (Larsen 1999, 29). Con-
sequently, the transition from hunter-gathering to agri-
culture may have resulted in iron deficiency in the past as
people came to rely more and more on plant foods. The
archaeological, ethnographic and historical information
indicates that the Scythian population from Tuva were
principally pastoralists. As such, the products obtained
from plant agriculture, hunting and gathering activities
probably played a supplementary role in the diet to the
meat and milk products of the pastoralist economy.
Although poor diet may have contributed to the
occurrence of anaemia in the past it is probable that other
factors were also involved. Children with low birth
weights are susceptible to anaemia, and haemorrhaging
disorders and chronic diarrhoea can also result in ana-
180
emia. In addition, excessive blood loss as a result of
injury, parasitic infestation of the gastrointestine, and
infection may have contributed to the occurrence of iron
deficiency anaemia in the past (Hengen 1971, 67-70;
Larsen 1999, 29-30).
Epidemiological studies have indicated that prolonged
milk feeding and weaning diets based on maize or cereal
gruels are commonly associated with a high frequency of
anaemia in infants. This arises, at least partly, from the
high phosphorous content of milk and cereal which
inhibits the absorption of dietary iron (Mensforth et al.
1978, 18). In a semi-nomadic economy with a heavy
dependence on animal products, animal milk would have
probably formed a major component of the diet for
children once they had been weaned from their mother’s
milk. Young children in the first few years of life are
particularly susceptible to environmental stressors since
this is the stage in their life when they go through a period
of greatly accelerated growth which leads to an increased
demand for nutrients (Stuart-Macadam 1989, 219). If the
Aymyrlyg children had a diet rich in animal milk it is
possible the absorption of dietary iron would have been
inhibited and that this would have caused some of them to
suffer from iron deficiency anaemia.
Dental enamel hypoplasia
Enamel hypoplasia is one of the most common
developmental defects of the tooth enamel. The defect
arises as a consequence of the disturbance of ameloblasts
during enamel matrix production (Hillson 1986, 130).
Once a hypoplastic defect has occurred in the enamel it
cannot be removed since enamel does not have the ability
to remodel. Consequently, a hypoplastic defect acts as a
memory to an incident of physiological stress which
affected the ameloblast activity during the first seven
years of an individual’s life (Dobney & Goodman 1991,
81). Modern clinical studies have indicated that hypo-
plastic defects can arise as result of a variety of conditions
including fever, starvation, congenital infections, low
birthweight and parasitic infestation (Lewis & Roberts
1997, 581). The aetiologies of enamel hypoplasia can be
categorised into two main groups, namely nutritional
deficiencies and childhood illnesses such as measles or
chickenpox (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 58). It was
possible to study the dentitions of some 365 individuals
from Scythian period Aymyrlyg for enamel hypoplastic
defects, 28.2% (103/365) of which displayed the lesions.
Infants and children
Hypoplastic defects were present in 13% (8/60) of indivi-
duals with observable deciduous teeth only4. Skeleton IV.
15. Sk. 1, a 4.5-5.5 year old child, had been subject to two
incidents of physiological stress, the first at birth and the
second during the first six months of life. The majority of
4
Enamel hypoplastic defects were calculated using the method of
Goodman et al. 1980.
 E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA
the nine incidents of physiological stress occurred when
the children were newly born (44%; 4/9), with 34% (3/9)
of events happening during the first six months of life and
22% (2/9) occurring when the individual was in the late
stages of being a foetus. Skeleton XII. 4 (ii), a 0.5-2.5
year old infant, displayed lesions of considerable severity.
This individual also displayed lesions indicative of a
systemic infection which may have been tuberculosis. It is
possible that the systemic infection was the stressor
responsible for the development of the severe hypoplastic
defects apparent in the teeth of this individual.
Juveniles
Fifty-two percent (12/23) of individuals with an age-at-
death less than 11-12 years and lacking fully developed
observable permanent teeth displayed hypoplastic defects.
A total of 17 incidents of stress were recorded. The
defects appeared to have occurred at a number of ages,
although the majority appear to have arisen when children
were approximately 2-3 years (53%: 9/17).
Adolescents and adults
It was possible to examine the permanent dentitions of
282 adult and adolescent (c. 11/12-17/18 years) indivi-
duals for hypoplastic defects, 29% (83/282) of which
displayed evidence of having been subject to one or more
incidents of physiological stress during childhood. A total
of 150 incidents of physiological stress were recorded. In
general terms, the commonest time for adolescents and
adults to have been subject to such incidents was 2-4
years of age (64.7%: 97/150).
When the frequency of hypoplastic defects apparent in
adults of both sexes was examined it was apparent that
females (30%: 27/89) were affected to a slightly greater
extent than their male counterparts (26%: 35/134).
Individuals with no evidence for hypoplastic defects had a
longer life expectancy than individuals with evidence of
having been subjected to one or more incident of stress. In
addition, individuals with evidence of having suffered a
single incident achieved a greater longevity than those
who had suffered from multiple incidents of physiological
stress (Murphy 1998). It would seem, therefore, that
individuals who had been subject to one or more incidents
of childhood stress had a reduced life expectancy. Three
processes have been suggested to account for this pattern.
First, individuals who were subject to physiological stress
as children probably continued to be susceptible to illness
as adults. Second, individuals who had been affected by
physiological stress as children may have been ‘biologi-
cally damaged’ by these events. Third, poor social con-
ditions could relate to the occurrence of both childhood
stressors and reduced life expectancy (Goodman 1991,
283).
There are a wide variety of aetiological factors respon-
sible for the development of enamel hypoplasia. These
factors can be divided into two broad groups; those which
181
are due to nutritional deficiency (e.g. calcium deficiency
or protein-carbohydrate malnutrition), and those which
occur as a consequence of childhood illnesses, such as
measles (Hillson 1986, 131). The Scythian period popula-
tion were semi-nomadic pastoralists and, as such, would
have relied heavily upon animal products for food, with
plant agricultural foodstuffs being of secondary impor-
tance in the diet. It is improbable, therefore, that the
enamel hypoplasia would have been related to dietary
deficiencies since foodstuffs derived from animals are
rich in protein and iron.
A number of studies have implicated weaning stress as
the cause of peak frequencies of hypoplastic defects
among individuals of 2-4 years of age since weaning
often represents a transition to a nutritionally inadequate
diet, and this can be accentuated for the worst when the
population is already marginally nourished (Huss-
Ashmore et al. 1982, 447-8). However, more recent
studies have shown that there are problems associated
with this theory (Blakely et al. 1994, 373). An alternative
explanation for the peak in frequency of hypoplastic
defects in the 2-4 year age group has been proposed,
however, and this argues that environmental disturbances
may affect children’s tooth enamel (Lewis & Roberts
1997, 582). If we accept this theory then it is possible that
the environmental factors associated with being a semi-
nomadic pastoralist resulted in some children having been
subject to physiological stress.
TRAUMA
Fractures
None of the Scythian period subadults displayed evidence
for post-cranial fractures. Some 1.7% (8/473) of the
Scythian period individuals displayed depressed fractures
of the crania; three of these individuals were subadults.
An 11.5-12.5 year old juvenile (II. 4. Sk. 3) displayed a
healed depressed fracture at the midpoint of the frontal
bone, while two adolescents (X. 3; X. 13. Sk. 6) displayed
healed depressed fractures on their right parietals
(Murphy 2003a, 45).
The majority of the depressed fractures apparent in the
adult males and females were present on the left side of
the frontals or parietals and this is of note since the head
is often the main target for attack in interpersonal and
intergroup violence (Roberts & Manchester 1995, 79).
The left front-parietal region of the cranium is the site at
which an injury would commonly be afflicted in hand-to-
hand combat when faced by a right handed opponent
(Wakely 1997, 26). It is probable, therefore, that most of
the depressed fractures evident in the Scythian period
crania had been deliberately inflicted, possibly by blunt
implements. So, how should the injuries among the three
older subadults be explained? Given the age of the
subadults it is quite probable that all three would have
been eligible to have engaged in warfaring practices,
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 18.3. (a) Cranium of a 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) that displayed a chekan injury on his/her left parietal
(Photo E. Murphy), (b) An example of a bronze chekan axe recovered from Log House Tomb II. 6 at Aymyrlyg
(Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Institute for the History of Material Culture, St. Petersburg)
although the possibility that the injuries were attained as a
result of accidents cannot be excluded.
Weapon injuries
Twelve Scythian period individuals displayed evidence of
weapon trauma which was probably inflicted using
pointed axes (chekans), resulting in a prevalence of 2.5%
(12/473) for these injuries. Two of the affected indivi-
duals were subadults. A 4-5 year old child (VI. 6) dis-
played a chekan injury on his/her left parietal (Fig. 18.3),
while a 7-10 year old juvenile (VI. 9 upper (ii)) displayed
a similar injury on his/her right parietal/frontal region. In
both cases no signs of healing were apparent (Murphy
2003a, 69). Many of the adult males and females with
similar injuries displayed multiple injuries. It is possible
that an axe would have been able to perforate immature
cranial bones with ease, causing irreparable trauma to the
brain, thereby making it unnecessary to deal further
blows. The occurrences of battle axe trauma in these two
relatively young Scythian period individuals may indicate
that not all of the individuals with weapon trauma were
killed in battle but that some may have been killed when
their camps or wagons were attacked by aggressors.
Decapitation and throat cutting
Skeleton D/G, a 5.5-6.5 year old child was the only
Scythian period individual to display evidence for
decapitation (Murphy 2003a, 70-4). The neural arches of
the third and fourth cervical vertebrae displayed clear
evidence of medio-lateral chopping. It is probable that the
cut marks on the third and fourth cervical vertebrae had
been attained in a single incident and that the head and
neck had been severed from the remainder of the body as
a result of these blows. The position of the chop marks on
the vertebrae would tend to suggest that the decapitation
had been undertaken from behind the individual.
Unfortunately, the skull of the individual was not present
and information concerning the archaeological context
182
was not available, but it is possible that he or she had
been buried without their head.
Various explanations have been proposed to explain the
presence of decapitated individuals in archaeological
contexts. The beheading may have been carried out for
punitive reasons, as part of a rite of human sacrifice, or
for the purposes of obtaining the head of a vanquished
enemy as a trophy of warfare (Taylor 2003).
This case was even more complicated because cut marks
were present on the anterior surface of the first and
second cervical vertebrae which may be indicative that
the individual had his or her throat cut (Murphy 2003a,
74). We can therefore imagine the horrible scenario that
the child first had his or her throat cut followed by
decapitation. It is impossible, however, to discern with
any degree of certainty whether this procedure was
undertaken for ritual or aggressive purposes.
Trepanation
A Scythian period adult female displayed a typical
trepanation, which appeared to have been undertaken
when the woman was alive, presumably for therapeutic
reasons. A 12-14 year old adolescent (II. 4. Sk. 6) also
displayed a trepanation but in this case the morphology of
the perforated area was quite different. The perforation
was present on the coronal suture immediately to the right
of the bregma, it had a smooth, bevelled margin with a
thickness of 8 mm and measured some 18 mm by 8 mm.
The bevelled margin had a glossy appearance which may
indicate that it had been made using a metal implement.
Alternatively, the polished margins of the perforation may
be suggestive of wear (Owsley et al. 1994). A number of
features tended to suggest that the perforation had been
made post-mortem and as Dastugue & Gervais (1992)
have suggested it is probably best to refer to the procedure
as a decoupage post-mortem or a post-mortem cranial
incision (Murphy 2003a, 76; Murphy 2003b, 213-15).
 E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA
Shallow scrape marks characteristic of defleshing were
also present and the cranium had a generally weathered
appearance.
It is possible that the procedure had been undertaken to
retrieval a roundel of bone, although the roundel would
have been extremely small. Nineteenth century ethno-
graphic studies of the Dyaks of Borneo revealed that each
village had a central house in which they kept the heads
of their dead prisoners, suspended by a string which
passed through a perforation in the superior aspect of the
cranium (Gillman 1876). Given the presence of the child
with evidence for throat cutting and decapitation among
the group one cannot exclude the possibility that the
adolescent’s head may have been suspended for either
ritual or warfaring purposes, or even as a combination of
the two.
DISCUSSION
The biocultural study undertaken for the population at
Aymyrlyg has revealed a substantial amount of
information about the younger members of its Scythian
period society. Subadults were accorded a variety of
forms of burial and were associated with a wide range of
grave goods, some of which were clearly indicative of
high status. Those with developmental defects do not
appear to have been deliberately killed or excluded from
society, and the presence of minor developmental defects
in adults and children buried within the same communal
tomb may be indicative of parent-child burials. The
prevalence rates of non-specific and specific infections
were low. When the prevalence rates of cribra orbitalia,
porotic hyperostosis and enamel hypoplasia among the
Aymyrlyg Scythian period population are compared with
the results of Larsen’s (1999, 33-3, 50-6) survey of
populations from different time periods and geographic
regions it would appear that the Aymyrlyg individuals
were not particularly susceptible to either childhood iron
deficiency anaemia or childhood physiological stress. A
small number of young children appear to have been
killed during raids, while an equally small number seem
to have been deliberately and methodically killed during
warfare or for ritual reasons.
If we want to move beyond these osteoarchaeological
facts, however, and gain a more holistic insight into what
everyday life was like for a child living on the steppes
2000 years ago, then I believe we have to review the
modern ethnographic record for the region. It would seem
to be the case that anthropology has been slow to
undertake specific studies of steppe children, and amongst
the English-language texts there is a clear focus on the
economic basis of these groups (e.g. Khazanov 1984).
Although some of these studies make the occasional
reference to children and the gender division of labour
(e.g. Vainshtein 1980) the review did not find any texts
which concentrated specifically on nomadic children.
When perusing on the internet a series of travel
183
photographs taken by a 19 year old American student –
Matthew Reichel – who had spent time during summer
2005 living amongst nomads of Mongolia it became
obvious, however, that such photographs were a veritable
mine of information. As a young person, lacking any
archaeological or anthropological training or having any
specific research questions, Reichel was able to capture
perfectly the essence of day-to-day life amongst these
nomadic people – particularly the children who made
enthusiastic subjects for his photographs.
Clearly it is not possible to presume that the lives of
people separated by some 2000 years would have been
exactly the same. Researchers such as Roger Cribb
(1991), who has studied nomads in the Middle East,
however, have shown that there is much valuable infor-
mation for archaeologists to gain by looking at the life of
modern day nomads living in the same geographical area
as an archaeological population under study.
To attempt such an exercise for the children of Aymyrlyg
it is first necessary to consider the basics of nomadic life
in the steppes – they lived in portable, but substantial, felt
tents; they engaged predominantly in livestock husbandry
and would have very much depended on their environ-
ment for survival. How would children have fitted into
this existence? Reichel’s photographs can provide some
useful insights as to how the Aymyrlyg subadults may
have occupied their days.
Young children in modern day Mongolian nomadic
society spend most of their time either accompanying
their mothers as they engage in their day-to-day chores or
being looked after by their older siblings. This is also the
impression that can be gained from Vainshtein’s account
of twentieth century Tuvinian nomads (e.g. Vainshtein
1980, 90, plates 8 and 9), where the children appear to
learn their daily work tasks from an early age. Vainshtein
(1980, 66) records that women were largely responsible
for milking animals. Interestingly, he notes that during
migrations when the group arrived at their destination ‘a
few women, helped by men and children, milked the
cattle’ (Vainshtein 1980, 89). It is clearly apparent from
Reichel’s photographs that girls of all ages help with
milking the sheep and goats and with the preparation of
mare’s milk for drinking (Fig. 18.4). Vainshtein (1980,
61, plate 2) recounts that sheep and goat shepherds were
‘usually very young’, while adolescent boys were largely
responsible for the initial stages of breaking-in horses
(Vainshtein 1980, 111). He reports that girls and boys as
young as two or three years of age are taught to ride
horses (Vainshtein 1980, 110). We can envisage, there-
fore, that within nomadic society, including that of some
2000 years ago, younger people all would have contri-
buted to the survival of the community and helped to
ensure the continuity of their way of life.
It should not be forgotten that children need to have fun
and play – the nomadic children of Iron Age Eurasia
would have had the steppelands, mountains, forests and
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 18.4. (a) Young girls milking sheep at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia,
(b) Girls taking turns to prepare Airag (fermented mare’s milk) to drink at the Altai Tavanbogd
National Park, Mongolia (Both photos are courtesy of Matt Reichel)
rivers as their playgrounds. During the summer months
they would probably have spent much of the time
outdoors – playing while they looked after younger
brothers and sisters or watched livestock. In addition,
there would undoubtedly have been time for mischief and
indeed Reichel’s photographs indicate this is also the case
with modern nomadic children. One little girl appears to
have a broken arm and we can only surmise that she had
suffered a fall – whether from her father’s horse or as a
result of misadventure within a yurt we can only guess,
but it is inevitable that Iron Age nomadic children would
also have suffered from a myriad of bumps and bruises
(Fig. 18.5). It is quite surprising, however, that so few of
the Aymyrlyg subadults displayed traumatic injuries,
although this may be a reflection of the largely invisible
nature of minor injuries in skeletal remains. In addition,
the paucity of fractures may be related to the rapid growth
and healing of immature bone.
Fig. 18.5. Father and daughter on horseback
at the Altai Tavanbogd National Park, Mongolia
(Photo courtesy of Matt Reichel)
184
CONCLUSIONS
To conclude, by collecting and combining ethnographic
evidence with information derived from the archaeolo-
gical and osteoarchaeological record it may be the case
that a fuller picture can be advanced for what life might
have been like for the children who lived in this region
2000 years ago. They would have helped the adults with
their work, as they learned the techniques of economic
survival necessary for their adult lives, but there would
have been time for fun and adventures as they played on
the steppelands. They would have enjoyed being part of
the extended family, perhaps listening to their grand-
parents’ stories inside the yurt of an evening (Fig. 18.6).
Some of them would have fallen ill and died, but they
would have been remembered buried in the communal
tombs and cists along with their grave goods. The weaker
children – even those with serious congenital defects –
would have been looked after, to the extent that some of
them made it through to adult life. On a darker note, some
of the children would have been caught up in incidents of
violence. But most importantly, we can imagine that they
would have been loved, valued and cherished – just as
their modern nomadic counterparts in the region are
today.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Professors Yuri Chistov and Ilyia
Gokhman, Department of Physical Anthropology, Peter
the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, St.
Petersburg, for granting me permission to examine the
Aymyrlyg human remains. I am also grateful to Dr. Colm
Donnelly, of the School of Geography, Archaeology and
Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, for his com-
ments on the text and to Will Adam of the aforementioned
School for providing a French translation of the abstract
and key words. Sincere thanks are also due to Matt
Reichel who very kindly permitted me to include a
number of his photographs within this article.
 E.M. MURPHY: A BIOCULTURAL STUDY OF CHILDREN FROM IRON AGE SOUTH SIBERIA
Fig. 18.6. Grandfather and grandson inside
a yurt at Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia
(Photo courtesy of Matt Reichel)
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 INFANT BURIALS IN IRON AGE BRITAIN
Belinda TIBBETTS
University of Queensland, Australia, b.tibbetts@uq.edu.au

Abstract: Analysis of the method of burial and the spatial placement of infants in Iron Age Britain, concentrating on settlement and
burial grounds in southern England, has revealed that infants were important within their communities and were regarded as a
separate group from older children and adults in burial practice. Assessed were burial dimensions and skeletal orientation, relative
care of burial, location of burial with respect to settlement areas, and evidence for regionalisation in burial practices. The resulting
account of Iron Age infant burials will form the basis for an investigation of infant burial practices in Roman Britain.
Key-words: Iron Age, Britain, infant, burial

Résumé: L’analyse de la méthode pour l’ensevelissement et le placement spatial de bébés dans l’Âge de fer la Grande-Bretagne, se
concentrant sur les sites de cimetière et d’habitation dans l’Angleterre du sud, a révélé que les bébés étaient importants dans leurs
communautés et ont été considérés comme un groupe séparé aux enfants plus vieux et aux adultes dans la pratique
d’ensevelissement. On étaient évalué des dimensions d’ensevelissement et l’orientation squelettique, le soin relatif d’ensevelissement,
l’endroit d’ensevelissement en ce qui concerne les régions d’habitation et l’évidence pour régionalisation dans les pratiques
d’ensevelissement. Le compte s’ensuivent d’ensevelissements de bébé d’Âge de fer formera la base pour une enquête de pratiques
d’ensevelissement de bébé dans la Grande-Bretagne romaine.
Mots Clefs: L’Âge de fer, la Grande-Bretagne, l’enfant, l’enterrement

Burials are perhaps one of the most bountiful sources of

information for an ancient society when no written
language exists. One such society was that of the Iron
Age inhabitants of the British Isles henceforth referred to
as the IA Britons. Through the study of infant burial
practices for this society, in community groups identified
by settlements, it can be demonstrated that the differential
treatment of this age group reveals significant information
about how they were perceived by their community.

The sites used for this study are Gussage All Saints
(Dorset), Owslebury (Hampshire), Danebury (Hamp-
shire), Poundbury (Dorset), Suddern Farm (Hampshire),
and Yarnbury (Wiltshire) (Fig. 19.1). These sites were
chosen on the criteria of the accessibility of field reports
and detailed records of infant burials. Only burial infor-
mation gathered from published excavation reports has
been included. The data collected includes the following
categories relating to burials: age, orientation, body
position, burial dimensions, grave goods, and number of
individuals per burial. The other categories relate to the
burials in the broader context of site location, burial
location with respect to settlement, associated features, Fig. 19.1. Sites mentioned in text
and care. Analysis was primarily aimed at identifying any
patterns associated within the above categories that were
evident upon visual examination of the raw data, and sites; time available for excavation; data collected during
determining their significance for each site. excavation and analysis of excavated material; and
excavation method and purpose.
In some cases the excavation of sites took place in the
early 20th century, which resulted in limited detail for Site occupation is contemporary for all infant burials,
burials other than those with significant grave goods. The with some sites being continuously occupied into the
publication of early excavations was often limited in their Roman period, as at Poundbury. The burials used in the
scope and interpretative analysis. Many of the study sites present study date from the Middle Iron Age to Late Iron
are located on farming land and have been partially Age. Placing infant burials within the chronology of a site
destroyed through ploughing. Other aspects limiting the relies heavily on datable finds within the burial and also
available information from burials are: acidity of soils in stratigraphy of associated structures. As the study sites
affecting bone survival; modern structures situated over had small, predominantly agricultural populations, it is

189
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 19.1. Incidence of burial type

Site Grave % (actual) Pit % (actual) Ditch % (actual) No. of burials
Yarnbury - - 100 (9) 9
Suddern Farm - 100 (13) - 13
Danebury - 92 (12) 8 (1) 13
Poundbury 100 (25) - - 25
Gussage All Saints - 82 (32) 18 (7) 39
Owslebury 100 (20) - - 20
TOTAL 38 (45) 48 (57) 14 (17) 119

considered that the burials reflect native practices; Roman uppermost layers, being the last additions prior to the pits
influence becomes more evident by the late 1st or early 2nd being sealed; the lower layers contained adult burials.
century A.D. Populations of larger urban centres would be
expected to display Roman influence earlier than their
rural counterparts. Infant burials dating into the 1st Table 19.2. Incidence of deposits in pit burials
century A.D. are considered to be continuous with those Site Single % Multiple %
of the LIA.
Danebury 83 (10) 17 (2)
The role of infants within social groups deserves greater Suddern Farm 23 (3) 77 (10)
attention than it has been afforded in the history of Gussage All Saints 63 (20) 37 (12)
archaeology in this region. Evidence of their importance
TOTAL 58 (33) 42 (24)
can be gathered through the study of infant burials. The
most significant evidence that infants held some form of
social status within IA society is that they were
recognised in burial. Table 19.3. Incidence of deposits in ditch burials.

The type of burial afforded infants is analysed here for Site Single % Multiple %
local and regional patterns. Of the 119 infant burials, all Gussage All Saints 43 (3) 57 (4)
inhumations, used for this study, 48% were located in
Yarnbury 22 (2) 78 (7)
pits, 38% in specially dug graves, and 14% in ditches
(Table 19.1). Four of the sites used only one type of TOTAL 31 (5) 69 (11)
burial, while the other two employed both pit and ditch
burials; one of which was the dominant type. The number
of individuals in each burial appears to be linked with
When dominant burial type is considered the sites can be
burial type. The grave burials contained single deposits,
grouped in the following way:
with one exception, #265a from Poundbury, an infant
identified in the burial of a female aged 17 years (Farwell • Group A (all graves) includes Owslebury and Pound-
& Molleson 1993, 260f). The infant probably belonged to bury
the female, as there were no other finds of human bone in
• Group B (mostly/all pits) includes Gussage All Saints,
this burial.
Suddern Farm, and Danebury
The burials in storage pits and ditches have the highest • Group C (all ditches) Yarnbury.
occurrence of multiple deposits amongst burial categories.
The term ‘multiple’ describes burials that include two to If these sites are compared regionally, only Suddern Farm
five individuals; both exclusively infants and infants and Danebury are closely located and similarities were
buried with adults. Ditch burials are usually placed in the expected from comparing these sites. The following
fill of ditches rather than at the base, and are perhaps aspects of infant burial from these three sites are unusual
more in keeping with pit burials. If the two are combined, in relation to the other sites in this paper:
there is an equal division between single and multiple
• flint included as possible grave goods (also occurs at
deposits. However if pit burials are considered separately,
Gussage All Saints)
they are slightly more often single deposits (Table 19.2).
Ditch burials are almost two-thirds multiple deposits • neonatal age
(Table 19.3). Pits that were dug for the purpose of
• burial with neonatal calf (Danebury)
disposing of the dead were usually for multiple burials,
such as at Suddern Farm, where infants were in the • burial sealed with chalk.

190

The information that can be obtained from the study of
infant burials with regard to spatial patterning of burials
and their relationship to settlement sites is limited largely
by the area excavated at each site. Excavations are often
undertaken within very limited time constraints and are
designed to retrieve as much contextual information about
the settlement as possible. When more extensive excava-
tion has taken place, in some cases the entire area within a
settlement enclosure, it is possible to support conclusions
regarding the population and their actions based on a
larger sample size. While this is evidently beneficial, it
does not add to the wider knowledge of burials located
outside the settlement area. In the case of Suddern Farm,
it was only upon investigation of intersecting ditches that
burials were discovered in a disused chalk quarry
(Cunliffe & Poole 2000, 166).
By studying excavation plans and comparing spatial place-
ment within and between sites, significant patterns were
recorded. The stratigraphy of the infant burials at Pound-
bury indicates that the majority post-dated the IA huts but
predated the Roman buildings. This suggests that the
infants were buried after the construction of the IA huts
but while the site was still occupied. Although the infant
burials have been separated into occupation phases, they
appear to demonstrate a continuing burial practice rather
than change influenced by Roman occupation. The spatial
patterning at this site is often unclear because of overlying
settlement structures and numerous foundation features
making stratigraphy difficult to interpret with certainty.
Only one burial, #1392, is definitely linked with the settle-
ment site in Phase IIG (early to late 1st century A.D.); it is
beneath the hut floor beside the foundation (Farwell &
Molleson 1993, 13). The majority of infant burials are
associated with structures R18 and R21 of the Phase III
Early Roman settlement (late 1st century A.D.), which
overlay the LIA hut series (Farwell & Molleson 1993, 12).
The stratigraphy of this area is complex, and for this paper
the infant burials are considered as continuous, rather than
representing two separate periods of occupation. The
structural evidence supports continuous occupation of this
open settlement on the hillside below the main enclosure.
Although the settlement structures change in form between
Phases IIG and III, from circular IA huts to the roughly
rectangular Roman structures, the association of infant
burials to houses is maintained, for example in hut IA10
and structure R21. The change in structure shape at
Poundbury did not have any significant effect on the
placement of infant burials within the settlement zone.
The infants at Poundbury have a separate burial area to
that of adults and older children of the LIA and Early
Roman phases, with one exception; an adult male aged 45
years, burial #1367. The burial of this adult in the infant
group is unusual. Its presence in the group is significant,
and with regard to the infants, could indicate familial
relationships, social status, or the provision of protection
and guidance in the afterlife. The location of the adult
burial could well have influenced the placement of infant
burials.
191
B. TIBBETTS: INFANT BURIALS IN IRON AGE BRITAIN
Gussage All Saints is one of the few settlement sites that
have been fully excavated inside the enclosure ditches.
The results show that there were infant burials within the
settlement throughout its occupation. In Phase 2 (300-100
B.C.), infants were located in two sections of the
enclosure ditch and within the enclosure, but around the
inside edges (Wainwright 1979, 22). The majority of
infants for this site are dated to Phase 3 (100 B.C.-A.D.
43), and only two infant burials were located outside the
ditch on the limits of the excavated area (burials #781 and
#769); the rest were inside the enclosure (Wainwright
1979, 26). Most of the infant burials were associated with
structures and pits throughout the settlement; nine infants
do not have any obvious association with structures. The
infant burials occur mainly in the central part of the settle-
ment. Although there is no obvious spatial patterning of
infant burials, the contemporary adult burials at Gussage
All Saints reveal a significant spatial distribution. The
adult female burials were located around the inner
perimeter of the settlement enclosure, except for the burial
of a female and two neonates, burial #139 (Wain-wright
1979, 32), located within a large trapezoidal enclosure. It is
likely that this burial is that of a mother and her offspring.
The adult male burials were inside the settlement enclosure
and roughly aligned with the entranceway, possibly
indicating a pathway through the settlement; perhaps an
avenue of burials for those of high social status. The spatial
placement of adult burials at Gussage All Saints may be
evidence of an intentional order placed on burials or an
artefact of the archaeological information available for ana-
lysis. This positioning of burials within the settlement area
warrants further investigation into possible burial practices
resulting in the non-random placement of adult burials.
The IA burial ground at Owslebury had been deeply
ploughed prior to excavation, greatly limiting the avai-
lable information recoverable. Of the infants belonging to
the 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D., 55% are located
within the infant burial ground. The others are strongly
associated with enclosures and their defining ditches. In
the preceding two centuries there are two infant burials
and one belonging to a child (burial #69, aged 18-24
months) that are found associated with a banjo enclosure
related to the settlement site at Owslebury (Collis 1977,
28). The child burial is located along the external ditch
and the two infants (burials #56 and #58) are found
alongside each other in the interior of the banjo enclosure.
These three burials are considered contemporary but show
significant differences in their spatial placement with
regard to structures and each other. This placement is
unlikely to have been random, although the criteria for
such distribution have been lost to time. The action of
confining infant burials to the burial ground and other
discrete areas within the settlement appears deliberate and
was probably linked to a belief system concerning the
disposal of the dead, or a form of distinction used by the
population to maintain identity after death. Most of the
infant burials from Owslebury were in single deposits in
specially-dug graves within the burial ground or associ-
ated with enclosures.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
At Danebury all 13 neonatal infants recorded were buried
within the settlement area, 11 of these were single burials
and 12 were recovered from pits. The majority of infant
burials are associated with circular house structures.
There was one double burial of infants, possibly twins
(burials #17 and #18) (Cunliffe 1984, 447; Bristow 1998,
300). The majority of infant burials were recovered from
the upper half of pit fills (Cunliffe 1995, 73), and those
recovered from within the settlement site were all aged
under 12 months. This could indicate that older infants
and children were placed outside the settlement area, and
may have been recognised as a separate grouping to the
younger infants.
At Suddern Farm, the disposal of the dead in pits does not
appear to have been the normative burial practice
(Cunliffe & Poole 2000, 144), and a burial ground was in
use at this site throughout the Early and Middle Iron
Ages. Suddern Farm is the only site where the infant
burials are located outside the settlement site in what
appears to be a discrete burial area within an old quarry
site. The infant burials recovered were all in the top layers
of burial pits within the quarry. The pits often contained
multiple deposits with adults (male and female) in the
lower fills (burials #C13 and #C18 from Suddern Farm).
The occurrence of infants in the upper layers could be
explained by the efficient use of the limited space
remaining in the burial ground. As there are no infant
remains from deeper in the deposits or mixed with adult
burials, it would appear that they were not placed in this
burial area until the final stages of its use.
Studying the spatial patterning of infant burials at
Yarnbury has been greatly restricted by the form of
excavation; excavation trenches were only made of the
inner enclosure ditch (Cunnington 1932, 202). When
compared to sites with similar enclosure formations such
as Danebury and Suddern Farm, Yarnbury is the only site
with infant burials recovered from ditches. However,
these burials were dug into the ditch after it had silted or
been backfilled (Cunnington 1932, 206). House structures
were built over the filled inner ditch, meaning that the
infant burials are connected to the occupation of this site
and its houses (Cunnington 1932, 204). The location of
the inner ditch would probably have remained apparent
after filling, and the location of infant burials suggests
that the ditches had some ritual significance. Infant
burials were not located in the excavated areas either side
of the inner ditch.
Burial grounds, such as Suddern Farm and Owslebury,
appear to take advantage of contemporary earth
excavation related to a settlement site or the continued
recognition of an area as specifically for burial. The
Suddern Farm burial ground uses an old chalk quarry,
with most burials deposited in existing pits, and
containing both adult and infant burials. Of the 13 infant
burials, 11 were identified as neonatal. When combined
with the Owslebury burial ground, in which only one
infant less than 12 months (burial 48) is included with the
192
neonatal infants (Collis, 1968, 19), there is an apparent
separation of neonates and infants. Perhaps at these sites
there was further age segregation. The neonates may have
been recognised as a distinct group to older infants,
possibly as a result of their level of development.
Infant burials are predominantly small and shallow in
comparison to those of older children and adults. At
Poundbury, the burial depths are less than one metre, with
75% less than 30cm. The width is generally half the
length, and where the length exceeds 50cm, the burial is
extended, with one exception, burial #1214 (Farwell &
Molleson 1993, 295). This burial itself is not unusual, but
the size of the grave is closer to that of an adult; the infant
was aged at approximately 18 months (the upper limit of
infant age in this study). Possible explanations include the
preparation of the grave for an adult but used for an
infant, or that the infant was recognised as belonging to
an adult burial category and given a larger grave.
Despite the effort, graves were cut into the chalk for
infants, demonstrating the inclusion of this age group in
the burial practice for this burial ground. The depth of
infant burials is measured from the excavated ground
level, which is considered much less that the ground level
at occupation. As shallow graves may have been
disturbed by animals (Cunliffe 1984, 451), it is unlikely
that burials were shallow, yet the shallow burial of in-
fants may reflect a perceived minimal level of pollu-
tion associated with the very young compared to that of
adults.
Iron Age infant burials do not reveal a strong preference
for orientation. If any pattern emerges, it is that the
orientation of infant burials is related to site. There is an
equal distribution between northern and southern arcs of
orientations across all study sites (Table 19.4). Adult
burials show a preference for a northern orientation.
Many of the infant burials have not been included in this
section because orientation cannot be confirmed from the
disturbed and fragmentary state of the remains.
Table 19.4. Orientation of infant burials (published)
Site Northern Arc Southern Arc
Yarnbury - -
Danebury 1 2
Suddern Farm 2 4
Poundbury 10 15
Gussage All Saints 10 3
Owslebury - -
TOTAL 23 24
Fragmentary and disturbed remains also make the deter-
mination of body position difficult. Among the surviving
remains for which a position has been identified, the

tendency is for a crouched position on the right side. This
does not appear to differ from the preferred body position
of older children and adults, except for Owslebury where
detail is unavailable (Collis 1977, 27). The Owslebury
adults were cremated and buried with pottery vessels,
while the infants were inhumed without surviving grave
goods. The adult burials at Owslebury changed in the 2nd
century A.D. to inhumation in coffins, but the infant
burials remained the same throughout the occupation of
the site. The majority of adult burials at Suddern Farm
were placed on their left side (Cunliffe & Poole 2000,
166ff), while those at Danebury, a site considered to have
succeeded Suddern Farm, exhibit a pattern of adult males
placed on the left side and females on the right (Bristow
1998, 300ff). If this pattern could be confirmed through a
larger sample size, it may be possible to identify sex of
juveniles based on body position.
The infant burials in this study show a basic level of care
beyond the removal of unclean elements from habitation
areas. The majority of infants have been arranged in a
crouched body position; a significant factor in the burial
of all age groups. Body position shows a strong
relationship to grave size; extended burial requires much
longer graves compared with crouched burial. There are
examples of contemporary burials that are extended
(burial #311 from Gussage All Saints), and crouched
infants that have been placed in graves considerably
larger than necessary (burial #1214 from Poundbury).
This evidence indicates that body position held some
importance above the practical aspects of grave
preparation. It is unusual for surviving grave goods to be
recovered from infant burials, and where they do occur,
they tend to be flint nodules or immature animals. Infant
burial #219 from Danebury was placed on a slab of chalk
and surrounded by flint nodules (Bristow 1998, 301). The
significance of flint nodules is unknown but may be
linked to provision after death; flint being a source of
tools and a means of making fire.
There is evidence that infant burials were sealed with
chalk and that some ‘graves’ were lined with chalk, for
example burial #219 (Danebury) and #1383 (Poundbury).
This preparation of the burial indicates that they were
afforded substantial care and recognition from their
community. Some infant burials are taken to have been
left open to silt naturally, for example burials #15, #17,
and #18 from Danebury (Bristow 1998, 300). The reality
of leaving burials uncovered in pits associated with
dwelling huts for an extended period of time is difficult to
imagine, especially from the point of view of hygiene; a
few days is conceivable. These burials are perhaps the
actions of a raiding party dumping the dead. The original
occupants may have returned at a later time to correct
burials where possible.
The burial of infants in disused storage pits could indicate
a lower level of concern for their remains; demonstrated
at Danebury and Gussage All Saints. There is evidence,
however, of special treatment after death at Danebury
193
B. TIBBETTS: INFANT BURIALS IN IRON AGE BRITAIN
(burial #19) where the infant has been buried with a
neonatal calf. This special deposit was from the same
level of excavation as the infant, indicating contemporary
placement within the burial. The burial of animal parts
with the dead was a fairly common practice in IA burials
(Philpott 1991, 100). Such deposits could have been
intended to provide for the dead, who may have resided in
the grave for a period before moving on to another
‘place’, as company for the deceased, or evidence of
sacrifice. The calf in this burial does not appear to have
been intended as a source of nourishment for the infant,
but perhaps could be seen as a companion or as a show of
wealth from the family of the infant. There is an historical
importance of cattle in the mythology of the Celtic
vernacular from Ireland; for example the oral epic of the
Taín bó Cuailgne. The simplest explanation for these
deposits is the availability of a disposal pit at a time when
both infant and calf were newly deceased.
Another factor contributing to evidence of care in infant
burials is their proximity to house structures. Rather than
disposing of the bodies with domestic refuse outside the
settlement area, infants are often buried in close
association with houses. Such evidence could indicate that
the very young required further protection after death.
This is supported by the placement of infants in common
burials with each other and adult males, or in burial
groups. There were no instances of older children buried
in close association with houses or with adults. The burial
of infants in close association with houses may be related
to ensuring the fertility of any subsequent pregnancies, to
maintain some form of connection to the mother, or
protection from the family.
The infant burials in this study were compared to
elucidate any contemporary practices common across the
study region. The approximate tribal regions of the
contemporary inhabitants contain Gussage All Saints and
Poundbury (Durotriges), and Suddern Farm, Danebury,
Owslebury and Yarnbury (Atrebates). There is little
support for tribe-specific infant burial practices when
these groupings are studied for similarities. But when the
variables are compared across all sites, two groups can be
identified: Poundbury and Owslebury, with Gussage All
Saints as a probable satellite; and Suddern Farm, Dane-
bury and Yarnbury (Table 19.5).
This grouped distribution separates the southern settle-
ments from the northern, and may have some connection
with the trading linkages of the settlements and their
proximity to the coast. Geographical features could be a
contributing factor to site differences; Suddern Farm and
Danebury share a river system, and Poundbury, Gussage
All Saints and Owslebury are separated from the northern
sites by higher ground. These features, however, are
unlikely to be a determinant with respect to infant burial
practices.
The infant burials in this study show that the following
aspects were common across most sites: formal burial,
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Table 19.5. Variable comparison across sites (initials signify sites, e.g. D = Danebury)
Variable Group 1
Grave
Burial type Pit
Ditch
3-ditch D, S, Y
Settlement type
Single-ditch
60% neonate
Age of Infants
85-100% neonate S, D, Y
Dwelling
Associations with
Pit
structures
Burial ground
Northern arc
Orientation
Southern arc
crouched body position, shallow depth, burial within the
settlement area in association with houses (except for
Suddern Farm), and burial in an area not used for older
children and adults (except for Suddern Farm). The
differences evident at Suddern Farm may be related to an
earlier date for the burials; other burial aspects at this site
were common across all sites. Although it is not possible
to draw unequivocal conclusions from the above
information, it is clear that, at all sites infants were treated
separately to older children and adults in burial, either in
positioning or burial practice. A perceived separate age-
related social identity would result in such differential
treatment. Infant burials from the above Iron Age sites
demonstrate that they had a separate status relating to age.
They also provide evidence that infants might have been
buried according to social status, with burials exhibiting
varying degrees of effort and care.
References
BRISTOW, P.H.W. 1998. Attitudes to Disposal of the
Dead in Southern Britain 3500BC-AD43. Vol 3.
Appendices. Oxford: John and Erica Hedges (B.A.R.
British Series 274).
COLLIS, J. 1968. Excavations at Owslebury, Hants: an
interim report. Antiquaries Journal 48: 18-31.
COLLIS, J. 1977. Owslebury (Hants) and the problem of
burials on rural settlements, in R. Reece (ed.) Burial in
the Roman World. London: Council for British
Archaeology Research Report 22.
CUNLIFFE, B. 1984. Danebury, An Iron Age Hillfort in
Hampshire. Vol 2. The excavations 1969-1978: the
194
Group 2 Detail unknown
P, O
S, D G
Y
P, G, O
P, G, O
D, Y P, O (infants)
G
S O (neonates)
G O
D, S P
finds. York: Council for British Archaeology Research
Report 52.
CUNLIFFE, B. 1995. Danebury, An Iron Age Hillfort in
Hampshire. Vol 6. A hillfort community in perspective.
York: Council for British Archaeology Research
Report 102.
CUNLIFFE, B. & C. POOLE 2000. The Danebury
Environs Programme, The Prehistory of a Wessex
Landscape. Vol 2 Part 3 Suddern Farm, Middle
Wallop, Hants, 1991 and 1996. Oxford: English
Heritage & Oxford University Committee for
Archaeology Monograph 49.
CUNNINGTON, M.E. 1932. Excavations in Yarnbury
Castle Camp. Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural
History Magazine 46 (162): 198-213.
FARWELL, D.E. & T.I. MOLLESON 1993. Poundbury.
Vol 2. The Cemeteries. Dorchester: Dorset Natural
History & Archaeological Society Monograph Series
11.
PHILPOTT, R. 1991. Burial Practices in Roman Britain:
a survey of grave treatment and furnishing, A.D. 43-
410. (Tempus Reparatum) Oxford: B.A.R. British
Series 219.
SPAREY GREEN, C. 1987. Excavations at Poundbury.
Vol 1. The Settlements. Dorchester: Dorset Natural
History & Archaeological Society Monograph Series
7.
WAINWRIGHT, G.J. 1979. Gussage All Saints: An Iron
Age Settlement in Dorset. (Department of the Envi-
ronment Archaeological Report 10) Southampton:
Hobbs.
 SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON
PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH RURAL SETTLEMENT STRUCTURES
Sally CRAWFORD
University of Oxford, UK, sally.crawford@arch.ox.ac.uk

Abstract: This paper will investigate the correlation between infant burial and built structures within the context of Anglo-Saxon
England. In all published reports of excavated Anglo-Saxon settlements, the discoveries of infant bones have been assumed to
represent casual, meaningless disposal. This paper argues that, on the contrary, the presence of infant bodies within settlements was
purposive and symbolic, and was part of a more complex pattern of ritual deposition of artefacts and bodies in Anglo-Saxon
settlements. The paper challenges the conventionally-held contrast between cemeteries as fora for ritual mortuary behaviour, and
settlements as entirely secular and domestic, and suggests that new readings of infant burials may lead to a reinterpretation of
settlement spaces, ritual behaviour and mortuary patterns in pre- and post-Conversion Anglo-Saxon England.
Key words: Anglo-Saxon, infant, burial, settlement, ritual

Résume: Cet article étudie la corrélation entre l’inhumation infantile et les habitations dans le contexte de l’Angleterre Anglo-
Saxonne. Les rapports publiés sur les fouilles de villages Anglo-Saxon supposent que la disposition d’os d’enfants en bas âge était
ordinaire et sans importance. Cet ouvrage soutient, au contraire, que la présence de corps infantiles dans les villages avait un but
symbolique, et que l’enterrement d’objets et de ces corps à l’intérieur même de ces groupements d’habitation faisait partie d’un
rituel complexe. Cet article conteste le contraste conventionnel soutenu qu’il y a entre les cimetières – arènes d’enterrements
mortuaires religieux – et les habitations laïque et familiale. Il suggère que de nouveaux relevés parlant de l’inhumation infantile
amène à la réinterprétation de l’espace habitable, du comportement rituel et du modèle mortuaire dans l’Angleterre avant et après
la période de christianisation des populations païennes.
Mots Clefs: Anglo-Saxonne, enfant, sépulture, site, rituel

A strong association between buildings and special infant
burial has been noted in a number of cultures across a
wide chronological range, and it continues to the present
day, regardless of other changes that may have taken
place in culture, society and religion (for example, Scott
1999, 94; Lillehammer 2005, 23; Ulrich-Bochsler 1997,
156; Finlay 2000). The presence of infant burials in and
around buildings begs specific questions about infants and
the structures with which they are associated. How should
the presence of infant burials change our interpretation of
a building and the relationship between infant death and
settlement areas?
From the fifth to the eleventh centuries, Anglo-Saxon
England changed from being a pre- or proto-historic rural
pagan society dominated by Germanic culture, to being a
Christian culture with a documentary history. Changes in
religion and society were accompanied by changes in the
burial ritual. In the fifth and sixth centuries, ‘normative’
burial was by cremation or inhumation with grave goods
in field cemeteries. In the seventh century, the period of
conversion to Christianity, inhumation burial predomi-
nated. Burial with grave goods became less common,
although a repertoire of rich grave goods associated with
the elite was established. The extent to which this new,
‘Final Phase’ of furnished burial represented a pagan
response to the introduction of Christianity, or represented
Christian burials at a time when burial near or in churches
had not been introduced, is still a subject of debate
(Geake 1997; Blair 2005; Carver 2005). In the eighth and
ninth centuries, the majority of the dead were buried
without grave goods, and field cemeteries persisted,
although burial in consecrated church ground was be-
ginning to appear. By the tenth century, burial in church
cemeteries was an established pattern (Blair 2005).
One of the problems for the study of infant burial in the
early Anglo-Saxon period is the relative lack of infant
burials in the excavated cemeteries (Evison 1987, 128;
Crawford 1991; 1993). There is a range of explanations
for this dearth of babies, including the possibilities that
the majority of infant bones did not survive in the
archaeological record or that infants were buried more
shallowly than adults, and so their burials have been lost,
but it now seems most likely that the majority of infants
were buried elsewhere (Crawford 1993; Buckberry 2000).
One of the possible alternative locations for infant dis-
posal was within settlement sites (Crawford 1999). As
Table 20.1 illustrates, infant bones have been found in
association with at least eleven Anglo-Saxon settlements
with a chronological span that extends from the fifth to at
least the ninth century1. The presence of infants in Anglo-
Saxon contexts should not be regarded as particularly
surprising or unusual. The burial of infants in association
with buildings is well-documented for the Romano-
British period, and though there may be debates about the
interpretation of this rite, the weight of evidence for the
deposition of Romano-British child burials in association
with buildings comes in the fourth century (Esmonde
1
I am grateful to Professor Helena Hamerow for drawing my attention
to the find of an infant bone from the excavations by Cambridge
Archaeological Unit at Brandon Road, Thetford, which are due to be
published in 2007.

197
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY

Table 20.1. Infant burials at Anglo-Saxon settlements

Site Number of infants Date Reference

Barrow Hills, Radley, Oxon 1, in a sunken featured building 5th-7th century Hamerow 2006, 4

Eye Kettleby, Leics 2, both in sunken featured buildings 6th century? Hamerow 2006, 4

Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire 1, with adult female and animal skulls 5th-7th century Leeds 1947, 86
1, with sheep bones, laid outside a sunken Milne and Richards
Wharram Percy, Yorkshire Late 6th or early 7th
featured building 1992, 84-5
‘More than 15’ associated with sunken featured Hines 1997, 164
West Heslerton, Yorksire 5th to 7th century
buildings (recorded discussion)
West Stow, Suffolk 4-14, in sunken featured buildings and ditches 5th-7th century West 1985

Quarrington, Lincolnshire 1 infant longbone fragment 7th/8th century Taylor 2003, 270

Brandon Road, Norfolk 1 infant Mid Saxon Hamerow, pers.com.

Andrews 1997;
Hamwic, Southampton 2 infants in separate pits 8th century
Morton 1992
Children, not all ages identifiable, and a young
Yarnton, Oxfordshire 9th century Hey 2004
female
1, associated with juveniles and an adult female
Flixborough, Lincolnshire Mid 8th century Loveluck 2001, 86
– possible mortuary chapel?

Cleary 2000, 140). Burials of infants in association with
settlement sites are also recorded from a number of
Continental sites, covering a wide geographical and
chronological range, so whether one were to argue that
Anglo-Saxon culture was influenced by later Roman
ritual, or derived from the Germanic homelands, both
cultures supported a pattern of infant disposal in non-
cemetery contexts (Esmonde Cleary 2000, 140; Hamerow
2006, 20 and 24-5).
Whilst the interpretation of Anglo-Saxon burials in terms
of ritual deposition, symbolism and social status has
received detailed discussion over many decades (see for
example Saxe 1970; Hawkes 1973; Arnold 1980; Pader
1982; Geake 1997 for the pre-Christian and ‘Final Phase’
burials; Hadley 2000; Blair 2005 for the post-conversion
cemeteries), settlements have been analyzed almost
exclusively in terms of economy and settlement layout
(e.g. Millett & James 1984; West 1985; Hamerow 1993),
and the possible ritual element of ditches, graves,
buildings and ‘special deposits’ (such as animal bones,
pottery, and human bone deposition, of which material
from infant skeletons forms a significant proportion)
have, until the very recent and welcome publication of
Professor Helena Hamerow’s work, been almost entirely
overlooked (Gibson & Murray 2003; Hamerow 2006).
Some burials of adults in settlement areas have been
analysed as part of a discussion of non-normative adult
burials in the Anglo-Saxon landscape, but infant burials
have not been included in this discussion (Reynolds
2003). Given the relatively low numbers of excavated
Anglo-Saxon settlement sites, infants have been found in
them sufficiently frequently to suggest that deposition of
infant bodies within settlements was part of a cultural
pattern. Furthermore, infants form a significant proportion
of all ‘special deposits’ at settlement sites (Hamerow
2006, 4). Even so, the circumstances of their deposition,
and any possible meanings inherent in the choice to
deposit dead infants in such locations, has received scant
attention.
One reason for the lack of interest in infant burials within
settlement sites is that they tend to be found in pits, in
ditches, and in the floors of sunken-featured buildings,
and the material found in these locations has, until very
recently, always been classed as ‘rubbish’ and
disregarded, notwithstanding the strong case made by
prehistorians that all deposits should be explored for their
possible purposive, ritual meanings (see for example
articles in Gwilt & Haselgrove 1997; Hill 1995).
Compared to the wealth and high status of some of the
material found in the cemeteries – weaponry, gold and
garnet jewellery, glass vessels etc – finds from settlement
sites are of a much ‘lower’ status, and often interpreted as
distinctly female in their register – animal bone, broken
pots, spindle whorls, loom weights, combs and pins make
up the bulk of the finds. Even where articulated joints of
animals have been found in pits, rather than being
interpreted as ‘special deposits’, these have tended to
reinforce the original view of early nineteenth century
archaeologists that early Anglo-Saxon settlers lived in
squalid, rubbish-filled hovels, as exemplified by T.
Lethbridge and C. Tebbutt, commenting on the inhabi-
tants of the settlement they had excavated in St Neots,

198
S. CRAWFORD: SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS…
Cambridgeshire: ‘They had no regard for cleanliness and
were content to throw the remains of a meal into the
furthest corner of the hut and leave it there. They were not
nervous about ghosts, since they did not mind having a
skeleton sticking out of the wall of one of their huts…’
(Lethbridge & Tebbutt 1933, 149). By analogy and
association, infant burials, found in these ‘waste’ loca-
tions, become, in turn, casual discards. There may have
been circumstances, as there are today, when infants were
deposited in a hurried, secretive, non-ritual way. Two
infants, dating to the eighth century, were found in pits
associated with the proto-urban site of Hamwic, Hamp-
shire. In one, pit 5736, the baby was ‘no more than a few
weeks old, perhaps newly born’, and it was not clear
whether the baby had been disposed of directly into the
pit or redeposited from elsewhere. The bone was scattered
on the bottom of the pit with soil which may have been
cess (Andrews 1997, 204; Morton 1992).
In this context, it is worth mentioning the earliest
recorded excavation of an Anglo-Saxon infant found in a
non-cemetery context. From the mid-1920s to the mid
1930s, E. Thurlow Leeds led excavations at the site of
Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, which was being destroyed
by gravel extraction. In one of the pits associated with the
settlement, he described the recovery of two bodies – one
an infant, and one an adult female – with associated
animal deposits:
‘…9 in. from the top of the gravel on the east side of the
pit the toes of a human skeleton… lay close against the
wall of the pit…The legs were traced downwards until the
body came to light lying on the floor of the pit…The body
was stretched …in a slightly twisted position with the
head facing south, and with the arms half out-stretched
before the body towards the remains of the skeleton of an
infant…Behind the woman’s head and over the body of
the child there was a layer about 6 in. thick, composed of
earth and gravel which must have been stamped hard
before the rest of the pit was filled, and could only be
broken up with difficulty. In that behind the woman’s
head were three animal skulls, two oxen and a horse.’
(Leeds 1947, 86).
Beyond the identification of the age of the skeletons and
the sex of the adult, there was no further analysis of the
bones. For Leeds, this unexpected burial, ‘so entirely
different from any normal Anglo-Saxon interment’, was
attributed either to the stressful circumstances of what he
believed to be the site’s abandonment when it was over-
run by a native British population (Leeds could not know
of later developments in the interpretation of Anglo-
Saxon settlement morphology, which makes his
interpretation unnecessary and untenable), or that ‘some
domestic tragedy’ was responsible for this ‘abnormal,
and, in a sense, disorderly interment’.
Leed’s fixed idea that ‘normal’ Anglo-Saxon interment
was in a cemetery, and his assumption that a settlement
interment of a woman and infant must be in some way
199
‘domestic’, tragic, and disorderly, have set the tone for all
the later discoveries of infant bodies in Anglo-Saxon
settlement contexts. The evidence from Sutton Courtenay,
accessible in published form for half a century, actually
directly contradicts this interpretation. The size of the pit,
the presence of carefully-placed animal skulls, and the
carefully-packed soil over the deposit, all point to
purposive, visible ritual behaviour requiring the invest-
ment of time and effort. There is an extensive archaeo-
logical literature on the cultural importance of the dead,
and the need for communities to make conscious decisi-
ons about the disposal and transformation of the dead
body; and there is increasing awareness amongst archaeo-
logists and anthropologists about the symbolic importance
of the location of the dead within the landscape (not
confined to ‘cemeteries’), in addition to an awareness that
strategies for disposal of artefacts, either whole or
fragmented, may have a significant ritual dimension,
especially when these deposits include human material
(Parker Pearson 1993; Esmonde Cleary 2000; Chapman
2000)2. Infants’ bodies should form part of this discourse.
Though there is a small but growing collection of sites at
which infant bones have been recognised, problems with
identifying infant bone at the point of excavation (thus
removing any possibility of reconstructing the relation-
ship between the infant deposit and any other artefacts
within the feature), and a tendency to note the material
only in specialist bone reports, have reinforced the low
profile of infant burials. At West Stow, Suffolk, for
example, the Anglo-Saxon settlement site consisted of
halls and sunken featured buildings dating from the fifth
to the seventh centuries, and included a number of
deposits of human bones: two graves of adults were found
within the settlement area, and in addition, deposits of
infant bones were found at fourteen separate locations
across the site (West 1985, 59). All the infant bones
belonged to infants less than one year old, and most were,
according to the very brief specialist report, newborn. A
minimum of four infants were represented by the sample,
as this was the maximum numbers of left femurs from the
site. Either the remains of four babies had been dispersed
widely across the site, or the infant bones may represent
up to fourteen separate mortuary events. Five of the
deposits came from the general occupation layer covering
the site, and may be residual, but seven deposits come
from the sunken featured buildings, and two came from
the ditches. Some deliberate action of deposition is
implied by the presence of infant human bone in these
sealed contexts.
It is a characteristic of site reports focussing on Anglo-
Saxon settlements and building archaeology that, while
the function and purpose of buildings based on artefact
recovery may be discussed, the symbolic meaning of
infant burials, and their purposive inclusion in buildings,
is not. The report at West Stow is no exception; in 170
2
See especially Chapman 2000, 145: ‘…there is a strong case… for
regarding most deposits incorporating human bones as structured and
culturally significant’.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
pages of report, the infant burials received one paragraph
of attention, though the bone specialist did raise the
question (without answering it) of how and why
fragmented remains of babies came to be in the closed
context of the sunken-featured buildings (Grainger 1985,
59). An analysis of the dead infants is entirely missing
from the discussion of the function of the buildings:
pottery and loomweights are privileged over the bodies of
babies. A further contrast, within the report, is that the
human remains in the settlement (including the remains of
the two adults, both with fragile bone preservation, one, a
female, with significant congenital bodily distortion and
later distortion through trauma) are referred to as
‘burials’; a collection of bodies outside the settlement area
is referred to as the ‘cemetery’, the inference being that
between six and sixteen burials located within the area of
a settlement did not constitute an ‘official’ burial area
(West 1985, 58 and 64).
This unwillingness to consider possible meanings of ‘non-
normative’ disposal of infant bodies, to the extreme that
the only notice of their existence is confined to a
specialist bone report, and the semantic differentiation
made between human deposits which are assumed to
constitute a ‘cemetery’, compared to other human de-
posits deemed to constitute individual, non-normative
‘burials’, is not confined this single site (nor indeed to this
period: see for example Esmonde Cleary 2000 for a
discussion of the Romano-British material)3. Similar
distinctions occur in the report on the ninth century
Anglo-Saxon settlement at Yarnton, Oxfordshire (Hey
2004). Two separate areas of inhumation deposits were
found in the excavations at this site. One was a small
group of six adult burials at a distance from the middle
Saxon settlement. This group was identified as the
community field cemetery, of the sort that seem to have
been relatively common at this period, before the
proliferation of parish churches in the tenth and eleventh
centuries. The second group of at least five burials was in
the middle of the settlement, and contained the remains of
a woman aged between thirteen and nineteen years,
whose burial overlay a ditch containing the fragmentary
remains of at least four subadults, one aged six to eight
years, one aged six to seven years, and the rest juvenile,
but of unidentifiable biological age. The commentator
noted that ‘it is difficult to resist the conclusion that,
regardless of the Christian context of the burials, children
were not considered to merit burial within the small
cemetery’ (Boyle 2004, 75). There were certainly two
separate burial areas at this site, though only the six
burials in the adult area have been designated a ‘ce-
metery’ in the site report, and it was assumed that burial
in this extra-settlement area was privileged over burial
within the settlement. The settlement was interpreted as
domestic and secular, and no analysis was made of the
relationship between the mortuary deposits within the
3
Dr Simon Esmonde Cleary’s characteristically intelligent and percep-
tive work on ‘non-normative’ deposition in Roman contexts has been
insightful, and I have benefited enormously from his informed commen-
taries on both Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon burial patterns.
200
settlement and the spaces in which these deposits were
found.
There appear to be two assumptions underpinning the
apparent irrelevance of infant and other burials to the
interpretation of the settlements at West Stow and
Yarnton: first, that the settlements were unquestionably
secular and domestic in nature, and secondly, that
deposits of dead infants within the settlement area were
therefore made in an essentially non-meaningful way.
At Wharram Percy, Yorkshire, there is some direct
evidence to suggest that infant burials should be
incorporated within the discussion of ‘ritual’ deposition at
secular sites. Excavation of two sunken featured buildings
at this site revealed the burial of an infant and an
associated deposition of sheep bones, in the construction
ditch of one sunken featured building, within three metres
of the building’s west wall (Milne & Richards 1992, 84-
5). Radio-carbon dating placed the infant’s death in the
late sixth or early seventh centuries. The infant was
complete and articulated and was either stillborn or died
immediately after birth. The sheep remains ‘indicate a
dump of partly butchered bones, possibly in articulated
groups, and probably mostly from the same animal,
around a year old’ (Milne & Richards 1992, 84). The
infant burial appears to have been marked by a round
stone or boulder. Fine sieving around the burial revealed
minute specks of amber, and an amphora sherd was also
found in the vicinity of the burial, though it may have
been residual, rather than being deliberately associated
with the infant. The infant was carefully placed on a layer
of material, upcast from the sunken featured building,
which had been used to fill a nearby Romano-British
ditch. There was no trace of a grave cut, which has led to
the suggestion that the infant was laid in the open air and
left exposed, but the burial was covered by a layer of clay
and charcoal very shortly after deposition, and there are
no signs of rodent gnawing on the bones, so the case for
excarnation is not certain (Milne & Richards 1992, 20;
Hamerow 2006, 14).
There can be no doubt that there was an element of care
and structure to the deposition of this infant, and the
elaborate association of an animal carcase and the
possible stone marker with the baby suggest that this was
in no way a ‘secret’ burial, hidden from the rest of the
community (especially if it is true that the infant was left
exposed), but the deposit of one newborn baby in
association with a building need not be interpreted as part
of a wider, public ‘grammar’ of burial. Comparison might
be made with similarly-structured burials from the later
medieval period, at a time when the only officially-
sanctioned form of burial was within consecrated ground.
At the longhouse complex at Upton, Gloucestershire, for
example, the thirteenth-century burial of a three to six
month old baby took place in the south-east corner of a
room. The baby was buried with a spindle whorl and a
large whelk shell, and a floor slab covered the grave
(Rahtz 1969, 87). In another part of England altogether, at
S. CRAWFORD: SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS…
the end of the thirteenth century, a baby was buried under
the southern wall of a building in Westbury,
Buckinghamshire, and an in utero foetus of five to seven
months of age, showing signs of gnawing marks from
rodents, was buried in association with a building on
Croft 13. Also within the building was a pit containing
‘the remains of two intentionally-placed pots’. Whatever
was happening at Westbury was outside any officially-
sanctioned ritual behaviour; nonetheless the sense of a
deliberate, intentional and even purposeful burial was so
strong that the excavator remarked that ‘it is certainly
possible that this burial represents some sort of foundation
deposit’ (Ivens et al. 1995, 145). At the neighbouring
village of Tattenhoe, Buckinghamshire, the southern wall
of building 4, archaeologically difficult to define, was
marked by a line of pad-stones along the edge of an
eaves-drip drainage gully. One pad stone sealed a shallow
depression containing the remains of an infant, possibly a
still-born baby, with three animal bones place over it.
Again, the sense of deliberate ritual was strong enough to
promote the suggestion of a foundation deposit, or ‘a
more secretive burial of a perhaps illegitimate or defor-
med child’ (Ivens 1995, 33).
The Tattenhoe and Westbury burials raised two opposing
responses to the burial of the infants: either they were
unwanted, and secretly deposited, so that the function of
the buildings with which they were associated is
irrelevant to the babies, or they were ‘foundation
deposits’, so that their burial – and also, possibly, the
circumstances of their death, if not merely co-incidental –
were intrinsic to the creation and functioning of the
building to which their bodies had been dedicated. It is
not at all clear what, if anything, distinguished the
buildings at Tattenhoe and Westbury, or the outhouse at
Upton, as requiring special infant foundation burials,
compared to any of the other buildings at these villages,
apart from the presence of the babies themselves and their
associated deposits.
The problems of interpretation inherent in accepting the
possible symbolic impact of infant burials within sites
such as West Stow, Yarnton and Wharram Percy, which
would require a ritualising of what have traditionally been
identified as secular, domestic, economic spaces, is
further problematised by infant burials in contexts which
are currently interpreted as Christian and ecclesiastical.
The settlement of Flixborough, Lincolnshire, was in use
throughout the Middle and Late Saxon periods. Between
the late seventh and mid eighth centuries, the whole of the
excavated area was inhabited. In the early to mid-eighth
century, building 20 was replaced by an exceptional
structure, building 1a, internally divided with a hearth at
one end, and containing four burials along its walls on an
east-west alignment. Two further burials were located
outside the walls of the building to the south and south-
east. All the burials were of juveniles aged between three
and twelve years, with the exception of an adult female,
aged 20-30 years, who had been buried with a perinatal
foetus at her feet (Loveluck 2001, 86). All the children
201
showed signs of the dietary deficiencies implied by the
presence of cribra orbitalia, and the female has been
diagnosed as having suffered from tuberculosis. The small
inhumation cemetery associated with the site contained no
burials under the ages of seventeen, though this cemetery
was not fully excavated.
The site of Flixborough was initially interpreted as an
undocumented monastic centre on the basis of the
similarity between the high status artefacts recovered
from Flixborough and those from documented monastic
sites (Whitwell 1991, 247; Yorke 1993, 146), but
Loveluck has challenged this interpretation, arguing that,
while it is a complex high status site showing changing
patterns of consumption and production through the
middle to late Saxon periods, there are no clear grounds
for describing Flixborough as a monastic centre at any
point in its evolution (Loveluck 2001, 120-121). Given
this interpretation, it has been suggested that the burials
within and beside building 1a might indicate that the
building was the mortuary chapel of an elite household,
separating itself from the main cemetery (Morris 1989::
133; Loveluck 2001, 10).
In the case of Flixborough, the separate juvenile, infant
and adult burials have been placed within a ‘public’
mortuary context – there is no suggestion here of casual
deposition, and, given the dispute about the possible
ecclesiastical function of the site, the presence of the
settlement burials has been given consideration in the
context of the use of the associated buildings: in this case,
the building which represents the focus of the burials has
been ascribed a specific mortuary function. However, this
set of burials corresponds with those from both pre-
Christian West Stow and later Yarnton in several ways: at
all the sites, there are two burial areas, with the settlement
burials consisting predominantly of sub-adults, and the
female adults at West Stow and Flixborough both suffered
from severe, deforming pathologies. This pattern of burial
is replicated at Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, dating
to the eighth and ninth centuries, which has a secure,
documented function as an important Anglo-Saxon
ecclesiastical site. This development included a church, a
burial chapel into which four adult burials were inserted,
and a burial ground abutting the east wall of the burial
chapel containing the graves of about fifty-six children
(Hill 1997, 557). No infants were found within the burial
chapel itself, and the ‘children’s graveyard’ was only in
use for a very short period of about thirty to forty years.
Even so, burial within the children’s graveyard can be
divided into two phases. The first phase, lasting only ten
to fifteen years, was exclusively for perinatal and infant
burials, including the burial of four infants up to two
months premature at the time of burial, who cannot have
been baptised, and should not, according to canon law,
have been included in a consecrated burial ground (Hill
1997, 558). The second phase of burial included older
children. The children’s graveyard was sealed by the
deposition of a bundle of bones of a young adult female,
whose partially decomposed body was wrapped up in a
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
cloth and deposited over the children’s graves. She was
suffering from tuberculosis. Finally, ashes from the
cremation (a method of disposing of bodies more
normally associated with the pagan period) of at least four
adults were spread over the area. Another feature of the
graveyard was that, while the majority of the adult burials
at Whithorn showed a population with good levels of
health, the children’s skeletons exhibited striking levels of
chronic problems associated with sickness or dietary
deficiency. Again, in contrast to the adult burials, while
the majority of the adults were given normal West-East
extended alignment, the children’s burials showed much
more variation (Hill 1997, 559).
The evidence from Anglian Whithorn poses a number of
problems of interpretation. The presence of pre-term
infants in the cemetery suggests that such babies were
considered fit for burial within a church context, though it
seems unlikely that all of them, particularly the stillborn,
can have been baptised. On the other hand, the infant
burials were very clearly segregated from all other
burials, and the infant and child mortuary population was
very different to the adult mortuary population, both in
terms of pathology and burial layout. Finally, deliberate
sealing of the cemetery with the translated remains of
woman who had been chronically ill, disabled, and
probably disabled during her life, raises new possibilities
about the ‘special’ nature of the space in which these
infants and children were buried.
Given that the later phase of Whithorn’s use for infant
burial corresponded to a period of decline and possible
abandonment of the site, one interpretation of this infant
cemetery could be that it functioned in a similar way to
medieval Irish infant burial sites (‘cillins’), which
contained dead infants who were excluded from church
burial because they were unbaptised, and also contained
the graves of excluded adults, such as strangers, suicides,
and shipwrecked sailors (Finlay 2000, 411). Not all cillins
were associated with abandoned churches; other marginal
and disused features in the landscape, such as raths,
ogham stones, tower houses and enclosures became the
focus for such burials (Finlay 2000, 412). In the case of
cillins, the buildings were chosen because they were
abandoned, not because of their religious associations,
and Nyree Finlay furthermore argued that these sites did
not gain a new ritual life with the burial of the babies,
because there is no evidence that such sites became places
of remembrance, or were ever visited by the relatives of
the dead babies (Finlay 2000, 413).
A noticeable feature of the chronological range of infant
deposition in association with buildings is that, to date,
there appear to be no examples for the last two centuries
of the Anglo-Saxon period. The disappearance of infant
burial in settlements appears to coincide with the
proliferation of parish churches across Anglo-Saxon
England, which finally established burial within church-
yards as the ‘proper’ place to put the dead (Blair 2005). A
few late Anglo-Saxon churches and their graveyards have
202
been excavated, including the site at Raunds, Northam-
ptonshire (Boddington 1996). Here, the church and burial
ground were established in the mid-tenth century, and in
this first phase of the cemetery, infant burials were found
throughout the site. A second phase of graveyard
expansion led to the area adjacent to the church walls
being brought into use, first for adults, who were buried
close to the wall, and then for infants, who were buried
right up against the wall as ‘eavesdrip’ burials (Bodding-
ton 1996, 9). Infants were almost entirely absent from
zones 4 and 5, to the north east and south east of the
graveyard. Other excavated sites show a similar pattern of
‘eavesdrip’ infant burial (Blair 2005, 471). The pheno-
menon of ‘eavesdrip’ burials associated with church
buildings is widespread, and itself may be derived from
the Roman burial practice of placing dead infants under
the eaves of houses (cf. Watts 1989). If the evidence from
Raunds for infant eavesdrip as a late introduction, post-
dating the first phase of churchyard burial, reflects a
general pattern, rather than being a local phenomenon,
then the appearance of infants next to the walls of
churches, at the same time as they become archaeolo-
gically invisible in settlement contexts, might offer the
possibility that, to some extent, church eavesdrip burial
was replacing and transforming some of the ritual and
symbolic references of infant settlement burials.
In this paper I have explored the problem of assessing the
‘meaning’ of separate infant and juvenile burial grounds
within Anglo-Saxon secular, or possibly secular, settle-
ment sites. The difficulty of acknowledging that such
burials have to be read as part of the settlement’s social
and ritual construct, and the lack of a framework within
which to discuss whether these burials should be
interpreted as private, non-ritual and of lower status than
adult burials in field cemeteries, or even as relevant and
ritually meaningful to the buildings and settlements with
which they are associated, remains a barrier to under-
standing not only the place of dead infants within the
spiritual and symbolic world of the Anglo-Saxons, but
also our ability to decipher the relationship between
dwelling places, built structures, other ‘ritual’ deposits,
and the dead. The sites discussed in this paper, ranging
from the fifth to the ninth centuries, and from the
‘secular’ to the ecclesiastical, seem to share a common
vocabulary of separate deposition for infants, juveniles
and selected adults, and in all but one of these cases, the
adult burials included the disfigured or significantly
disabled, and it may be that the woman with the infant at
Sutton Courtenay should be included in this group,
though there is no osteoarchaeological data for the female
skeleton. This conjunction of infant, juveniles and
disabled adults persisted regardless of a radical change in
religious beliefs in this period.
This paper also draws attention to the way in which an
assumption that infant mortuary deposition within settle-
ments was ‘casual’ and effectively thoughtless needs
challenging, because until it has been reconsidered, the
relationship between settlement and extra-settlement
 S. CRAWFORD: SPECIAL BURIALS, SPECIAL BUILDINGS? AN ANGLO-SAXON PERSPECTIVE ON THE INTERPRETATION OF INFANT BURIALS…
mortuary populations, and the extent to which burial in
association with buildings, prior to the introduction of
church burial for all, was privileged and ‘special’ rather
than low status, cannot be explored4. At present, it is not
possible to say, on the basis of the archaeological
evidence, how Anglo-Saxon settlement infant burials
relate to the life-cycle of buildings or settlements
(whether they have, for example, what prehistorians have
recognised as a ‘regenerative role’ for strategically placed
artefacts in settlement sites), nor how they relate, in time
and space, to other ‘special deposits’ in the settlement
area (Gwilt & Haselgrove 1997, 3). Furthermore, the
standard of the currently-available evidence will not bear
the weight of analysis which would allow us to test
whether infant burial in settlement areas represents a
continuation of Romano-British ritual practices, or is
sufficiently different to infer a distinct break between
Roman and post-Roman ritual. In this paper, I have
focussed on the burials of infants within settlements, but
it is likely that future analysis of ‘special deposits’ within
the Anglo-Saxon settlements will show (as Professor
Hamerow has postulated) that infants form only part of a
wider, complex pattern of deposited materials in the
Anglo-Saxon period (Hamerow 2006). It is to be hoped
that future excavations at Anglo-Saxon settlement sites
will be carried out with an expectation that infant bodies
may be present, so that excavation strategies appropriate
to the recovery of their bodies in situ will allow further
exploration to be made of the relationships between infant
bodies, households, and the ritual and symbolic life of
Anglo-Saxon society.
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 ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS
DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES SELON LES EXTIRPATEURS
D’IDOLATRIES ANDINES DU XVIIEME SIECLE
Mariel Alejandra LOPEZ
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, marielarqueologia@yahoo.com.ar

Abstract: The seventeenth-century Peruvian exhortations and instructions for fight against the idolatries in the Andean world defined
“Chuchos” or “Cutis” and “Chacpas” – categories of child burial – as idolatries, which should be extirpated. These were the
typical child burials in ollas or jars in the Andean world and especially in the study area, Quebrada de Humahuaca, within domestic
structures at sites well known as “pueblos viejos or antigales” and “pukaras”. The material considered here reveals the nature and
origins of this ritual, which has not been practiced for all dead children. From a European cosmogonic point of view, these burials
began as funerary ritual but also had a ceremonial character as long as the buried individuals had been considered as “sacred
beings” and mobile “huacas” due to characteristics of their birth. The evidence of the historical records is considered here in
relation to the “functional context” of the archaeological material as well as to the problem of the idolatries’ extirpation, using logs
of archaeological collections and new excavation results.
Keywords: Children, “ollas” or jar burials, mobile “huacas”, “Quebrada de Humahuaca”, Argentina

Résume: Les exhortations et instructions écrites au Pérou au XVIIème siècle pour lutter contre les idolâtries dans le monde andin
coïncident pour décrire ces catégories de sépultures, “Chuchos” ou “Cutis” et “Chacpas” comme des idolâtries à extirper. Il s’agit
des sépultures caractéristiques de certains enfants, dans des céramiques ollas qui sont fréquemment découvertes dans le monde
andin et, en particulier, dans notre région d’étude, Quebrada de Humahuaca, à l’intérieur d’habitats domestiques dans les sites
archéologiques connus comme “pueblos viejos ou antigales” et “pukaras”. La source consultée révèle la nature et l’origine de cette
habitude qui n’était pas généralisée à tous les enfants. Du point de vue de la cosmogonie européenne, cette habitude fait partie d’un
rituel funéraire, mais aussi cérémonial, du moment qu’on considère ces enfants comme “êtres sacrés” et “huacas” mobiles à cause
des particularités de leur naissance. Dans cette communication, on présentera des données provenant du secteur cité relative aux
“contextes de fonctionnement” de ces découvertes archéologiques, leurs liens avec le problème de l’extirpation d’idolâtries et les
observations actuelles dans les enregistrements archéologiques des collections et recherches contemporaines.
Mots Clefs: enfants, “ollas” funéraires, “huacas” mobiles, “Quebrada de Humahuaca”, Republique Argentine

INTRODUCTION chrétiens des idolâtres. Une autre cause serait la rapide

Avec la chute du Tawantinsuyu et l’autorité exercée par
les Espagnols sur les Incas, les expressions collectives
liées au rituel et aux croyances andines n’auraient pas été
supprimées, comme l’affirment certains auteurs, mais sus-
pendues publiquement ou bien cachées de manière “clan-
destine” (Gruzinski 1995, 65; Duviols 1977, 168-169).
Au milieu du XVIème siècle, le Roi d’Espagne avait été
influencé par l’Eglise afin d’éliminer les rites andins.
Voilà pourquoi le Roi avait ordonné la création d’une
équipe spéciale avec la fonction d’extirper les idolâtries.
Même si les Conciles de Lima de 1551-52, 1567-68 (tous
deux convoqués par Loayza) et 1582-83 (convoqué par
Toribio de Peña Mogrovejo) ont instauré la punition et
ont organisé la manière selon laquelle devaient se
conduire les extirpateurs d’idolâtries. Le XVIIème siècle
avait à peine commencé quand ont débuté ces campagnes
ou visites d’idolâtries en Amérique.
Selon Duviols, les véritables campagnes d’extirpation
d’idolâtries auraient commencé à partir de 1610. et, en
particulier, avec la dénonciation d’Avila en 1608 à propos
de l’idolâtrie à Huarichiri. Selon cet auteur, cet événement
aurait été fondamentalement du à l’absence de critères
précis pour différencier, parmi les indigènes, les vrais
conclusion du clergé pensant que le problème de
l’idolâtrie pourrait être résolu à travers l’instruction et les
baptêmes.
D’après Duviols, malgré les efforts d’Avila, la demande
d’aide à la Compagnie de Jésus pour la création d’un
corps de Visiteurs Généraux des Idolâtries afin de
conduire la première mission officielle, malgré le Synode
de 1613, et d’autres visites et campagnes menées par les
premiers archevêques de Lima, ce serait avec la troisième
campagne menée en 1649 par l’archevêque de Lima
Villagómez (entre 1641-1671 d.C.) qu’aurait été conçu un
“plan d’extirpation systématique” plus ambitieux que
celui de ses prédécesseurs (1977, 176-198).
Villagómez, le sixième archevêque de Lima, a rédigé une
Lettre Pastorale (1919 [1649]) dans laquelle il a fortement
insisté sur la réalisation de visites d’extirpation, étant
donnée l’importance de soutenir une présence active et
réitérée pour supprimer les idolâtries. Voilà pourquoi
Duviols considère que c’est à partir de son activité
missionnaire que sont apparus les textes indispensables
pour l’extirpation. Il s’agit des Catéchismes et des
Exhortations ou Sermons nés suite au troisième Concile
en 1585, quoique dans ce cas, à la différence de leurs
prédécesseurs, les textes ont été spécialement destinés aux
extirpateurs d’idolâtries.

205
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Fig. 21.1. Quebrada de Humahuaca
De cette manière on pourrait dire que, après le célèbre
texte d’Arriaga, La Lettre Pastorale de Villagómez,
consultée pour l’occasion, est considérée comme le seul
texte qui ait traité les questions de l’extirpation et qui,
selon Duviols, présente d’excellentes qualités de synthèse
(1977, 199-200). En plus, en référence à notre étude, on
considère que cette Lettre deviendra très importante parce
qu’avec elle, Villagómez a généralisé le problème de
l’extirpation, au-delà de Lima, à tout le monde andin.
Pour inclure le Nord Ouest Argentin dans ce problème, on
a aussi consulté la documentation ecclésiastique, publiée
et inédite, de la région d’étude ainsi que la culture
matérielle qui correspond aux enregistrements funéraires
et rituels archéologiques, vestiges des sites indigènes, en
particulier de la Quebrada de Humahuaca (Fig. 21.1).
Durant les premiers contacts entre les indigènes et les
Espagnols dans la région d’étude (fin du XVIème siècle et
début du XVIIème siècle), on considère que c’est dans ces
sites indigènes que les rituels ont continué et que se sont
cachés et conservés les idoles ou objets participant aux
différents types de cérémonies. En plus, il existe des
206
textes écrits par des spécialistes qui suggèrent qu’il ait
existé, précisément, à partir du Troisième Concile de
Lima, une réelle inquiétude pour l’éradication des
idolâtries dans le Tucumán Colonial, puisqu’à partir de ce
moment l’Eglise commence à s’organiser en Amérique.
Voilà pourquoi ce Troisième Concile, aussi nommé “Le
Trento Hispano américain” à cause de sa connotation
pastorale (Dussel 1979, 199, 212-216), a eu une
importance décisive dans notre région d’étude. Un
exemple en est l’active participation, dans ce Concile, du
premier Évêque de l’Evêché du Tucuman Colonial. Il
s’agit de Francisco de Victoria (Dominicain et évêque
entre 1582 et 1587), dont la région nommée Quebrada de
Humahuaca fut placée sous sa responsabilité (Alen
Lascano 1970, 7-8; Dussel 1979, 201, 215; Évêque Poli,
Communication personnelle 2005).
Malgré cela, on peut affirmer que les décisions du
Troisième Concile de Lima ont commencé à être
réellement effectives par Cédule Réel en 1591 (Dussel
1979, 203, 222). Pour notre région d’étude, on trouve
dans ce concile les visites nécessaires que devaient faire
 M.A. LOPEZ: ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES...
les évêques pour “missionner” dans les “doctrines ou
réductions”. L’objet était clairement l’abandon de leurs
habitudes “barbares” et “sauvages”, pour vivre “avec
l’ordre et les habitudes politiques” (Dussel 1979, 221).
Ce Concile n’a pas seulement fondé un Catéchisme écrit
par le Prêtre Acosta, traduit en langues quechua et
aymara, mais a aussi écrit des lettres en espagnol,
quechua et aymara pour des prêtres, afin que ceux-ci
connaissent, entre autres choses, les cérémonies et rituels
des indigènes (Acosta 1583; Dussel 1979, 222).
Finalement, c’est au Premier Concile Provincial réalisé à
La Plata (1627-1629 d. C.), auquel a participé l’évêque du
Tucumán Colonial, Frai Tomás de Torres (Dominicain et
évêque entre 1626 et 1630), selon Dussel (1979, 249),
qu’il a été déclaré que les prêtres et les catéchistes
(doctrineros) d’indigènes, en montrant l’exemple et en
parlant les langues locales, devraient s’occuper de l’évan-
gélisation pour éviter l’idolâtrie, et également de faire
trueque et commerce de boissons alcoolisées. (Dussel
1979, 251). Voilà pourquoi il y a une copie de ce
catéchisme de 1584 partout dans la région andine, même
en Argentine (Acosta 1584). Spécialement dans le cadre
de cette communication, ce texte parle aussi de l’inter-
diction de déformer des crânes d’enfants et celle des
cérémonies funéraires traditionnelles en général (Dussel
1979, 252).
Selon Dussel, les trois premiers évêques du Tucumán
Colonial jusqu’à 1626 ont visité effectivement le
territoire. Le premier évêque, Victoria, s’y rendit avec des
Jésuites, et le deuxième, Hernando de Trejo y Sanabria
(Franciscain et évêque entre 1596 et 1614), selon Vergara
(1932, 362), insista pour construire l’Eglise Matrice à
Jujuy. Finalement, le troisième, Julián de Cortázar (Prêtre
et évêque entre 1618 et 1626), fit sa visite avec véritable
conscience (Dussel 1979, 168).
LA PERSISTENCE DES IDOLATRIES, LES
ENFANTS HUACAS DURANT LES XVIEME ET
XVIIEME SIECLES
Dans ce contexte on peut maintenant observer pour la
période de contact entre indigènes et Espagnols dans la
Quebrada de Humahuaca (XVIème et XVIIème siècles),
d’un coté, les “renouveaux” des idolâtries et, de l’autre,
les “visites” comme le seul outil pour leur élimination.
Les cas d’enfants et de certains adultes trouvés dans des
ollas, c’est à dire, dans des céramiques, découverts dans
les contextes domestiques de sites archéologiques indi-
gènes, sont habituellement interprétés par les archéolo-
gues comme la manière la plus commune d’enterrer des
enfants et comme un mode exceptionnel pour certains
adultes.
Malgré cela, selon les documents analysés ou, plus
exactement, selon Polo de Ondegardo (1941 [c. 1571],
207
34), ces cas seraient des cas d’ “enfants Huaca”, objets de
culte ou idoles, recherchés par les Espagnols afin de les
détruire.
Dans sa Lettre Pastorale, Villagómez avait systématisé
pour la région toute une série de processus que les
extirpateurs ou visiteurs devaient exécuter. Il s’agit d’un
“édit” dans lequel plusieurs cérémonies et objets de cultes
ont été décrits comme habituels chez les indigènes sous
l’Empire Inca.
Villagómez insiste sur le fait que, pour bien connaître les
cérémonies et les rituels andins, on devait résumer à
nouveau tout ce qui avait été dit dans le Deuxième
Concile de Lima (1567-1568), voilà pourquoi il synthétise
aussi tout ce qui avait été stipulé par le Prêtre Arriaga en
1621.
Dans ce résumé, Villagómez (1919 [1649], 143-150)
raconte que parmi les objets d’idolâtrie étaient: le soleil,
la lune, les étoiles, la mer, la terre, les sources, les
rivières, les hautes collines et montagnes, les monts
enneigés, quelques très grandes pierres, les pacarinas
(dans le paysage) et les enfants enterrés en ollas (Huacas
mobiles).
Selon cet auteur, toutes ces choses étaient des huacas que
les indigènes adoraient comme un Dieu. Mais il existait
aussi d’autres huacas, les portables ou les “ordinaires”,
généralement en pierre, présentant ou non une morpho-
logie particulière (homme, femme ou animaux). Ces
derniers étaient les huacas des ayllus puisque chaque
ayllu avait une huaca principale et d’autres de moindre
importance. Chacune possédait aussi un nom et était
associée à des “prêtres” qui leur offraient des sacrifices.
En plus, il existait des Malquis ou Munaos qui étaient des
os ou des corps entiers des ancêtres “gentiles” et qui,
selon les indigènes, étaient les fils des huacas. Ces
derniers étaient enterrés dans les Machais, d’antiques
sépultures. Quelquefois, ils revêtaient des vêtements
d’importance avec des plumes de couleurs ou cumbi.
Dans cette partie, on notera que la différentiation des
sexes dans les enterrements, comme Villagómez le répète,
ainsi que d’autres auteurs de l´époque, était identifiable
par les outils de travail accompagnant le défunt, dualité
rituelle qu’on observe clairement à Quebrada de
Humahuaca. Selon Cornejo Guerrero (2002-2005, 232)
les objets corrélatifs à la mort étaient “les outils qu’ils
portaient durant leur vie, soit pour les femmes les fuseaux
et les écheveaux de coton filé, et pour les hommes les
tacllas ou des outils avec lesquels ils travaillaient la terre
ou les armes avec lesquelles ils luttaient”, mais
Villagómez décrit aussi la présence de “vaisselle” comme
offrande afin de leur apporter nourriture et boissons (1919
[1649], 146-147).
Dans cette dernière catégorie de morts, on pourrait
considérer les enfants. Mais quelle est la différence entre
des enfants “ordinaires” et les Enfants Huaca? Les
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
Enfants Huaca sont des enfants nommés par les
chroniques comme Chuchos ou Cutis et Chacpas et, qui
sont d’une certaine manière considérés aussi comme des
défunts par le prêtre Acosta.
Mais, selon Villagómez, la chose la plus importante était
que tout ce qu’on appelait huaca était objet de culte
public. Voilà pourquoi tandis que les morts “ordinaires”
étaient enterrés dans la maison et que leur cérémonie était
privée, même pour les enfants, les enfants Huaca étaient
objets de culte public.
Cette différence peut être expliquée par ce qui est décrit
dans l’“Edit” sur les habitudes funéraires en général et sur
des cérémonies “gentiles” ou idolâtres avec des enfants
nés selon des circonstances particulières.
En particulier, les Espagnols étaient préoccupés par des
enfants baptisés sous le nom de Curi, signifiant tonnerre,
ou de Libiac ou Santiago signifiant rayon de soleil. Une
autre de leur préoccupation était de savoir quand une
femme avait deux jumeaux, appelés Curi ou Chucho ou
même, quand certains enfants étaient nés “de pied”,
appelés Chacpa. Dans ce cas, cette femme faisait jeûne de
sel et de piment rouge, et ne dormait pas avec son mari.
Dans cet “Edit” apparut clairement une question qui
faisait référence aux enfants nés en même temps, parce
que c’était eux qui étaient menés en procession avec des
tambourins dans certaines cérémonies. En relation avec la
procession apparurent d’autres données faisant référence à
la “pampa”, c’est-à-dire à un lieu éloigné et marginal.
Quant à ces enfants, cette chronique est très claire quand
elle décrit que si un des deux enfants était mort pendant
qu’il était petit, il était enterré en ollas, c’est à dire, dans
des poteries, étant adorés comme des êtres sacrés. On
disait que l’un d’entre eux était le fils du rayon, voilà
pourquoi il était nommé Chucho ou Cuti. Les enfants
naissant “de pied” et morts peu de temps après leur
naissance, appelés Chacpas dans ce cas, étaient enterrés
de la même manière.
En ce qui concerne l’objet de cette communication, les
jumeaux et les enfants nés “de pied”, il est intéressant de
noter que leur traitement ritualisé particulier commençait
au moment de leur naissance, persistait pendant leur
longue ou brève vie, et continuait après leur mort.
Finalement, des enfants étaient objets de persécution et
étaient donc cachés afin de ne pas être baptisés par les
Espagnols (Villagómez 1919 [1649], 150).
Suivant tout ce qui a été ici décrit précédemment, les
campagnes d’extirpation d’idolâtries ne pourchassaient
que les sujets-objets décrits ici comme des Enfants Huaca
(quelques fois aussi adultes) ou identifiés comme
“idoles”, mais aussi toutes les cérémonies “gentiles”
auxquelles participaient ces enfants pendant leur vie avec
leurs parents, le “prêtre”, le “kuraka” et toute la commu-
nauté.
208
Dans le dit “Edit”, Villagómez décrit que les deux types
d’enfants étaient menés en “procession avec des
tambourins” et participaient à “certaines cérémonies”,
mais il ne dit rien à propos de leur situation chronologique
et de leur fréquence. C’est à partir d’autres documents que
l’on peut connaître quelques détails à propos des
processions. Martínez Cereceda soutient qu’elles seraient
publiques et qu’elles consisteraient en “rituels prépa-
ratoires pour la purification des jumeaux, destinés à
éloigner le danger du groupe dans lequel ils étaient nés”.
Cet auteur soutient aussi que le kuraka ou chef ethnique
du groupe pouvait participer à ces cérémonies (Martínez
Cereceda 1995, 90).
Finalement, même si on n’a pas parlé ici d’autres objets
considérés comme idoles, tels que certaines pierres ou
figures en pierre, Martínez Cereceda, en citant Albornoz
(1967 [c. 1580]), décrit que, comme fils du tonnerre1, les
jumeaux étaient aussi considérés comme illapas bien
qu’ils eussent un caractère sacré mais dangereux, étant le
produit d’une action “pécamineuse” ayant eu lieu avant
leur naissance (Martínez Cereceda 1995, 167). Mais cette
dernière affirmation n’est pas complètement sûre.
LA PERSECUTION ET DESTRUCTION DES
ENFANTS HUACAS
Villagómez décrit clairement que le jour où les indigènes
durent se rendre sur la place pour la destruction des
idoles, ils durent également emmener les enfants enterrés
dans les Ollas. (1919 [1649], p. 245-246).
Quant à notre région d’étude, il est intéressant d’observer
que la destruction des enfants en Ollas est clairement
mentionnée dans un document Jésuite contenu dans le
Volume VII de la Monumenta Peruana qui correspond
aux années 1600 a 1602, époque à laquelle les jésuites
commençaient à “prolonger leur vision vers des nouveaux
lieux” (De España & Fernández 1981, 1). Cela est surtout
notable à partir de la sixième Congrégation Provinciale du
Pérou, dans laquelle il a été décidé de créer de nouvelles
vice- ou sous-provinces autonomes. L’une d’entre elles,
du Sud, comprenait Charcas, le Tucuman colonial et
Omaguaca comme “Mission d’indigènes infidèles” (De
Egaña 1954, 69, carte 1. Voir Figure 21.2a et le détail
dans la Figure 21.2b).
En accord avec ce dernier document, il est intéressant
d’observer que les jésuites parlent d’“offrir” les enfants.
Voilà pourquoi on ne sait pas si ces enfants étaient
sacrifiés au rayon après leur naissance ou s’ils étaient
morts-nés à cause de leurs circonstances particulières de
naissance.
Comme pour le moment il n’existe pas à Quebrada de
Humahuaca d’études archéologiques détaillées sur les
1
Albornoz parle des jumeaux comme fils du tonnerre tandis que
Villagómez parle des jumeaux comme des fils du tonnerre ou du rayon.
 M.A. LOPEZ: ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES...
Fig. 21.2. a) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca; b) Charcas, Tucuman colonial et Omaguaca, détail
enfants trouvés dans des Ollas, on espère qu’à partir de
ces résultats, on pourra faire des recherches avec une
autre vision du contexte pour obtenir des informations
propres à ces enfants et à leurs possibles pathologies.
Pendant la première moitié du XXème siècle, à partir des
recherches archéologiques dans la région, on a récupéré
beaucoup d’enfants en Ollas. Malgré cela, les techniques
de fouilles de l’époque n’ont pas pu toujours permettre de
récupérer certaines informations à propos de ces enfants.
On conservait, presque toujours les poteries et le seul
enregistrement de ces pièces comme “urnes” est apparu
dans les rapports conservés du chantier. Généralement, les
os étaient conservés d’une autre coté.
Cependant, récemment on a commencé à insérer les
études ostéologiques au sein des recherches archéologi-
ques du Tucuman colonial.
QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA, JUJUY, NORD
OUEST DE LA REPUBLIQUE ARGENTINE ET
LES ENFANTS HUACAS
Y a-t-il eu de véritables visites et persécutions d’idolâtries
dans la Quebrada de Humahuaca? Ont-elles été aussi
sévères que dans le reste du Pérou?
209
Tel qu’il a été mentionné antérieurement, la Quebrada de
Huamahuaca, faisait partie de l’Évêché de Tucumán dès
le début. Selon Dussel (1979, 201), dès 1582, cet évêché a
participé, avec la présence du Frai Francisco de Vitoria
(Dominicain et évêque du Tucumán entre 1582 et 1587 d.
C), au 3ème Concile de Lima.
Comme on le sait par le résumé des Lois des Royaumes
des Indes en 1681, les textes du 3ème Concile de Lima
devaient s’inspirer du respect de la Loi (ecclésiastique
et civile) par toutes les provinces des Indes. En
conséquence, chaque catéchiste (“doctrinero”), paroisse
ou convent devait posséder ces documents, devait
examiner leur contenu et le mettre en pratique, surtout
à partir des sermons et des visites (Dussel 1979, 193-
194).
En effet, cet évêché reçut une copie du Catéchisme édité
en 1584 à Lima avec les traductions en langues
vernaculaires. D’autre part on sait par Vergara (1932,
362) que l’évêque Trejo y Sanabria aurait visité Jujuy à
peu près en 1597, c’est à dire quand la Quebrada de
Humahuaca était récemment sous le contrôle espagnol.
Néanmoins, il n’existe aucun document à Jujuy à propos
de cette visite et, de plus, il est nécessaire de ne pas
confondre ces visites avec la réalisation effective de
l’extirpation d’idolâtries.
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
En revanche, on pense que ce sera à partir des futures
fouilles archéologiques que l’on pourra rencontrer des
indices plus précis des cas de résistance d’idolâtries dans
les sites archéologiques en Quebrada de Humahuaca, et
prouver de cette manière qu’il n’y a pas eu beaucoup
d’extirpations. Jusqu’aujourd’hui, on peut dire que ce
problème a été d’une certaine manière “invisible”, parce
qu’il ne fait pas l’objet de cette recherche archéologique
et que l’on ne sait presque rien de cette période dans la
région.
À propos des cas d’enterrements d’enfants en Ollas, on a
considéré ici que même s’il s’agit d’un phénomène plus
ancien et que l’on peut le rencontrer à partir de la période
nommée “Formatif”, c’est à dire avant l’ère chrétienne, on
peut considérer la découverte d’enfants en Ollas pour la
période hispano-indigène comme un indicateur de la
persistance de l’idolâtrie dans les lieux en dehors du
contrôle espagnol. Effectivement, dans les “antigales”, ou
vieux villages, et dans les “pukaras”, sites de hauteur
fortifiés, on a rencontré des enterrements d’enfants et de
quelques rares adultes en Ollas. Il est intéressant de
remarquer que ces objets ont toujours été trouvés dans des
cours ou “patios” à l’intérieur des unités domestiques, en
Quebrada de Humahuaca. De plus, on les rencontre
d’habitude sur les greniers ou tout simplement sur le sol
de la maison.
Cette pratique a été interprétée dans la littérature
archéologique argentine comme une pratique commune
pour les enfants et la plupart des archéologues argentins
ont considéré que cette pratique était originaire des basses
terres ou terres orientales. Elle est autant mentionnée par
les anciens textes que par les plus récents (par exemple
Rex González, 2005, 29). Néanmoins, cette pratique a été
aussi enregistrée dans d’autres parties du monde dans un
contexte rituel (par exemple Bacvarov 2004).
Cependant, elle n’est pas encore traitée comme un objet
d’étude en Argentine, à l’exception de quelques cas
analysés à partir d’une perspective bioanthropologique
générale comme par exemple, à Quebrada de Huama-
huaca, à partir des travaux de Mendonça et d’autres
auteurs (par exemple Mendonça et al. 1991 et 2002;
Bordach et al. 1999; Barboza & Mendonça 2001; Barboza
et al. 2002 et 2003 ou Seldes 2006, entre autres). À Salta,
les travaux publiés récemment par Baldini et d’autres
auteurs (par exemple Baldini & Baffi 2001 et 2004;
Baldini, M. et al. 2003 ou Baldini, L. et al. 2005). À
propos des travaux plus spécifiques sur enfants en ollas, à
La Rioja, on a le travail de Kush & Baffi 1997 et,
également à Catamarca les travaux de Sempé et. al. 1996-
1997; Sempé & Salceda 2005a et 2005b ou Williams &
de Hoyos 2001.
En Quebrada de Humahuaca on a des cas récemment
découverts intéressants pour ce type d’étude puisque, à la
différence des cas retrouvés au début du XXème siècle, ils
ont pu être récupérés et conservés en entier. Parmi les
exemples publiés plus récemment, des cas découverts à
210
Los Amarillos et à La Huerta, sites archéologiques situés
au milieu de la Quebrada de Humahuaca, sont décrit ici
en raison de l’importance de leurs contextes.
Dans le premier cas, à Los Amarillos, il s’agit d’un petit
garçon enterré dans une Olla, qui possédait un mobilier
funéraire composé de deux petites haches métalliques
miniatures2. Il s’agit, selon Angiorama, d’un cas de
sépulture typiquement Inca (Angiorama 2005, 47-48).
Dans le deuxième cas (Fig. 21.3), mis au jour par Palma
(1998), on a retrouvé à La Huerta au moins quatre cas qui
ont été analysés d’un point de vue bioanthropologique,
mais aussi par l’étude de la technologie céramique (López
2004). Il s’agit de cas retrouvés dans les conditions
mentionnées auparavant. L’un (Tombe Nº 77d, Olla
29301) était un enfant périnatal (naissance ± 2 mois). Cet
enterrement en Olla se trouvait sur un possible “grenier”,
selon Palma “réutilisé” comme dépôt d’enterrements
d’adultes (Tombe Nº 77 c). Le deuxième (Tombe Nº 77e,
Olla 29302) était un enfant âgé de 6 à 8 mois. Dans les
deux cas, les Ollas étaient pré-Inca ou Inca décorées et
elles ont été réutilisées puisqu’elles avaient quelques mar-
ques d’usage culinaire. Le troisième cas était un enfant
(Tombe Nº 77f, Olla 29305), ayant comme mobilier
funéraire un pendentif en malachite ou turquoise, qui a été
enterré dans une Olla complètement noircie par sa
fonction première. Le quatrième cas était un petit garçon
(Tombe Nº 77i, Cántaro 29306) qui avait entre 2 et 4 ans.
La pièce de céramique devait être nécessairement un peu
plus grande que les vases habituels et n’était pas décorée,
mais revêtait cependant une peinture rougeâtre. Elle a du
être également utilisée antérieurement pour la cuisine.
Il s’agit, en accord avec le contexte, selon Palma, d’un cas
d’occupation incaique et espagnole. Les dates obtenues
pour les tombes Nº 77c et 77d indiquent une chronologie
entre 1164 et 14323.
Pour finir, il restera seulement à réunir ces recherches
avec des documents afin de commencer à réfléchir sur ces
découvertes comme celles des Enfants Huacas, c’est à
dire des enfants nés dans des conditions spéciales, et
enterrés dans des Ollas afin de les mobiliser au sein de
cérémonies privées mais aussi publiques où participaient
les caciques et les prêtres indigènes.
Je considère aussi qu’on devrait analyser ce type de
contexte funéraire à partir de caractères épigénétiques
2
Ce type d’objets de haute valeur était d’habitude retrouvé avec les
objets d’idolâtries (Villagómez 1919 [1649]: 246).
3
Palma, Communication personnelle 2005.
Contexte Date
Ref du Date calibrée Date calibre 2
Lab
Type conventionnelle
14 1 σ (Cal BP) σ (Cal BP)
C (BP)
CAIS- Os Tombe
UGA Nº 77c
600±50 1301-1411 1288-1432
CAIS- Os Tombe
UGA Nº 77c
720±50 1264-1298 1218-1391
CASI- Os Tombe
770±50 1220-1287 1164-1299
UGA Nº 77d
M.A. LOPEZ: ENFANTS HUACA: SEPULTURES EN OLLAS DES ENFANTS NES DANS DES CIRCONSTANCES SPECIALES...

Fig. 21.3. Technologie céramique (López 2004)

211
BABIES REBORN: INFANT/CHILD BURIALS IN PRE- AND PROTOHISTORY
(par exemple, la déformation des crânes ou la déformation
des dents) du corps dans des pièces céramiques. Selon
Reycraft (2005), si on parle d’archéologie et d’ethnicité,
c’est la présence récurrente de ce type de caractéristiques
qui permettra en plus d’identifier ces individus comme
des “êtres spéciaux ou sacrés” et de déterminer, par
exemple et, d’un autre coté, s’ils sont morts accidentelle-
ment ou non.
Remerciements
À CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones
Científicas y Técnicas. À Mario Poli, l’évêque de Flores,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Docteur en Histoire de l’Église.
Au Professeur Dolores Estruch, qui m’a facilité l’accès
aux copies du Catéchisme manuscrit situé dans le Musée
Mitre à Buenos Aires, Argentina. À Jorge Palma par les
datations inédites. À Adriana Callegari par leurs
commentaires et à Rodolphe Hoguin pour les corrections
et la relecture en français.
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Compvesto por autoridad del Concilio Provincial, que
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