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The lost photos: archaeothanatology applied to photo documentation from the 1960s reveals new data about Mesolithic burials, Sado valley, Portugal

2019-09Conference object Open access
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dc.contributor.authorStjerna, Rita Peyroteo
dc.contributor.authorNilsson Stutz, Liv
dc.contributor.authorCardoso, João Luís
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-17T14:56:11Z
dc.date.available2020-01-17T14:56:11Z
dc.date.issued2019-09
dc.description.abstractThe Mesolithic shell middens in Portugal aggregate some of the largest and earliest burial grounds known, around 8000 years old, arranged and maintained by populations with an exclusive hunting, fishing, and foraging lifestyle. The archaeological material is housed in museums and consists of artefacts, field documentation (written, graphic) and more than 300 human skeletons. This archaeological assemblage is exceptional due to its quality and antiquity, but its early excavation introduces several challenges to the modern research. Here we present an analysis of the burials in the shell middens of Arapouco and Poças de S. Bento in the Sado valley, Portugal following the principles of archaeothanatology to reconstruct past ritual practices as responses to death. Our analysis was based on unpublished photographs from the 1960s and our aims were 1) to identify the nature of the deposits (primary, secondary); 2) to describe the space of decomposition of the cadaver (filled, empty, mixed); 3) to reconstruct the initial position of the cadaver in the feature; 4) to reconstruct the grave features, such as size and shape; 5) to detect the initial presence of perishable materials deposited along with the cadaver, such as structures behind the bodies, or wrappings of the body at the time of disposal; 6) to clearly define the deposits containing more than one individual; 7) to identify post-depositional manipulations of the cadaver. The method, which emerged in the context of field archaeology lays great emphasis on the field situation and it has been argued that assessment of the material may not be possible if key observations are not documented in situ. Despite the limitations, we demonstrate with this case study that archaeothanatology is a robust and reliable method to assess, study, and retrieve new data from the extensive archaeological assemblages of human remains available in museums.pt_PT
dc.description.versionN/Apt_PT
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/9048
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.titleThe lost photos: archaeothanatology applied to photo documentation from the 1960s reveals new data about Mesolithic burials, Sado valley, Portugalpt_PT
dc.typeconference object
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.conferencePlaceBerna, Suiçapt_PT
oaire.citation.title25th European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) Annual Meeting, 4-7 Sep. 2019pt_PT
person.familyNamePeyroteo-Stjerna
person.familyNameNilsson Stutz
person.familyNameCardoso
person.givenNameRita
person.givenNameLiv
person.givenNameJoão Luis
person.identifier.ciencia-id8A12-73DE-28E1
person.identifier.ciencia-id4916-6273-3F6C
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-3309-474X
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-0575-7075
person.identifier.orcid0000-0003-2234-2266
person.identifier.ridK-8977-2014
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typeconferenceObjectpt_PT
relation.isAuthorOfPublication1def933d-1ee6-4571-ae18-473ee4bc5a48
relation.isAuthorOfPublication5bafc14c-d713-45e8-9bd7-3e5fccd7722b
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationc6f6f01a-f706-4a21-903c-b3e585f1e98b
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryc6f6f01a-f706-4a21-903c-b3e585f1e98b

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