Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DivMeanBody (Divergent Meanings: understanding the postmortem fate of human bodies found in Neolithic settlements from the Balkan area in light of interdisciplinary data)

Teaser

Certain individuals’ whole or fragmentary bodies seem to have been selected and interred beneath/between dwellings, in ‘rubbish areas’ or settlement ditches during the Neolithic period in the Balkan area (between 7th-4th millennia BC). For the early Neolithic, they...

Summary

Certain individuals’ whole or fragmentary bodies seem to have been selected and interred beneath/between dwellings, in ‘rubbish areas’ or settlement ditches during the Neolithic period in the Balkan area (between 7th-4th millennia BC). For the early Neolithic, they account for the only human remains discovered. Given its broad time span, apparent uniformity on a large geographical area and across multiple prehistoric cultures (from Southern Romania to northern Greece), studying this depositional practice is key to understanding the context which shaped the beginnings of settlements, agriculture and the Neolithic way of life in Europe. Traditionally such human remains have been either a focus of osteological studies, looking at them in a biological dimension, or subjected to cultural analysis. DivMeanBody took an interdisciplinary comparative perspective, at the cross-road of archaeology and osteology, alongside material culture theories and concepts, towards the re-interpretation of such deposits from a taphonomic perspective. The aim has been to answer the question of whether these are deliberate depositions or more complex, including non-cultural processes, might explain this fragmentation. Inside these Balkan settlements, through the presence of human remains, the boundary between the living and the dead is a fluid one, while temporal distances gain a different value through the present materiality of the dead from the past.

In order to understand how these past people were performing and dealing with the dynamic processes of life and death in their communities and the relation of these practices to the formation of archaeological deposits, DivMeanBody reviewed the information available on these discoveries, by creating a database comprising 106 sites, from six countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece), and 817 burials and scattered bones discoveries. Following this, the research developed along several lines of inquiry: understanding the ways in which the latest scientific (in particular aDNA) narratives shape the interpretation of human remains, and the potential of interdisciplinary research, an analysis of unpublished material in order to gain more insights into the post-mortem biography of these human remains, and an interpretation of the discoveries in their wider taphonomic and archaeological context (including fresh osteological analysis). Through these, the project accomplished its aim, to surpass the divide present in contemporary research between a biological body (studied by osteology) and a cultural body (by archaeology). At the same time, through its results, the project brought an original contribution that challenges contemporary distinctions between domestic-funerary space, whole bodies-fragmentary parts, the world of the living-the realm of the dead. These results are relevant for the contemporary society, by showing alternative ways of dealing with death and the dead than modern practices.

The project achieved all its research objectives: an analysis of the variability of bodies depositional patterns in Neolithic settlements in the Balkan area, a recreation of post-mortem biographies of these human remains, and an analysis of the relationship between the world of the living and the dead in the studied Neolithic communities.

Work performed

The main results of the project have been disseminated to both academic and non-academic audiences, in the form of: one published article, and one book-review in open-access prestigious international journals, another article is currently in print as a book chapter, while 2 more articles and 1 book review will be published, and made available OA next year; 7 papers delivered at major international conferences; 6 invited presentations; 4 public engagement activities, and 32 dissemination posts on social media and blogs; 1 bi-lingual (English and Romanian) project blog, and 1 workshop blog. I have also organised an international workshop (‘Can science accommodate multiple ontologies? The genetics revolution and archaeological theory’, 11-12 June 2018, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, co-organised with Dr Darryl Wilkinson), a local workshop in Cambridge, and 3 panels at international conferences; organised an interdisciplinary reading group at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

Training: I took part in 16 training activities (in statistical programs, in bioarchaeological analysis of human remains, in theoretical archaeology and materiality debates, as well as critical thinking skills, outreach and public engagement, research and grants skills), and attended over 100 seminar academic presentations and talks.

All proposed milestones, and deliverables have been accomplished.

Through this project I had the possibility to be exposed to the international world of European prehistory, and establish a new network of academic contacts, within Cambridge (with researchers from the Department of Archaeology, History and Philosophy of Science, Anthropology, and Anatomy), and from the UK, Europe, and the US.

Final results

The results of the project had an important impact on the field, by providing fresh interdisciplinary perspectives on the topic, and contributing to a better understanding of humanity and identity in the past: they challenged dated views on the human remains, proved their intentional and funerary character, and raised critical concerns towards limitations of certain kinds of analysis. One of the important conclusions of this study is that, contrary to current fashion in labeling these deposits as ‘non-funerary’, ‘deviant’, or ‘secondary’, they are precisely the opposite. Namely, current labels in academic literature mislead the reader in assuming they are the ‘leftovers’ of a process which is now lost to us, while the opposite is happening here: keeping these body parts is the important part of the funerary process. In this way, DivMeanBody brought an original contribution, by challenging current definitions, and working towards a new interpretation of multiple kinds of data available on these human remains (archaeological, osteological, taphonomic etc.).

The training and new knowledge obtained during the fellowship led to new collaborations, materialised through co-organising two panels at the 2018 European Association of Archaeologists Annual Conference, and also an international workshop in Cambridge. Furthermore, I have been invited for a one week funded visiting researcher stay in the Department of Archaeology, University of Helsinki (5-11 November 2018), and in 2019 will coordinate an edited special issue of a prestigious Journal gathering specialists from throughout Europe. At the same time, the new expertise and contacts led to collaborations outside of the Department of Archaeology, towards interdisciplinary projects, such as becoming a contributor to the ‘Human anatomy virtual museum’, with the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, organising the reading group ‘Philosophy of Historical Sciences’, with researchers from the Center for the Future of Intelligence, and Leverhulme Center for Existential Risk, and an invitation to give a talk as part of the upcoming ‘How scientific objects end’ international Workshop (3-4 December, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge).

Website & more info

More info: https://divmeanbody.wordpress.com/.