Embodiments of Death
The Funerary Sequence and Commemoration in the Bronze Age Levant
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15912964 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melissa S Cradic (0000-0001-6287-2670, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 377 |
| Pages | 219-248 |
| Publication date | 2017-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-097X • E-ISSN: 2161-8062 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.377.0219 |
| OpenAlex | W2625694846 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 9 |
This article presents an archaeological model for Levantine funerary rituals performed in the context of commingling inhumations. Using the case study of a masonry-constructed chamber tomb from Middle Bronze Age Tel Megiddo (Israel), the funerary sequence is reconstructed in three main phases: (1) pre-interment; (2) interment; and (3) post-interment. The sequential performance of funerary rituals in this shared burial space resulted in a high degree of skeletal fragmentation as previously interred corpses were moved aside to accommodate subsequent inhumations. However, rather than merely representing a functional aspect of burial, the repositioning of deceased bodies constituted a ritually meaningful practice that involved continuous physical interactions between the living and the dead. Drawing on theories of embodiment and methods of burial taphonomy, this article argues that mourners' close encounters with deceased bodies played a major role in transforming the status of the dead after burial. Ritualized fragmentation and intermingling of human skeletal remains were integral components of becoming an ancestor
Ancestor · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Artifact (error · Biology · Bronze · Bronze Age · Context (archaeology · Fragmentation (computing · Grave goods · Sequence (biology · Taphonomy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies · History
Ancestral origins
Approaching and Avoiding the Dead in Iron Age Israel
An Elite Middle Bronze IIA Warrior Tomb from Yehud, Central Coastal Plain, Israel
Honoring the Elite Deceased
Heated beeswax usage in mortuary practices
First evidence for vanillin in the old world
Towards a historical bioarchaeology
Burial offerings in intramural tombs at Middle Bronze Age Megiddo
Residential Burial and Social Memory in the Middle Bronze Age Levant
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,13 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2024 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |