Persistent Practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia
Date
2016-04-25
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Abstract
Käesoleva töö “Persistent practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia” [“Praktikate püsivus. Multidistsiplinaarne uurimus küttide ja korilaste matustest Eestis, ajavahemikul 6500–2600 eKr“] keskmes on küsimus, kuidas kohtlesid kiviaja kütid ja korilased surnuid. Lähtun surnukehast, õigemini selle materiaalsetest jäänustes, milleks siin on terviklikud luustikud ja üksikud inimluud asulate kultuurkihtides. Matmispraktikaid rekonstrueeritakse arheotanatoloogia abil ning surnute esmaseid identiteete osteoloogiliste meetodite ja süsiniku ja lämmastiku stabiilsete isotoopide analüüside kaudu. Luu kollageenist tehtud radiosüsiniku dateeringud annavad uurimusele ajalise sügavuse.
Uute radiosüsiniku dateeringute kohaselt leidsid kõige vanemad matused toimusid 7. aastatuhande keskel Narva Joaorus. Noorimad dateeringud seevastu kuuluvad Tamula ja Naakamäe matustele, jäädes aega umbes 2600 eKr. Stabiilsete isotoopide uuringud näitavad, et vaadeldud inimluud kuuluvad sisemaa kalastajatele ja ranniku küttidele. See omakorda näitab, et kuni 3. aastatuhande keskpaigani eKr oli püügimajanduslik elatusviis määrava tähtsusega, lubades töös vaadatud surnuid koondada ühisnimetaja kütid ja korilased alla. Arheoloogiliselt nähtavad matmispraktikad said osaks nii naistele, lastele, kui ka meestele. Seetõttu võib öelda, et esmastel identiteetidel ei olnud matmispraktikate valimisel määravat rolli.
Pikk ajaline perspektiiv lubab jälgida nii praktikate püsivust, kui ka muutusi. Arheotanatoloogiline analüüs näitab, et aktsepteeritava normi moodustas hulk erinevaid praktikaid. Kusjuures suur osa toonastest rituaalidest jääb tabamatuks. Arheoloogiliselt jälgitavatest praktikatest domineerib esmane laibamatus, samas tõestati ka mitme-episoodiliste matuste olemasolu Eestis. Surnuid sängitati nii asula kultuurkihti, kalmistutele, kui ka üksikmatustena asustusest eemale. Hoolimata mitmetest erinevustest rõhutatakse töös, et matuserituaalide põhisisu säilis ajavahemikus 6500–2600 eKr suures osas muutumatuna. Selleks muutumatuks tuumikuks võib pidada kohest tegutsemist surma ilmnemisel, surnukeha kesksust praktikate läbiviimisel, elevate ja surnute maailma ranget eraldamatust ja praktikate avatud iseloomu, mis võimaldas nende säilimise ja järk-järgulise muutumise ligi nelja aasta tuhande jooksul.
Võtmesõnad: matmispraktikad, praktikate teooriad, keha materiaalse kultuuri osana, arheotanatoloogia, süsiniku ja lämmastiku stabiilsed isotoobid, radiosüsiniku dateeringud, kütid ja korilased, kiviaeg, Eesti
The thesis “Persistent practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia” focuses on the question of how death was handled within and among hunter-gatherer communities in Estonia. The study departs from the human remains – both intact skeletons and loose human bones in occupation layers – bringing the human body to the foreground to detect mortuary practices through the lens of archaeo-thanatology, and to recreate the primary identities of these people by the application of osteological methods and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope studies. The time depth is provided by the radiocarbon dates of human bone collagen. The new radiocarbon dates show that the first burials took place at Narva Joaorg starting from the mid of the 7th millennium cal. BC. The youngest hunter-gatherer burials derive from Tamula that was used as a burial place for a longer time period; its end date corresponds to the burial at Naakamäe, being c. 2600 cal. BC. Stable isotope results show that all the human remains belonged to inland fishers and coastal hunters of marine fished and mammals, indicating the importance of hunting and gathering subsistence until the mid of 3rd millennium cal. BC in Estonia. Burials contained the remains of both females, males, and adults and children of all age groups. These general observations about biological sex and age allege that mortuary rituals were carried out irrespective of the primary identities of the deceased. The long temporal perspective allowed observing the continuum and change of practices. As indicated by the archaeothanatological analyses, a range of practices were considered as norm. Only a fraction of the population received archaeologically observable handling; the vast majority of these constitute primary inhumations in a variety of body positions either with or without grave goods. Also, clear evidence of practices in multiple episodes was demonstrated. The deceased had been placed in the ground of contemporary settlement sites, cemeteries, and solitary graves close to the hunter-gatherer pathways. However, instead of stressing the differences in grave goods, or in places for the dead, and/or variability in body positions, it is stressed that a unchanging pattern of underlying norms of mortuary practices persisted from the first evidence of mortuary remains in c. 6500 cal. BC until the mid 3rd millennium cal. BC. This core of practices was formed by the immediate handling of the dead, primacy of the corpse, absence of clear separation between life and death, and open character of the mortuary practices that allowed the maintenance and gradual change of mortuary rituals within and among hunter-gatherer communities. Key words: mortuary practices, practice theory, body as material culture, archaeothanatology, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, radiocarbon dates, hunter-gatherers, Stone Age, Estonia
The thesis “Persistent practices. A Multi-Disciplinary Study of Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Remains from c. 6500–2600 cal. BC, Estonia” focuses on the question of how death was handled within and among hunter-gatherer communities in Estonia. The study departs from the human remains – both intact skeletons and loose human bones in occupation layers – bringing the human body to the foreground to detect mortuary practices through the lens of archaeo-thanatology, and to recreate the primary identities of these people by the application of osteological methods and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope studies. The time depth is provided by the radiocarbon dates of human bone collagen. The new radiocarbon dates show that the first burials took place at Narva Joaorg starting from the mid of the 7th millennium cal. BC. The youngest hunter-gatherer burials derive from Tamula that was used as a burial place for a longer time period; its end date corresponds to the burial at Naakamäe, being c. 2600 cal. BC. Stable isotope results show that all the human remains belonged to inland fishers and coastal hunters of marine fished and mammals, indicating the importance of hunting and gathering subsistence until the mid of 3rd millennium cal. BC in Estonia. Burials contained the remains of both females, males, and adults and children of all age groups. These general observations about biological sex and age allege that mortuary rituals were carried out irrespective of the primary identities of the deceased. The long temporal perspective allowed observing the continuum and change of practices. As indicated by the archaeothanatological analyses, a range of practices were considered as norm. Only a fraction of the population received archaeologically observable handling; the vast majority of these constitute primary inhumations in a variety of body positions either with or without grave goods. Also, clear evidence of practices in multiple episodes was demonstrated. The deceased had been placed in the ground of contemporary settlement sites, cemeteries, and solitary graves close to the hunter-gatherer pathways. However, instead of stressing the differences in grave goods, or in places for the dead, and/or variability in body positions, it is stressed that a unchanging pattern of underlying norms of mortuary practices persisted from the first evidence of mortuary remains in c. 6500 cal. BC until the mid 3rd millennium cal. BC. This core of practices was formed by the immediate handling of the dead, primacy of the corpse, absence of clear separation between life and death, and open character of the mortuary practices that allowed the maintenance and gradual change of mortuary rituals within and among hunter-gatherer communities. Key words: mortuary practices, practice theory, body as material culture, archaeothanatology, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, radiocarbon dates, hunter-gatherers, Stone Age, Estonia
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arheoloogia, tanatoloogia, kütid-korilased, matused, matmiskombestik, Eesti, archaeology, thanatology, hunter-gatherers, funeral, burial customs, Estonia