Abstract
The funerary practices of the Taforalt population (Morocco, about 15-12500 Cal BP), already investigated by the authors in previous studies, were reconstructed through anthropological analyses of human remains (excavated by J. Roche in the 1950s) and examination of the available field documentation. The results indicated that the burial area included primary and secondary depositions, sometimes within the same grave, of approximately 40 adolescents and adults, as well as several children. There is evidence of treatment of the cadavers (disarticulation and defleshing) and manipulation of dry bones. The funerary practices at Taforalt involved a sequence of actions revealing a ritual character. These reflect the tripartite structure of Van Gennep’s rites of passage, implying that death was conceived as a passage into another social dimension.
The aim of this study is to analyse the post mortem interventions on these human remains (corpses and bones) and to offer interpretative hypotheses as to their possible meaning, drawing on the findings of ethnographic research. We suggest that the collective dimension of the group was valued more highly than the members of the group as individuals, and that dry bones were imbued with symbolic meaning. We also suggest that the cultural and social management (through rites) of natural events (death), associated with a strengthening of the bonds with earth (inhumation) and territory (cemetery), may be interpreted as heralding the emergence of a Neolithic pattern of thought.
Résumé
Les pratiques funéraires de la population de Taforalt (Maroc, 15-12500 Cal BP) ont été étudiées par les auteurs dans des travaux précédents. La reconstitution de ces pratiques a été réalisée à partir de l’analyse anthropologique des restes humains (fouilles: J. Roche, années 1950) et de l’examen des documents disponibles de fouilles.
Ces travaux suggèrent que la zone d’inhumation comprend des dépôts primaires et secondaires, parfois dans la même sépulture, d’environ 40 individus adolescents et adultes, ainsi que de plusieurs enfants. Le traitement du cadavre (désarticulation, décharnement) et autres manipulations sur os sec sont attestés. Le comportement funéraire à Taforalt rend compte d’une succession d’actions à caractère rituel. Ces rites étaient structurés comme des rites de passage, dans lesquels la mort était probablement vue comme un passage à une autre dimension sociale.
Le but du présent article est d’analyser les interventions post mortem sur corps et os et de proposer une hypothèse d’interprétation de leur possible signification. En partant des recherches ethnographiques, nous proposons que la dimension collective du groupe était valorisée à la place de l’individu. Nous proposons que la gestion culturelle et sociale (à travers les rites) d’événements naturels (la mort), associée au renforcement des liens avec la terre (sépultures) et le territoire (inhumation) pourraient être perçues comme un changement dans la façon de penser annonçant le néolithique.
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Mariotti, V., Belcastro, M.G. & Condemi, S. From corpse to bones: funerary rituals of the Taforalt Iberomaurusian population. BMSAP 28, 60–65 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-016-0150-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-016-0150-4