Defining the Canon of Funerary Archaeology in the Ancient Near East

In archaeology, funerary practices are a quintessential element in the process of interpreting ancient societies because of the widespread presence in the archaeological record of remains associated with mortuary depositions. For this reason, throughout the twentieth century, archaeologists have debated both methodologically and theoretically what value to assign to the remains of funerary rituals enacted by ancient communities in relationship to other social and cultural domains. The aim of this chapter is to define the canon of ancient Near Eastern funerary practices through a detailed interpretation of the relationship between funerary practices, socioeconomic organization, and religious beliefs. With the use of a diachronic perspective, transformation in one of these domains is shown to have had a direct impact on the others. Case studies test how specific aspects of mortuary and funerary practices among prehistoric through first-millennium BCE Near Eastern communities have become canonical.

Funerary Practices, Female Identities, and the Clay Pyxis in Late Minoan III Crete

In the funerary archaeology of LM III Crete, studies aimed at highlighting the specific links existing between gender, age, social status, and material culture are almost nonexistent. On the other hand, the analysis of the funerary system within the framework of the Mycenaean states confirms that different treatments were reserved for males, females, and children. On the basis of those instances for which osteological analyses are available, the funerary evidence of LM III Crete allows us to identify objects that present recurring and significant associations in terms of representation of gender. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the role played by the clay pyxis in relation to female identity. Its adoption on Crete in funerary contexts is an entirely new phenomenon that, starting from the LM IIIA2, documents the use of this vessel as a marker of a specifically female identity.

A survey of Late Bronze Age funerary archaeology over the last 25 years in the central and southern Aegean

This contribution offers a brief survey of funerary archaeology undertaken in the central and southern Aegean over the course of the last 25 years. Major construction projects and salvage and systematic excavations have brought to light some 1,700 new Late Bronze Age tombs (i.e. 27% of the extant corpus). Despite these discoveries, however, very few tombs have received a final publication and few of these projects are context driven. New data are and will continue to be desirable – but it is the quality of the recording of these data, our research questions and the careful application of new methodologies, during and after excavation, that will open up new interpretative avenues and debates. With the number of secure archaeological contexts dwindling fast, not least because of the constant threat of looting, developing new approaches (for example understanding site formation and episodes of use) is crucial if we are to recover as much as possible and advance our knowledge of the multivalent roles played by burials within ancient societies.