Mummification in Europe may be older than previously known
Date:
March 3, 2022
Source:
Uppsala University
Summary:
Mummification of the dead probably was more common in prehistory
than previously known. This discovery is made at the hunter-gatherer
burial sites in the Sado Valley in Portugal, dating to 8,000
years ago. A recent study presents new evidence for pre-burial
treatments such as desiccation through mummification, which has
not been suggested for the European Mesolithic before.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Mummification of the dead probably was more common in prehistory than previously known. This discovery is made at the hunter-gatherer burial
sites in the Sado Valley in Portugal, dating to 8,000 years ago. A new
study, headed by archaeologists at Uppsala University and Linnaeus
University in Sweden and University of Lisbon in Portugal, presents
new evidence for pre-burial treatments such as desiccation through mummification, which has not been suggested for the European Mesolithic
before. The results are now published inEuropean Journal of Archaeology.
========================================================================== Until now, the oldest cases of intentional mummification were known
from the Chinchorro hunter-gatherers living in the coastal region of
the Atacama Desert in northern Chile with examples of mummified bodies
buried in shell middens around 7,000 years ago still preserving soft
tissue. However, most surviving mummies worldwide are more recent,
dating between a few hundred years and 4,000 years old.
Mummification in prehistory is a challenging topic for researchers because
it is difficult to detect if a body was preserved through mummification
when soft tissue is no longer visible. An additional difficulty is the
lack of written reports for these early periods. Unlike bone, finding soft tissue in archaeological sites is rare due to issues of preservation,
and without it, it is difficult to recognize if the remains have been
curated soon after death.
This is particularly challenging in temperate and wetter climates, such
as in most of Europe, where soft tissues and fabrics do not normally
survive in archaeological sites.
Using recently discovered photographs of the skeletal remains of
thirteen individuals excavated in the 1960s in the Sado Valley Mesolithic
shell middens in Portugal, the researchers were able to reconstruct the positions in which the bodies were buried providing a unique opportunity
to learn more about mortuary rituals taking place 8,000 years ago.
The study combined the approach of archaeothanatology with human
decomposition experiments. Archaeothanatology is an approach used by archaeologists to document and analyse human remains in archaeological
sites that combines observations of the spatial distribution of the bones
in the grave with knowledge about how the human body decomposes after
death. Archaeologists can then reconstruct how the dead body was handled
after death and buried, even if several millennia have passed. In this
study, the archaeothanatology was also informed by results from human decomposition experiments on mummification and burial at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at Texas State University.
Based on the results from the experiments, an observable signature for a
mummy could be proposed that combines several observations: a hyperflexion
of the limbs, an absence of disarticulation in significant parts of the skeleton, and a rapid infilling of sediment around the bones. These were
all clearly present in at least one of the burials in this study. The
analysis showed that some bodies were buried in extremely flexed positions
with the legs flexed at the knees and placed in front of the chest.
During decomposition, the bones usually become disarticulated at weak
joints, such as at the feet, but in these cases, the articulations were maintained. The researchers propose that this pattern of hyperflexion
and lack of disarticulation could be explained if the body was not
placed in the grave as a fresh cadaver, but in a desiccated state as a
mummied corpse. Desiccation not only maintains some of these otherwise
weak articulations, but also allows for a strong flexion of the body
since the range of movement increases when the volume of soft tissue is smaller. Because the bodies were desiccated before burial, there is very
little or no sediment present between the bones and the articulations are maintained by the continuous infilling of the surrounding soil supporting
the bones and preventing the collapse of the articulations.
The researchers suggest that the observed patterns could be the product
of a guided natural mummification process. The manipulation of the body
during mummification would have taken place over an extended period
of time, during which the body gradually would become desiccated to
maintain its bodily integrity, and simultaneously contracted by trussing
with rope or bandages to compress it into a desired position. When
the process was finished, the body would have been easier to transport
(being more contracted and significantly lighter than the fresh cadaver)
while ensuring that it was buried while retaining its appearance and
anatomical integrity.
If mummification in Europe was older than previously known, a range of
insights relating to the mortuary practices of Mesolithic communities
arise, including a central concern for maintaining the integrity of
the body and its physical transformation from a cadaver to a curated
mummy. These practices would also underscore the significance of the
burial places and the importance of bringing the dead to these locations
in a manner that contained and protected the body, following principles
that were culturally regulated, highlighting the significance of both
the body and the burial place in Mesolithic Portugal 8,000 years ago.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Uppsala_University. Original written
by Elin Ba"ckstro"m.
Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Rita Peyroteo-Stjerna, Liv Nilsson Stutz, Hayley Louise Mickleburgh,
Joa~o Lui's Cardoso. Mummification in the Mesolithic: New
Approaches to Old Photo Documentation Reveal Previously Unknown
Mortuary Practices in the Sado Valley, Portugal. European Journal
of Archaeology, 2022; 1 DOI: 10.1017/eaa.2022.3 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303095631.htm
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