Bones, teeth, and estimating age of perinates

Carthaginian infant sacrifice revisited

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3301400
AutoresJeffrey H Schwartz (0000-0002-1591-2008), F D Houghton, Frank Houghton (0000-0002-7599-5255), L Bondioli (0000-0002-8511-7667), R Macchiarelli (0000-0001-8141-9150, Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques)
Año2012
Volumen86
Número333
Páginas738-745
Fecha de publicación2012-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003598x00047888
OpenAlexW2252353763
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas11

Writing about the 'Tophet', a children's cemetery in Carthage, Smithet al.argued in these pages that the age distribution of the children peaks at 1-1.49 months, supplying "another link in the chain of evidence-funerary practices, texts, iconography-that supports the interpretation of the Phoenician Tophets as ritual sites set aside for infant sacrifice" (2011: 871). In this they had challenged Jeffrey Schwartz and colleagues, who previously argued (2010) that "skeletal remains from Punic Carthage do not support systematic sacrifice of infants". Here Schwartzet al.restate their position forAntiquityreaders, showing that the verdict on the Phoenician practice of child sacrifice is, at best, not proven

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Iconography · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Phoenician · Sacrifice · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classics · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Philosophy