Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DROSI (Death Rites and the Origins of Social Inequality)
Período documentado: 2019-08-01 hasta 2021-07-31
• What is the problem/issue being addressed?
The purpose of my project was to investigate the origins of social inequality through a re-evaluation of prehistoric funerary rites in Southwest Asia using advanced archaeological-scientific techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Micro-CT imaging of human bone.
• Why is it important for society?
The origins of social inequality, a growing topic of concern in our interconnected yet increasingly fragmented world, are rooted in deep prehistory. The point at which these inequalities first begin to emerge, however, and the manner in which they manifest themselves is the subject of much debate among scholars, many of whom typically associate these sociocultural developments with the earliest settled communities of Southwest Asia (between c. 14,500 and 9,000 years ago). My project aimed to investigate the emergence of social inequalities through the analysis of the funerary practices associated with these prehistoric communities. Funerary practices are one of the key archaeological indicators through which social relations and social inequalities may be identified in the deep past.
• What are the overall objectives?
1. Can Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Micro-CT and other analytical techniques accurately identify and differentiate between various post-mortem funerary treatments?
2. By incorporating contextual data from the various study sites, can we identify demographic or other selection biases among these post-mortem treatments suggestive of emergent social distinctions?
3. Are there differences in the pattern of funerary treatments observed between the study sites, and do these differences reflect broader temporal trajectories?
4. What lessons can we take from the ways in which earlier societies chose to organize themselves?
• Conclusions
1. The SEM techniques have proven to be the best imaging method for identifying patterns of microbial alteration in bone. Micro-CT techniques, while preferable due to their non-destructive capacity, do not necessarily provide more information or better resolution.
2. Age differences in terms of bone preservation are the most clearly identifiable demographic biases in this study, although more analysis is required here, and a larger sample size would be ideal. At the moment, it is not possible to identify signs of emergent social ranking/inequality beyond age categorization.
3. Due to delays associated with the COVID pandemic, I have not yet completed my project objectives. However, the results to date indicate substantial variation in terms of bone preservation. This variation may reflect a range of funerary practices in operation at Ba’ja, but further work in terms of contextual analysis (burial contexts/location, etc.) is required in order to confirm patterns associated with social practices and emergent social inequalities.
The purpose of my project was to investigate the origins of social inequality through a re-evaluation of prehistoric funerary rites in Southwest Asia using advanced archaeological-scientific techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Micro-CT imaging of human bone.
• Why is it important for society?
The origins of social inequality, a growing topic of concern in our interconnected yet increasingly fragmented world, are rooted in deep prehistory. The point at which these inequalities first begin to emerge, however, and the manner in which they manifest themselves is the subject of much debate among scholars, many of whom typically associate these sociocultural developments with the earliest settled communities of Southwest Asia (between c. 14,500 and 9,000 years ago). My project aimed to investigate the emergence of social inequalities through the analysis of the funerary practices associated with these prehistoric communities. Funerary practices are one of the key archaeological indicators through which social relations and social inequalities may be identified in the deep past.
• What are the overall objectives?
1. Can Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Micro-CT and other analytical techniques accurately identify and differentiate between various post-mortem funerary treatments?
2. By incorporating contextual data from the various study sites, can we identify demographic or other selection biases among these post-mortem treatments suggestive of emergent social distinctions?
3. Are there differences in the pattern of funerary treatments observed between the study sites, and do these differences reflect broader temporal trajectories?
4. What lessons can we take from the ways in which earlier societies chose to organize themselves?
• Conclusions
1. The SEM techniques have proven to be the best imaging method for identifying patterns of microbial alteration in bone. Micro-CT techniques, while preferable due to their non-destructive capacity, do not necessarily provide more information or better resolution.
2. Age differences in terms of bone preservation are the most clearly identifiable demographic biases in this study, although more analysis is required here, and a larger sample size would be ideal. At the moment, it is not possible to identify signs of emergent social ranking/inequality beyond age categorization.
3. Due to delays associated with the COVID pandemic, I have not yet completed my project objectives. However, the results to date indicate substantial variation in terms of bone preservation. This variation may reflect a range of funerary practices in operation at Ba’ja, but further work in terms of contextual analysis (burial contexts/location, etc.) is required in order to confirm patterns associated with social practices and emergent social inequalities.
Major activities conducted:
1. Presentation of research program at European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), September 2019
2. Research trips to Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) Berlin to acquire archaeological human bone samples from Neolithic Jordanian site Ba’ja.
3. Literature review
4. Equipment training – Scanning Electron Microscopy and micro-CT
5. Processing and analysis of bone samples from Ba’ja
6. Organisation of online conference on social inequality in prehistory (27-28 May, 2021)
7. Write-up of results are currently in progress with at least two publications planned:
a. One peer-reviewed technical paper on the use of micro-CT techniques
b. One peer-reviewed paper on the project results and their implications for prehistoric archaeology
8. Presentation of overall project results at European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), September 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on my ability to complete my project objectives. However, I plan to complete my analyses in the coming months and publish the results.
1. Presentation of research program at European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), September 2019
2. Research trips to Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) Berlin to acquire archaeological human bone samples from Neolithic Jordanian site Ba’ja.
3. Literature review
4. Equipment training – Scanning Electron Microscopy and micro-CT
5. Processing and analysis of bone samples from Ba’ja
6. Organisation of online conference on social inequality in prehistory (27-28 May, 2021)
7. Write-up of results are currently in progress with at least two publications planned:
a. One peer-reviewed technical paper on the use of micro-CT techniques
b. One peer-reviewed paper on the project results and their implications for prehistoric archaeology
8. Presentation of overall project results at European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), September 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on my ability to complete my project objectives. However, I plan to complete my analyses in the coming months and publish the results.
Given the delays associated with the COVID pandemic, my project has not progressed as I had planned. With only a single study site available, comparative analyses have proven difficult, although it may be possible to compare my results with some of my previous work on Neolithic site in Anatolia.
The use of micro-CT techniques has been a useful experiment and will go some way towards developing the methodology for its application in histotaphonomic studies of archaeological bone.
In terms of socioeconomic impact and wider societal implications, the results of the project are less clear given the reduced number of study sites. However, there is potential evidence to suggest that at this period of Southwest Asian prehistory, there is only limited evidence for the emergence societies based on ranked/hierarchical status.
The use of micro-CT techniques has been a useful experiment and will go some way towards developing the methodology for its application in histotaphonomic studies of archaeological bone.
In terms of socioeconomic impact and wider societal implications, the results of the project are less clear given the reduced number of study sites. However, there is potential evidence to suggest that at this period of Southwest Asian prehistory, there is only limited evidence for the emergence societies based on ranked/hierarchical status.