Ochre, ground stone and wrapping the dead in the Late Epipalaeolithic (Natufian) Levant: revealing the funerary practices at Shubayqa 1, Jordan

The appearance of rich and diverse funerary practices is one of the hallmarks of the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian in the Levant. Numerous burials at a number of sites excavated mostly in the Mediterranean zone of the southern Levant have fed into the interpretation of the Natufian as a sedentary society of complex hunter-gatherers. Here, we report on the human remains recovered from Shubayqa 1, a well-dated early to late Natufian site in northeast Jordan. The majority of the minimum of 23 individuals that are represented are perinates and infants, which represents an atypical population profile. Ground stone artifacts and traces of colourants are associated with some of these individuals, providing a rare insight into funerary treatment of subadults in Natufian contexts. We interpret the Shubayqa 1 evidence in the light of current and ongoing debates concerning Natufian burial practices and the issue of social complexity

Virtual models for archaeology

Archaeological excavations are complex activities, fostering the collaboration of a number of different institutions, organizations and individuals. The seamless organization of an excavation may benefit from the use of a virtual model, which can be adjusted to the specific needs of the project. Defining a model of such activities may help to anticipate the appropriate steps necessary, in order to avoid problems and delays and, more importantly, can be reused and adjusted for further projects. In this paper we attempt to promote the use of virtual breeding environments and virtual organizations as a modelling framework for the managerial aspects of archaeological excavations and we illustrate the flexibility of the framework by applying it to different scenarios. Our analysis also shows that the standard notion of virtual organizations needs to be extended in order to cope with specific aspects of archaeological excavations

Tracing Networks: technological knowledge, cultural contact and knowledge exchange in the ancient Mediterranean and beyond

International audienc

In the Bosom of the Earth. A New Megalithic Monument at the Antequera World Heritage Site (Spain)

Antequera is widely recognised as an outstanding example of the European megalithic phenomenon. One of its most remarkable features is the intense relationship between conspicuous natural formations and human-made monuments. In September 2020 a grave, part ‘natural monument’, part hypogeum, part megalith, was discovered at the foot of La Peña de los Enamorados, a limestone massif that dominates the Antequera plain. The excavation and study of this tomb, based on a multi-method geological, architectural, archaeoastronomical, bioarchaeological and radiocarbon-based approach, reveals the centrality of this mountain in the Neolithic world-view while at the same time adds further layers of complexity to the Antequera landscape as a whole