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Preserved bones of the individual of Loc. C10:408. Dark grey: well preserved; light grey: poorly preserved elements; printed under a CC BY license, with permission from Julia Gresky, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221171.g004
Source publication
In 2016, an extraordinary burial of a young adult individual was discovered at the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB, 7,500-6,900 BCE) settlement of Ba'ja in southern Jordan. This burial has exceptional grave goods and an elaborate grave construction. It suggests discussing anew reconstructions of early Neolithic social structures. In this articl...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the anatomically correct alignments of most bones-except for the head-, do not suggest much taphonomic movements. The skeleton is poorly preserved (Fig 4), the bones extremely friable and their surfaces heavily eroded. All skeletal remains are deposited under the specimen number C10:408 in the Department of Anthropology of the German Archaeological Institute and are accessible to anybody upon request. ...
Context 2
... the anatomically correct alignments of most bones-except for the head-, do not suggest much taphonomic movements. The skeleton is poorly preserved (Fig 4), the bones extremely friable and their surfaces heavily eroded. All skeletal remains are deposited under the specimen number C10:408 in the Department of Anthropology of the German Archaeological Institute and are accessible to anybody upon request. ...
Citations
... The break runs through the axis of the perforation, a pattern encountered in a number of maceheads from Orkney (Roe 1968;Anderson-Whymark et al. 2017) and from other European and Near Eastern Neolithic contexts (e.g. Tsoraki 2008;2021;Rosenberg 2010, Benz et al. 2019. The WKAOS macehead also has evidence of being broken intentionally through percussive impact in the form of the negative flake scar of a sub-conchoidal fracture from a blow struck to the side of the macehead. ...
... Evidence for the intentional destruction of stone maceheads is provided by other Neolithic examples in Britain and further afield (e.g. Near East, Benz et al. 2019, where a macehead was destroyed through the delivery of a blow at right angles to the perforation). More broadly, the intentional fragmentation of objects seems to have been a salient feature of different material traditions across Neolithic communities (e.g. ...
Maceheads are distinctive perforated stone objects that occur in Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across Europe. Maceheads of different forms have been found across Britain, but with a marked concentration in Scotland and especially in Orkney. Widely regarded as ceremonial objects, they have been invariably interpreted as weapons, or symbols of power and political authority. Such interpretations, however, do not generally rely on detailed technological studies. For the most part, the way maceheads were used or treated in different contexts remains rather elusive. Recent excavations at the West Kennet Avenue occupation site, located a few hundred meters from the massive henge at Avebury, Southern Britain, brought to light a stone macehead. The site represents a significant episode of Middle Neolithic occupation, a period for which settlement evidence is generally scarce, and is located in a region in which maceheads are uncommon. Previous research on British prehistoric maceheads has demonstrated a strong association between stone maceheads and Grooved Ware sites dating to the later Neolithic, whilst earlier Middle Neolithic examples made from antler are often associated with burials. Therefore, the occurrence of a stone macehead on a Middle Neolithic settlement site is intriguing. The all-over polished ovoid macehead is grey to reddish brown in colour and, like many other examples across Britain and Europe, is broken. Inspired by Annelou van Gijn’s rigorous attention to object biographies, this paper will attempt to bring to life the biographical associations of the macehead. Questions about the making, use and breaking (intentional or not) of the macehead will be addressed through detailed technological and microwear analysis.
... 4. The sepulchral information on Ba`ja used here greatly benefits from Benz et al. forthcoming and Table 3 therein. Other general information on Ba`ja and its sepulchral evidence is found in Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020Benz et al. 2019. For Basta, Schultz et al. 2007 should be consulted; for basic information on Basta cf. ...
... 13.1 summarizes the different types of burial evidence for Ba`ja and Basta. The sepulchral findings of neighboring LPPNB Basta and Ba`ja differ from each other Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2004Gebel et al. , 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020Schultz et al. 2007;Benz et al. 2019Benz et al. , 2020; significant sepulchral diversity is also attested for other LPPNB sites (e.g., for es-Sifiya, `Ain Ghazal, Jericho, or Abu Suwwan). The reasons for this are probably the still missing conformities in regional LPPNB burial practices, caused by strong sepulchral traditions meeting upcoming social differentiation in the period's accelerating regimes at the major sites. ...
... especially Benz et al. forthcoming). Basic and more detailed information on Ba`ja's LPPNB burials is provided in Benz et al. 2019Benz et al. , 2020, forthcoming, as well as in the preliminary reports by Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020; these results are not presented here. In the following, we summarize our current understanding of Ba`ja's intramural burials, based on Benz et al. ...
... In the PPNB, another important threshold was crossed, when semi-precious stones were introduced in bead crafting. Stone bead making flourished thanks to unprecedented technological skills that allowed for the transformation of all kinds of stones including very hard, resistant, and delicate varieties into a wide range of bead shapes and types [19,37,38]. This is for example, evidenced by Groman-Yaroslavski and Bar-Yosef Mayer's use-wear analysis of two Middle PPNB stone beads from Nahal Hemar cave that revealed the use of lapidary technology, which made them argue that "The fully developed manufacturing process reflects a wellestablished specialized craft" [39]. ...
The emergence of craft specialisation is a key area of interest for archaeologists investigating the socio-economic history and development of past societies. In southwest Asia, as elsewhere, the origins of craft specialisation have been associated with the emergence of surplus food production, households and social stratification. We present evidence for nascent skilled production of green stone beads at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) site Shubayqa 6, northeast Jordan. Thousands of pieces of debitage, roughouts and finished beads exhibit signs of standardised production that was probably geared towards exchange. This hints towards incipient skilled craft production that was likely part-time and seasonal. We therefore argue that the appearance of specialist artisans in this autonomous and non-hierarchical society has no correlation with surplus food production, households, or social stratification.
... So, it is important to keep in mind Jamil as an alternative. Meanwhile, it has turned out that Jamila's burial is far from being the only single subadult burial at Ba`ja, but rather it is part of an intra-mural burial place within excavation Area C. It thus became possible to assess its outstanding appearance in a more detailed way, comparing it to 14 other burials (five single, three double and six multiple/collective burials) uncovered in previous seasons and during the Household and Death project (see Benz et al. 2019;Benz et al. 2020;Gebel and Hermansen 2001;Gebel and Hermansen 2003;Gebel et al. 2006;Gebel et al. 2017;Gebel et al. 2020). ...
... Taken together, on the one hand, Jamila's burial resembles the extraordinary adult burial CG10 (Loc. C10:408; Benz et al. 2019;Gebel et al. 2017), while on the other hand, the mother-ofpearl ring of the necklace seems solely to be included with children. This mixture of two age-class specific traits might underscore the progression from the status of a young child to an adolescent 9 or adult individual. ...
In 2018, an extraordinary child burial was discovered at the late Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Ba`ja, in southern
Jordan. Anthropological analyses indicate that an 8±2-year-old child, most likely female, was buried in this tomb.
The burial is outstanding in several respects, not least because it included a necklace of about 2600 beads and a
mother-of-pearl ring. In our contribution we compare the burial ritual and the tomb construction with other burials
of the site and with other lavishly decorated Early Neolithic subadult burials of the Near East. It will be shown that
the display of the child in the cist grave abided – despite its elaborate grave construction and the complex necklace –
to local traditions. Through the meticulously choreographed ritual – including the deliberate destruction of covering
slabs and the repetitive use of red and white materials for the grave construction and for the necklace – the burying
community confirmed social belonging and created long lasting moments of collective memory.
... There is a tendency to introduce objects into burials during the PPNB, with pendants, beads and bracelets made of shells and stones, mainly in the Late and Final PPNB (or PPNC) (Bentz et al., 2019;Anton, 2020;Milevski et al., 2022) (e.g., Fig. 5). At Yiftahel some green stone axes were found near Middle PPNB burials, probably of serpentine, an exotic material found in the southern Levant . ...
As the Neolithic Revolution made its entrance on the stage of the southern Levant, it brought with it major changes in human society. As man progressed from primitive modes of production in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Pottery Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, into the Early Bronze Age, as he moved on to agriculture and the domestication of animals, as he developed socially and his knowledge of metals and trade and economy grew, so, too, he changed his ways of burying his dead.Throughout these periods, the spiritual world and burial customs of early man developed from in-house burials in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period to cemeteries in the Ghassulian Chalcolithic and to socially separated cemeteries in the Early Bronze Age. In this paper, we will attempt to define the burial customs of late prehistory in the southern Levant and its relationship to economy and society. In this sense, we will present the concept of burial modes as a research tool for archaeology as a scientific discipline.KeywordsBurial modesFunerary customsModes of productionLate prehistorySouthern Levant
... The main occupation of the settlement is dating to the LPPNB [58], most probably between c. 7,400-6,600 cal BCE as indicated by the new radiocarbon dating [45,59]. Despite its small size of only about 1,5 ha, the density of buildings, and the architectural and organizational features of the village among other characteristics led it to be associated with the "mega-sites" phenomenon that flourished at the end of the PPNB [60]. ...
... Subadults were buried in various types of burials, including single, double, multiple, and collective, while adults were primarily interred in collective burials with few to no grave goods. However, there were two exceptions: a highly elaborate burial of a young man [59], which resembled the construction of grave CG7, and a so-called "trash burial," the only burial discovered outdoors so far. ...
... Those found in grave CG7 have a dark, wine-coloured gangue full of translucent crystals, possibly quartz. Turquoise with similar inclusions were recorded from other burials at Ba'ja [59]. ...
In 2018, a well-constructed cist-type grave was discovered at Ba`ja, a Neolithic village (7,400-6,800 BCE) in Southern Jordan. Underneath multiple grave layers, an 8-year-old child was buried in a fetal position. Over 2,500 beads were found on the chest and neck, along with a double perforated stone pendant and a delicately engraved mother-of-pearl ring discovered among the concentration of beads. The first was found behind the neck, and the second on the chest. The meticulous documentation of the bead distribution indicated that the assemblage was a composite ornament that had gradually collapsed, partly due to the burying position. Our aim was to challenge time degradation and to reimagine the initial composition in order to best explore the significance of this symbolic category of material culture, not as mere group of beads, but as an ornamental creation with further aesthetic, artisanal and socioeconomic implications. The reconstruction results exceeded our expectations as it revealed an imposing multi-row necklace of complex structure and attractive design. Through multiple lines of evidence, we suggest that the necklace was created at Ba`ja, although significant parts of beads were made from exotic shells and stones, including fossil amber, an unprecedented material never attested before for this period. The retrieval of such an ornament from life and its attribution to a young dead child highlights the significant social status of this individual. Beyond the symbolic functions related to identity, the necklace is believed to have played a key role in performing the inhumation rituals, understood as a public event gathering families, relatives, and people from other villages. In this sense, the necklace is not seen as belonging completely to the realm of death but rather to the world of the living, materializing a collective memory and shared moments of emotions and social cohesion.
... There is no clear evidence for wealth inequality in LPPNB. Exceptional individuals were able to achieve status or possibly even inherit it over the short term, as the individual in the richly furnished grave at Ba'ja might indicate (Benz et al. 2019), but over the long term, status did not translate into heritable wealth-based inequality. Instead, individuals with nonhereditary status, perhaps first-among-equals-'big men' and quite possibly 'big women'-probably competed via the accumulation of wealth in people in their lifetimes. ...
... Gifts may be difficult to detect archaeologically, but the ethnographic record provides every indication that gift economies predominate in lieu of market economies (Gregory 2015). Some have speculated that shells (Bar-Yosef Mayer 2005) and stone beads (Benz et al. 2019) circulated as gifts during the PPNB. If so, perhaps livestock flowed in the opposite direction, or perhaps livestock, shells and stone beads were used together to accumulate rights in people, just as shells, axes and pigs were included in bridewealth exchanges in New Guinea (e.g. ...
Within archaeology, the value of livestock is usually presented in terms of use values, the calories and products animals provide humans. Yet domestic animals are also sources of wealth that accrue symbolic and social values, tying livestock production to the reproduction of human social relations. Taking a Marxist perspective that recognizes dialectical relations between forms of value, we develop a model based on ethnographic examples in which the cycling between use value and social/symbolic values adhering to wealth in livestock are mobilized for the reproduction of ‘wealth in people’, or the accumulation of rights stemming from relationships between people. This model of cycling between forms of value can be applied to many ethnohistorical agropastoral political economies. We apply it to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B societies ( c. 8500–7000 bc ) in Jordan. During this time, the mode of production shifted from one grounded in the community to one centered on extended households. We suggest wealth in people was a key asset for LPPNB households and that wealth in livestock served as a major component of, and a particular ‘moment’ within, its reproduction. This might help explain the accelerated pace by which livestock production overtook hunting in the southern Levant in the eighth millennium bc .
... 4. The sepulchral information on Ba`ja used here greatly benefits from Benz et al. forthcoming and Table 3 therein. Other general information on Ba`ja and its sepulchral evidence is found in Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020Benz et al. 2019. For Basta, Schultz et al. 2007 should be consulted; for basic information on Basta cf. ...
... 13.1 summarizes the different types of burial evidence for Ba`ja and Basta. The sepulchral findings of neighboring LPPNB Basta and Ba`ja differ from each other Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2004Gebel et al. , 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020Schultz et al. 2007;Benz et al. 2019Benz et al. , 2020; significant sepulchral diversity is also attested for other LPPNB sites (e.g., for es-Sifiya, `Ain Ghazal, Jericho, or Abu Suwwan). The reasons for this are probably the still missing conformities in regional LPPNB burial practices, caused by strong sepulchral traditions meeting upcoming social differentiation in the period's accelerating regimes at the major sites. ...
... especially Benz et al. forthcoming). Basic and more detailed information on Ba`ja's LPPNB burials is provided in Benz et al. 2019Benz et al. , 2020, forthcoming, as well as in the preliminary reports by Dahl Hermansen 2000, 2001;Gebel et al. 2006bGebel et al. , 2017Gebel et al. , 2020; these results are not presented here. In the following, we summarize our current understanding of Ba`ja's intramural burials, based on Benz et al. ...
This contribution advocates for a holistic understanding of prehistoric sepulchral evidence and proposes an epistemically
grounded transdisciplinarity for the thanatological approaches proposed here. These approaches have been inferred
from the diversified evidence of the intra- and extramural burials and burial contexts of Basta and Ba`ja (Late and Final
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B of southern Jordan, second half of the 8th millennium BC), representing the LPPNB Transjordanian
Megasite Phenomenon. Based on this empirical evidence and the emic perspectives of the Household and Death in
Ba`ja project, five sets of theses are presented for the socio-neurobiological, ethological, and ontological factors ruling
the complex system of the LPPNB deathlore, including its rituality and symbolism. Following this, the theoretical and
metatheoretical elements and frameworks of a future LPPNB thanatology are explained through examples from the
two sites.
... The Middle PPNB burial customs in the Levant generally present regional diversities within itself (Croucher 2012;Bocquentin et al. 2016;Mithen et al. 2018;Benz et al. 2019;Kinzel et al. 2019;Hermansen 2020). In contrast to the many known cases from the Levant skull cult tradition, the number of skull caches and treatments is much less frequent in southeastern Anatolia (Kujit 2008;Croucher 2012;Gresky et al. 2017;Schmandt-Besserat 2020). ...
... According to socio-anthropological research, two varieties of leaders' typical behaviour are described (Benz et al. 2019). Some leaders act as a 'strong hand' who protects and guides a group, expecting unquestioning loyalty. ...
Paternalism can appear with other forms of social actions toward others and ourselves, a set of activities we comprehend as a part of paternalistic behaviour. We question the hypothesis that some social groups value benefits provided by leading authorities more than their autonomy. Resulting historical and sociological findings are supposed to inform the philosophical discussion on paternalism by broadening the topic’s scope.
Firstly, we compared archaeological remains from the Early Neolithic (9700-6250 years B.C.), characterized by the appearance of prominent leaders with qualities of modern paternalistic leadership. They both indicate behaviour accompanied by a family atmosphere in the workplace. Our second data set was obtained through sociological research conducted from the Enquete on the Serbian national sample.
A diachronic perspective revealed similar relations between leaders and subordinates. Certain groups with narrowed decision-making autonomy begin to think paternalistically, even though there is a fine line between paternalism, protectionism, and authoritarianism. The main differences between paternalism and other related concepts (authoritarianism, protectionism, collectivism) are the grade and type of subjects’ consent about the action for their good. Stronger collectivistic and authoritarian attitudes enable nesting paternalism, i.e., gradual acceptance of the paternalistic culture. In this process, an individual sacrifices autonomy for social benefits and integration into the cultural milieu. Nesting paternalism parallels the “nesting dolls.” It denotes collateral patronizing behaviors enclosed in another, such as paternalism, protectionism, and authoritarianism. One of the main derivates of such paternalism is anti-paternalism, which consists of patronizing acts to prevent paternalism.
