Aggressive or funerary cannibalism? Skull-cup and human bone manipulation in Cueva de El Toro (Early Neolithic, southern Iberia)

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

OBJECTIVES

To test a hypothesis on interpersonal violence events during the transition between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Eastern Pyrenees, to contextualize it in Western Europe during that period, and to assess if these marks can be differentiated from secondary funerary treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Metric and non-metric methods were used to estimate the age-at-death and sex of the skeletal remains. Perimortem injuries were observed and analyzed with stereomicroscopy and confocal microscopy.

RESULTS

Among the minimum of 51 individuals documented, at least six people showed evidence of perimortem trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the skeletal sample, but those with violent injuries are predominantly males. Twenty-six bones had 49 injuries, 48 of which involved sharp force trauma on postcranial elements, and one example of blunt force trauma on a cranium. The wounds were mostly located on the upper extremities and ribs, anterior and posterior. Several antemortem lesions were also documented in the assemblage.

DISCUSSION

The perimortem lesions, together with direct dating, suggest that more than one episode of interpersonal violence took place between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age in northeastern Spain. The features of the sharp force trauma indicate that different weapons were used, including sharp metal objects and lithic projectiles. The Roc de les Orenetes assemblage represents a scenario of recurrent lethal confrontation in a high mountain geographic context, representing the evidence of inferred interpersonal violence located at the highest altitude settings in the Pyrenees, at 1836 meters above sea level.

Exploring the lack of articular ends at the Middle Pleistocene site of Qesem Cave, Israel

Biased skeletal part representation is a key element for making inferences about transport decisions, carcass procurement, and use patterns in anthropogenic accumulations. In the absence of destructive taphonomic processes, it is often assumed that the abundance of different anatomical portions represents selective transport and discard patterns of human groups. Because body parts may be transported for specific products such as meat, marrow or grease, a pattern that usually attracts attention in many archaeological sites is the low proportions of appendicular epiphyses. Here we present the case of faunal assemblages from the lower stratigraphic sequence of Qesem Cave, Israel, dated to ca. 430 to 300 ka. All bone accumulations are characterized by a biased skeletal profile including mainly long-limb bones and a virtual absence of epiphyses. The assemblages also show density-mediated attrition not linked to fossil-diagenetic processes, a targeted specific destruction to the most greasy articular ends and an almost total absence of carnivore intervention. Our goal here is to explore the processes that entail the destruction of appendicular epiphyses at Qesem Cave, as well as propose viable hypotheses to explain their underrepresentation on-site. Our results shed light on the domestic activities linked to the processing of bones at the site and support the importance of animal grease in the caloric intake of Middle Pleistocene humans.

As above, so below: Deposition, modification, and reutilization of human remains at Marmoles cave (Cueva de los Marmoles: Southern Spain, 4000-1000 cal. BCE)

The deposition and manipulation of human remains in natural caves are well known for the Neolithic of Southern Iberia. The cultural meaning of these practices is however still largely unclear. Cueva de los Marmoles (CM, Priego-Córdoba) is one of the most important cave contexts from Southern Spain, which returned a large number of commingled skeletal remains suggesting its funerary use from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Here we discuss CM from a chronological and cultural perspective based on new radiocarbon, anthropological, and taphonomic analyses. These include the estimation of the minimum number of individuals, the exploration of fragmentation patterns characterizing different skeletal regions, and the macroscopic and microscopic analysis of modifications to the remains of possible anthropic origin. Radiocarbon data point to a funerary use of CM between the 5th -2nd millennium cal. BCE. MNI estimates reveal the presence of at least 12 individuals (seven adults and five nonadults). The low representation of elements from hands and feet suggests that individuals were placed in the cave while partially decomposed. Anthropic traces on the remains (e.g. fresh fractures, marrow canal modifications, and scraping marks) hint at their intentional fragmentation, cleaning from residual soft tissues, and in some cases reutilization. These practices are well-exemplified by the recovery of one "skull cup" and of two long bones used as tools. These data align with those from other cave contexts from the same geographic region, suggesting the presence, especially during the Neolithic period, of shared ideologies centered on the human body.

On the traces of lost identities: chronological, anthropological and taphonomic analyses of the Late Neolithic/Early Eneolithic fragmented and commingled human remains from the Farneto rock shelter (Bologna, northern Italy)

The present study examines the prehistoric human skeletal remains retrieved starting from the 1920s in the deposit of the Farneto rock shelter, situated in the area of the 'Parco dei Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell'Abbadessa' (San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, northern Italy). An exact dating and a reliable interpretation of the assemblage had not been reached so far because of the lack of contextual data useful for dating purposes, the inaccurate recovery procedures of the remains and their state of preservation. In fact, the skeletal remains from the Farneto rock shelter are highly fragmented and commingled, whereas reliable information about their original position and their recovery procedures are not available. Despite these difficulties, radiocarbon analyses allowed the precise dating of the remains to a final phase of the Neolithic and an early phase of the Eneolithic period in Emilia Romagna (northern Italy). The study of the assemblage enabled to clarify the use of the context for funerary purposes. Moreover, the anthropological and taphonomic analyses of the skeletal remains shed light on the biological profile of the individuals and on some events that occurred after their death. In particular, the analysis of perimortem lesions highlighted the existence of intentional interventions related to corpse treatment, referable to dismembering/disarticulation and scarnification, i.e. cleaning of bones from soft tissues. Finally, the comparison with other Italian and European Neo/Eneolithic funerary contexts enabled a better understanding of these complex ritual practices.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01727-2.

The Truth of Unusual Deaths under Military Expansion: Evidence from the Stable Isotopes of a Human Skull Ditch in the Capital City of the Early Shang Dynasty

The site of Zhengzhou Shang City (ca. 1509-1315 cal. BC) was the capital of the early Shang Dynasty in China. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a ditch containing approximately one hundred unusual dead human skulls in the rammed-earth foundations of the palace area. The identity and origin of the skulls have long been disputed. In this work, strontium, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were carried out on 11 human skulls and 1 tooth from the ditch, as well as on 11 human bones, 11 human teeth from the ordinary tombs and 10 pig teeth from the Zhengzhou Shang City site. We determined that, in Zhengzhou Shang City, the local strontium isotope ratio ranges from 0.711606 to 0.711884, and ordinary inhabitants consumed mainly C4 plants supplemented by C3 plants. Moreover, humans buried in the ditch have 87Sr/86Sr values from 0.711335 to 0.711741 and consumed only C4 plants. Combining the isotopic data with the archaeological and cultural context, it is concluded that the unusual human skulls in the ditch are most likely those of prisoners of war captured by the central forces conquering the Xiaomintun area of Anyang in the early Shang Dynasty. The results provide valuable insight into the history of violence and military warfare in the early Chinese dynasty.

Spectrophotometric Color Measurement to Assess Temperature of Exposure in Cortical and Medullar Heated Human Bones: A Preliminary Study

Heated-bone color changes may provide information about temperature of exposure, with interest for anthropologists and forensic experts. The aim of this study was to assess heat-induced color changes by spectrophotometry in cortical and medullar human bones heated at different temperatures and times. CIELAB (International Commission on Illumination-LAB) color parameters (L*, a*, and b*) and whiteness (WI) and yellowness (YI) indexes were obtained by spectrophotometry in the cortical and medullar zones of 36 bone sections exposed at 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C for 30 and 60 min. The accuracy of color-based temperature estimations was evaluated by Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. Chromaticity a* showed the best significant discrimination power with the area under the ROC curve (AUC) values ranged from 0.9 to 1.0 in cortical zones and 0.7 to 1.0 in medullar zones for all temperatures of exposures and both time of exposures. Chromaticity b*, and WI and YI indexes showed an AUC of 1.0 at 400, 600, and 800 °C for 30 and 60 min in the cortical and medullar zones. The spectrophotometric color parameters provided a highly accurate estimation of the temperature of exposure to discriminate between temperatures and exposure times in the cortical and medullar zones. Spectrophotometric bone color measurement in cortical and medullar zones can be an objective and reproducible method to estimate the temperature of exposition, and it can be considered useful for forensic and anthropological purposes.

The exceptional finding of Locus 2 at Dehesilla Cave and the Middle Neolithic ritual funerary practices of the Iberian Peninsula

There is a significant number of funerary contexts for the Early Neolithic in the Iberian Peninsula, and the body of information is much larger for the Late Neolithic. In contrast, the archaeological information available for the period in between (ca. 4800-4400/4200 cal BC) is scarce. This period, generally called Middle Neolithic, is the least well-known of the peninsular Neolithic sequence, and at present there is no specific synthesis on this topic at the peninsular scale. In 2017, an exceptional funerary context was discovered at Dehesilla Cave (Sierra de Cádiz, Southern Iberian Peninsula), providing radiocarbon dates which place it at the beginning of this little-known Middle Neolithic period, specifically between ca. 4800-4550 cal BC. Locus 2 is a deposition constituted by two adult human skulls and the skeleton of a very young sheep/goat, associated with stone structures and a hearth, and a number of pots, stone and bone tools and charred plant remains. The objectives of this paper are, firstly, to present the new archaeological context documented at Dehesilla Cave, supported by a wide range of data provided by interdisciplinary methods. The dataset is diverse in nature: stratigraphic, osteological, isotopic, zoological, artifactual, botanical and radiocarbon results are presented together. Secondly, to place this finding within the general context of the contemporaneous sites known in the Iberian Peninsula through a systematic review of the available evidence. This enables not only the formulation of explanations of the singular new context, but also to infer the possible ritual funerary behaviours and practices in the 5th millennium cal BC in the Iberian Peninsula.