Death and Dying in Neolithic Near East

The stereotypical view of how Neolithic men and women lived is misleading according to Dr. Karina Croucher, who has studied the buried remains of people living between 7,500 and 10,000 years ago across the Middle East.

One of the conclusions she reaches in her new book Death and Dying in Neolithic Near East is that it was normal in early Neolithic society for men and women to show compassion towards each other, and gender was not so clearly defined as it is today.
Croucher argues that it is a male bias in archaeology that has distorted our understanding of how ancient peoples lived within a sedentary society.

The death pit

3D model of Death pit remains, showing mixing and fragmentation. Image : Stuart Campbell

Between 1997 and 2003, a highly complex burial was excavated at the site of Domuztepe, southeastern Turkey – called the ‘Death Pit’.
This pit was more than 3m in diameter and about 1.5m deep, filled with layers of dis-articulated human and animal bones, broken pottery and other artefacts. The ceremonies that produced these features probably took place over a few weeks and had several phases. The earliest layer of the Death Pit mainly contained animal bones, apparently from large scale feasting. Later deposits included the remains of up to 40 people.
The bodies had been heavily fragmented and cannibalism may have taken place. After the Death Pit was filled, it was covered in a thick layer of ash and marked with large posts. Further deposits of human remains were placed around its edges.

An equality of gender

Of the 40 people buried within the “death pit”, there were equal numbers of men and women. In addition to this, her theory is based, in part, on the find of a teenage girl’s skull buried carefully by the pit, called Kim by the team.

Facial reconstruction of ‘Kim’. Image: University of Manchester

The girl aged between 15 and 17 years old – whose face has been reconstructed by Chris Rynn and Caroline Wilkinson (now at Dundee University), along with Stuart Campbell from the University of Manchester – was considered to be cared for by both the men and women who tended the site.
Though the finds to modern eyes are gruesome, Dr. Croucher says, they show a compassionate side to both Neolithic men and women.
She said: “In the Death Pit, a specific choice was made to inter these human remains – including Kim – within its context, and that undoubtedly required care and effort, not only in its construction, but additionally in keeping the area protected and clear of scavengers. Even the cannibalism was probably seen by these people as a compassionate act.”

The carefully buried skull of Kim beside the Death Pit. Image: Stuart Campbell

A regional analysis

Treatment was not dependent on age or gender, but according to relationships and emotive ties as several sites from the area attest, with partial retention of dead relatives within living structures, such as at Jericho and Kfar HaHoresh. Croucher argues that, “When human remains from across the region are examined, it becomes apparent that it was difficult for the living to let go of their loved ones. For example, human faces were recreated onto the skulls of the dead using plaster, and they become cared for within houses.”
“The stereotypical and inaccurate view of male hunters dominating their more submissive female counterparts is an articulation of male bias in archaeology.”
She concludes that men and women were treated equally in death and shown equal compassion, and then extrapolates that their tasks were likely to be thought of as equal during life. Our biases in the present were not relevant to them, and are not natural or inherent behaviours.
“So we should not understand the past in our own terms: it’s more about their relationships with each other; materials and animals.”

 http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/08/2012/death-and-dying-in-neolithic-near-east