Mortuary practices in the Middle Neolithic
An archaeothanatological analysis of the burials at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
Sander Spijkers
Mortuary practices in the Middle Neolithic
An archaeothanatological analysis of the burials at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
Sander Spijkers 1796534
Thesis Tutorial BA3 1043SCR1Y-1819ARCH
Dr. Q.P.J. Bourgeois MA
Archaeology of Europe
University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology
Leiden 15-06-2019, final version
1
2
Table of contents Title page 1 Table of contents 3 1. Introduction 5 2. The history of burial archaeology and archaeothanatology 9 3. The methodology and principles of archaeothanatology 11 3.1 Anatomical terminology 11 3.2 Death, decomposition and disarticulation 13 3.3 Archaeothanatological analysis 15 3.4 Types of funerary deposits 17 4. The sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 19 4.1 Landscape formation 19 4.2 Stratigraphy and dating 20 4.3 Features 20 4.4 Subsistence economy 21 5. The grave fields at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 22 5.1 Age groups 22 5.2 The grave field at Ypenburg-locatie 4 22 5.3 The grave field at Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 23 6. Descriptive analysis of the graves at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 25 6.1 Ypenburg-locatie 4 25 6.2 Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 38 7. The mortuary practices at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder 42 7.1 The tightly flexed burials and other mortuary practices 42
7.2 Grave goods 46
7.3 Demographics and the mortuary practices 47
8. The mortuary practices in a wider context 48
8.1 Mortuary practices of the Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures 48
8.2 The migration of artefacts and ideas? 50
9. Conclusions 52
Abstract 55
3
Internet pages 56
Bibliography 57 List of tables 63 List of appendices 64 Appendices 65
4
1. Introduction
Since the dawn of humanity, death has in the minds of people been both fascinating and fearsome. It is both the inevitability and the mystery of death that puzzles us (Abramovitch 2015, 870); what happens when you die is a frequently asked question that we cannot answer. Despite this seemingly futile attempt to understand death, our approaches to understanding it have helped in being able to reconcile with death and the loss of a relative. Death on its own is a tragic, arbitrary and meaningless event (or process; this discussion will be accounted for later) but it is us, humans, that put the emotions and meanings into it (May 2009, 4).
Death could possibly be the most important aspect of our lives as it is one of the very few things in our lives that we are certain of and it overrides all other aspects of our lives, no matter the importance (May 2009, 4-5). By many it is, however, also believed that death is not the end. In Tibetan Buddhism, lamas are able to exert a critical social presence, yet lack a finite, separate living body. They can live on as corpses, appearances in dreams, rematerialisations such as rainbows and even in the bodies of ‘others’ (Zivkovic 2014, 1-2). The Berawan of Borneo conceive a living human being as the conjunction of a body (usaa) and a spiritual component (telanak). While the body decays after death, it is the spiritual component or ‘soul’ that undergoes a transformation for the telanak is not eternal. The soul changes into a bílì’ leta’, a spirit of the dead. It is only at the moment that the telanak changes into a bílì’ leta’ and enters the land of the dead, that an individual is truly dead. A soul that is not able to find the land of the dead turns malicious and forms a danger for the surviving population. Only by keeping a vigil on the corpse of the deceased and showing the vengeful soul, through mourning, that their beloved ones are hurt by their death, they might keep the soul from hurting anyone (Metcalf and Huntington 1991, 85-97). In contrast to the general notion of agency (Dornan 2002, 303-304), these examples thus show that the deceased, who cannot act intentionally anymore, are still believed to exert influence on the surviving population. Only through specific ritual, the surviving population could still get a hold on the deceased.
Drawing closer to Europe, death ritual has been equally important in archaeology as in anthropology. Since the eighteenth century, mounds, pits, tombs and their contents have been a central avenue of archaeological research (Levy 1989, 155). In the Netherlands, the Middle Neolithic of Hazendonk 3 is also interesting for its treatment of
5 the dead. These people did not leave any monumental structures behind such as the hunebedden, but their mortuary practices might shed more light on both life and death between circa 3800-3400 BC. The sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden- Harnaschpolder near the coast in the western Netherlands are two important sites for the Hazendonk group. Together with settlements at Rijswijk, Wateringen 4 and Wateringse Veld, they tell the story of how these prehistoric peoples lived at the coast (Louwe Kooijmans 2005, 258; Jongste and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 3). At the sites of Ypenburg and Schipluiden, in contrast to the other sites mentioned, human remains have been found. Several of these individuals have been found inside graves with their limbs drawn towards the torso, a so-called fetal position, while other positions are also present to a lesser extent. Furthermore, it has been noted by the excavators that skeletons seem to have been intentionally displaced and manipulated. Other interesting mortuary practices such as secondary deposits in pre-existing graves, double burials and the scattering of skeletal elements in settlement contexts deserve more merit (Baetsen 2008; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006).
It has been suggested that this fetal position is difficult to achieve anatomically when an individual has only recently died (Knüsel 2014, 42). Therefore it is possible that prehistoric peoples might have tried to preserve, manipulate or wrap the bodies of the deceased, thereby allowing them to position the bodies in such a way while maintaining the anatomical articulations that would have been lost if the flesh had already decayed. This hypothesis is interesting for it may show that prehistoric peoples treated the corpse in much more complex ways than simply depositing it in a grave. It might even suggest that prehistoric peoples kept the dead close to them for extended periods before burying them into the ground. Together with the other evidence of the manipulation of the body, Ypenburg and Schipluiden can enhance our views on how people dealt with death in the Middle Neolithic.
The common occurrence of the fetal position at Ypenburg and Schipluiden is in contrast to the partially contemporaneous Swifterbant culture present in the central Netherlands in which individuals were more often buried stretched on their backs. Other mortuary practices found at Ypenburg and Schipluiden such as double burials are, however, also present at the Swifterbant burial sites. It is said that these traditions point to the Mesolithic origin of the Swifterbant culture (D’Hollosy and Baetsen 2001; Louwe Kooijmans 2005, 264; Meiklejohn and Constandse-Westermann 1978; Ten Anscher 2012). Also in the same period, the Michelsberg-culture is present in France, Belgium,
6
Germany and the southern Netherlands. In this culture, the fetal position is the most common positioning of individuals in burials (Beau et al. 2017; Kreuz et al. 2014, 73). Ypenburg and Schipluiden thus share similarities with both the Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures in terms of mortuary practices; this is perhaps of no surprise as the Hazendonk culture is situated at the crossroads where these two cultures meet. Perhaps these similarities are a reflection of the Middle Neolithic more generally. This is namely a transitionary period in which fully agriculturalist and semi-agriculturalist societies meet. The process of neolithisation is fully making its way in the Netherlands and sites such as Ypenburg and Schipluiden are prime examples of how certain ‘Neolithic traditions’ have and have not been adopted (Amkreutz 2013b). Again, comparisons can be drawn with the Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures. While the Swifterbant sites still display a large commitment towards hunting and gathering, the Michelsberg culture already displays a more widespread reliance on agriculture; Ypenburg and Schipluiden seem to be situated right in the middle of this development (Amkreutz 2013b; Koot et al. 2008, 457-466; Kreuz et al. 2014; Louwe Kooijmans 2006).
The mortuary practices of Ypenburg and Schipluiden will be studied through the scope of archaeothanatology, the archaeological study of the biological and social components of death. Archaeothanatology tries to “reconstruct the attitudes of ancient populations towards death by focussing on the study of the human skeleton and analysing the acts linked to the management and treatment of the corpse” (Duday 2009, 3-6). Archaeothanatology stresses the absence or presence of certain articulations between skeletal elements and the position of these bones to infer more about the rituals associated with death and burial. In archaeothanatology, the decomposition of the body from corpse to skeleton to, possibly, a disarticulated heap of bones is essential. The body, namely, undergoes a complex process of decomposition consisting of different stages to which different rituals or mortuary practices might be linked. Archaeologists tend to usually only see the final stage in this process; a skeletonized human. Archaeothanatology, however, enables the archaeologist to infer more about what happened to the deceased before it skeletonized and also what happened when the flesh had already decayed (Duday 2009; Nilsson Stutz 2003).
Through archaeothanatological and descriptive analysis of the graves at Ypenburg- locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder, more information on the mortuary practices of the Middle Neolithic in the western Netherlands will be provided. Since archaeothanatology combines knowledge of post-mortem biological processes with
7 detailed archaeological observations, the complete process of human decomposition and its effects on the archaeological record should be analysed. Furthermore, natural and non-natural cultural processes should be discerned from one another. Since these observations can only be based upon photographs, drawings and interpretations by others, they will be restricted by the amount of data that has been gathered on the graves. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to tell more about the diverse ways in which people from Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder dealt with death and loss. It would be interesting to research to what extent the treatment of the dead at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder is different from the treatment of the dead at other contemporaneous sites within the Netherlands. Especially within the light of the Middle Neolithic, a hectic period in which new technologies are introduced and people gradually adapt themselves to a completely different lifestyle.
Essentially, the main research question will be: what are the mortuary practices at the sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder? How do these two sites compare to each other in regards to the mortuary practices? To what extent can archaeothanatological analysis be used to shed more light on the mortuary practices at these sites? Is it able to explain the occurrence of the anatomically impossible fetal position? Finally, how do the mortuary practices at Ypenburg and Schipluiden compare to the mortuary practices of the contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures? Could the development in mortuary practices be part of the larger trend of neolithisation?
After a short introduction to the theoretical principles of burial archaeology and archaeothanatology, the methodology of archaeothanatology and the important biological processes associated with it will be discussed. This will be followed by a discussion of the sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder in general and the grave fields at both sites in more detail. The archaeothanatological analysis of all the graves at Ypenburg and Schipluiden will hopefully then lead to a better understanding of mortuary practices in the Middle Neolithic in comparison to the mortuary practices of contemporaneous cultures.
8
2. The history of burial archaeology and archaeothanatology
The investigation of burials and their associated corpses is known under many different names in archaeology: funerary archaeology, mortuary archaeology, burial archaeology, archaeology of the dead and archaeothanatology. The focus of this research will be set on archaeothanatology, formerly also known as l’anthropologie du terrain in France (Duday 2009, 3). The other theoretical frameworks have, however, all made an impact on archaeothanatology as we know it today; therefore they will also be put under consideration.
First, it should be mentioned that burial archaeology has so far been focussed on what the dead can tell us about the living, rather than focussing on issues of death itself. It is the field of burial archaeology that poses questions relating to the diet, social identity and social rank of the deceased and therefore also of the living. Archaeology of the dead is set apart from this as it specifically deals with death in topics such as mortuary rituals, religion and concepts of afterlife. This scholarly gap is in itself dangerous as making inferences about the living world archaeologists seek to reconstruct, does require linking this living world to the archaeological sources used (Nilsson Stutz 2016, 14). Furthermore, within these frameworks a clear distinction is seen between the social sciences and humanities in the form of the studies of social identities and religion on the one hand, and the natural sciences in the form of bioarchaeology on the other (Nilsson Stutz 2016, 14-15). It is as if the study of the deceased in the social sciences and humanities does not incorporate the most direct evidence of the deceased, namely their bones and flesh.
Initially, burial archaeology was established in the 19th century as a means of providing the closed contexts with which archaeologists can establish chronologies based on seriation. It was recognised that burials would allow archaeologists to connect specific human beings from the past to the material remains of their culture. In this way, one would be able to discern different cultures from one another and find out where these cultures actually resided (Nilsson Stutz 2003, 108; Nilsson Stutz 2016, 16).
Later, during the time of processual or New Archaeology, Binford (1971) formulated the main aim of burial archaeology to be the evaluation of the degree of social complexity of a given society through observation of this society’s mortuary practices. Binford believed that the patterning of mortuary practices was determined by social organisation. The general idea was that the more complex the society was, the more
9 complex the funerary practices would be; this would provide more information about the dead person’s persona and its relationships. It was realised during this time that mortuary treatment is much more varied than hitherto expected, and that the archaeological reality imposes limits on the archaeologists’ ability to observe this variability (Binford 1971; Nilsson Stutz 2003, 110-113).
It was only at the time of post-processual archaeology that this attitude towards burial archaeology changed. The religious or ritual aspects of mortuary practices had been largely ignored in New Archaeology for they were deemed not to be rational and therefore not measurable either. Furthermore, it was not discussed whether mortuary practices might not only reflect society but can also distort, mask, manipulate and idealise the reality of social relations (Pader 1982 in Nilsson Stutz 2003, 113-119). In post-processual archaeology, it was realised that material can be read in multiple, possibly contradicting, ways. This ties in with the general approach of post-processual archaeology to read, interpret, re-write and experience the past through a focus on culture, ideology and structure. Mortuary practices started to be seen through different lenses such as gender archaeology, the archaeology of religion and the emotional aspects of death. Since the start of post-processual archaeology, the natural sciences have however still been present in archaeology in the form of laboratory approaches and methodological developments such as archaeothanatology (Hodder and Hutson 2003; Nilsson Stutz 2003, 119-129).
Archaeothanatology itself came into being as an archaeological discipline under the name of l’anthropologie du terrain in France in the 1970’s and 80’s. Archaeothanatology combines biological knowledge about the processes that take place in the human body after death with taphonomical knowledge and detailed documentation to arrive at interpretations that might provide more insight into mortuary practices (Duday 2009, 3- 13). Taphonomy, or the laws of burial, is in archaeology the study of how the archaeological record formed. It is very much relevant to the study of archaeothanatology as taphonomy enables archaeologists to make the distinction between natural and anthropomorphic deposits. Taphonomy can be explained through the epistemological framework of actualism in which present processes are assumed to have been similar in the past (Duday 2009; Martin 1999 in Nilsson Stutz 2003, 131-133).
10
3. The methodology and principles of archaeothanatology
3.1 Anatomical terminology
In this thesis, appropriate terminology, used also by anatomists (tab. 1), is necessary. Therefore, in terms of the movements of the body, a bent leg or arm is impossible as the body bends at the joints. A bent leg will therefore be referred to as a bent knee; a bent arm will be referred to as a bent elbow. The body is described in relation to its normal anatomical position, “i.e. upright and looking towards the horizon, heels together, arms along the trunk, elbows turned outwards, the upper limbs parallel to the axis of the body, the palms of the hands turned outwards and the thumbs pointing outwards. In relation to the horizontal plane of the human body, above is ‘upper’, and below is ‘lower’. In relation to the frontal plane of the human body, front is ‘anterior’, and back is ‘posterior’. In relation to the sagittal plane of the human body, outward is ‘lateral’, and inward is ‘medial’ ”(Duday 2009, 16). In relation to the axial skeleton, ‘proximal’ is nearest to the axial skeleton, while ‘distal’ is furthest from the axial skeleton (White and Folkens 2005, 68). In describing the layout of the grave goods and the orientation of the skeletons, the cardinal points will be used as a reference.
Table 1: Skeletal elements in anatomical terminology and Standard English (after Duday 2009, 156)
Body part Anatomical term English term Cephalic skeleton Skull (entire bony Skull framework of the head) Mandible Lower jaw Cranium (skull, excluding Cranium the mandible) Hyoid Lingual bone/tongue-bone Vertebral column Cervical vertebrae (7, Cervical vertebrae including atlas (C1) and axis (C2)) Thoracic vertebrae (12) Thoracic vertebrae Lumbar vertebrae (5) Lumbar vertebrae
11
Sacrum Sacrum Coccyx Tailbone Rib cage Ribs (24, usually) Ribs Sternum Breastbone Upper limbs Scapula Shoulder bone Humerus Humerus/upper arm bone Radius Radius/one of the forearm bones Ulna Ulna/one of the forearm bones Carpals (scaphoid, lunate, Carpal bones/wrist bones triquetral, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate and hamate) Metacarpals Metacarpal bones Phalanges (proximal, Phalanges medial and distal) Lower limbs Os coxae Hip bone Femur Thigh bone Patella Kneecap Tibia Shin bone Fibula Calf bone Tarsals (calcaneus, talus, Tarsal bones navicular, cuneiforms, cuboid bone) Metatarsals Metatarsal bones Phalanges (proximal, Phalanges medial and distal)
12
3.2 Death, decomposition and disarticulation
Key to knowing more about the post-depositional movement of skeletal remains within burials is an understanding of soft tissue decomposition, the sequence of disarticulation of the joints and the contribution of other taphonomic processes to the in-situ displacement. These are referred to as necrodynamics and include the effects of gravity and biological agents on bones (Duday 2009; Mickleburgh and Wescot 2018, 158-159). However, to be able to determine the effects of these processes we first ought to know the ways in which the body decomposes and disarticulates. Duday (2009, 7-13) illustrates this very well using a nineteenth century Japanese watercolour as an example. This watercolour shows that even though, in the Western world, death is seen as an event (as can be seen in legal or forensic documents that speak of the ‘time of death’) (Abramovitch 2015, 871; Madea 2016); it might better be seen as a complex process that starts with deteriorating health and ends with a skeletonized human being. While death, or the permanent cessation of the biological functions of the body, is generally considered a defining moment in a person’s life; in archaeology this phase is obscured by the treatment that the deceased individual undergoes before and after death. The Japanese watercolour shows the treatment a woman receives before and after death; from the clothing that she wears, the position that she rests in, to the ways in which her body is displaced due to decomposition, scavenging and bioturbation. Eventually a commemorative monument is built on the location where she decomposed. If the remains of this woman were to be excavated, this would show a completely different image from the initial deposit. Therefore, funerary archaeologists work backwards through the transformations undergone by the body to eventually arrive at this initial deposit. Knowledge of the stages of decomposition and taphonomy is essential for this reason (Duday 2009, 7-13).
Decomposition is defined as the mobilisation of nutrients once bound to living organisms into the surrounding ecosystem so that they will be recycled as biomass (Swift et al. 1979 in Damann and Carter 2013, 37). Human decomposition is no exception to this and consists of several stages of increased and decreased taphonomic activity (Damann and Carter 2013, 37). Generally, after an individual has passed away the body will immediately start decomposing. Since the circulatory system has stopped, cells are not provided with the oxygen they need. This leads to the autolysis of cells; a process in which cells swell and rupture initiating the rupture of other cellular structures. This is followed by the triad of algor mortis, livor mortis and rigor mortis.
13
Algor mortis refers to the cooling of the body. Ligor mortis or lividity is the process where low-lying body tissues develop a reddish-purple appearance under the effects of gravity. Rigor mortis occurs when a decrease in adenosine triphosphate and pH, and the presence of calcium ions, leads to the binding of the contractile units of muscles. This gives the muscles a rigid and hard appearance. Autolysis also initiates the process of putrefaction, which is marked by the breakdown, destruction and liquefaction of soft tissues caused by microorganisms. These microorganisms migrate from the intestinal system to other soft tissues, spreading decomposition. Eventually, the skin changes colour and the body starts to bloat as carbon dioxide remains trapped in the body. In this transition to late-stage decomposition, orifices might form where oxygen enters the body. This replenishes the system of decomposition and eventually leads to the final skeletonization. Scavenging and activities by bacteria and small animals outside the corpse may accelerate these processes (Damann and Carter 2013, 37-42).
After decomposition, the muscles, ligaments and soft tissue that keep the skeletal elements in articulation, will have disappeared. This leads to the disarticulation of the body, which usually happens over a longer period. Articulations can namely be persistent (durable) or labile (non-durable). Persistent articulations include the bones that play a major role in the weight bearing and locomotion of the body such as the pelvic girdle, the knees and the humero-ulnar (elbow) joint. Labile articulations include, among others, the hands, toes and scapulothoracic (shoulder blade-thorax) joint. If in a burial the labile articulations have preserved, it is assumed that the individual was buried rapidly after death (Duday 2009; Mickleburgh and Wescott 2018, 158-159). This is the most common way of identifying a primary burial alongside a positioning of the skeletal elements according to the anatomy of the human body (Duday 2009, 25-28). However, an absence of articulated skeletal elements does not constitute the secondary character of the burial. It is perfectly normal for a burial to be primary even though natural or anthropogenic processes have later disarticulated these elements. The presence of some articulations and the absence of others even provides important information on the sequence of the disarticulation of the body (Duday 2009, 28-30). Experimental research by Mickleburgh and Wescott (2018) showed that in the case of an open pit in a warm environment, decomposition of the corpse could last over 200 days with certain articulations remaining intact after such a long time span. This study showed that climate, the position of the body in the grave or pit and the burial environment play an important role in the disarticulation of the body with certain more
14 labile articulations persisting longer than the actual persistent ones. Some articulations even re-articulated days after they had already disarticulated from one another.
Important taphonomical mechanisms identified in archaeothanatology thus include, amongst others, scavenging, water, gravity, the increased volume of wet sediments and bioturbation. A combination of these wet sediments and bioturbation, for example, leads to archaeologists misinterpreting the size of a grave. Usually the grave fill is interpreted to be a darker, softer and lumpier fill that is named ‘organic’. This darker sediment does not necessarily have to represent the size of the grave, however, but might be more related to the soaking of the sediment with decomposition fluids spread by small animals such as earthworms (Duday 2009, 54-55). Scavenging, water and gravity might disperse the skeletal elements over large areas, possibly commingling them with other bones. Weathering and burning might destroy bone, while also leaving information behind to what might have happened at a site (Pokines 2013, 4-9). The pH of the soil and the climate also have a huge impact on the preservation of the bones (Jans 2013, 25) with alkaline soils and desiccated or waterlogged conditions, for example, being more preferable for preservation. Cultural taphonomic factors are equally important though; these include processes such as organ removal, embalming, interment in a coffin or directly into the soil, or wrapping of the corpse (Damann and Carter 2013, 43).
3.3 Archaeothanatological analysis
Several important processes might occur that have an influence on how the form of the burial found in excavation is different from the original burial. First, due to decomposition, a void will be created where the thoracic and abdominal organs were situated; this leads to the collapse of the ribs. In the case of an individual laying on its back, the ribs will fall symmetrically towards the bottom of the grave. If the body, however, lies on its side, the ribs resting on the bottom of the pit do not change position, while the ribs opposite of the bottom will fall. This is natural under the effects of gravity and will only be prevented if the void left during decomposition gradually fills or when the body has been buried in a very narrow structure with the ribs rest against this structure (Duday 2009, 16-17).
In many cases, the disarticulation of the cranium and cervical vertebrae can also lead to the rotation of the head. In the turning of our head, seven cervical vertebrae, C1-C7, are involved. Between C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis) a rotation of 60° is possible, while between
15 vertebraes C2 and C7 only a 20° rotation is possible. A slight rotation between the atlas and the occipital bone of the cranium is also possible since the occipital condyles follow the movement of the head. In a living individual, but also in a corpse whose muscles and ligaments are still intact, the rotation of the head is thus hampered by these factors. However, when the muscles and ligaments decompose and break down, the spherical shape of the cranium might cause the cranium to fall to one side. If we find that some of the cervical vertebrae have fallen alongside the cranium, this also enriches our information on the sequence of disarticulation of the cervical vertebrae. Moreover, the temporo-mandibular joints, i.e. the joint that links the mandible to the base of the cranium, usually decays before those of the cervical vertebrae. The position of the mandible is thus also important as it might fall to the opposite side of where the cranium eventually falls (Duday 2009, 17-19).
The clavicle also is an excellent indication of the original burial of the individual. This bone namely tends to shift to a very oblique, almost vertical, position when being compressed by a narrow coffin or a shroud. This is especially interesting considering the hypothesis that multiple individuals from Ypenburg and Schipluiden were wrapped in the tightly flexed fetal positions (Baetsen 2008; Duday 2009, 45-46; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006).
If an individual is found whose skeletal elements that are associated with labile articulations have been displaced, chances are there that the individual decomposed in a void. Obviously, skeletal elements do not move by themselves and if natural taphonomic processes can be ruled out, the disarticulating of the labile articulations shows that at least in the early stages of decomposition this void existed. This can, for example, also be seen in the lateral rotation of the femora or the lateral displacement of the patella; these bones would not have been able to rotate or get displaced if the body was buried in sediment. In addition, when looking at putrefaction or fluctuating water tables, smaller bones could have only floated away if a void existed. (Duday 2009, 32- 38). This brings us to decomposition in a filled space. Most important in recognising this type of burial is the fact that the skeletal elements have been kept in a disequilibrium, left after decomposition, that is supported by the filled space. The voids left by decomposition of the organs can, however, fill staggered or gradually over time and this leads to different observations. In the case of delayed or staggered filling, the rib cage has lost most of its volume, the os coxae has fallen flat and the intersegmental angles (the angles created between the different segments of the limbs) are closed. This last
16 change only occurs in tightly flexed burials. In the case of progressive filling, the rib cage has retained some of its volume, the os coxae has not flattened and many bones are in their original state of disequilibrium (Duday 2009, 52-54).
Careful documentation of the skeletal elements is also an excellent way of providing more information on the ritual aspects of a burial. This could range from the position in which the body is laid; the direction the individual faces; the positioning of grave goods to the relation between the individual and the architecture of the grave. Understanding the ritual or religious background of these actions without the necessary context and interpretation is difficult. The repeated occurrence of a certain ‘ritual’ or ‘religious’ action does, however, provide us with new insights into prehistoric societies (Duday 2009, 25).
3.4 Types of funerary deposits
Furthermore, in funerary archaeology distinctions are made between different types of burials. When an individual decomposes entirely at the place of burial, this is referred to as a primary burial. When the human remains are manipulated at two different stages, this is referred to as a secondary burial. In the case of a secondary burial, the corpse is first put in a temporary burial where decomposition takes place. After that (part of) the skeleton would be collected and transferred to the final resting place (Duday 2009, 14). Often a secondary burial is characterised by a combination of disorder of the skeletal elements and the absence of smaller bones. Primary burials can, however, be completely disarticulated as well and poor excavation could lead to smaller bones not being found. Therefore, detailed documentation is necessary when distinguishing primary and secondary burials. Cremations are a common example of secondary burials; the bones that are left after cremation are often not buried at the pyre but at a different location (Duday 2009, 89-92).
Other forms of funerary deposits include reductions and the double burial. A reduction is the displacement of an individual in a container or structure because the structure has to accommodate the burial of a second individual. The bones of the first individual remain within the structure, but are moved aside. In this case, a distinguishment is made between the first individual who was buried, the primary deposit, and the second individual to be buried, the secondary deposit. A double burial is the simultaneous deposit of two individuals in one structure (Duday 2009, 72-76). Of course, the occurrence of more than two individuals in one structure is also a possibility. When
17 multiple individuals were deposited in one structure staggered over time, this is referred to as a collective burial. Multiple individual having been deposited simultaneously is referred to as a ‘catastrophe’ burial; these are often associated with episodes of disease or warfare (Duday 2009, 98-104).
18
4. The sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
The site of Ypenburg-locatie 4 is a Middle Neolithic site in the western Netherlands excavated in the late 1990’s (Koot and Bruning 2008, 1-13). The site is famous for the large ‘cemetery’ where at least 42 individuals were found (Baetsen 2008, 124). An exceptional number of individuals compared to the seven individuals found at the contemporaneous site of Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 91). Both these sites and their associated graves will be assessed to gain more knowledge on the mortuary practices of the Middle Neolithic in specifically the western Netherlands.
4.1 Landscape formation
Nowadays the western Netherlands is a densely populated area, lying mostly beneath sea level, but before the Medieval and modern period it used to be an area extensively covered in peat and water. This landscape has a long history that has had a large impact on the prehistoric peoples living at both Ypenburg and Schipluiden. Both sites are situated in the Holland basin that has been subject to sea level rise and fall, sedimentation and peat formation for centuries. Long before both sites were settled, circa 4800 BC, as the sea level was rising, this area was subject to river depositions of clay and sand. As the sea level, however, continued to rise, the coast started degrading and the land was partially submerged beneath the sea. Tiday gulleys formed because of this (Mol 2006; Van der Spek 2008, 17-21). Around 4000 BC, the sea level rise came to a halt and the gulleys on the beach plain started silting up. The beach ridge of Rijswijk- Voorburg formed that partially separated the hinterland from the sea and allowed the winds to form dunes when the tides were low. The large dunes that eventually formed between 4000 and 3700 BC at Ypenburg and between 4000 and 3550 BC at Schipluiden became the focus of occupation at both sites (Mol 2006; Van der Spek 2008, 22-24). Ypenburg was, however, not continuously inhabited throughout this period. On the basis of the house plans, two habitation periods have been identified circa 4000 and 3700 BC (Koot et al. 2008, 480-481). At Schipluiden, habitation seems to have been most intensive between circa 3550-3400 BC; before and after this period habitation was present to a lesser extent (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 64). Ironically, the formation of the beach ridge also turned out to be the downfall of human occupation in this area as around 3000 BC the gradual formation of this beach ridge led to a deterioration of water drainage in the area. Eventually, as the groundwater level rose,
19 the area became too wet for human occupation and people moved to live on the beach ridge itself (Van der Spek 2008, 24).
4.2 Stratigraphy and dating
The stratigraphy of Ypenburg-locatie 4 is complex for many different sediment layers have been found that have not been documented in a uniform manner. The analysis of the site has however led to a temporal division into phases 1 to 13 and A to N found in different parts of the settlement (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 31-44). Calibrated radiocarbon dates using the calibration curve from Oxcal-3 have dated the site between circa 3860 and 3435 BC. The ranges of dates from the site are, however, very extensive as the calibration curve shows several pronounced wiggles at the time of occupation (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 44-48). The stratigraphy of Schipluiden has been divided into three main stages, A to C, corresponding to the periods before, during and after occupation. Stage B has then been further subdivided into phases 1, 2 and 3 (Mol et al. 2006, 19-29). Phase 1 dates to 3630-3550 BC, phase 2 dates 3550-3490 BC and phase 3 dates to 3490-3380 BC. Again, taking into account the wiggles of the calibration curve (Mol et al. 2006, 29-37). Both sites thus fall almost perfectly within the ranges of the Hazendonk cultural group to which they have been assigned and which lasted from circa 3800 to 3400 BC (Mol et al. 2006, 35).
4.3 Features
At Ypenburg, 2303 anthropogenic features have been found which have been categorised under postholes, hearth pits, graves, etc. Almost half of these features, at a number of 1044, have been interpreted as probable postholes that have been assigned to 6 main clusters. Some of these postholes belong to the relatively small amount of house plans found in the Netherlands dating to the Middle Neolithic. Houses were often two-aisled during this period; a phenomenon also visible in the houseplans of Schipluiden. One of the houses, HS 3, has been found directly to the south of the southwestern cluster of graves. Other structures such as granaries were also found, while many structures could not be given a specific function (Houkes and Bruning 2008, 79-90).
At Schipluiden, 4609 anthropogenic features were found that have been interpreted according to the quite crude classification of: large features such as pits; large features with a special function such as burials; ditches and trenches and small features such as postholes. Since post-depositional processes at the site had disturbed the top 30 cm of
20 sediment, many of the features seem to be much shallower and smaller than they probably would have been originally (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 39-41). At the site, 148 wells were found that seem to have been hardly maintained; suggesting a sufficient supply of freshwater in the landscape (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 42-43). 2086 of the features were interpreted as post moulds; these differ from postholes as they have a more regular outline and are smaller on average. A number of these postholes and post moulds have been interpreted as being part of fences that might have enclosed parts of the dune (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 52-56). Several houses have also been identified (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 60-62).
4.4 Subsistence economy
At both Ypenburg and Schipluiden agriculture was practiced. Cereals were grown on the flank of the dunes and cattle and pigs were mostly kept as livestock. Evidence of gathering is more difficult to see in the archaeological record, as the preservation of seeds, for example, was not perfect. At both sites, however, vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants found in the surroundings of the sites were gathered. Animals such as deer, boar, fish and birds were hunted at both sites. Cranes were especially hunted extensively at Ypenburg in contrast to other sites in this period. In the earlier habitation period of Ypenburg hunting and fishing seem to have been more prominent in the consumption of meat than the breeding of cattle. At Schipluiden marine fish seem to have been especially important in the earlier stages. For the later habitation periods, conclusions are more difficult to draw but at Ypenburg it seems that the importance of cattle grew, while at Schipluiden this importance decreased due to deteriorating climatic conditions. Both sites are thus typical for the so-called ‘extended broad spectrum economy’ (Koot et al. 2008, 457-465; Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 502-504).
21
5. The grave fields at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
5.1 Age groups
Since many of the individuals at Ypenburg and Schipluiden have been given an estimated age, this paper will use a division of age groups since ages cannot be estimated to a single year. This division includes: fetus (less than 40 weeks in utero); perinate (around the time of birth); infant (1 month after birth to 2 years); child (3 to 6 years); juvenile (7 to 12 years); adolescent (13 to 17 years); early young adult (18 to 25 years); late young adult (26 to 35 years); middle adult (36 to 49 years) and old adult (older than 50 years) (Schats 2018a; Schats 2018b).
5.2 The grave field at Ypenburg-locatie 4
At the grave field of Ypenburg, 43 concentrations of skeletal material have been found of which 31 can be interpreted as graves with certainty. These graves can be found towards the east of the site on the southern flank of the dune (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 97). All the graves have been found in trench 2 but because of location, these have been divided into two clusters, a northern one and a southwestern one. These two clusters are 15 m apart but might have been part of one larger cemetery as the space in- between is known to have been disturbed in recent times. The cluster in the southwest of trench 2 consists of 14 graves interred with 16 individuals in total. The northern cluster consists of 16 graves, and one concentration of bones bringing the total number of individuals in this cluster to 25. Grave S2-21 does not necessarily belong to any of the clusters even though it is in closer proximity to the northern cluster (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 99). 24 of the graves have been interred with one individual, six with two individuals and one with three individuals. Grave S2-8 and S2-44 overlap each other, resulting in the commingling of skeletal elements from grave S2-44 into grave S2-8. Features S2-29 and S2-45 are skeletal concentrations that were disturbed by more recently dug ditches; these features have also become very fragmented for this reason. Feature S2-35 was found in layer 90 that had surfaced over time and was therefore very fragmented. S2-29 and S2-35 were too fragmented to be documented in detail. Next to the 43 concentrations of skeletal material in trench 2, 126 grams of fragmented skeletal material has been found in trenches 8, 11, 13 and 14 towards the western part of the site. The graves are generally oval-shaped ranging from dimensions of circa 55x50 cm to 225x150 cm. The graves must have originally been much deeper than the recorded depths ranging from 3 to 36 cm (Baetsen 2008, 122; Bruning and Houkes 2008, 97).
22
Seven of the graves intersect with other features; 5 of them are intersected by another grave and two by respectively a water hole and a pit. This might suggest that even though the general location of the graves was still known throughout the centuries of one-and-off occupation, exact locations might not have been continuously visible or known (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 99).
The graves could possibly have been used throughout the whole one-and-off occupation history of the site as dates for the graves are very inaccurate. The fact that the cemetery seemed to have remained largely intact over the period of occupation could either suggest that the cemetery only has a short-lived history or a longer one in which people could largely see or remember the locations of the graves. The proximity of house 3 to the cemetery without the two overlapping each other could suggest that the house and cemetery were contemporaneous. This does not need to suggest that the inhabitants of this house solely used the cemetery (Bruning and Houkes 2008, 99-101).
The majority of the individuals have been positioned in the so-called fetal position with their legs flexed towards the torso (Baetsen 2008, 122-125). The age-at-death of the individuals has been estimated based on multiple methods such as the development of the dentition, and the pubic symphysis on the os coxae. The sex of the individuals has been largely estimated using the os coxae and skull with the methods described by Acsádi and Nemeskéri (1970) and the Workshop of European Archaeologists (WEA 1980) (Baetsen 2008, 120-121). This shows that 20 individuals had died before reaching adulthood with most of these dying before the age of 7 (16 individuals). Adolescents and early young adults are remarkably absent, while most adults (15 out of 22 individuals) died as a middle adult. Of 18 out of the 22 adult individuals the sex could be estimated as well; 8 are male and 10 are female (Baetsen 2008, 126-130). Twelve of these individuals were interred with 23 grave goods. These mostly consist of amber and jet beads or pendants found close to the skull, neck or os coxae. They were found with seven non-adult and four adult individuals (Baetsen 2008, 136).
5.2 Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
The grave field at Schipluiden consists of 6 burials, one being a double grave. Seven individuals have been found. Burials are mostly oval in outline with burial 4 not having been visible as a pit at first hand. The dimensions of the pits were considerably larger than required for the burials with depths ranging from 60 to 95 cm. Four of the burials were found in a cluster on the western part of the dune with the other two having been
23 found in isolated positions on the top of the dune and at the foot of the southeastern slope. The burials could not be accurately dated but their stratigraphy suggests that one was dug throughout phases 1-2a, one in phase 2a, three in phase 2 and one in phase 3. The graves dating to the earliest and latest period are also the ones not associated with the small cemetery. Small numbers of individuals thus seem to have been buried at the periphery of the settlement throughout the entire period of occupation (Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 48-49; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 93). Apart from the seven individuals found, 36 human bones, representing at least 8 individuals, were found scattered among settlement refuse (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 91).
The age and sex of the individuals was estimated using the same methods as at Ypenburg. This shows that out of the seven individuals found, 5 were male while the other two are indeterminate non-adults. The scattered human remains could possibly belong to two males, one likely male, one likely female and the other four are indeterminate. The individuals associated with the graves are one infant, one juvenile, one late young adult male, three middle adult males and one old adult male. The scattered remains are estimated to belong to one foetus, one juvenile, two early young adults, one late young adult and three undetermined adults. The middle adult male in grave 2 is associated with a lump of pyrite and a strike-a-light set, and the infant in grave 6 is associated with two bird bone beads (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 92-93).
24
6. Descriptive analysis of the graves at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden- Harnaschpolder
For the analysis of the mortuary practices at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden- Harnaschpolder, every individual grave or skeletal concentration will be described and discussed in detail. These descriptions will be based upon the information provided by Baetsen (2008) for Ypenburg and Smits and Louwe Kooijmans (2006) for Schipluiden. Whilst Baetsen (2008) has included both drawings and pictures for most of the graves, Smits and Louwe Kooijmans (2006) have slightly less detailed documentation of the graves. Attention will not only be given to the archaeothanatological analysis of the individuals, but also the archaeological and osteoarchaeological analysis already performed in the literature.
6.1 Ypenburg-locatie 4
Grave S2-1
Grave S2-1 is part of the southwest cluster of graves at the site. The grave is oriented west to east and has been interred with two individuals. One, individual 1 on the right- hand side of the grave, has been identified as a middle adult male and the other, individual 2 on the left, as a child (Baetsen 2008, 152-153).
Individual 1 has been interred on its right side with the legs and arms drawn towards the torso. Its head points west, its feet point east and the face faces the south. The interment of this individual lying on its side with both the legs and the arms drawn towards the torso is the characteristic fetal position. This individual has preserved quite well overall with both large and small skeletal elements such as the tarsals, femora and vertebras having been found. Since the small skeletal elements of the feet have been found in anatomical position, it is likely to suggest that this is the primary burial of an individual. The thoracic vertebrae are slightly displaced; this suggests that the skeleton has been under the effect of forces that exercise double torsion. This might be an indication that the individual decomposed in a void; in this case, however, it is unclear whether this could have also been caused by the addition of a secondary deposit. One amber bead has been associated with this individual (Baetsen 2008, 152-153; Duday 2014, 239).
Since many of the skeletal elements of individual 2 have not been preserved and are also not in anatomical position, it is impossible to see in what position this individual
25 might have been interred. It seems likely that individual 2 was interred slightly later than individual 1 since the hands of individual 1 have been disturbed. Perhaps a biological or social link exists between the two individuals (Baetsen 2008, 152-153).
Grave S2-2
Grave S2-2 is situated in the southwest cluster of the site and is oriented northnortheast-southsouthwest. It contains one individual that has been identified as a juvenile. The individual lies on its left side with both arms and legs tightly flexed at respectively the elbows and knees. The head points to the northeast, while the feet point southwest and the face looks southeast. This individual is in anatomical position and has been preserved very well. The photograph of this grave shows a very clear distinction between the sediments directly surrounding the skeleton and the sediment inside the cranial vault. The colour of the latter is very similar to the sediment found outside the grave, while the former is much browner. This is an indication that the cranium only collapsed sometime after decomposition. The anatomical positioning of the skeleton and the observation that the os coxae and the rib cage seem not to have fully fallen flat suggests a primary burial interred in a filled space that has gradually filled over time. Verticalisation of the clavicles suggests interment in a constricted manner, possibly a wrapping of the corpse (Baetsen 2008, 154).
Grave S2-3
Grave S2-3 is also part of the southwest cluster of graves. One child has been interred in it. The grave and the individual are both oriented northwest southeast with the individual having been positioned on its left side with its arms and legs raised towards the trunk. The head is situated to the northwest; the feet to the southeast and the face looks eastward. The individual has preserved quite poorly with many fragmented skeletal elements. Part of the reason for that could be the young age of the individual, since many skeletal elements only fuse at a later age. The parallel positions of the right ribs and the proximity of the left humerus to the left radius does suggest that this grave was a primary burial. Two beads, one made from amber and the other from jet, have been associated with this grave (Baetsen 2008, 155).
Grave S2-4
Grave S2-4 is part of the southwest cluster of graves and contains one middle adult male. The grave is oriented northwest southeast, while the individual is oriented
26 southwest northeast and is buried on its right side with arms and legs drawn towards the torso in a tightly flexed position. The head is situated to the west and the feet to the east. The individual has preserved quite well and is mostly in anatomical position. This is an indication of it being a primary burial. This grave is interesting for the skull is not in anatomical position. As with some of the other skeletons it can be seen that the cavity left by the decomposition of the brain and the corresponding collapse of the cranial vault has left a cavity behind filled with a differently coloured sediment from the rest of the skeleton. It seems as if the skull is resting on its inferior aspect rather than the right side as the rest of the body lies upon. Even considering the disarticulation of the skull to the cervical vertebrae, such a movement would not be anatomically possible. It therefore seems likely that the skull was intentionally placed like this after the ligaments had been removed or after they had decayed, or that post-depositional digging activities caused the skull to fall on its interior aspect. Since the documentation of the grave is unclear about the location of the cervical vertebrae of this individual, it would be difficult to say when the displacement of the skull could have taken place after death (Baetsen 2008, 156).
Grave S2-5
Grave S2-5 is a double inhumation of two young individuals in the southwest cluster. The grave and the individuals are oriented northwest southeast. Individual 1 is positioned on its right side and individual 2 on its left side and are thus facing each facing each other. Both individuals have their arms and legs drawn towards the torso in a flexed position. Individual 1, on the right, is positioned with the skull to the northwest, the feet to the east and the face to the south. Individual 2, on the left, is positioned with the skull to the northwest, the feet to the southeast and the face to the northeast. This individual is associated with an amber bead. Both individuals have preserved well with both larger and smaller bones still being intact and in anatomical position. The two individuals seem to have been buried at the same time with individual 2 possibly having been interred before individual 1 as the left tibia of individual 1 overlays the right tibia of individual 2. If the two individuals were not to have been interred at a similar moment in time, one would expect individual 2 to have been disturbed more due to the interment of a second individual. Since the rib cage has lost most of its volume, this is most likely a primary burial that filled staggered over time (Baetsen 2008, 157).
27
Grave S2-6
Grave S2-6 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual. The grave is oriented westsouthwest-eastnortheast. The individual itself is most likely an adult positioned on its left side, having been oriented southwest northeast inside the grave. The skeleton is, however, remarkably incomplete as only some vertebrae and ribs have been found. The area in which the grave is situated has not been subject to recent disturbances even though there seems to be a very sharp contrast between the sediment in which the grave is situated and the sediments immediately to the north of the grave. The odd, semi-circular shape of the grave suggests that the grave had already been heavily disturbed in less recent times. This probably happened before skeletonization had finished as the few skeletal elements that have been found are partially in anatomical position (Baetsen 2008, 158).
Grave S2-7
Grave S2-7 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that has been estimated to be an early young adult female. Both the grave and the individual are oriented north south. The individual lies on its back, the knees are bent with the legs drawn upwards and to the right, whilst the left arm is flexed at the elbow and placed on top of the abdominal cavity and the right arm is stretched. The head is positioned towards the north and the feet towards the south. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. The rib cage has retained some of its original volume and the vertebral column is slightly displaced, this suggests interment in a filled space that gradually filled over time. The displacement of the vertebral column could be related to a taphonomic process such as bioturbation. Interesting about this grave is the fact that the skull is slightly leaning on its inferior aspect. It seems to be the case that something supported the cranium allowing it to remain in such a position. This could be something organic that has slowly decayed over time, allowing the sediments to fill the newly created gap. It could however also be the case that the grave was dug with a slight elevation in the area where the cranium was to be placed (Baetsen 2008, 159).
Grave S2-8
In grave S2-8, four individuals have been found. This grave and individual 1 inside it are oriented west east. Individual 1 to the south is most likely a middle adult male who has been positioned on its back with stretched legs and slightly flexed arms. The skull of this individual points to the westnorthwest, the feet to the eastsoutheast and the face
28 points up. This individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position (Baetsen 2008, 160-161).
The other three individuals, however, are not. The other individual, individual 2, who was also primarily buried in this grave is most likely a middle adult female whose skeletal elements have gotten mixed up with the skeletal elements of the other two individuals. Grave S2-8 is namely situated on the same location as another grave, S2-44. It seems likely that at the time of the construction of grave S2-8, grave S2-44 was either accidentally or purposefully disturbed. The two individuals who had already been interred at this location were then moved aside to create space for the two new interments (a reduction). Since several skeletal elements such as a femur overlap the body of individual 1, it becomes clear that some of the skeletal elements from the older individuals were removed from the grave and only placed back after individual 1 had been interred. These seem to have been thrown or placed in the grave quite haphazardly. Perhaps a social or biological relationship existed between the people interred in this grave, or one had forgotten about the location of the older grave and accidentally stumbled upon it. This second explanation, however, seems unlikely, as the graves at Ypenburg have been found in quite proximity to one another, while this seems to be the only grave that got heavily disturbed by the digging of a new grave (Baetsen 2008, 160-161).
Grave S2-9
Grave S2-9 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one infant. The grave is oriented north south while the individual is oriented northeast southwest. The individual is positioned on its right side with both the arms and legs slightly drawn towards the torso. The cranium points to the northeast, the feet to the southwest and the face looks west. The individual is relatively well preserved considering the estimated age of 6 to 12 months, even the smaller hand and foot bones have preserved and are in anatomical position. This indicates that it is a primary burial (Baetsen 2008, 162).
Grave S2-10
Grave S2-10 is situated in the southwest cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a middle adult male. The grave is oriented northwest southeast and the individual itself is oriented north south. The individual is positioned partially on its left side and partially on its anterior aspect with the arms and legs having been very tightly flexed towards the trunk. The right foot rests on top of the left foot. The head points
29 north, the feet south and the face southeast. The individual has preserved very well and is in anatomical position. Since the labile articulations are also still intact, this is definitely a primary burial. The compact nature of the individual and the slight verticalisation of the clavicles could be an indication that this individual has been wrapped in a cloth or something organic which has since decayed (Baetsen 2008, 163).
Grave S2-12
Grave S2-12 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual who is estimated to be a middle adult female. The grave and the individual are oriented northeast southwest. The individual itself is positioned on its left side with the arms and legs tightly drawn towards the torso. The head points northeast while the feet point southwards and the individual itself faces southeast. This individual has preserved relatively well and is in anatomical position. Some of the labile articulations are intact, suggesting that this is a primary burial. The extremely tightly flexed position could again suggest the existence of a wrapping of the body; in this case, however, the individual is not visible well enough on the photograph to be certain of that (Baetsen 2008, 164).
Grave S2-13
Grave S2-13 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one middle adult female. The grave and the individual are both oriented west east. The individual lies on its left side with the legs and arms drawn towards the trunk. The head points to the west, the feet to the east and the face northeast. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. If one looks closely at the left foot of this individual, it becomes obvious that this foot is heavily curved downwards. No specific pathology has been noted by the osteoarchaeologist that could suggest that this is due to a medical condition (Duday 2009, 78-82). Therefore, this could possibly be a deliberate placement of the foot when the foot was still covered in flesh. The perfect anatomical position of the talus, calcaneus, metatarsals and phalanges at least seems to suggest that the foot was positioned in such a manner when the ligaments and tissues still kept the bones somewhat in place. Perhaps this could be a symbolic gesture of some sort. The tightly flexed nature of the individual and the right clavicle that has very much verticalised might be an indication of the wrapping of the body (Baetsen 2008, 165).
30
Grave S2-14
Grave S2-14 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual that has been estimated to be a middle adult male. The grave is oriented west east, while the individual is oriented northwest southeast. The individual is positioned on its right side with the arms and legs flexed towards the rest of the body. The skull points to the northwest, while the feet point east and the individual most likely faces southwards. This is, however, difficult to say since the cranium has preserved very poorly. The preservation of the individual is decent and the skeletal elements lie in anatomical position. This suggests that it is a primary burial, though the skeleton was disturbed as can be seen from the skeletal element that lies in front of the left tibia (Baetsen 2008, 166).
Grave S2-21
Grave S-21 is not part of any of the two clusters, even though it is closer to the northern cluster. This grave contains one middle adult female. The grave and the individual are both oriented north south. The individual lies on its back with the legs and the right lower arm flexed horizontally. The knees point to the left. The left elbow is bent towards the scapula with the hand resting partially on top of a rib. The head points to the north, the feet point to the south and the face looks to the southeast. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. This grave stands out as it is the only grave that has been associated with a cover of organic material having rested on top of the body. Part of this organic cover, possibly tree bark, has preserved and is still clearly visible to the left of the individual. If one looks closely, a rectangular slightly discoloured outline can be seen surrounding the skeleton; it seems to have covered almost the entire skeleton. Since the labile articulations are intact, this is a primary burial. The clavicles have slightly verticalised, suggesting that the individual was buried in a constricted manner. Perhaps the organic cover originally looked more like a modern coffin; this would explain why the legs are placed in such a peculiar fashion as otherwise they would not have fitted under the tree bark. Three amber beads are associated with the individual (Baetsen 2008, 167).
Grave S2-22
Grave S2-22 is part of the northern cluster and contains two individuals. The grave is oriented northwest southeast. Individual 1 on the left is estimated to be a middle adult male; individual 2 on the right is estimated to be an infant based on the size and fusion
31 of the skeletal elements. The grave is, however, heavily disturbed as a recent ditch or other feature ran right through this grave. Preservation of the bones is decent, but large parts of both skeletons are missing. It is therefore very difficult to determine what mortuary practices these individuals might have been subject to (Baetsen 2008, 168).
Grave S2-24
Grave S2-24 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be an early young adult female. The grave and the individual are oriented northeast southwest. The individual has been positioned on its right side with the arms and legs drawn towards the torso in a flexed position. The head points towards the southwest, the feet northeast and the face looks southeast. The individual has preserved very well and is in perfect anatomical position. Since the labile articulations are still intact, this is a primary burial (Baetsen 2008, 169). The fact that the left patella still articulates with both the left femur and tibia, also suggests that the grave progressively filled up with sediment as the body was decomposing. The overall intactness of the cranium and the parallel positioning of the ribs in a state of disequilibrium also suggest this. One would expect that if the body would have been decomposing at a more rapid speed than the cavities left by decomposition being filled up, these skeletal elements would have collapsed. The patella would in that case have fallen on its posterior surface. The rib cage would have flattened more, instead of partly retaining its original volume (Baetsen 2008, 169; Duday et al. 2014, 240-245).
Grave S2-25
Grave S2-25 is part of the northern cluster and contains two individuals. Both the grave and the two individuals are oriented west east. Individual 1 lies to the south and is estimated to be a middle adult female. This individual lies on its left side in a fetal position. The upper body has been positioned slightly more on the stomach than the lower body. The skull is positioned to the west while the feet point east and the individual itself looks north. The individual has preserved well and is largely in anatomical position. The right fibula, however, only articulates with the right tibia at its proximal end and not at its dorsal end. Instead, the dorsal end of the right fibula lies next to the proximal end of the right femur. Furthermore, the bones of both feet are not in anatomical position and lie at a large distance from another. One possibility could be that the fibula and foot bones were disturbed at the time of the addition of the second individual to the grave; the articulations at the knees or elbows have, however, not been
32 disturbed at all. Perhaps it is therefore more likely that bioturbation is the cause for this; it is well known that animals are attracted to humid, organic-rich soils such as the ones near decomposing bodies (Duday et al. 2014, 240). This might also explain the occurrence of several, unidentifiable skeletal elements to the west of this individual (Baetsen 2008, 170).
Individual 2 has been estimated to be an infant. Since the individual has not been preserved well and is not in anatomical position, it is difficult to make any conclusions about the individual. The picture and drawing both seem to suggest that this individual was interred in a space enclosed by individual 1. The photograph of individual 2 is, however, very unclear as it suggests that the remaining skeletal elements have been positioned in a circular fashion. It is unclear whether this is the cranium of individual 2; whether this was a deliberate positioning, or at the time the picture was taken the individual was simply not excavated completely. Individual 1 is a primary burial that had been interred in a gradually filling space as the rib cage retained its volume and the sacrum has not fallen flat. Individual 2 was possibly interred somewhat later (Baetsen 2008, 170).
Grave S2-26
Grave S2-26 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual. Both the grave and the individual are oriented northwest southeast. The individual is estimated to be a child based on the size and fusion of the skeletal elements. The individual has not preserved well and is not in anatomical position. This grave has been dug close to grave S2-36; it is possible that this grave was disturbed at the time grave S2-36 was dug. The grave also ends very abruptly towards its northern edge. Positioning cannot be determined due to the poor preservation (Baetsen 2008, 171).
Grave S2-27
Grave S2-27 is part of the northern cluster and contains three individuals, including a foetus. The grave is oriented northwest southeast. Individual 1 to the northeast is estimated to be a child. This individual is oriented west east. The individual is positioned on its right side with bent knees and the arms stretched in front of the torso. The head points west, the feet point east and the individual looks to the southeast. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. Therefore, this individual likely decomposed in a filled space; the filling was staggered over time as the ribs and os coxae have fallen rather flat. It is definitely a primary burial, but not a primary deposit.
33
Individual 2 is positioned more to the south and is estimated to be a middle adult. The individual is positioned on its left side with arms and legs drawn towards the torso. The head is situated to the northwest. The individual has preserved very well but is only partially in anatomical position. First of all, the posterior aspect of the cranium lies right next to the vertebral column instead of the mandible. The cranium also rests on its inferior aspect, while one would expect it to be resting on its left side as well. Next to that, the right femur lies below a part of the torso that is in anatomical position. The right tibia and fibula also do not articulate with the right femur but are perpendicular to the diaphysis of the left tibia and fibula. This individual is said to have had a foetus, individual 3, still inside of the womb as it was only circa 4 months old. This individual is difficult to identify as the bones of individual 2 might be partially blocking our view. Individual 2 has thus died while being pregnant. The fact that the right tibia and fibula still articulate with one another, seems to suggest that some of the bones were deliberately displaced when some of the flesh was still adhering to the skeletal elements. It seems unlikely that a taphonomic process would have displaced the right leg while leaving the left leg intact and in anatomical position. Possibly, individual 2 was moved aside at the time of the interment of individual 1 (Baetsen 2008, 172-173).
Grave S2-28
Grave S2-28 is part of the northern cluster and contains one child. The grave and the individual are both oriented northwest southeast. The individual is positioned on its left side with bent knees in a tightly flexed position. The head is situated towards the north and the individual looks to the east. What remains of the individual has preserved quite well; however, a more recent disturbance dissects the individual in two. One jet bead is associated with this grave (Baetsen 2008, 174).
Grave S2-30
Grave S2-30 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a middle adult female. The grave is oriented northeast southwest. Based on the placement of the ribs in the drawing of this grave, the individual seems to have been positioned on its right side. This is, however, rather difficult to say as the individual is not in anatomical position. The long bones of the arms and legs lie on top of one another; it is very well possible that this grave was disturbed during later times as a feature can be seen running through the grave (Baetsen 2008, 175).
34
Grave S2-31
Grave S2-31 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a juvenile. Both the grave and the individual are oriented north south. The individual is positioned on its back with both flexed legs and arms. The head is positioned towards the northeast. The individual has preserved quite well and is in anatomical position. The cranium of the individual is however resting on its inferior aspect even though it would be expected to also rest on its posterior aspect. It is possible that the cranium was displaced through bioturbation or due to its proximity to the side of the pit. It is likely a primary burial since the individual is in anatomical position (Baetsen 2008, 176).
Grave S2-32
Grave S2-32 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual that is an old adult male. Both the grave and the individual are oriented north south. The individual is positioned on its left side with tightly flexed legs and the hands resting on top of the legs. The skull points north, the knees east and the face looks to the northeast. The individual has preserved well and is largely in anatomical position. Part of the lower body has been disturbed by a feature running through the grave. The flatness of the ribcage suggests that the voids left by the decomposition of the body filled staggered over time. The right clavicle has verticalised to a large extent, suggesting that the body was interred in a compact position (Baetsen 2008, 177).
Grave S2-36
Grave S2-36 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be an infant. Both the grave and the individual are oriented north south. The individual is positioned stretched on its back. The individual has not preserved very well but seems to be largely in anatomical position. Although some bones are missing, the articulations that are present suggest this is a primary burial (Baetsen 2008, 178).
Grave S2-37
Grave S2-37 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a juvenile. Both the grave and the individual are oriented northwest southeast. The individual has been positioned partially on its back and partially on its right side with both the legs and the left arm flexed. The right arm is slightly flexed in front of the body. The head is positioned towards the northwest, the feet to the southeast and the face
35 looks southwards. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. This is a primary burial that has likely filled staggered over time as the rib cage has fallen rather flat (Baetsen 2008, 179).
Grave S2-38
Grave S2-38 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a late young adult female. Both the grave and the individual are oriented northeast southwest. The individual is positioned on its back with both legs flexed upwards, the left arm stretched and the right arm slightly flexed. The head is situated towards the northeast, the feet towards the west and the individual looks to the southwest. The individual has preserved very well and is in anatomical position. The slight verticalisation of the clavicles suggests that the individual was confined in a relatively narrow grave. The photograph also indicates that this grave might have been slightly deeper towards the centre than to the sides of the pit. This could also explain the verticalisation as the skeleton was slumping towards the median line of the grave. The cranium is situated on the torso; making it seem as if the individual has ‘no neck’. This is most likely due to the cranium leaning slightly upwards on the side of the pit. The flatness of the ribcage and the os coxae in combination with the perfect anatomical positioning suggests that this individual is a primary burial which decomposed in a filled space that only filled slowly. Two jet beads have been found on the left shoulder of this individual (Baetsen 2008, 181).
Grave S2-39
Grave S2-39 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a middle adult male. Both the grave and the individual are oriented northeast southwest. The individual is positioned on its right side with the legs slightly flexed upwards. The elbows are also slightly bent as well. The head is positioned to the southwest, the feet to the north and the face looks towards the southeast. The individual has preserved very well and is largely in anatomical position. This is a good indication for this grave being a primary burial that has most likely filled gradually along with the decomposition of the body as some of the bones are found in disequilibrium. The right patella, for example, still articulates with the right femur and tibia. The excavators have noted that several of the cervical vertebrae were found inside the abdominal cavity. As the rest of the body is in anatomical position, this is possibly a local
36 displacement caused by bioturbation or a deliberate displacement by the actions of people (Baetsen 2008, 182-183).
Grave S2-40
Grave S2-40 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a child or a juvenile. The grave is oriented northeast southwest. The positioning of the individual cannot be estimated as only the cranium has been retrieved. One amber bead has been found inside the grave (Baetsen 2008, 184).
Grave S2-43
Grave S2-43 is part of the northern cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be a child. Both the grave and the individual have been oriented northwest southeast. The individual is positioned on its left side with the arms and legs drawn towards the torso. The head is positioned towards the northwest and the feet towards the southeast. The individual has preserved relatively well and is in anatomical position. The It is a primary burial for the labile articulations of the feet are intact. grave has been disturbed by another feature towards the northwest, this might have caused damage towards the cranium as it has been shattered to many pieces. One amber bead and a ring of bone have been associated with this grave (Baetsen 2008, 185).
Grave S2-44
Grave S2-44 is part of the northern cluster and contains two individuals. The grave is oriented northwest southeast. Individual 1 is estimated to be a late young adult female. Individual 2 is estimated to be a child. This individual has been partially positioned on its back and partially on its left side. One amber bead has been associated with this individual. Both individuals have not preserved very well with many skeletal elements missing. It is therefore difficult to draw any conclusions on the mortuary practices of this grave (Baetsen 2008, 186).
Grave S2-45
Grave S2-45 is part of the northern cluster and contains three individuals. Grave S2-45 is a concentration of skeletal material that has been disturbed by a recent ditch. No photographs or drawings are available for this grave. It is only known that it contained two adult and one non-adult individuals (Baetsen 2008, 187).
37
Grave S2-278
Grave S2-278 is part of the southwest cluster and contains one individual that is estimated to be an infant. It is unknown whether this was an actual grave as no clear grave fill has been found. In this grave only a cranium is present. The individual is associated with one amber bead (Baetsen 2008, 188).
6.2 Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
At Schipluiden, 7 individuals were found within 6 graves. Next to that, 36 human bones were scattered among the refuse of the site (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 91).
Grave 1
Grave 1 contains two male adults, individual 1 who is a middle adult and 2 who is an old adult. The grave is oriented north south. Individual 1 is positioned with the head to the south and the feet to the north. This individual lies on its back with a stretched right leg and a slightly flexed left leg. Both lower arms are bent backwards at the elbow alongside the upper arms. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. The mandible and cranium of this individual are slightly leaning upwards on the side of the pit. Since the labile articulations are intact, this is a primary burial. The rib cage has fallen flat, suggesting that the thoracic cavity filled rather slowly over time. The position of the arms is rather unique, unlike any other grave at Schipluiden or Ypenburg. Perhaps this could have a symbolic connotation (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 93-95).
Individual 2 is positioned with the head to the north and the feet to the south. The individual lies on its back, but the os coxae is slightly tilted towards the right. The left elbow and knee are bent in a slightly flexed position. The right arm and leg are stretched. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. As with individual 1, this individual is also a primary burial. Damage to the skull has been interpreted by the excavators to be evidence of a violent death of individual 2. The frontal bone and parts of the face have been damaged and are found next to the skull or at the bottom of the cranial vault. Later, the cranium filled with soil. The excavators suggest that in the case of post-mortem damage, the cranium would have filled with soil first, and the crushed pieces would still have been visible on the outside of the cranium. The incidence of post-mortem damage cannot, however, be ruled out. It would also be possibly for the cranium, whether it had already been damaged or not, to collapse under the weight of the overlying soil (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 93-95). Furthermore,
38 damage to the skull is also common in the graves at Ypenburg (Baetsen 2008); though large-scale violence could be a possibility, it would equally be possible to attribute this to post-depositional processes. As no signs of bone healing are visible, ante-mortem damage can be ruled out (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 93-95).
Both individuals show a slight verticalisation of the clavicles; an indication that the individuals were buried in a rather compact position. Since the legs of individual 2 overlap the body of individual 1, individual 2 has been placed in the grave at a later stage. Individual 1 has, however, not been disturbed and thus it is assumed that these events happened contemporaneously (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 93-95).
Grave 2
Grave 2 contains one individual that is estimated to be an old adult male. The grave and the individual are both oriented west east. The head is situated towards the west with the face looking northwards. The individual is positioned on its left side with arms and legs tightly flexed towards the torso. The skeleton has preserved well and is in anatomical position. The hands, which were positioned in front of the face, held four grave goods. Three of these were flint artefacts identified as a strike-a-light set and the other was a lump of pyrite. As the labile articulations are intact, this is a primary burial that has likely filled gradually along with decomposition as the sacrum has not disarticulated from the os coxae. The tightly flexed position, the slight verticalisation of the clavicles and the sharp angles between the skeletal elements limbs are a good indication that this individual might have been wrapped (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 96-97).
Grave 3
Grave 3 contains one individual that is estimated to be a middle adult male. The grave and the individual are both oriented west east. The individual is positioned on its back, with the head to the west and the feet to the east. The arms and legs are positioned in a tightly flexed manner with the hands resting on top of the clavicles. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. Unfortunately, no photograph of this grave is available; the drawing does, however, suggest that part of the grave has been disturbed towards the feet. It is unknown whether this also disturbed the skeleton. As the labile articulations are intact, this is a primary burial. The verticalisation of the clavicles along with the tightly flexed position might be an indication of the wrapping of this individual (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 97-98).
39
Grave 4
Grave 4 contains one individual that is estimated to be a late young adult male. The individual and the grave are both oriented north south. The head is situated towards the north. The individual has been positioned on its back with both legs and the right arm tightly flexed. The left arm is only slightly flexed alongside the rest of the body. The individual has not preserved very well and is only partially in anatomical position. This is likely due to the shallow nature of the grave having made the skeleton more susceptible to damage. A large portion of the upper parts of the skeleton is missing and the remaining bones have been quite severely damaged after the burial. Unfortunately, no photograph is available; the drawing does however suggest that this is a primary burial as the skeleton is largely in anatomical position. The clavicles seem to have verticalised, but as some skeletal elements such as the femora and tibia have been disturbed we cannot be certain what the cause of this verticalisation could be (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 98-99).
Grave 5
Grave 5 contains one individual that is estimated to be a child. The grave and the individual are both oriented east west. The head is situated towards the east, the feet point to the northwest and the individual looks northwards. The individual is positioned on its right side with both legs and the right arm tightly flexed. The left arm is stretched on top of the body. The mandible rests on top of the right hand. The individual has preserved well and is in anatomical position. It is most definitely a primary burial that might have decomposed inside a void since the bones of the hands and feet have been displaced. The slight verticalisation of the clavicles, together with the tightly flexed position, are a good indication suggest that this individual was positioned in a restricted space that has since disappeared. This could also be an indication of the void in which the individual might have been interred in the case of the individual having been wrapped in a material (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 99-100).
Grave 6
Grave 6 contains one individual that is estimated to be an infant. The grave and the individual are both oriented northeast southwest. The head is positioned towards the west. The individual is positioned on its left side with the legs tightly flexed and the elbows bent as to place the hands in front of the skull. The individual has preserved relatively well, even though the skeleton is incomplete. Not all of the skeletal elements
40 are in anatomical position; this is, however, more difficult to discern since no photograph is available. One of the ribs, for example, is in a very different position from the other ribs. Grave 6 was found in an area where many other features were situated; these features do not seem to have this disturbed this grave. During excavation, the skeleton was slightly damaged. In the grave fill, two tubular beads of bird bone were found (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 99-101).
Furthermore, in 33 locations, 36 skeletal elements were found scattered among the refuse zone. Only 5 of these elements were found inside a pit fill. These remains are predominantly teeth, skull fragments and long bone fragments. This is to no surprise as these elements contain more compact bone and are therefore more likely to preserve. These elements represent at least 8 individuals; six adults and two children. For some of the elements it could be possible that these derive from one of the graves; most elements seem to, however, suggest a different mortuary practice (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 99-101).
41
7. The mortuary practices at Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder
7.1 The tightly flexed burials and other mortuary practices
Both sites thus share some very distinct similarities with one another. First, almost all graves except for S2-40 and S2-278 are most definitely primary burials as the anatomical positioning in all these cases is intact apart from burials that have been disturbed. Grave S2-40 could also be a primary burial as a larger grave has been found, but this is difficult to observe as only the cranium has been retrieved. Grave S2-278 is most definitely not a primary burial as no grave fill has been associated with this cranium. The filling of the graves after decomposition took place both staggered and gradually over time. In some cases, a possible wrapping of the corpse could have created a void that prevented the sediments from filling the surroundings of the skeleton. This filling of the grave is mostly based upon the volume of the rib cage, the articulation of the os coxae and the positioning of the skeletal elements in disequilibrium. Secondly, the most common positioning of the individuals should be noted; namely, the fetal position where, in most cases, both the knees and elbows were bent with the limbs drawn towards the rest of the body. In Ypenburg we encounter this position 20 times; twelve times on the left side and eight times on the right side. In Schipluiden three individuals were buried in this position. If we include the individuals that were buried on their backs with tightly flexed limbs this would even amount to 25 individuals at Ypenburg and 5 at Schipluiden; a majority of the individuals at both sites (Baetsen 2008, 125; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006). This positioning of the limbs is commonly known as flexion, or in the case of the tightly flexed burials, hyperflexion. In the medical world, hyperflexion is often associated with causing injuries (Lee 2014; Xu et al. 2012). While flexed burials are perfectly possible, anatomically speaking, hyper-flexed burials are abnormal positions beyond the normal range of movement (Knüsel 2014, 42). Examples of hyperflexion at Ypenburg and Schipluiden would include graves S2-4, S2-10, S2-12, S2-13, S2-21, S2-25, S2-31, S2-32 and S2-43 at Ypenburg and graves 2 to 6 at Schipluiden. Multiple scenarios come to mind when finding skeletons positioned in these so-called impossible ways. It could be possible that corpses were manipulated immediately after death by forcing the limbs in these highly flexed positions. Perhaps this was accompanied by the cutting of ligaments or muscle tissue that prevent these abnormal movements. No evidence has been found to suggest this practice.
42
Another possibility hypothesised by Parker et al. (2005, 534) for the site of Cladh Hallan in Scotland which is in some ways comparable to Ypenburg and Schipluiden is mummification. At Cladh Hallan, multiple burials were found beneath the floors of houses. Several of the individuals found in these burials had been buried in very tightly flexed positions. Furthermore, new bodies seem to have been constructed using the bones of more than one individual and bodies were most definitely manipulated after death. Parker et al. (2005, 536-542) suggest that one needs to look at the discrepancy between the time of death and the time of burial of the individual, arrested microbial activity and soft tissue preservation to determine whether mummification is a possibility. Since neither the bones nor the graves at Schipluiden and Ypenburg have been accurately dated and histological analysis of the bones has not been performed either, it is difficult to draw any conclusions on this hypothesis. Even though the waterlogged soils that might have been present at Ypenburg and Schipluiden are favourable to preserving bone and soft tissue, it is unlikely that these corpses could have mummified while being buried. Another option would thus be that the people of Ypenburg and Schipluiden tried to preserve the corpses before burial. Practices such as evisceration and smoking could have helped with arresting microbial activity (Parker et al. 2005, 542) inside the body to the point where manipulation of the body would have been easier and the bodies could be positioned in the fetal position. Grave S2-13 at Ypenburg, for example, also has an abnormal positioning of the left foot where the toes point very much downwards away from the foot. While unusual positions of the limbs are sometimes attributed to physical handicaps (Duday 2009, 79), this could have also been an example of deliberate positioning while the corpse was in the process of decomposition. This would imply that the people at Ypenburg and Schipluiden would have kept the dead with them for extended periods before interment into the soil.
Another scenario would entail the more frequently mentioned wrapping of corpses in cloths or organic material, thereby limiting the movement of the body. Graves S2-10, S2- 13 and S2-21 at Ypenburg and graves 2 to 5 at Schipluiden could be evidence for this for their bodies are extremely confined with the clavicles having verticalised to a large extent. This would have likely resulted in these corpses decomposing in a void as the cloth or organic material would have blocked sediment from the corpse. This does, however, not necessarily seem to be the case in all graves as the bones seem to have been largely kept in disequilibrium by the surrounding sediments; an indication that sediments filled the voids left by decomposition quite rapidly. Wrapping the body might
43 not have only functioned as a way of protecting, containing or enclosing the deceased, but might have also been an expression of the individual itself and the transformation of the contents within. Just as commercial companies actively decide how they present their products, wrappings of prehistoric societies could have conveyed a message about the deceased, the afterlife or any other aspect related to death (Harris 2014, 116-118). Grave S2-21 at Ypenburg seems to be an important example of this practice for the individual in this grave was actually covered by an organic material. The excavators of the site have suggested that this organic material was similar to tree bark (Baetsen 2008, 140). The adult female in the grave seems to only have been covered and not fully enclosed by the material. At Zoelen-Beldert, a site in the central Netherlands dating to circa 4000 BC, a similar grave with three individuals was found. It included a child and an adult woman who were separated from a second adult woman by a layer of bark (Amkreutz 2013, 361-362). This is a practice more often seen in burials; for example in the Adena culture of the western United States where bodies were covered and lined with multiple layers of tree bark (Lepper et al. 2014). Also at the Swifterbant culture site of Schokland-P14 where one individual was covered with tree bark and another individual whose grave was even reinforced with some kind of cross-beams (Ten Anscher 2012). It does not seem unreasonable to draw analogies to our modern-day coffins that preserve our bodies over longer periods and protect us from the environment.
Another common burial practice at Ypenburg and also present at Schipluiden is the inclusion of multiple individuals in one grave. At Ypenburg, grave S2-5 seems to be the only grave where two individuals were buried simultaneously, while graves S2-8, S2-25 and S2-27 are most likely graves where secondary deposits had been interred. Graves S2-1, S2-22 and S2-44 contain multiple individuals but in these cases, it is unclear whether these individuals were interred at a similar moment in time or not. At Schipluiden only grave 1 contains more than individual. In this grave individual 1 was buried prior to individual 2, but they seemed to have been buried at a similar moment in time as both individuals show little disturbance. Graves S2-8 and S2-27 might have been re-opened for these second deposits at a point in time when the primary deposits had not finished decomposing yet as in both graves certain skeletal elements are found in anatomical positioning despite the disturbances. The reopening of these graves suggests that the inhabitants of Ypenburg had some way of knowing where the graves were situated; perhaps they used markers like gravestones are used today. The most likely
44 intentional depositing of multiple individuals in one grave, furthermore points to the existence of possible social or biological relationships between these individuals. Whether these could be parents and children as in the case of graves S2-1, S2-25 and S2- 27; siblings as in grave S2-5 or something completely different, is impossible to find out using archaeothanatology. In the case of grave S2-39, the grave might have been reopened for a different purpose than the inclusion of a second deposit; in this grave, several cervical vertebrae have been displaced while the rest of the skeleton is still in anatomical positioning. A natural taphonomical process such as bioturbation could have also caused this.
Graves S2-40 and S2-278 might have only been created after the crania found in these graves were taken from their primary deposits or burials. Even though the size of grave S2-40 and the absence of any grave at S2-278 suggests that the skeletal elements might have been disturbed or did not preserve well, it could also be possible that both individuals decomposed in a different location and were partially buried here afterwards, or were completely buried in a different location but the graves were reopened and the crania were removed. Cranium removal and the findings of sole skulls have also been reported for the terp of Englum in the northern Netherlands and Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria (Akkermans 2008, 626; Nieuwhof 2015, 127-130). These sole skulls have often been interpreted as either ‘trophy heads’ or ancestor veneration (Eerkens et al. 2016). Evidence of warfare or violence at Ypenburg has not been noted; but considering the hypothesis of keeping the corpses in society for extended periods, ancestor veneration does not necessarily have to be excluded.
The finding of individual skeletal elements at both Ypenburg and Schipluiden might point to a different burial rite. At Ypenburg neither the sex nor the age of the scattered human remains could be determined. Since all the scattered remains were found towards the western edge of the settlement near house 1, this might be an indication of a different group of people practicing a different burial rite. It would be highly unlikely that these scattered remains were originally buried in a second grave field at Ypenburg as no evidence for graves can be found in this area while other features have preserved. The deciduous teeth found among these remains could have just fallen on the ground; losing a tibia or scapula, however, is unlikely and must be an indication that these were deliberately brought to this location (Baetsen 2008; Houkes and Bruning 2008). At Schipluiden it was suggested that the individual skeletal elements belonged to at least three males and one female, even though this is difficult to estimate based on one bone.
45
The scattered human remains at the site seem to have been randomly found along the edge of the dune with no clear relation to the graves. Again, this could imply a different burial rite or a burial rite reserved for different groups of people. As the only adults found in the graves at Schipluiden are male, women could have had a different burial rite. Perhaps only men or people of a certain status or lineage had the privilege of getting a grave (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 99-101).
7.2 Grave goods
The addition of grave goods to the graves also is an important observation concerning the mortuary practices at both sites. At Ypenburg 10 amber beads, four jet beads and one bone ring were found. These were associated with one male adult, two female adults and seven non-adults. Most of the amber beads found show traces of wear. Overall speaking, the beads associated with children were less worn than the ones found with the adults. The only exception to this rule is the bead associated with grave S2-278, this bead was heavily worn and associated with a non-adult; the context of this grave is however disputable. It seems likely that the wear on the beads has a relation to the time that these beads were worn; beads worn by adults are therefore more worn. The location of the wear suggests that these beads were worn together on cords. At death, however, only individual beads were given to the deceased; perhaps it was custom to remove one bead from the personal ornament of the deceased (Baetsen 2008; Van Gijn 2008, 281-283).
The jet beads were associated with one female adult and two non-adults. The beads found with the female adult and one bead found with one of the non-adults were most likely worn as pendants. This last bead could have been made quite recently before being placed inside the grave as the perforation shows little wear (Van Gijn 2008, 283- 285). The ring of bone found in grave S2-43 shows no traces of wear, just as the amber bead found in the same grave. As these grave goods were associated with a younger individual, this could also be an example of a grave good that had only been worn for a short time (Van Gijn 2008, 285).
The grave goods were mostly positioned near the skull, neck or os coxae of the deceased at Ypenburg. This is not necessarily an indication of where these beads were worn during life, but it is not difficult to imagine them having been worn as necklaces. In the case of some graves, the grave goods have also been documented in the drawings and photographs: in grave S2-278 the bead was found just above the cranium, in grave S2-21
46 one of the beads rested on top of the cranium and in grave S2-38 both beads were found on the left scapula (Baetsen 2008).
At Schipluiden two bird bone beads, three strike-a-lights and one piece of pyrite was found. The strike-a-lights and the pyrite were associated with an adult male, while the beads were found with an infant. One of the bird bone beads was perforated with both beads having had natural holes in them as well. Both could have been worn a cord, even though this is unclear (Van Gijn 2006, 201-202).
The strike-a-lights and the lump of pyrite were found held by the individual in grave 2. These hands were placed in front of the face of the individual. Strike-a-light sets as grave goods are quite exceptional finds, even though they have been found more often, for example in the graves of older men in Bandkeramik sites in southern Germany. The individual found in grave 2 is also fairly old male, perhaps this was a more or less exclusive grave good for these people in society (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 106- 107). The positioning of the artefacts in front of the face might even point towards the function of the artefacts when trying to make a fire; as if the individual was actually blowing.
7.3 Demographics and the mortuary practices
Considering the sex and age of the individuals at Ypenburg, there do not seem to be many distinctions in how people of a different age or sex were treated after death. The large number of individuals found with an age below 10 at Ypenburg is conspicuous but no surprise as in prehistoric societies younger individuals tend to die more often as they are more vulnerable to diseases, for example. The absence of adolescents and early young adults at the site is more interesting, but no clear explanation for this phenomenon is observable (Baetsen 2008). At Schipluiden the absence of any female adults in the graves could suggest that graves were the privilege of non-adults and adult men. This cannot, however, be said with any certainty as the number of individuals at Schipluiden is fairly small and certainly not representative of the population who would have lived at the site (Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 103-104). This applies to almost all archaeological cemeteries found in general as many individuals are not buried at all and those who are buried, do not all preserve and are also not all found during excavations.
47
8. The mortuary practices in a wider context
8.1 Mortuary practices of the Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures
The mortuary practices at Ypenburg and Schipluiden both share similarities and differences with the contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures also found in the Netherlands. First, the fetal position is in stark contrast to the slightly earlier Swifterbant culture where individuals are mostly found stretched on their backs. This is the standard burial position throughout all of northern Europe in the Middle Neolithic. Similarities between the Hazendonk 3 and the Swifterbant culture do however exist as well. At both Hazendonk 3 and Swifterbant sites small cemeteries, incidental inhumations at settlements, scarce grave goods restricted to ornaments and human remains among settlement refuse have been noted (Baetsen 2008, 140; D’Hollosy and Baetsen 2001; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 106; Ten Anscher 2012).
By some, it has been assumed that the Hazendonk 3 culture was both influenced by the Swifterbant culture to the north and the Michelsberg culture to the south (Louwe Kooijmans 2005, 258; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 106). The Swifterbant culture is mainly found in the central, western and northern Netherlands with the most important sites dating to circa 4350-3950 BC. Sites associated with the Swifterbant culture do not seem to have been inhabited permanently; the ones associated with a small cemetery have at most had long-term inhabitation. In contrast to the aforementioned Michelsberg culture, the Swifterbant culture is more Mesolithic in character with a higher reliance on hunting and gathering instead of agriculture. Swifterbant cemeteries are characterised by small number of individuals both buried in proper graves and in areas where no specific graves seems to have been dug (D’Hollosy and Baetsen 2001, 48-59; Louwe Kooijmans 2005; Ten Anscher 2012). At the site of Urk-E4, for example, 10 individuals were found with eight individuals having been buried in a grave and two individuals being only represented by a skull that was not found inside a grave. One of the graves was a double grave where two individuals overlapped one another and another grave even contained three individuals. Even though preservation was poor at this site and many skeletal elements have therefore disappeared, the site shows an as diverse burial tradition as Ypenburg does (D’Hollosy and Baetsen 2001, 48-59). At the site of Swifterbant, 66 units and an unknown number of individuals have been found. The stretched position on the back is even more common than at Urk-E4. Loosely scattered human remains have also been found at the site (Meiklejohn and Constandse-
48
Westermann 1978). At the site of Schokland-P14 15 graves, a few possible graves and scattered human remains were found. One of the graves, grave 4, even contained multiple individuals that are presumed to have been buried in this grave over a longer time. Grave 10 contained some kind of cross beam construction that might have functioned like a coffin, while the individual in grave 11 was enclosed between two layers of tree bark. Graves 12, 13 and 14 also contained wooden artefacts that might have functioned like a coffin; analogous to grave S2-21 at Ypenburg. The datings of the latter graves are, however, not all contemporaneous with Ypenburg and Schipluiden and likely belong to the Late Neolithic. While individuals dating to the Swifterbant culture are both buried on their backs in a stretched position and on their sides in a flexed position, individuals dating to the Late Neolithic were all found in a more tightly flexed position (Ten Anscher 2012).
The Michelsberg culture is associated with important cultural changes concerning the neolithisation of Northwestern Europe. Michelsberg phases II-V probably lasted from about 4380/4340-3540/3530 BC and is thus contemporaneous with both Ypenburg and Schipluiden. The origin of the Michelsberg culture seems to lie in the Paris Basin of France from where it spread to Belgium, the southern Netherlands and the Rhine Valley in Germany (Kreuz et al. 2014, 73). Michelsberg sites are mainly known for their monumental causewayed enclosures. As for burials, Michelsberg graves are largely unknown except for some sites in Germany and France (Kreuz et al. 2014, 74-75; Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 106). According to Beau et al. (2017, 3) the fetal position is even known as being the conventional burial position of the Michelsberg culture, whereas the non-conventional position seems to have been bodies ‘thrown’ into circular pits. At the site of Gougenheim in the Alsace, France, 13 individuals were found buried in this conventional position while 27 individuals were found in the non-conventional position. At this site individuals whose skeletal elements had been taken out of the pit, or individuals deliberately placed in a non-anatomical positioning have also been noted (Beau et al. 2017, 3-5). Beau et al. (2017, 4-5) have interpreted these as ‘the final treatment of the victim’s bodies as ritual waste’. A bold claim supposedly supported by evidence that the individuals buried unconventionally had a maternal gene pool distinct from the other group. The terms ‘victim’ and ‘ritual waste’ I find rather unsatisfying; the distinct maternal gene pool could also point to the conventional burial traditions of a different group or culture rather than these individuals having been ritually killed. The site is, however, a good analogy for the possible origins of the fetal position in burials in
49 the Netherlands. This same position we also encounter at the earthwork site of Bruchsal-Aue in western Germany (Keller et al. 2015). Nonetheless, the degree of hyperflexion of the tightly flexed burials at Ypenburg and Schipluiden is much larger than those seen at Gougenheim; the burials at Gougenheim are more comparable to the slightly flexed burials we see at Ypenburg.
8.2 The migration of artefacts and ideas?
Furthermore, looking at the raw materials that we find in both Schipluiden and Ypenburg, it becomes clear that trade networks must have existed during this time. In both sites, we find flint and pyrite that has likely come from Belgium and France, whilst the amber found at Ypenburg and Schipluiden points to a northern origin. Since little to no evidence for the production of flint or amber objects has been found at Ypenburg and Schipluiden, it seems likely that these artefacts were already finished products before travelling to the sites. It could be the case that artefacts travelled from settlement to settlement or along the river Rhine eventually ending up at the Dutch coast (Koot et al. 2008, 481-483; Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 491-493).
In the Netherlands, a combination of both Swifterbant and southern elements is already apparent in the Hazendonk 1, circa 4000 BC, in the form of artefacts that seem to have been influenced by both the Swifterbant and the Bischheim culture. In the Hazendonk 2, circa 3800 BC, the Northwest group of the Michelsberg culture is introduced as well; eventually this leads to a separate Hazendonk 3 culture circa 3600 BC. As is visible at Ypenburg and Schipluiden, the Hazendonk culture is still part of the transition from a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer culture to a Neolithic agricultural complex (Louwe Kooijmans 2005, 257-261). Neolithisation is the term used to describe this transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. In the Netherlands, the earliest Neolithic cultures are found in the loess areas of southern Limburg. As time passes, the Mesolithic cultures in the rest of the country seem to slowly but surely also adopt practices that are part of this so-called ‘Neolithic package’. This package includes concepts such as permanent habitation, animal husbandry, agriculture and pottery. Looking at Ypenburg and Schipluiden we are still part of this ongoing transition that might have started with the Mesolithic sites of Hardinxveld- Polderweg and Hardinxveld–De Bruin relatively close to the Dutch west coast (Amkreutz 2013a, 17-18). Eventually the Swifterbant culture also distinguishes itself from contemporaneous Mesolithic cultures by the use of pottery and the introduction of
50 domesticates and crop cultivation. From the south Swifterbant communities the Hazendonk group develops which also shows evidence of sedentary habitation at Schipluiden and lesser so at Ypenburg. However, many traditional Mesolithic characteristics such as hearth pits and hunting and gathering remain important (Amkreutz 2013a, 44-45; Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 511-514). This is by no means a rapid transition but a very gradual one that started long before the Hazendonk culture even existed. Thus, if we look at these long-term developments that show us that Late Mesolithic communities in the Netherlands grew to become more Neolithic under the influence of Neolithic cultures from the south, then the burial tradition of the flexed position at Ypenburg and Schipluiden could very well also have an origin in the Michelsberg culture. Although the burial traditions of a culture tend to remain quite stable over time, this transition from a stretched burial position to a flexed burial position is already observable in the Late Swifterbant culture at Urk-E4 and Schokland- P14 (D’Hollosy and Baetsen 2001; Ten Anscher 2012). Ypenburg and Schipluiden could very well be a step further into this transition before eventually reaching later cultures such as the Bell Beaker culture that had fully adapted to the Neolithic lifestyle and commonly buried their dead in the flexed position as well (Koot et al. 2008, 478).
51
9. Conclusions
Thus, the sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder reveal a distinct repertoire of mortuary practices paralleled in both the contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures. The most prevalent aspect of the mortuary practices at both sites is the positioning of the deceased inside the graves. This flexed or, in some cases, tightly flexed position is commonly known as the fetal position and was also commonplace in Michelsberg sites such as Gougenheim. Furthermore, the site of Ypenburg shows several individuals who have been disturbed inside the grave; in most cases, this is related to the addition of a second or even third individual to the grave, but in grave S2-39, no clear explanation can be given as to why specific skeletal elements would have been manipulated. In these cases, it would be more tempting to look at natural taphonomical processes as the cause. Post-mortem manipulation also seems to be best interpretation for the findings of the sole crania in graves S2-40 and S2-278; certainly for grave S2-278 there seems to be a strong indication that it was not originally buried at this location as no grave has been found. Although these cases of post-mortem manipulation are certainly interesting, it should also be noted that several graves such as S2-36 seem to have remained untouched over time. The inclusion of grave goods, mostly beads and pendants, whose rate of wear suggests a correlation with the age of the deceased; could be seen as the personal ornaments of the deceased.
Whilst the site of Ypenburg incorporates a cemetery or grave field within the boundaries of the site, Schipluiden only shows the interment of a small number of individuals over a long period including a small cemetery during the middle of the occupation period. The site of Schipluiden seems to have been occupied permanently over its occupation period, while the inaccurate datings of the graves at Ypenburg are unable to even tell if the cemetery at Ypenburg was used at the time the site was also occupied. Although the mortuary record at Ypenburg is more diverse than the one at Schipluiden in the form of multiple double burials and the findings of individual crania, this should be of no surprise as the number of individuals at Ypenburg is also much larger. This is also clearly visible in the group composition of the individuals found at both sites. Ypenburg for example shows a demographic similar to reality, despite the fact that the number of individuals is too small; a problem archaeologists encounter at most cemeteries. At Schipluiden, however, the absence of (adult) women is remarkable. Even taking the more fragile nature of the female skeleton and the small subset of individuals at the site into account, this could still be an indication that (adult) women received a different
52 mortuary treatment than adult men and non-adults. An example of possible regional variation within the Hazendonk group as at Ypenburg more adult women than men have been found. A strong indication of a different burial rite, observed at both sites, is the scattering of human remains far away from the graves.
The archaeothanatological analysis of the tightly flexed burials does not provide a clear- cut answer as to how these abnormal positions have been achieved. Multiple lines of inquiry are possible, even though the archaeological record supports the wrapping of the individuals in a material that has since decayed the most. The compact nature of multiple burials at Ypenburg and Schipluiden, the verticalisation of the clavicles and the very sharp intersegmental angles between the limbs all suggest that these individuals were interred inside or held together by a material that might have left some traces behind in the form of tree bark as in grave S2-21. In the other cases this material has left no traces behind. Other suggestions could be mummification as presented by Parker et al. (2005) or the cutting of the soft tissues that prevent these abnormal movements. Based on archaeothanatology these last two practices cannot be proven or disproven.
The mortuary practices at Ypenburg and Schipluiden are not exclusive to the two sites. The contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures both show practices that we also see in the Hazendonk group. The artefacts of flint and amber at Ypenburg and Schipluiden show that networks and contacts had already existed between these communities for centuries. Contacts that had likely started during the Late Mesolithic and eventually developed during the Early Neolithic Swifterbant into the Middle Mesolithic. Along with the gradual adoption of the Neolithic package in the Netherlands, possibly originating from the southern Michelsberg culture, burial practices might have also migrated. This transition in mortuary practices is visible in the Swifterbant culture where the site of Swifterbant almost exclusively shows individuals being interred in a stretched position to the site of Urk-E4 where a combination of burial positions are present. Furthermore, other burial practices such as cranium removal at Urk-E4 and inclusion of wood in graves at Schokland-P14 also attest to these cross-cultural ties.
It must be noted that the ability to observe the variability in mortuary practices is hampered by both the archaeological reality and the secondary data used in this analysis. First, the taphonomical processes essential to archaeothanatology are both difficult to interpret and are not always observed as archaeologists excavate graves. Combined with the fact that the descriptions, photographs and drawings used are
53 essentially the interpretations of primary data, the interpretations in this thesis are distanced even further from reality. This is further complicated by the idea that the realm of rituals and emotions related to death are hard to grasp. It cannot be said whether people might have buried their deceased in a wrapping to express the identity of the deceased, to protect the deceased from outside forces or a different interpretation that has not been explored in this thesis. Although more knowledge might have been gained on the mortuary practices of the Middle Neolithic, I have been unable to answer the question why prehistoric peoples might have performed these practices. Anthropological research could very well be suited to answer this question, even though we should be careful not to equate 19th or 20th century societies to the ones at Ypenburg and Schipluiden. Along with more detailed research of the position of the Hazendonk group in the wider geographical area, this should definitely be an avenue of further research. Ultimately, these questions, combined with the archaeological data that has been discussed, will shed more light on the complex aspects of death. A strand of research that should be continued for Ypenburg and Schipluiden show us that death is not actually the end.
54
Abstract
In this study of the Middle Neolithic sites of Ypenburg-locatie 4 and Schipluiden- Harnaschpolder in the western Netherlands, the mortuary practices of these sites are discussed through the study of archaeothanatology. Archaeothanatology combines extensive documentation of graves and human remains with biological and taphonomical knowledge to reconstruct prehistoric approaches to death. It has shown that the dead have been treated in multiple ways at Ypenburg and Schipluiden. While the most common positioning of the dead in a tightly flexed manner suggests that the dead could have been wrapped in an organic material, the addition of multiple individuals to one grave shows that the inhabitants had an exact way of knowing where they had buried their dead. The addition of scattered human remains among settlement refuse is an indication that a different mortuary treatment existed where individual skeletal elements seem to have been displaced by either cultural or natural taphonomic processes. All of these mortuary practices are paralleled in the contemporaneous Swifterbant and Michelsberg cultures in Northwestern Europe at sites such as Urk-E4, Schokland-P14 and Gougenheim. This attests to the longstanding contacts that have existed between peoples more Mesolithic in character and fully Neolithic peoples since the introduction of the new Neolithic lifestyle circa 5500-5000 BC. As new facets of life such as agriculture, stock breeding, pottery and permanent occupation were introduced, the mortuary practices seem to have also developed from the stretched burial position on the back to the tightly flexed fetal position. Perhaps the process of neolithisation is thus also reflected in the mortuary record.
55
Internet pages https://ponderaconsult.com/kaarttest/kaart-nederland/, accessed on 14 June 2019.
56
Bibliography
Abramovitch, H., 2015. Anthropology of Death. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) 5, 870-873. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08- 097086-8.12052-5
Akkermans, P.M.M.G., 2008. Burying the dead in Late Neolithic Syria, in J. Córdoba, M. Molist, C. Pérez, I. Rubio and S. Martínez (eds), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid, April 3-8 2006, 621-645.
Amkreutz, L.W.S.W., 2013a. Appendices: Persistent Traditions: A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC). Leiden: Sidestone Press.
Amkreutz, L.W.S.W., 2013b. Persistent Traditions: A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC). Leiden: Sidestone Press.
Baetsen, S., 2008. 7. Het grafveld, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden-Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 119-188.
Beau, A., M. Rivollat, H. Réveillas, M.H. Pemonge, F. Mendisco, Y. Thomas, P. Lefranc, M.F. Deguilloux, 2017. Multi-scale ancient DNA analyses confirm the western origin of Michelsberg farmers and document probable practices of human sacrifice. PLoS One 12(7), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179742.
Binford, L.R., 1971. Mortuary Practices: Their Study and Their Potential. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology 25, 6-29.
Bruning, L. and R. Houkes, 2008. 3. Stratigrafie, fasering en datering, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden-Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 31- 57.
Bruning, L. and R. Houkes, 2008. 5. Grondsporen en structuren, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden-Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 79- 110.
57
D’Hollosy, M. and S. Baetsen, 2001. 5.2 Fysische antropologie, in F.J.C. Peters and J.H.M. Peeters (eds), De opgraving van de mesolithische en neolithische vindplaats Urk-E4 (Domineesweg, gemeente Urk). Amersfoort: Print X-Press (Rapportage Archeologische Monumentenzorg 93), 48-59.
Damann, F.E. and D.O. Carter, 2013. Forensic taphonomy : the postmortem fate of human remains, in J. Pokines and S.A. Symes (eds), Manual of Forensic Taphonomy. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 37-50. Dornan, J.L., 2002. Agency and Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future Directions. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9(4), 303-329.
Duday, H., 2009. The Archaeology of the Dead: Lectures in Archaeothanatology (translated by A.M. Cipriani and J. Pearce). Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Duday, H., F. Le Mort, and A.-M. Tillier, 2014. Archaeothanatology and funerary archaeology. Application to the study of primary single burials. Anthropologie (Brno) 52(3), 235, 246.
Eerkens, J., E. Bartelink, L. Brink, R. Fitzgerald, R. Garibay, G. Jorgenson and R. Wiberg, 2016. Trophy Heads or Ancestor Veneration? A Stable Isotope Perspective on Disassociated and Modified Crania in Precontact Central California. American Antiquity 81(1), 114-131. https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.81.1.114
Hamburg, T. and L. Louwe Kooijmans, 2006. 3. Features, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A neolithic settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 CAL BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 39-65.
Harris, S., 2014. 6. Wrapping the Dead: The Bronze Age Mound Burials of Southern Scandinavia through a Wrapping Analysis, in S. Harris and L. Douny (eds), Wrapping and Unwrapping Material Culture : Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, Inc., 115-134.
Hodder, I. and S. Hutson, 2003. Reading the Past: Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814211
Jans, M.M.E, 2013. 2. Microscopic Destruction of Bone, in J. Pokines and S.A. Symes (eds), Manual of Forensic Taphonomy. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 19-36.
58
Jongste, P. and L. Louwe Kooijmans, 2006. 1. Discovery and working method, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A neolithic settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 CAL BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 3-18.
Keller, M., A. Rott, N. Hoke, H. Schwarzberg, B. Regner-Kamlah, M. Harbeck and J. Wahl, 2015. United in Death—Related by Blood? Genetic and Archeometric Analyses of Skeletal Remains from the Neolithic Earthwork Bruchsal-Aue. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 157, 458-471.
Knüsel, C., 2014. Crouching in fear: Terms of engagement for funerary remains. Journal of Social Archaeology 14(1), 26-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469605313518869
Koot, H. and L. Bruning, 2008. 1. Inleiding, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden-Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 1-13.
Koot, H., R. Houkes and L. Bruning, 2008. 24. Synthese, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden- Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 443-495.
Kreuz, A., T. Märkle, E. Marinova, M. Rösch, E. Schäfer, S. Schamuhn and T. Zerl, 2014. The Late Neolithic Michelsberg culture – just ramparts and ditches? A supraregional comparison of agricultural and environmental data. Praehistorische Zeitschrift 89(1), 72- 115. https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2014-0006
Lee, T.Q., 2014. Biomechanics of Hyperflexion and Kneeling before and after Total Knee Arthroplasty. Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery 6, 117-126. https://doi.org/10.4055/cios.2014.6.2.117
Lepper, B.T., K.L. Leone, K.A. Jakes, L.L. Pansing and W.H. Pickard, 2014. Radiocarbon Dates on Textile and Bark Samples from the Central Grave of the Adena Mound (33RO1), Chillicothe, Ohio. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 39(3), 201-221, https://doi.org/10.1179/2327427113Y.0000000008
Levy, J.E., 1989. Archaeological Perspectives on Death Ritual: Thoughts from Northwest Europe. Anthropological Quarterly 62(4), 155-161. https://doi.org/10.2307/3317612
59
Louwe Kooijmans, L., 2005. Ook de jagers worden boer: Vroeg-neolithicum B en midden- neolithicum A, in Louwe Kooijmans, L.P., P.W. Van den Broeke, H. Fokkens and A.L. Van Gijn (eds), Nederland in de Prehistorie. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 249-271.
Louwe Kooijmans, L., 2006. 27. Schipluiden: a synthetic view, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A neolithic settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 CAL BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 485- 516.
Madea, B., 2016. Methods for determining time of death. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology 12(4), 451-485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-016-9776-y
May, T., 2009. Death. Stocksfield: Routledge (The Art of Living Series).
Meiklejohn, C. and T.S. Constandse-Westermann, 1978. The human skeletal material from Swifterbant, Earlier Neolithic of the Northern Netherlands. Palaeohistoria 20, 39- 89. Metcalf, P. and R. Huntington, 1991. 4. The living and the Dead: A Re-examination of Hertz, in P. Metcalf and R. Huntington (eds), Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803178
Mickleburgh, H.L. and D.J. Wescott, 2018. Controlled experimental observations on joint disarticulation and bone displacement of a human body in an open pit: Implications for funerary archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 20, 158-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.04.022
Mol, J., 2006. 14. Coastal evolution of Delfland and the Schipluiden microregion in relation to Neolithic settlement, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A Neolithic Settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 cal BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 269-283.
Mol, J., L. Louwe Kooijmans and T. Hamburg, 2006. 2. Stratigraphy and chronology of the site, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A Neolithic Settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 cal BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 19-38.
Nieuwhof, A., 2015. Eight Human Skulls in a Dung Heap and More: Ritual Practice in the Terp Region of the Northern Netherlands 600 BC - AD 300. Eelde: Barkhuis.
60
Nilsson Stutz, L., 2003. Embodied Rituals and Ritualized Bodies: Tracing Ritual Practices in Late Mesolithic Burials. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia 46 (Series in 8°).
Nilsson Stutz, L., 2010. The way we bury our dead. Reflections on mortuary ritual, community and identity at the time of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. Documenta Praehistorica 37, 33-42.
Nilsson Stutz, L., 2016. Building Bridges Between Burial Archaeology and the Archaeology of Death: Where is the Archaeological Study of the Dead Going? Current Swedish Archaeology 24, 13-35.
Parker Pearson, M., A. Chamberlain, O. Craig, P. Marshall, J. Mulville, H. Smith, C. Chenery, M. Collins, G. Cook, C. Craig, J.J. Hiller, J. Montgomery, J.-L. Schwenninger, C. Taylor and T. Wess, 2005. Evidence for mummification in Bronze Age Britain. Antiquity 79, 529-46.
Pokines, J.T., 2013. 1. Introduction: Collection of Macroscopic Osseous Taphonomic Data and the Recognition of Taphonomic Suites of Characteristics, in J. Pokines and S.A. Symes (eds), Manual of Forensic Taphonomy. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1-18.
Schats, R., 2018a. Osteoarchaeology: Estimation of adult age-at-death. Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint 8 in Osteoarchaeology (BA3) (2018-2019), 1-42.
Schats, R., 2018b. Osteoarchaeology: Estimation of non-adult age-at-death. Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint 9 in Osteoarchaeology (BA3) (2018-2019), 1-41.
Smits, L. and L. Louwe Kooijmans, 2006. 5. Graves and human remains, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A Neolithic Settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 cal BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 91-112.
Ten Anscher, T.J., 2012. 15. Graven en bijbehorende grondsporen, in T.J. Ten Anscher (ed), Leven met de Vecht: Schokland-P14 en de Noordoostpolder in het neolithicum en de bronstijd. Amsterdam (Ph.D. thesis University of Amsterdam).
Van der Spek, A., 2008. 2. Landschapsontwikkeling Ypenburg, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden- Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 17-29.
61
Van Gijn, A., 2006. 9. Ornaments of jet, amber and bone, in L.P. Louwe Kooijmans and P.F.B. Jongste (eds), Schipluiden: A neolithic settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 CAL BC. Leiden: Sidestone Press (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia 37/38), 195-206.
Van Gijn, A., 2008. 14. De ornamenten van Ypenburg, in H. Koot, L. Bruning and R.A. Houkes (eds), Ypenburg-locatie 4: Een nederzetting met grafveld uit het Midden- Neolithicum in het West-Nederlandse kustgebied. Leiden: Station Drukwerk, 277-288.
White, T.D. and P.A. Folkens, 2005. The Human Bone Manual. Burlington/San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press.
Xu, Z., D. Chen, D. Shi, Q. Jiang, 2012. Case Report Osteochondral Avulsion Fracture of the Posteromedial Bundle of the PCL in Knee Hyperflexion. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 470(12), 3616-3623.
Zivkovic, T., 2014. Death and Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism: In-between bodies. Abingdon/New York: Routledge (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315886855
62
List of tables
Table 1: Skeletal elements in anatomical terminology and Standard English (after Duday 2009, 156) 11
63
List of appendices
Appendix 1: Location of several sites mentioned in the text (image from https://ponderaconsult.com/kaarttest/kaart-nederland/). 65
Appendix 2: Plan of the graves at Ypenburg-locatie 4 (after Baetsen 2008, 123). 66
Appendix 3: Excavation plan of Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder; the yellow areas are the graves (after Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006). 66
Appendix 4: Plan of the graves at Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 91) 67
Appendix 5: Catalogue of the grave field at Ypenburg-locatie 4 (after Baetsen 2008, 152- 188). 68
Appendix 6: Catalogue of the grave field at Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 94-101). 84
64
Appendices
Appendix 1: Location of several sites mentioned in the text (image from https://ponderaconsult.com/kaarttest/kaart-nederland/).
65
Appendix 2: Plan of the graves at Ypenburg-locatie 4 (after Baetsen 2008, 123).
Appendix 3: Excavation plan of Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder; the yellow areas are the graves (after Hamburg and Louwe Kooijmans 2006).
66
Appendix 4: Plan of the graves at Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 91).
67
Appendix 5: Catalogue of the grave field at Ypenburg-locatie 4 (after Baetsen 2008, 152- 188).
Grave S2- 1 (after Baetsen 2008, 152-153)
Grave S2-2 (after Baetsen 2008, 154)
68
Grave S2-3 (after Baetsen 2008, 155)
Grave S2-4 (after Baetsen 2008, 156)
69
Grave S2-5 (after Baetsen 2008, 157)
Grave S2-6 (after Baetsen 2008, 158)
70
Grave S2-7 (after Baetsen 2008, 159)
Grave S2-8 (after Baetsen 2008, 161)
71
Grave S2-9 (after Baetsen 2008, 162)
Grave S2-10 (after Baetsen 2008, 163)
72
Grave S2-12 (after Baetsen 2008, 164)
Grave S2-13 (after Baetsen 2008, 165)
73
Grave S2-14 (after Baetsen 2008, 166)
Grave S2-21 (after Baetsen 2008, 167)
74
Grave S2-22 (after Baetsen 2008, 168)
Grave S2-24 (after Baetsen 2008, 169)
75
Grave S2-25 (after Baetsen 2008, 170)
Grave S2-26 (after Baetsen 2008, 171)
76
Grave S2-27 (after Baetsen 2008, 173)
Grave S2-28 (after Baetsen 2008, 174)
77
Grave S2-30 (after Baetsen 2008, 175)
Grave S2-31 (after Baetsen 2008, 176)
78
Grave S2-32 (after Baetsen 2008, 177)
Grave S2-36 (after Baetsen 2008, 178)
79
Grave S2-37 (after Baetsen 2008, 179)
Grave S2-38 (after Baetsen 2008, 180-181)
80
Grave S2-39 (after Baetsen 2008, 182-183)
Grave S2-40 (after Baetsen 2008, 184)
81
Grave S2-43 (after Baetsen 2008, 185)
Grave S2-44 (after Baetsen 2008, 186)
82
Grave S2-45 has no photographs or drawings.
Grave S2-278 (after Baetsen 2008, 188)
83
Appendix 6: Catalogue of the graves at Schipluiden-Harnaschpolder (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 94-101).
Grave 1 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 94)
84
Grave 2 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 96)
Grave 3 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 9
85
Grave 4 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 99)
Grave 5 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 100)
86
Grave 6 (after Smits and Louwe Kooijmans 2006, 101)
87