Cremation vs inhumation: modeling cultural changes in funerary practices from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages in Belgium using Kernel density analysis on 14C data

Giacomo Capuzzo, Christophe Snoeck, Mathieu Boudin, Sarah Dalle, Rica Annaert, Marta Hlad, Ioannis Kontopoulos, Charlotte Sabaux, Kevin Salesse, Amanda Sengeløv, Elisavet Stamataki, Barbara Veselka, Eugene Wermenbol, Guy De Mulder, Dries Tys, Martine Vercauteren

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Abstract

The adoption of a new funerary ritual with all its social and cognitive meanings is of great importance to understanding social transformations of past societies. The first known occurrence of cremation in the territory corresponding to modern Belgium dates back to the Mesolithic period. From the end of the Neolithic onward, the practice of cremation was characterized by periods in which this rite was predominant and periods of contractions, defined by a decrease in the use of this funerary ritual. This paper aims to quantify such phenomenon for the first time by modeling discontinuities in burial practices through kernel density analysis of 1428 radiocarbon (14C) dates from 311 archaeological sites located in Belgium from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages. Despite possible taphonomic and sampling biases, the results highlight the existence of periods with a large uptake of cremation rite followed by periods of contractions; such discontinuities took place in correlation with changes in the socio-economical structure of local communities, as, for example, during the later Middle Bronze Age and at the end of the Roman Period.
Original languageEnglish
JournalRadiocarbon: An International Journal of Cosmogenic Isotope Research
Volume62
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)1809-1832
Number of pages24
ISSN0033-8222
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • Archaeology
  • Belgium
  • Cremation
  • Inhumation

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