Placing and remembering the dead in late Neolithic Malta: bioarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum, Gozo

Jess E. Thompson; Eóin W. Parkinson; T. Rowan McLaughlin; Robert P. Barratt; Ronika K. Power; Bernardette Mercieca-Spiteri; Simon Stoddart; Caroline Malone

doi:10.1080/00438243.2019.1745680

Placing and remembering the dead in late Neolithic Malta: bioarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum, Gozo

Jess E. Thompson^*, Eóin W. Parkinson, T. Rowan McLaughlin, Robert P. Barratt, Ronika K. Power, Bernardette Mercieca-Spiteri, Simon Stoddart, Caroline Malone

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

This paper integrates the results of recent bioarchaeological and spatial analyses at one of the largest collective burial sites in Europe, the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum on Gozo. This suite of new approaches has addressed demography, funerary practices, interactions with the dead, and the changing use of space. Modelling structural events and reconstructing funerary practices from 2900 to 2350 cal BC, we trace persistent variation and flexibility in the use of space over time. Taphonomic analysis shows that young individuals (from foetal age and above) were included within the burial space, and their depositions occasionally informed subsequent interments. Such results resonate beyond this site and enhance our understanding of society in third millennium BC Malta. We advance a model of broad accessibility to the burial space, strengthening emerging narratives of heterarchical social dynamics in the Maltese islands.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	71-89
Number of pages	19
Journal	World Archaeology
Volume	52
Issue number	1
Early online date	28 Apr 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2019.1745680
Publication status	Published - 2020

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2020. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

collective burial
GIS
Malta
Mediterranean
Neolithic
taphonomy

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10.1080/00438243.2019.1745680

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 3.04 MBLicence: CC BY

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title = "Placing and remembering the dead in late Neolithic Malta: bioarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum, Gozo",

abstract = "This paper integrates the results of recent bioarchaeological and spatial analyses at one of the largest collective burial sites in Europe, the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum on Gozo. This suite of new approaches has addressed demography, funerary practices, interactions with the dead, and the changing use of space. Modelling structural events and reconstructing funerary practices from 2900 to 2350 cal BC, we trace persistent variation and flexibility in the use of space over time. Taphonomic analysis shows that young individuals (from foetal age and above) were included within the burial space, and their depositions occasionally informed subsequent interments. Such results resonate beyond this site and enhance our understanding of society in third millennium BC Malta. We advance a model of broad accessibility to the burial space, strengthening emerging narratives of heterarchical social dynamics in the Maltese islands.",

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AU - McLaughlin, T. Rowan

AU - Barratt, Robert P.

AU - Power, Ronika K.

AU - Mercieca-Spiteri, Bernardette

AU - Stoddart, Simon

AU - Malone, Caroline

N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2020. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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AB - This paper integrates the results of recent bioarchaeological and spatial analyses at one of the largest collective burial sites in Europe, the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum on Gozo. This suite of new approaches has addressed demography, funerary practices, interactions with the dead, and the changing use of space. Modelling structural events and reconstructing funerary practices from 2900 to 2350 cal BC, we trace persistent variation and flexibility in the use of space over time. Taphonomic analysis shows that young individuals (from foetal age and above) were included within the burial space, and their depositions occasionally informed subsequent interments. Such results resonate beyond this site and enhance our understanding of society in third millennium BC Malta. We advance a model of broad accessibility to the burial space, strengthening emerging narratives of heterarchical social dynamics in the Maltese islands.

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Placing and remembering the dead in late Neolithic Malta: bioarchaeological and spatial analysis of the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum, Gozo

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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