Feasting on Wild Boar in the Early Neolithic. Evidence from an 11,400-year-old Placed Deposit at Tappeh Asiab, Central Zagros

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6043868
AutoresPernille Bangsgaard (0000-0002-8517-6165, University of Copenhagen, autor de correspondencia), L Yeomans (0000-0002-5180-8902), Hojjat Darabi (0000-0003-1628-5090, Razi University), Kristian Murphy Gregersen (0000-0003-3318-1197, University of Copenhagen), Jesper Olsen (0000-0002-4445-5520, Aarhus University), Tobias Richter (0000-0002-0467-9044), Peder Mortensen (0000-0003-3851-1052)
Año2019
Volumen29
Número3
Páginas443-463
Fecha de publicación2019-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s095977431900009x
OpenAlexW2922406911
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas35

The contents of a pit located in the centre of a large communal structure at Asiab in the central Zagros mountains provides rare evidence for ritual food practices during the Early Neolithic (~9660–9300 cal.bc). This pit contained the skulls of at least 19 wild boars carefully placed inside and subsequently sealed. Antler from red deer and the skull of a brown bear were also concealed within the pit. The boars included both male and female animals varying in age and some of the larger canines were deliberately removed. Such a unique collection of remains is unlikely to be the result of day-to-day activities; instead, this represents a group of ritually interred bones. This new evidence strengthens views that activities reinforcing social cohesion were important as human society was approaching a juncture leading towards agricultural subsistence strategies

Ancient history · Archaeology · Wild boar · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology