Taphonomic agents in the formation of mortuary deposits : excavation methods and treatment of human bones at the pre-pottery neolithic sites of Bal'as and Tell Halula (Syria) - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2012

Taphonomic agents in the formation of mortuary deposits : excavation methods and treatment of human bones at the pre-pottery neolithic sites of Bal'as and Tell Halula (Syria)

Résumé

Many archaeologists and anthropologists who work in the Near-East are confronted with taphonomic agents induced by environmental characteristics; the specific physical and chemical agents of this particular environment, as well as human activity has modified not only the human remains but also the structure of the burials. These taphonomic processes must be understood because they determine the final image of the funerary deposits at the moment of the excavation. We describe here the methods of excavation and treatment of human remains applied to two sets of human skeletal remains from two different archaeological sites with different characteristics of deposition and therefore different requirements during and post excavation. The site of Balas, located in the interior of Syria, yielded a small number of human remains from the Khiamian period. They are all covered by calcareous encrustations. The protocol introduced here enabled these encrustations to be removed. The remains were bathed in diluted acetic acid, thereby causing minimal damage to the bones. Tell Halula is an archaeological site corresponding to one of the earliest large villages of sedentary farming communities (8700-6500 BP). It is situated in the Middle Euphrates Valley (Syria) and a large number of burials have been discovered within the site. Diagenetic factors as well as the kind of rituals specific to the site called for specific protocols to be set up and implemented during the excavation and treatment of the remains.
De nombreux archéologues et anthropologues travaillant au Proche-Orient sont confrontés à des phénomènes taphonomiques induits par l'environnement, mais aussi par les activités humaines. La compréhension de ces phénomènes facilite la fouille des dépôts funéraires. Nous décrivons ici les méthodes de fouilles appliquées sur le site de Tell Halula (Syrie, 8700-6500 BP), ainsi que le traitement en laboratoire de restes humains présentant des concrétions calcaires (site de Balas, Syrie, Khiamien).
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Dates et versions

halshs-00828701 , version 1 (31-05-2013)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00828701 , version 1

Citer

Anabel Ortiz Lopez, Bérénice Chamel. Taphonomic agents in the formation of mortuary deposits : excavation methods and treatment of human bones at the pre-pottery neolithic sites of Bal'as and Tell Halula (Syria). Broadening Horizons 3, 3rd Conference of Young Researchers Working in the Ancient Near-East, Jul 2010, Barcelone, Spain. pp.41-56. ⟨halshs-00828701⟩
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