An infant burial from Arma Veirana in northwestern Italy provides insights into funerary practices and female personhood in early Mesolithic Europe

Abstract

The evolution and development of human mortuary behaviors is of enormous cultural significance. Here we report a richly-decorated young infant burial (AVH-1) from Arma Veirana (Liguria, northwestern Italy) that is directly dated to 10,211–9910 cal BP (95.4% probability), placing it within the early Holocene and therefore attributable to the early Mesolithic, a cultural period from which well-documented burials are exceedingly rare. Virtual dental histology, proteomics, and aDNA indicate that the infant was a 40–50 days old female. Associated artifacts indicate significant material and emotional investment in the child’s interment. The detailed biological profile of AVH-1 establishes the child as the earliest European near-neonate documented to be female. The Arma Veirana burial thus provides insight into sex/gender-based social status, funerary treatment, and the attribution of personhood to the youngest individuals among prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups and adds substantially to the scant data on mortuary practices from an important period in prehistory shortly following the end of the last Ice Age.

The Ornaments of the Arma Veirana Early Mesolithic Infant Burial

“…This article aims to add to the growing literature on how ornaments were used for prehistoric infants by presenting a detailed record of the ornaments found in direct association with a female infant buried at Arma Veirana (Liguria, Italy) (AVH-1, nicknamed "Neve," as per Hodgkins et al, 2021). Part of our team recently published on the general characteristics of the burials, including its archaeological setting and the biological profile of the infant (e.g., sex, age at death, and isotopic signature of diet).…”

“…Legend: 1, La Vergne; 2, Abri Labattut; 3, Grotte du Polygone; 4, Aven des Iboussières; 5, Avignon-La Balance-Ilot P; 6, Balzi Rossi and Grotta dei Fanciulli (or Grotte des Enfants); 7, Arma Veirana; 8, Caverne delle Arene Candide;9,Anghelu Ruju;10,Padru Jossu;11,Riparo Tagliente;12,Romagnano Loc III;13,Riparo Dalmeri;14,15,Pupicina Cave;16,Vlakno Cave;17,Vela Spila;18,Grotta Continenza;19,Grotta di Pozzo;20,Grotta della Serratura;21,Grotta del Romito;22,Bogebakken;23,Skateholm;24,Vlasac;25,Franchthi Cave;and 26,Sungir proved indispensable to understanding the placement of the remains and grave goods, and to reconstruct how the burial took place and how its material shifted post-depositionally. For a more detailed account of the excavation methods used at the site as well as a more detailed history of the burial discovery, see Hodgkins et al (2021).…”

Ground truth validated 3D electrical resistivity imaging of the archaeological deposits at Arma Veirana cave (northern Italy)

“…As reported in Hodgkins et al . (2021), an Early Mesolithic burial (10.280–9.924 cal bp ) of a 40–50‐day‐old female newborn (AVH‐1, nicknamed ‘Neve’) was recovered in 2017 within an approximately 15‐cm‐deep oval pit (<600 cm 2 in area) cut into underlying late Epigravettian deposits. The burial feature containing the newborn remains was exposed after removing a thin layer of surficial deposits and appears to be intrusive into the underlying stratigraphic aggregate ‘Yellow Silt’ (YS).…”

“…The Early Mesolithic burial was found inside a pit dug into the YS, ~2 m from the east wall of the cave (excavation square 2N1E in Fig. 2) (Hodgkins et al ., 2021). YS was readily distinguishable from the burial pit which was darker in colour and had a high proportion of coarse material, including charcoal and bone.…”

“…In general, one of the primary goals of a new archaeological excavation project is to document the formation of the site, as well as the extent of its deposit. At the Arma Veirana cave, which is the topic of the present study, only a small portion of the deposit has been explored during the four recent archaeological field seasons (Negrino et al ., 2018; Hodgkins et al ., 2021). While recent documentations of exposed sections have provided a fair amount of data on some of the depositional history at the front of the cave, the depth and richness of the sediment remained unknown for all portions of the cave.…”