A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan).
New human burials from northern Jordan provide important insights into the appearance of cemeteries and the nature of human-animal relationships within mortuary contexts during the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 23,000-11,600 cal BP) in the Levant, reinforcing a socio-ideological relationship that goes...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2011-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21298094/pdf/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1818735230446469120 |
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| author | Lisa A Maher Jay T Stock Sarah Finney James J N Heywood Preston T Miracle Edward B Banning |
| author_facet | Lisa A Maher Jay T Stock Sarah Finney James J N Heywood Preston T Miracle Edward B Banning |
| author_sort | Lisa A Maher |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | New human burials from northern Jordan provide important insights into the appearance of cemeteries and the nature of human-animal relationships within mortuary contexts during the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 23,000-11,600 cal BP) in the Levant, reinforcing a socio-ideological relationship that goes beyond predator-prey. Previous work suggests that archaeological features indicative of social complexity occur suddenly during the latest Epipalaeolithic phase, the Natufian (c. 14,500-11,600 cal BP). These features include sedentism, cemeteries, architecture, food production, including animal domestication, and burials with elaborate mortuary treatments. Our findings from the pre-Natufian (Middle Epipalaeolithic) cemetery of 'Uyun al-Hammam demonstrate that joint human-animal mortuary practices appear earlier in the Epipalaeolithic. We describe the earliest human-fox burial in the Near East, where the remains of dogs have been found associated with human burials at a number of Natufian sites. This is the first time that a fox has been documented in association with human interments pre-dating the Natufian and with a particular suite of grave goods. Analysis of the human and animal bones and their associated artefacts provides critical data on the nature and timing of these newly-developing relationships between people and animals prior to the appearance of domesticated dogs in the Natufian. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:17:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6f4e42addef4d479981ea86ee936fd3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:17:57Z |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6f4e42addef4d479981ea86ee936fd32022-12-21T21:27:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-0161e1581510.1371/journal.pone.0015815A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan).Lisa A MaherJay T StockSarah FinneyJames J N HeywoodPreston T MiracleEdward B BanningNew human burials from northern Jordan provide important insights into the appearance of cemeteries and the nature of human-animal relationships within mortuary contexts during the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 23,000-11,600 cal BP) in the Levant, reinforcing a socio-ideological relationship that goes beyond predator-prey. Previous work suggests that archaeological features indicative of social complexity occur suddenly during the latest Epipalaeolithic phase, the Natufian (c. 14,500-11,600 cal BP). These features include sedentism, cemeteries, architecture, food production, including animal domestication, and burials with elaborate mortuary treatments. Our findings from the pre-Natufian (Middle Epipalaeolithic) cemetery of 'Uyun al-Hammam demonstrate that joint human-animal mortuary practices appear earlier in the Epipalaeolithic. We describe the earliest human-fox burial in the Near East, where the remains of dogs have been found associated with human burials at a number of Natufian sites. This is the first time that a fox has been documented in association with human interments pre-dating the Natufian and with a particular suite of grave goods. Analysis of the human and animal bones and their associated artefacts provides critical data on the nature and timing of these newly-developing relationships between people and animals prior to the appearance of domesticated dogs in the Natufian.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21298094/pdf/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Lisa A Maher Jay T Stock Sarah Finney James J N Heywood Preston T Miracle Edward B Banning A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). PLoS ONE |
| title | A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). |
| title_full | A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). |
| title_fullStr | A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). |
| title_full_unstemmed | A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). |
| title_short | A unique human-fox burial from a pre-Natufian cemetery in the Levant (Jordan). |
| title_sort | unique human fox burial from a pre natufian cemetery in the levant jordan |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21298094/pdf/?tool=EBI |
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