Feu et archéoanthropologie au Proche-Orient (épipaléolithique et néolithique). Le lien avec les pratiques funéraires. Données nouvelles de Çayönü (Turquie)

Abstract

Many burned skeletal remains have been found in the Çayönü Skull Building. The upper layer yielded 71 skulls and some post-cranial remains which might have been burned during the intentional burning of the building. In the earlier layer BM la, there were also many burned human remains. A burned bone deposit from this layer was studied using taphonomic approach so as to reconstruct the burial phases. It appears that the bones were selected prior to their deposit in the pit ; they were then broken in situ by natural process and finally burned may be due to the burning of the building. Although burned human bones are frequently uncovered at Near Eastern Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic sites, a relation with mortuary practices can rarely be established. The earliest cremations date back to the end of the Neolithic period (Halaf culture) but burned human bones have been uncovered from a number of older sites. Most of them were probably accidentally burned. At a few sites (Kebara, Jerf el Ahmar, Dja' de el Mughara, Aşikh, Nahal Hemar), the burning of the human remains might be connected to mortuary practices. It appears that the practice of plastering skulls during the PPNB period is the only mortuary practice involving fire with certainty, even if indirectly.

Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a pyre-pit burial

“…However, the deliberate treatment by fire of the remains at Tell el-Kherk is obvious considering the pyre structures and the number of skeletons involved. It should be distinguished from instances of accidental burning and all cases where the human remains are burned not as first intention (intentional destruction of the grave structure by fire, proximity to a fire place etc…[see for instance 13 ]). A few centuries later, during the 6 th millennium in Halaf contexts, cremation and pyre-pits are also documented in sites further to the east such as Yarim Tepe II [ 114 ] and further to the north-west at Mesrin [ 115 ].…”

“…The practice of cremation has also been mentioned several times for pre-ceramic periods in the Near East but often questioned, since accidental fire exposure cannot, in most instances, be ruled out. The presence of burnt isolated human bones is not exceptional but remains poorly understood due to the lack of accurate contextual and taphonomic studies [see synthesis in: 13 ]. It seems that fire was an integral part of funerary ceremonies as hearths were regularly situated close to, or were in association with graves at least from the beginning of sedentarization [e.g.…”

Interpreting a ritual funerary area at the Early Neolithic site of Tell Qarassa North (South Syria, late 9th millennium BC)

“…The house and outer courtyard were visited and activities took place involving the addition of ash and charcoal to the sediment. Although there is no evidence of human bones affected by fire at Tell Qarassa North, it has been suggested that fire was used in funerary rituals in the regional Pre-Pottery Neolithic, as at Çayönü and As ßıklı Höyük (LeMort et al, 2000). A quern in position to be used also suggests that some milling or grinding tasks were carried out inside the abandoned house, probably to prepare food.…”

Remodeled human skulls in Köşk Höyük (Neolithic age, Anatolia): a new appraisal in view of recent discoveries

“…Archaeological researches on the Neolithic settlements of Anatolia have revealed a high degree of variation and also a marked regional similarity in funerary practices (Mellaart, 1967;Ö zbek, 1988a,b, 2005aÖ zdogan and Ö zdogan, 1990;LeMort et al, 2000;Molleson et al, 2005). Even if there is no direct evidence that would elucidate the motives behind these various mortuary practices, they can still be considered among the conceptual changes surrounding life and death during this new cultural period known as the Neolithic.…”