The Osteo-Archaeology of Early Neolithic Burial Practices in the Levant

Michelle Bonogofsky

Burials are often an archaeological marker of social complexity; as such, detailed attention must be paid to the study of human remains in their original contexts. Preliminary observations of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic skeletal material in Jordan have indicated that multiple individuals are many times buried together, along with grave goods, such as objects of worked bone and cut shell. Ritual burial practices at Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in the southern Levant consist of primary and secondary interments, with a wide variety of burial types in various contexts. This paper examines the nature of the burials uncovered during archaeological excavations at Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlements on both sides of the Jordan Valley, dating to 8500 years ago.

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