The Temporal Range of Bundled Burials in the Lower Pecos Region of Southwest Texas

Bibliographic Data

ID9218112
AuthorsSolveig A Turpin (corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume57
Issue222
Pages109-124
Publication date2012-05-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePlains Anthropologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-0447 • E-ISSN: 2052-546X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/pan.2012.012
OpenAlexW2312199919
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited8

Eleven new radiocarbon assays generally support the consensus that bundled burial in dry rockshelter deposits was a Late Archaic mortuary practice in the Lower Pecos River region of Texas while also indicating that bundling may actually have begun in the Middle Archaic period, ca. 1000 years earlier than expected. Essentially, bundling consists of wrapping the flexed body of the deceased in a series of mats that are successively more coarsely woven. Grave goods, such as clothing, jewelry, tools, and basketry, may be included in the bundle which is tied together with cord or hair rope and buried in the deep ashy occupational debris left in the rockshelters over millennia. In this small sample, infants and adult males were more likely to be buried with grave goods, such as painted textiles, cradleboards, carrying baskets, and jewelry. The inclusion of both practical and ornamental artifacts suggests some belief in an afterlife where these objects would be used by the deceased

Ancient history · Archaeology · Archaic period · Crania · Geography · Grave goods · Radiocarbon dating · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Paleopathology and ancient diseases

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