The Dignity of the Dead: The Case of Ancient Urkesh and Modern Tell Mozan

The site of Tell Mozan lies tucked in the northeast corner of modern day Syria, located between the Tigris and the Euphrates River, an area known as Mesopotamia. Evidence recovered inside the royal palace identified the site as the ancient city of Urkesh, an important urban centre of the ethnic group known as the Hurrians. This paper focuses on the graves of the Middle Bronze Age showing signs of bone manipulation likely linked to ritual gestures (respect for the ancestor, kispum, etc.). Our analysis, based on the taphonomy of burials, shows that re-opening of some burials occurred, which is not fully in accordance with Middle Bronze Age texts discovered in Mesopotamia

The place of Children in the Ancient Society of Urkesh (Tell Mozan, Northeastern Syria) in the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC): An Anthropological Approach

The specificity of burials allows for gaining information concerning the culture of ancient populations, in particular their relation to death, and their perception of the biological status of living populations. Our focus is to bring to light children’s burials coming from the Khabur Ware period levels in Mozan, ancient Urkesh, which are dated between 2000-1600 BC. The analysis of burial practices through osteological observations has provided evidence of age-related characteristics. Indeed, the funerary treatment of the children has proven to have been different from that of the adults

Les vivants et les morts d’Urkesh (Nord de la Syrie) : Les différents modes d’inhumation au Bronze Moyen

– Discovered between 1998 and 2004, the funerary area of Tell Mozan, located in the upper town of Urkesh (The Hurrian’s political and economic capital), has delivered a hundred graves dating from the early second millennium BC and remained until now unpublished. The archaeo-anthropological study that I carried out on this remarkable ensemble aimed, at first, to shed light on new funerary practices for this period in this Mesopotamian region, then in a second time, to present a complete vision funerary conceptions and the relation to death in the ancient society of Urkesh. This study relies, on the one hand, on the archaeo-thanatological data (setting up deposits and analysis of the environment of the tomb), and on the other hand, on the biological data (age, sex and condition health of the deceased). While the majority of Urkesh burial sites fall within the funerary norms of the period and the region, others are more atypical, such as the disposition of the corpse and the number of associated objects. In addition, fire structures and deposits of animal remains associated with the graves seem to be related to the biological identity of the deceased. In addition, the study of the organization of the funeral space highlights groupings according to the age and sex of the deceased. Finally, there seems to be an evolution of funerary practices between the two phases of use of the necropolis that reflects changes in social organization during this transitio

Les sépultures des XVII-XVIIIèmes siècles fouillées en 1938 à Ngongo Mbata (République Démocratique du Congo) : recrutement et état sanitaire

Cet article présente l’étude archéo-anthropologique des vestiges de Ngongo Mbata (XVII-XVIIIèmes siècles), site majeur de l’ancien royaume de Kongo. Les tombes installées dans l’église ont été fouillées entre 1938 et 1942. La collection Bequaert, constituée d’une partie des individus exhumés en 1938, est aujourd’hui conservée à l’Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique et comporte 38 sujets. Le but de ce travail a été de reconstituer le profil biologique de ces individus (sexe, âge, stature). Une étude plus spécifique des cas pathologiques et des variations morphologiques dentaires est venue compléter et enrichir la discussion. Les résultats obtenus ont été replacés dans un cadre plus large afin d’apporter de nouvelles connaissances sur les populations passées d’Afrique centrale. Malgré un mauvais état de conservation, les données biologiques révèlent une forte présence de sujets adultes jeunes (moins de 30 ans). L’étude pathologique dentaire montre, pour sa part, une faible présence carieuse, peu de tartre ou encore de maladies parodontales, ce qui semble indiquer un état de santé bucco-dentaire relativement bon. Au-delà des modes de vies, les résultats ont également permis de mettre en lumière différents aspects des modes d’inhumation de cette société avec notamment un mélange entre pratiques funéraires chrétiennes et traditionnelles kongo. Cet élément suggère que l’édifice religieux était réservé, au moins pour partie, à la population autochtone nouvellement christianisée. À l’avenir, des études notamment isotopiques, de micro-usures ou encore des variations métriques dentaires, permettront d’élargir nos connaissances et d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives sur le régime alimentaire, la mobilité et l’origine géographique de cette population

Mobility and connection among the Early Bronze Age Syrian elite

The archaeological site of Umm el-Marra (in the Jabbul plain, western Syria), is a large, fortified urban center. Excavations have uncovered ten tomb structures built during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2600–2150 BCE) that possibly contain royalty as evidenced by lavish grave goods and paleopathological evidence suggesting sociocultural buffering from the harsh social and physical environments of agricultural urban centers in the Bronze Age Near East. Inside adjacent brick installations are animal (primarily equid) skeletons interpreted as interments, possibly sacrifices in some instances, as part of ceremonies honoring the entombed. The burial site was eventually re-used as evidenced by a monumental platform above the tombs, interpreted as use for ritual activities of ancestor veneration. This study analyzed 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O values from enamel of 13 individuals interred in these tombs, along with enamel and bone samples from animals found in and around the tomb structures. Six of 13 (43 %) individuals analyzed in these tombs are identified as non-locals. Although contemporaneous data in the northern Levant is scarce, we see much higher evidence of human movement at Umm el-Marra compared to others. Only elites are included in this study, but their relative mobility might imply that the ancient city established its position as a secondary center along major trade routes through intermarriage and connectivity. The concept of ‘social memory’ is evident, as the lives and deaths of these elites are integrated into this site where ancestor veneration is evidenced in centuries following interment

Archeao-anthropological approach of graves of Tell Hamoukar and Tell Mozan (Syria from 3700 to 1600 BC) : taphonomy and diversity of funeral practices

Ce travail s’intègre à deux projets syro-américains au Nord de la Syrie : le projet de fouille à Tell Mozan / Urkesh (G. Buccellati et M. Kelly Buccellati) et le projet de fouille à Tell Hamoukar (C. Reichel et S. al-Kintar). Il s’agit de deux fouilles programmées en coopération avec la Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie (DGAM). Nous souhaitions, à travers cette étude archéothanatologique, réintégrer les données anthropologiques dans les analyses de population au même titre que les données archéologiques, pour approfondir les connaissances préétablies, en développant une approche multidisciplinaire sur des données inédites. Une telle recherche se révélait essentielle pour compléter cette mosaïque de connaissances des diverses sociétés anciennes qui ont occupé la Haute Mésopotamie du Chalcolithique à l’âge du Bronze moyen (3700-1600 av. J.-C.) laissant derrière elles des évidences précieuses.This disseration deals with two Syrian-American excavation projects in the north of Syria: the one at TellMozan / Urkesh (G. Buccellati Buccellati and Kelly) and the project at Tell Hamoukar (C. Reichel and S. al-Kintar).These two excavations are planned in the cooperation with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums ofSyria (DGAM). We aim, through this archeothanatological study to reintegrate the anthropological data in the globalarcheological analysis of the population as well, in order to deepen our pre-established knowledge in the same timeof developing a multidisciplinary approach on such unpublished data. Such research is essential to complete thisrevealed knowledge mosaic of various ancient societies that occupied Upper Mesopotamia from Chalcolithic to theMiddle Bronze Age (3700-1600 BC.) leaving behind valuable evidences

Les pratiques funéraires à Tell Hamoukar du Chalcolithique à l’âge du Bronze ancien :continuité ou interruption ?

This paper traces the evolution of the disposal of human remains at Tell Hamoukar, exploring the links between burial practicesand changes in social fabric that accompanied the urbanization of the region between the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. The treatmentof the deceased shows little variations with a majority of individual primary graves where the subject is mostly deposited in more or lesscontracted position. The most important changing concerns the remains in association with the deceased, more numerous and varied duringthe Bronze Age, while the burial jars disappear for the younger children.0info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The diginity of the death. The case of ancient Urkesh and modern Tell Mozan, Syria (2000-1600 BC).

Abstract: The site of Tell Mozan lies tucked in the northeast corner of modern day Syria, located between the Tigris and the EuphratesRiver, an area known as Mesopotamia. Evidence recovered inside the royal palace identified the site as the ancient city of Urkesh,an important urban centre of the ethnic group known as the Hurrians. This paper focuses on the graves of the Middle Bronze Ageshowing signs of bone manipulation likely linked to ritual gestures (respect for the ancestor, kispum, etc.). Our analysis, based on thetaphonomy of burials, shows that re-opening of some burials occurred, which is not fully in accordance with Middle Bronze Age textsdiscovered in Mesopotamia.Résumé :Le site de Tell Mozan, dans le Nord-Est de la Syrie, se trouve au sein d’un espace situé entre le Tigre et l’Euphrate, enMésopotamie. Les observations effectuées à l’intérieur du palais royal ont permis d’identifier ce site comme la ville antique d’Urkesh,un centre urbain important d’un peuple connu sous le nom des Hourrites. Cet article met l’accent sur les tombes de l’âge du Bronzemoyen, qui présentent des signes de manipulation des os, probablement liés à des gestes rituels (respect des ancêtres, kispum, etc.).Notre étude, fondée sur l’analyse taphonomique des sépultures, cependant, montre que la réouverture de certaines tombes, pour uneraison ou une autre, est un acte qui n’est pas complètement en accord avec les sources textuelles contemporaines en Mésopotamie.0info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Approche archéo-anthropologique des tombes de Tell Hamoukar et Tell Mozan (Syrie de 3700 à 1600 av. J.-C.) : taphonomie et diversité des pratiques funéraires

This disseration deals with two Syrian-American excavation projects in the north of Syria: the one at TellMozan / Urkesh (G. Buccellati Buccellati and Kelly) and the project at Tell Hamoukar (C. Reichel and S. al-Kintar).These two excavations are planned in the cooperation with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums ofSyria (DGAM). We aim, through this archeothanatological study to reintegrate the anthropological data in the globalarcheological analysis of the population as well, in order to deepen our pre-established knowledge in the same timeof developing a multidisciplinary approach on such unpublished data. Such research is essential to complete thisrevealed knowledge mosaic of various ancient societies that occupied Upper Mesopotamia from Chalcolithic to theMiddle Bronze Age (3700-1600 BC.) leaving behind valuable evidences.Ce travail s’intègre à deux projets syro-américains au Nord de la Syrie : le projet de fouille à Tell Mozan / Urkesh (G. Buccellati et M. Kelly Buccellati) et le projet de fouille à Tell Hamoukar (C. Reichel et S. al-Kintar). Il s’agit de deux fouilles programmées en coopération avec la Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie (DGAM). Nous souhaitions, à travers cette étude archéothanatologique, réintégrer les données anthropologiques dans les analyses de population au même titre que les données archéologiques, pour approfondir les connaissances préétablies, en développant une approche multidisciplinaire sur des données inédites. Une telle recherche se révélait essentielle pour compléter cette mosaïque de connaissances des diverses sociétés anciennes qui ont occupé la Haute Mésopotamie du Chalcolithique à l’âge du Bronze moyen (3700-1600 av. J.-C.) laissant derrière elles des évidences précieuses