The colored skeletons of C,atalho"yu"k, Turkey, from 9,000 years ago


Date:
March 18, 2022
Source:
University of Bern
Summary:
An international team provides new insights about how the
inhabitants of the 'oldest city in the world' in C,atalho"yu"k
(Turkey) buried their dead. Their bones were partially painted,
excavated several times and reburied. The findings provide insight
into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000
years ago.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An international team with participation of the University of Bern
provides new insights about how the inhabitants of the "oldest city in
the world" in C,atalho"yu"k (Turkey) buried their dead. Their bones were partially painted, excavated several times and reburied. The findings
provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that
lived 9000 years ago.


========================================================================== C,atalho"yu"k (Central Anatolia, Turkey) is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Near East, with an occupation that dates back
to 9000 years ago. This Neolithic settlement, known as the world's oldest
city, covers an area of 13?ha and features densely aggregated mudbrick buildings. The houses of C,atalho"yu"k present the archaeological traces
of ritual activities including intramural burials with some skeletons
bearing traces of colorants, and wall paintings.

The association between the use of colorants and symbolic activities
is documented among many past and present human societies. In the Near
East, the use of pigments in architectural and funerary contexts becomes especially frequent starting from the second half of the 9th and the
8th millennium BC.

Near Eastern archaeological sites dating back to the Neolithic have
returned a large body of evidence of complex, often mysterious, symbolic activities. These include secondary funerary treatments, retrieval and circulation of skeletal parts, such as skulls, and the use of pigments
in both architectural spaces and funerary contexts.

A study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports by an international research team with Bern participation provides the first
analysis of the pigments use in funerary and architectural contexts
from this essential Neolithic site. According to senior author of the
study Marco Milella (Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of
Forensic Medicine, University of Bern): "These results reveal exciting
insights about the association between the use of colorants, funerary
rituals and living spaces in this fascinating society." A time travel
into a world of colors, houses, and dead Marco Milella was part of
the anthropological team who excavated and studied the human remains
from C,atalho"yu"k. His work involves trying to make ancient and modern skeletons "speak." Establishing the age and sex, investigating violent
injuries or special treatment of the corpse, and solving skeletal puzzles
are routine activities at the Department of Physical Anthropology.

The study shows that red ochre was most commonly used at C,atalho"yu"k,
present on some adults of both sexes and children, and that
cinnabar and blue/green were associated with males and females,
respectively. Intriguingly, the number of burials in a building appears associated with the number of subsequent layers of architectural
paintings. This suggests a contextual association between funerary
deposition and application of colorants in the domestic space.

"This means: when they buried someone, they also painted on the walls of
the house," Milella says. Furthermore, at C,atalho"yu"k, some individuals "stayed" in the community: their skeletal elements were retrieved and circulated for some time, before they were buried again. This second
burial of skeletal elements was also accompanied by wall paintings.

Neolithic mysteries Only a selection of individuals was buried with
colourants, and only a part of the individuals remained in the community
with their circulating bones.

According to Marco Milella, "the criteria guiding the selection of
these individuals escape our understanding for now, which makes these
findings even more interesting. Our study shows that this selection
was not related to age or sex." What is clear, however, is that visual expression, ritual performance and symbolic associations were elements
of shared long-term socio-cultural practices in this Neolithic society.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Bern. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Images_of_paint_markings_and_skeletons_(at_bottom_of_page) ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. E. M. J. Schotsmans, G. Busacca, S. C. Lin, M. Vasić,
A. M. Lingle,
R. Veropoulidou, C. Mazzucato, B. Tibbetts, S. D. Haddow,
M. Somel, F.

Toksoy-Ko"ksal, C. J. Knu"sel, M. Milella. New insights on
commemoration of the dead through mortuary and architectural use
of pigments at Neolithic C,atalho"yu"k, Turkey. Scientific Reports,
2022; 12 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07284-3 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220318110255.htm

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