Secondary Cremation Burials at Kavousi Vronda, Crete

SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS AT KAVOUSI VRONDA, CRETE

Symbolic Representation in Mortuary Practice

In honor of G?raldine C. Gesell

ABSTRACT

Excavations at Kavousi Vronda, Crete, recovered 107 intrusive Early Iron Age burials within the abandoned Late Minoan IIIC town. Of these, three were secondary cremation burials in amphoras deposited in stone cist graves that also contained multiple primary cremation burials. The small quantity of bone in each amphora and the recurrence of skeletal elements (bones from the cranium and right forearm) suggest that these burials represent the deliberate selection of particular skeletal parts that may have been transported to the communal graves at Vronda. The author explores the possible significance of these token burials within the larger context of funerary ritual and the representation of the dead.

INTRODUCTION

The importance of burial ritual in ancient and modern cultures has long a been documented, and the present study of small sample of cremations from the site of Kavousi Vronda in eastern Crete is intended to contribute

to this ongoing discussion.1 Many studies address the interactions of the living with the dead in the context of mortuary ritual, examining the im portance of funerary practice and mortuary space in the collective memory are a of societies.2 Burial rituals means of connecting living individuals with

at were of were 1. Excavations Kavousi many years ago. All my subsequent Facilities for study generously to in as a conducted from 1987 1990 by the work Greece developed result offered by the INSTAP Study Center I am University of Tennessee, the University ofthat opportunity, and pro for East Crete and the Wiener Labora of and Wabash for her The Minnesota, College foundly grateful influence, tory. Kavousi Excavations supplied under the of the American and the the for 1-3. auspices assistance, support through illustrations Figs. of at 2. van see School Classical Studies Athens years. E.g., Gennep 1960; also and under the direction of Leslie P. Financial for this support project summaries of these issues inMetcalf was Day, Geraldine C. Gesell, and the late provided by the Institute for Ae and Huntington 1991, pp. 27-37; William D. E. Coulson. Iwould like gean Prehistory and the Malcolm H. Gallou 2005, pp. 16-19,112-114; to thank Gerry Gesell for her invita Wiener Laboratory of the American Papadopoulos 2005, pp. 354-355. tion to on at work the Kavousi project School of Classical Studies Athens.

? The American School of Classical Studies at Athens 58 MARIA A. LISTON

the dead and enlisting the good will of the deceased toward the living. The an location of tombs and cemeteries is important part of this relationship, and the inclusion of the dead within particular burial spaces may convey significant messages about corporate group membership and identity.3 Burial practices involving the secondary treatment of human remains may also be closely linked to the role of the dead in society. In the ancient as Aegean, although climatic variables such air temperature and humid a was a ity would have ensured that corpse rapidly reduced to stable and relatively inoffensive skeleton,4 it is nevertheless likely that postmortem a an processing would have been difficult and unpleasant task in both sense. some emotional and physical In cases, such practices may have been expressions of the social status and persona of the deceased.5 In other societ were common ies where secondary burial and postmortem processing not practices, however, their performance might also have accommodated the manner or was burial of individuals whose location of death atypical. The are not or ar archaeological remains of such burials the result of random bitrary actions; rather, they reflect conscious decisions made by surviving members of the community about appropriate behavior and the expression of social relationships with the deceased.6 The Late Bronze Age village site of Vronda, located south of the on modern village of Kavousi the slopes of the Thripti range, above the was Bay of Mirabello, may attest to these burial practices. The settlement was as a abandoned in the Late Minoan IIIC period, but it reused cemetery from the Geometric (8th century b.c.) through the Early Orientalizing were period (Fig. I).7 Overall, 36 intrusive graves excavated at the site, and nearly all contained multiple burials. In this article I argue that three anomalous cremation burials at Kavousi are Vronda token representations of the deceased deposited in communal or family cist graves, possibly in the aftermath of unusual circumstances or places of death. A number of features distinguish these burials. First, are they the only amphora burials found at Vronda; other cremations at the site were either buried in the cist graves in which the burning took or place deposited without formal enclosure in abandoned buildings.8 In a addition, the amphora burials contained only tiny quantity of bone, less than 20 g in each case, taken from similar anatomical areas of the skeletons. These limited but carefully selected portions of the body may have been considered sufficient to represent the presence of the deceased within the grave and the community.

3. See, e.g., Morris 1987, pp. 93-96; 8.A pithos from Vronda grave 21 Branigan 1998b;Murphy 1998, pp. 30 contained the inhumation of a child remains of two 32. along with the cremated 4. 426 adults. The form of the and Rodriquez and Bass 1983, pp. grave depo 431; Mann, Bass, and Meadows 1990, sitional evidence suggest that the child's was The pp. 104-105. burial the primary deposit. Fen of the two cremated adults is 5. Nordquist 1990, pp. 36-39; presence an ton 1991, pp. 27-35; Parker Pearson interesting anomaly, but this does not to a case secon 1999, pp. 45-56. appear represent of cremation urn burial 6.WeUsl990,p.l25. dary comparable to discussed see 7. GeseU, Day, and Coulson 1988; the examples here; GeseU, Coulson, and Day 1991; GeseU, Liston 1993, pp. 137,141. Day, and Coulson 1995; Day 1995. SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS AT KAVOUSI 59

BUILDING M

v^-- BUILDING L VIII IV

'0 VI '.?? BUILDING K

// ( ^0iraig '6 l-i,- 2

XI BUILDING D

BUILDING J

BUILDING O

BUILDING

G BUILDING Vf 2 t .JE"

KILN GRAVE 26

f7/

Figure 1. Plan of the village and Geometric graves of Vronda showing the locations of graves 26 and 28. R. Docsan 6o MARIA A. LISTON

THE GEOMETRIC CEMETERY AT VRONDA

When Vronda was excavated, most of the houses were found to contain intrusive Early Iron Age graves, constructed long after the Late Bronze was as was Age village abandoned. It is unclear to whether the cemetery established by the descendants of those who previously occupied the Vronda hilltop, but an analysis of cranial nonmetric traits suggests that there are concentrations of some traits in graves found within groups of common a houses sharing walls.9 The clustering of these traits indicates probable genetic relationship among individuals in the graves located in house clusters, suggesting that the burials represent family lineages. were A variety of Early Iron Age mortuary features investigated, and the remains of 107 individuals (cremations and inhumations) were recov common was a ered. The most grave structure encountered stone-lined cist. Other mortuary contexts included pyres, discarded collections of ash and bone, and burials in urns. Nineteen cist graves contained 76 (78%) of the 97 cremations from the village. Each cist contained multiple cremation some an burials, and in cases, inhumation, usually the last burial in the cist. Unlike the practice at many cremation cemeteries in Greece, the burned were bones at Kavousi not normally collected and stored in containers, but were left in place, along with the remains of the pyre and grave offerings. The process of cremation reduces the skeleton to calcined bone rather are than ashes. The organic portions of the bone structure consolidated a manner in analogous to firing pottery. Calcined bone is quite stable and resists decay much better than unburned bone. In the absence of mechani or as cal destruction other physically destructive processes such freezing, burned bone survives indefinitely, virtually unchanged from its condition when the funeral pyre cooled.10 or I excavated supervised the excavation of most of the cremation graves at Vronda, ensuring that the positions of individual fragments of were bone in the graves plotted. This plotting clearly demonstrated that many of the burials retained anatomically ordered fragments of cremated bone, indicating that the cremations took place within the cist graves, after were no which the remains simply covered with stones and soil. There is or evidence in these instances of further processing handling of the remains as a part of the funerary rites after the cremation was finished. The graves were often and the earlier remains were sometimes reused, however, pushed to the sides of the cist when the grave was reopened.11 While the majority of graves contained primary and disturbed cremations, two cist graves also contained three instances of secondary burials in amphoras. One amphora was placed in grave 26, and two others in grave 28.

on cause 9. Liston 1993, pp. 151-152.1 col 10. Toth and Liston 2006. An bone. It appears that freezing may on considerable of lected the data nonmetric cranial going experiment involving repeated fragmentation bone, were under and of cremated bone a condition sometimes as traits, which analyzed my freezing thawing interpreted an the author and Ferenc a the result of deliberate or supervision for undergraduate thesis by Toth, grad pounding uate at is (Swingler 2003). The statistical analysis student Trent University, grinding (McKinley 1994, p. 339). the is not that even one 11. and Coulson of data yet complete, but demonstrating episode GeseU, Day, 1995, are a in 88. there akeady clear patterns of trait of freezing is significant factor pp. 84-85, size in clustering in these burials. reducing fragment cremated SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS AT KAVOUSI 6l

0 5 cm Figure 2. Belly-handled burial from burial 3. amphora grave 26, R. Docsan

Grave 26

on Grave 26 is located to the west of Building G, the south side of the hill of Vronda.12 It is one of a group of four graves found in a north-south line on measures the slope below the building (Fig. 1). Grave 26 approximately x 2.00 1.00 m and is oriented north-south, bounded by stone walls. The on now as a long wall the west side of the grave is largely missing result was of later disturbance. The cist cut into the ground below the level of the base of the preexisting walls to the east and south. It contained the 12. At Kavousi, numbers were grave cremated bones of burials 1 and a subadult less than 16-18 old to 2, years used identify any deposit containing were and an adult, both of indeterminate sex. These two individuals to human bone, and they assigned in appear exca have been cremated at the same time on a built within the cist. Five the order of discovery during the pyre vations. Burial numbers were charred and various were also recovered.13 assigned logs grave offerings to individual skeletons after final was a analy The cremated bone comprising burial 3 found in belly-handled sis of the skeletal material. The sequence was amphora (Fig. 2) placed in the fill closing grave 26. The amphora of burial numbers indicates, as accu corner the cist. A as can located in the northwest of the rock tumble fill of rately be reconstructed, the order in were number of other ceramic vessels be associated with this but which the bodies deposited, may burial, with burial 1 the first in the later disturbance makes this uncertain. There are traces of being grave. paint pre 13. Gesell, and Coulson 1995, on to Day, served the amphora, which probably dates the Early Orientalizing p. 81. period.14 14. and Coulson Gesell, Day, 1995, was The amphora broken, with roughly 85% of the vessel having been p. 81. The vessel is assigned inv. 26.22. It contained 9 of bone. little additional human 15. The bone fragments from this preserved. only g Very were not bone was found in the associated fill even after all of the soil grave, unfortunately, photo water-sieving when were studied. as graphed they They and sorting the resulting residue. The absence of human bone in the were returned to the Museum Ierapetra sociated soil suggests that most of the bone remained inside the amphora and used in a reconstruction of this until it was recovered in excavation. The bone from the is on in museum. As a amphora very grave display the While the are as parts of the cra result, the bones from the amphora in fragmented. pieces clearly recognizable are no nial vault and itwas not to the of bone grave 26 longer available for forearm, possible identify portions more photography. specifically.15 62 MARIA A. LISTON

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H??IHm Figure fromgrave ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K:''^1 Oefi)shoulder-handled ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^P?%:| amphoraand cup used as a lid ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^ftiii fromburial 7; and (right) shoulder ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HK?I. ^ " burial8. The on ^^ÎHHI^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HPHI^^^^ theamphoras were placed in the ';*W^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Ê? grave is shown in the foreground. ^^^^VHHil^^^^HHIÎ^HH^^^^^Hil^BF Photo S.Hamilton

Grave 28

was Grave 28 constructed above collapsed roofing material and wall room on west terrace tumble in 3 of Building O the of Vronda (Fig. 1). It is a oriented and 1.80 x 1.50 m.16 rectangular cist, north-south, measuring a The grave contained total of eight cremation burials, six in the cist and more corner two in amphoras found in the southeast of the grave (Fig. 3). were cre The amphoras placed in the grave after the first five primary a was over a mations, but before sixth body burned pit dug into the grave fill. were same The amphoras deposited at the time, although they date to were corner different periods.17 The vessels placed tightly in the of the grave, inside the cist wall, but high up in the fill. A ring of stones held them on a covers in place, and they rested flat stone slab. Other than the of the vessels, no other artifacts were associated with these burials.18 was a Burial 7 contained in small (H. 16.6 cm) amphora with hori on was zontal handles the shoulders (Fig. 3, left). The mouth closed with an are no or inverted monochrome cup. There good parallels for the form some 16. Gesell, and Coulson 1995, decoration of the amphora, but it has resemblance to vessels dating Day, or pp. 84-85. to the Middle Protogeometric Protogeometric B-Early Geometric 17. GeseU, Day, and Coulson 1995, The human remains consisted of 14 g of bone from an adult period.19 pp. 86-87. individual (Fig. 4:a). 18. GeseU, Day, and Coulson 1995, with burial 8 to the Late The amphora associated (Fig. 3, right) dates p. 87. was a 19. L. P. The Geometric period and closed with lid similar to examples from For Day (pers. comm.). te tsa to amphora is assigned inv. 28.3, and the that date the Late Geometric through Early Orientalizing periods.20 inv. an cup 28.4. It contained 19 g of bone, also from adult (Fig. 4:b). In both burials the 20. GeseU, Day, and Coulson 1995, bodies of the were cracked, but remained intact. It is that amphoras unlikely p. 87; L. P. Day (pers. comm.). The bone was lost from the vessels after were in the any they deposited grave, vessel is assigned inv. 28.22, and the lid and none was found when the associated soil was water-sieved. inv. 28.19. AT SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS KAVOUSI 63

humanbone ^^^^^^^^^^^HH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HH^^^H^^^^^H fromgrave ^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^P^^^Î^^^^^H PhotoHHBHIHHHKhÎH^^Î^^^H^^^ÎHHBHbHBHHHH^^H

The Skeletons

Although the very small quantities of bone found in these three amphoras some can limit the analysis, information still be gleaned from the skeletal was remains. All of the bone in the amphoras cremated; the fragments a exhibit the texture and color of thoroughly calcined remains, indicating lengthy burning process and high temperatures (Fig. 4).21 The morphology, size, and structure of the bone indicate that all three individuals were adults, were no an but there features preserved that would allow estimation of age were at death. None of the bones complete, but the recovered fragments a included some that could be reassembled into major pieces, along with few other unidentifiable fragments. The small amount of bone in the Vronda amphora burials contrasts a strongly with the amount that typically survives cremation. For example, a study of 306 modern skeletons weighed after crematory processing found on were that, average, 3,379 g of bone preserved from males and 2,350 g an from females.22 Even within archaeological context, between 1,102 and were 2,134 g of bone recovered from the primary, undisturbed cremation burials at Vronda. In light of these data, the tiny amount of bone?9 g, 14 g, and 19 g?found in the Vronda amphora burials must represent the deliberate choice, not merely the careless collection, of the cremated a remains. Even single handful of bone taken from the pyre would weigh much more than the bone found in the amphoras. The inventory of skeletal elements from the amphoras also suggests deliberate patterning both in the bones selected for burial and with regard were a to the side of the body from which they taken. In each amphora, one portion of the cranial vault and of the bones of the forearm, either the 21. Shipman, Foster, and Schoenin radius or were selected for burial 5). In 26, burial 3, the ger 1984; Hoick 1986. ulna, (Fig. grave bone consisted of a of the radius and of the cranial 22. Bass and Jantz 2004, pp. 901 segment right fragments 902. vault from the frontal and right temporal squamas. In grave 28, burial 7, 64 MARIA A. LISTON

Grave 28, burial 8 cranial vault (unidentified)

Grave 28, burial 7 Grave 26, burial 3 parietal (unsided) frontal/temporal

Grave 28, burial 8 right scapula

Grave 26, burial 3 Grave 28, burial 7 right radius radius or ulna (unsided) Grave 28, burial 8 right radius

5. Portions the Figure of skeleton deposited in the Vronda amphora burials. M. A. Liston the identifiable bone included cranial vault fragments, probably from the a or was parietal, and pieces of radius ulna shaft. It not possible, however, was or arm. to determine if this bone from the right left The amphora of a grave 28, burial 8, contained small cranial fragments, right radius shaft a segment, and small piece of the right scapula. are The bone fragments from the amphoras not sufficiently distinctive to establish the duplication of elements that would prove unquestionably that the remains were not derived from the other primary cremations in to graves 26 and 28. Despite considerable effort find joins among the bone was fragments, however, I unable to associate any of the bone from the amphoras with fragments from other individuals buried in graves 26 and 28. I also checked for joins with individuals in nearby cist graves located in the no same clusters of houses, and here again I found associations. Therefore, given the absence of joins, the amphoras almost certainly contained distinct a not individuals, represented by deliberate selection of skeletal elements same or taken from the individuals in the cist nearby graves. AT SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS KAVOUSI 65

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON SELECTIVE BURIAL

a ameans Burial ritual is powerful mnemonic device, of linking the living seen with the past. Although inanimate, the dead may be to participate in the social actions of the living, affecting survivors through memory and a an expected social behavior. The burial is focus of this memory and anchor linking individual and collective identity both to ancestry and locality.23 some near In cultures, locating graves fields and within the remains of as seen a previous habitations, at Vronda, may have been way of invoking an apotropaic function of the dead.24 In this context it could be considered vital to transport a deceased a relative from the place of death to family grave. A society that practices as complex rituals such cremation and collective burial might go to consid some or an erable lengths to reunite all of individuals remains with those a of other members of the family.25 The practical problems of transporting corpse, however, make it unlikely that bodies could be moved intact. The a was one construction of cenotaph solution sometimes practiced inGreece was was when burial of the physical remains not possible.26 As cremation the customary practice at Kavousi,27 cremating the corpse abroad and transporting the transformed and stable bones would have been another are eminently practical solution. The Vronda amphora burials not collec a tions of entire cremated skeletons, but rather sampled representation of even the body that would have been easier to transport. are are While definitive parallels lacking, there indications of similar patterns elsewhere in Greece. Detailed inventories of the selected bones are cases a from these sites not available, unfortunately. In most very an was was small quantity of bone in amphora noted, but the material not analyzed. The Early Iron Age cemetery at Torone provides the best comparison. There, 19 of 60 undisturbed cremation burials were found in urns with less than 100 g of bone; thus, formal burial of small quantities was common. were of bone relatively Two of these tombs described by as Jonathan Musgrave containing token quantities of bone.28 The skeletal even were remains in five other tombs, each holding less bone, not studied, notes that the contents of the urns were but Papadopoulos undisturbed, and in three cases the fragments observed would appear to constitute all the bone deposited in the urns.29

24 see 23. See, e.g., Gallou 2005, pp. 300, 312, pi. 504; also Papadopou unanalyzed bone from tombs 79, 82, 25; Papadopoulos 2005, pp. 354 los 2005, pp. 134,150-151,189. 94, 95, and 117 was described as a few 355. or Tombs 62 and 106 each contained 52 g scraps fragments. The identified of cremated human con 24. Kaliffl998, pp. 181-182. bone, including token burials (tombs 62 and 106) Kurtz and Boardman at 25. 1971, cranial and postcranial fragments. tain least five times the quantity of 101. The and bone in urn p. 193;Humphreys 1980, p. published descriptions photo found the Vronda burials. 26. Kurtz and Boardman 1971, graph indicate that the postcranial The tombs with unanalyzed remains an pp. 257-258. material is assortment of various from Torone would appear to be better Of the 107 skeletal elements. but it is unknown if too 27. Early IronAge buri parallels, they 97 were Liston were als, cremations; 1993, 29. Papadopoulos 2005, pp. 150 the result of patterned selections 185-189. see pp. 151,154,165-166,214-215; also of bone fragments. 28.Musgrave 2005, pp. 246,291, Musgrave 2005, pp. 294, 303. The 66 MARIA A. LISTON

attest to Other Aegean mortuary complexes also the selection of specific ex body parts, not necessarily in conjunction with cremation rituals. For at ample, in the Neolithic deposits Alepotrypa Cave in theMani peninsula of the P?loponn?se, secondary burials in ossuaries included significantly high percentages of skull and limb bones when compared to the expected a distribution of elements.30 At Franchthi Cave in the Argolid, similar pattern has been observed in the sample of scattered bone, although the were not secondary remains unequivocally deliberate depositions.31 These Neolithic cave sites may indicate a ritualized selection of elements for to areas a transport the residential of the site, beginning at very early time period. Early Minoan house tombs at Kalo Chorio near Kavousi exhibit the practice of secondary burial focusing upon large skeletal elements. were The skull and major long bones placed in larnakes, while hands, feet, on vertebrae, and rib fragments remained the floor surface, where the body apparently remained until the flesh decayed.32 Archaeological evidence and literary references to ancient societies was outside of the Aegean indicate that it not always necessary to include a an osseous the entire body in burial. It could be represented instead with synecdoche.33 In Britain during the Neolithic period, portions of skeletons, most were frequently the skull and major leg bones, removed during the process of secondary burial.34 In northern Europe, cremation burials from seem a the Bronze Age onward regularly to have held only small percent to age of the bone expected survive cremation.35 During the Iron Age in are or urn central Europe, there also partial symbolic burials of cremated a no bone at number of sites, although inventories of the skeletal elements are are reported.36 Much later, there further incidences of selective collection of cremated elements in early Anglo-Saxon burials. Still other examples may be seen in contemporary cultures of India.37 sources Textual indicate that Roman officers who died abroad might a sometimes be cremated, with portion of their ashes subsequently being returned for burial in the family tomb (Cic. Leg. 2.24.60).38 It is clear from this and other passages inDe Legibus (2.22.55; 2.23.58), in which Cicero discusses the older legal traditions of the Laws of the Twelve Tables, that a distinction was made between the act of cremation, which does not con a stitute form of burial, and the covering of the remains with earth, which completes the act of interment.39 Roman law directed that a cremated body a over receive token burial, either by sprinkling soil the cremated skeleton, or a by reserving small portion of the corpse unburned for later burial, the os resectum were (Varro Ling. 5.23).40 While the Vronda bones cremated, was case os which apparently not the for the resectum, it is clear that there was a long tradition of selecting elements for special treatment, either to or complete the process of burial to incorporate those who died abroad with other burials in the family tomb.

30. 38. Papathanasiou 2001, p. 3; 34. Baxter 1999. Webster 1969, pp. 271-273. A. Papathanasiou (pers. comm.). 35. E.g., KaUffl998, p. 183; Oes 39. Dyck 2004, p. 394. My thanks to me 31. CuUen 1999, pp. 168-169. tigaard 1999, pp. 352-353; WiUiams Edward M. Harris for directing to ancient 32. Haggis 1996; Liston, in prep. 2004b, pp. 418-419,422. the legal aspects of burial. 33. Kurtz and Boardman 1971, 36. Holnerova 1978, p. 127. 40. Lindsay 2000, p. 168;Dyck pp. 257-258; Cook 1999, pp. 43-45. 37.WiUiams 2004a, p. 278. 2004, p. 394. SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS AT KAVOUSI 67

SELECTIVE BURIAL PRACTICES AT VRONDA

seem to a The amphora burials at Vronda would exemplify practice of selection similar to those discussed above. The reasons for the differential use a treatment of these bodies and the of only small portion of the cremated bone cannot be determined with certainty, but the most obvious possibility is that the individuals represented died away from their home and family on a tombs. The importance later Greeks placed at least symbolic burial of the dead iswell documented (e.g., Horn. Od. 11.72; Soph.^i?/.).41 If these were so individuals died locally, it is difficult to explain why their burials different in form from others in the cemetery. Unfortunately, the amphoras themselves offer little evidence for the or are origin transport of the bodies. They much larger than needed for the as remains contained within them. They may perhaps have been chosen was at suitable vessels only when the grave prepared the site. The amphora to from grave 28, burial 8 (Fig. 3, right), is similar shapes imported from an an the Cyclades, but it is Early Geometric form, apparently heirloom use preserved until its in the Late Geometric burial.42 The other amphoras appear to be of local manufacture, similar to other ceramics from the site. a It is clear that there is repeated pattern of selection of skeletal parts in the Vronda amphora burials. In other cultural contexts, it has been argued act use an that the of selecting elements for in the burial rites is important step in establishing social memory. After the transformation of the deceased 41. For discussion of critical the a to from recognizable body burned bone, the handling, cleaning, and selec need for at least a token burial, see also tion of of the remains may serve to reestablish contact between the Vermeide 1979, pp. 3,12; Garland portions and the dead. If the selected elements were themselves imbued with 1985, pp. 7-8. living 42. and Coulson end a Gesell, Day, 1995, specific meaning, the result could be tangible representation of the 86, n. 49. Similar a p. Cycladic-style deceased reconstructed in culturally significant, yet compact and stable has been found in pottery large quanti form. In this process, the may have the of the ties in the at amphora represented body Prepalatial cemetery Ayia a deceased, receiving this identity through the incorporation of portion of Photia, Siteia (Day,Wilson, and Kiri the remains of the dead.43 atzi 1998). physical 43. Cf.Williams 2004a, pp. 277 Although secondary handling of human remains has sometimes 280. as once no been interpreted evidence for lack of respect for the body it is 44. 2000, pp. 120-126. as an E.g., Hope longer recognizable individual,44 closer examination of the evidence 45.Wells 1990, p. 135;Gallou 2005, often indicates quite the reverse.45 Particular symbolic importance may be pp. 117-119. ascribed to the elements selected from a Crania 46. Baby 1954, pp. 1-2; Fenton specific pyre.46 frequently receive attention are an 1991, p. 30;Williams 2004a, p. 282. special and obvious choice for representing the work on cremation buri as is in a Baby's (1954) deceased, evident the practice of displaying the head of dispatched als from four sites inOhio as as Hopewell enemy.47 The head is often regarded the locus of the personality, well to is the first serious attempt analyze as the focal of personal in the Cranial bones are cremated remains from point recognition living. archaeological the and most to survive sites. In it he notes that the 40 burials among largest recognizable fragments cremation, were those in the funeral ritual a visual link to the human examined incomplete, with only offering participating of the form of the deceased.48 The arms and also the portions skulls and long bones hands represent individual are represented. in many cultures, and they important trophies in both warfare and 47. 2000, pp. 113-114; Gal Hope hunting.49 lou 2005, p. 119. The selection of human remains made by funerary participants at 48. Liston 1993, pp. 89-92,102 Vronda may attest to a similar of beliefs and The con 104;McKinley 1993, pp. 285-286. complex practices. sistent choice of elements and and the choice of the 49. Andrushko et al. 2005, pp. 377 (skull forearm) right 381. arm in two in the burials which the side is identifiable, along with the 68 MARIA A. LISTON

absence of any other bone pieces large enough to be identified, support the a notion of patterned cultural practice. It is unlikely in the extreme that the seen random selection of skeletal elements would result in the patterning arm to in these three burials. The head and right appear have had specific were significance, and it is possible that these body parts considered the critical elements for representing the deceased in the burial context.

SIDE SELECTION IN SACRIFICE AND BURIAL

The importance of side selection in the ritual activities of the ancient world on has received relatively little study. The classic essay by Robert Hertz the significance of right and left in so-called primitive religions forms the starting point for most subsequent studies.50 G. E. R. Lloyd summarizes the symbolism of the side from Homer and Hesiod's works through the major schools of philosophy.51 He outlines the Pythagorean observation of pairs of opposites, for example, sky and earth, to to light and dark (Arist. Metaph. 1.5), apply meaning and distinction natural and supernatural phenomena. He then examines Aristotle's argu ments concerning the dominance of the right side throughout the animal an. kingdom (Part. 3), along with the assertion that the right side ismore auspicious than and superior to the left (IA 4). are rare Although there exceptions, it is for side selection to be iden tified in archaeological reports of cemeteries.52 Burials with very small amounts or of bone have often been discarded by excavators ignored by are skeletal biologists. Although cranial and long bone elements often found are in secondary burials, specific elements, much less the sides, seldom identified in reports. The incomplete representation of body parts is often as a simply interpreted process of collecting the larger skeletal elements or care while ignoring discarding smaller fragments, despite the evident was with which the process performed.53 Zooarchaeologists, however, have observed that side selection of front or back limbs appears to have been important both in sacrificial offerings of or animal portions to the gods heroes and in mortuary offerings, support was 50. Hertz 1909. ing the contention that the choice of side significant in ancient Greek 51. 1962, pp. 59,61-62,64-65. rituals. The of the forelimb in ritual in Lloyd special significance right offerings 52. For a useful summary of a num eastern Mediterranean cultures has also been noted.54 ber of North American sites where on In the Early Iron Age tombs from the Kastri settlement Thasos, postmortem processing of human a remains and element selection has been animal remains among the grave offerings show distinct preference for noted, see Fenton 1991, 201-211, side and element; almost all of the bovine and remains in pp. specific equine 220-229. are the tombs right femora.55 In the Athenian Agora, Hellenistic pyre de 53. E.g., Nordquist 1990, p. 40; in the posits?small sacrificial offerings found industrial contexts?contain Munson and Cook 2001. burned remains of the left forelimbs of At the hero shrine of 78-79. sheep only.56 54. Karageorghis 1977, pp. carcasses at a 55. Halstead and 1992. Opheltes atNemea, sheep and goat burned the heroon reveal Jones 56. Snyder and Rotroff 2002; Ro distinct preference for elements from the left side. This preference is distin troff and Snyder 2003; L. M. Snyder guished from other contexts atNemea where the distribution of elements is (pers. comm.). or to side.57At other sites with shrines to the random balanced with respect 57. MacKinnon 2006. there are indications of a for gods, particularly Apollo, preference offering 58. Jameson 1988, p. 93; Davis 211. portions from the right side of the body of sacrificial animals.58 1996; Forstenpointner 2003, p. AT SECONDARY CREMATION BURIALS KAVOUSI 69

The evidence from Vronda indicates that element side selection may also have relevance in mortuary ritual involving human remains, and not as only in animal offerings has been documented elsewhere. The practice a as as to may have involved choice of side well specific elements, similar the pattern found in the sacrificial offerings of animals to gods and heroes.

CONCLUSIONS

at most Among the 107 Early Iron Age burials Kavousi Vronda, of which cre were primary cremations burned in situ in cist graves, three secondary mation burials were found in amphoras. As discussed above, this unusual form of burial may indicate the inclusion in the cemetery of individuals was some whose death different in way from the norm, perhaps because it occurred away from home. Although the sample is small, the consistent choice of cranial and fore arm elements and the indication of preference for the right side suggest that a the funeral participants practiced meaningful pattern of representing the at dead Vronda. The selection of particular elements for burial indicates that a was special significance ascribed to the head and forearm; these portions to as a may have been deemed sufficient represent the body whole. not crema This phenomenon has been documented in other published tion cemeteries in Greece, possibly because small quantities of cremated or bone have seldom been saved studied. In order to elucidate the meaning more or of this practice extensively, additional token symbolic cremation burials need to be recovered and fully analyzed in future excavations. The reconstruction of complex rituals involving the consistent selection of skel a etal elements, possibly transported from the place of death to communal or family gravesite, offers much potential for understanding patterns of geographic movement, social behavior, and cultural beliefs.

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Maria A. Liston

University of Waterloo

department of anthropology

waterloo, ontario n2l 3gi CANADA

[email protected]