Abstract
Studies of funerary practices provide information about many aspects of death in past societies. However, only limited archaeological evidence documents the circumstances under which cremations occurred and the person(s) who were performing the funerary rituals. Lying at the border between Atlantic and Continental cultural traditions, the Scheldt and Meuse basins of Belgium represent a unique location to investigate variations in ancient pyre technology and body management, as well as the transfer of knowledge related to cremation techniques during the Metal Ages (ca. 2100-52 BCE). The combined use of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of different skeletal elements from cremation deposits from four archaeological sites clearly shows differences between the Meuse and Scheldt basins. Different wood availability or selection, and variations in the skills and/or experience of the cremation operator may explain these results. These observed differences are likely linked to ways in which cremation was performed in the two basins, indicating that during the Metal Ages, burning processes were not homogeneous in the Belgian region. Instead, cremation practices appear to align with the different cultural influences also observed in ceramics and bronze artifacts from the same time period. These observed differences in funerary practices between the two basins in Belgium show the immense potential of combining infrared and carbon and oxygen isotope analyses to investigate cremation rituals in any period and region around the world.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | 105509 |
| Tidsskrift | Journal of Archaeological Science |
| Vol/bind | 136 |
| Antal sider | 12 |
| ISSN | 0305-4403 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2021 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:This research is part of the CRUMBEL project (?CRemations, Urns and Mobility: ancient population dynamics in BELgium?), funded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- Vlaanderen (FWO) and the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) within the framework of the Excellence of Science (EOS) program (no 30999782) in Belgium. Elisavet Stamataki and Marta Hlad thank FWO for their doctoral fellowships. Amanda Sengel?v thanks F.R.S.-FNRS for her doctoral fellowship. Rhy McMillan is also supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We are grateful to the Arch?osite et Mus?e d'Aubechies-Beloeil asbl, the Archaeocentrum Velzeke, the Art and History museum of Belgium (KMKG) and the Mus?e Communal de la Ville d? Herstal for allowing access to the material used in this study. We are thankful to David Verstraeten (AMGC Research Unit, VUB) for his help with the stable isotope analysis. The authors also thank the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Hercules program) for supporting the upgrade of the stable isotope laboratory and the acquisition of FTIR-ATR instrumentation. We would like to also acknowledge support from VUB Strategic Research Program.
Funding Information:
This research is part of the CRUMBEL project (“CRemations, Urns and Mobility: ancient population dynamics in BELgium”), funded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- Vlaanderen ( FWO ) and the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.- FNRS ) within the framework of the Excellence of Science (EOS) program (no 30999782 ) in Belgium. Elisavet Stamataki and Marta Hlad thank FWO for their doctoral fellowships. Amanda Sengeløv thanks F.R.S.-FNRS for her doctoral fellowship. Rhy McMillan is also supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada . We are grateful to the Archéosite et Musée d’Aubechies-Beloeil asbl, the Archaeocentrum Velzeke, the Art and History museum of Belgium (KMKG) and the Musée Communal de la Ville d’ Herstal for allowing access to the material used in this study. We are thankful to David Verstraeten (AMGC Research Unit, VUB) for his help with the stable isotope analysis. The authors also thank the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Hercules program) for supporting the upgrade of the stable isotope laboratory and the acquisition of FTIR-ATR instrumentation. We would like to also acknowledge support from VUB Strategic Research Program.
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