Purposeful commingling of adult and child cranial elements from the Chelechol ra Orrak Cemetery, Palau

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12371415
AutoresM Fitzpatrick (0000-0002-7392-6061, North Carolina State University, autor de correspondencia), S M Fitzpatrick, Greg C Nelson (University of Oregon)
Año2009
Volumen21
Número3
Páginas360-366
Fecha de publicación2009-12-30
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.1136
OpenAlexW2007687924
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas18

Continued excavation in 2007 of the early ( ca . 2000–3000 calBP) cemetery at Chelechol ra Orrak in Palau, Micronesia revealed the remains of at least six individuals, adding to a minimum number of at least 25 other mostly fragmented individuals recovered in previous years. Of particular interest was the discovery of two isolated adult partial crania one of which, when emptied of sandy matrix, was found to contain a complete child's frontal bone. Here we explore the possibility that the placement of the skulls, particularly the commingling of the adult and child cranial elements, was done purposefully and discuss its significance for early Pacific mortuary behaviours. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Bioarchaeology · Biology · Crania · Geography · Skull · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Anatomy