The oldest known cremation in the Near East dates to 7000 BC
Cremated remains from Israel signify a 7th-millennium cultural shift in funeral practices

Date:
August 12, 2020
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
Ancient people in the Near East had begun the practice of
intentionally cremating their dead by the beginning of the 7th
millennium BC, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Ancient people in the Near East had begun the practice of intentionally cremating their dead by the beginning of the 7th millennium BC, according
to a study published August 12, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE
by Fanny Bocquentin of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and colleagues.


========================================================================== Excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun in Northern Israel have uncovered an ancient cremation pit containing the remains of a corpse
that appears to have been intentionally incinerated as part of a funerary practice.

These remains were directly dated to between 7013-6700 BC, making them
the oldest known example of cremation in the Near East.

The remains comprise most of one skeleton of a young adult. The bones
show evidence of having been heated to temperatures of over 500DEGC
shortly after death, and they sit inside a pit that appears to have been constructed with an open top and strong insulating walls. Microscopic
plant remains found inside the pyre-pit are likely leftover from the
fuel for the fire. This evidence leads the authors to identify this as
an intentional cremation of a fresh corpse, as opposed to the burning
of dry remains or a tragic fire accident.

This early cremation comes at an important period of transition in
funerary practices in this region of the world. Old traditions were on the
way out, such as the removal of the cranium of the dead and the burial
of the dead within the settlement, while practices like cremation were
new. This change in funeral procedure might also signify a transition in rituals surrounding death and the significance of the deceased within
society. Further examination of other possible cremation sites in the
region will help elucidate this important cultural shift.

Bocquentin says: "The funerary treatment involved in situ cremation within
a pyre-pit of a young adult individual who previously survived from a
flint projectile injury -- the inventory of bones and their relative
position strongly supports the deposit of an articulated corpse and not dislocated bones." She adds, "This is a redefinition of the place of
the dead in the village and in society."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Fanny Bocquentin, Marie Anton, Francesco Berna, Arlene Rosen,
Hamoudi
Khalaily, Harris Greenberg, Thomas C. Hart, Omri Lernau, Liora
Kolska Horwitz. Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery
Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a
pyre-pit burial.

PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (8): e0235386 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235386 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200812144129.htm

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