Death and dying in the neolithic Near East / Karina Croucher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Croucher, Karina.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient--Middle East.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient.

Neolithic period--Middle East.

Neolithic period.

Thanatology.

Middle East--Antiquities.

Middle East.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (393 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Neolithic of the Near East is a period of human development which saw fundamental changes in the nature of human society. It is traditionally studied for its development of domestication, agriculture, and growing social complexity. In this book Karina Croucher takes a new approach, focusing on the human body and investigating mortuary practices - the treatment and burial of the dead - to discover what these can reveal about the people of the Neolithic Near East.The remarkable evidence relating to mortuary practices and ritual behaviour from the Near Eastern Neolithic provides some of the m

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Detailed Contents; List of Figures; List of Abbreviations; 1. Death and Dying; Introduction; Terms and conventions used in this publication; Chronology; Mortuary practices: labels and definitions; Anatomy; Death and dying; Being dead; Death as transformation; Treatment of the dead body; Grieving, mourning, and treatment of the dead; 2. The Neolithic Near East: An Overview; Historical and geographical context; Geography; Past environments and climatic changes; Chronology; Traditional approaches; Chronological phases and main sites; The Natufian, c.12 500-10 000 BC

The NeolithicChronology in context; 3. Interpretation and Practice; Developments in archaeological theory and practice: their impact on Near Eastern archaeology; Culture-history; New Archaeology and processualism; Post-processualism and interpretative archaeology; Digging differently?; 4. The Materiality of 'Ancestors': Plastered Skulls, Statues, and 'Stone Gods'; Introduction; Plastered skulls and the 'skull cult': history, process, and interpretation; What are plastered skulls and where are they found?; The 'skull cult' and the importance of the skull

Plastered skulls and their contexts: some examplesPottery Neolithic plastered skulls; Plastering and un-plastering; Who were the plastered skulls during life?; Other evidence: plastered statues, masks, and stone ancestors; Plastered statues; Nahal Hemar and masking; Performance; Ancestors; Stone gods? Göbekli Tepe; Discussion: performance, memory, and ancestors; Performance and display; Links with the dead; Differences between and variety of practices; Skulls and other objects through time; The skulls today; 5. Gender in the Neolithic Near East; Introduction: gender in archaeology

Archaeology and gender studies: a brief historyWomen in the past; Androcentric interpretation, practice, and epistemology; Heteronormativity, sexual identities, and Queer theory; Lessons from ethnography; Gender roles and the division of labour; Third genders and binary oppositions; Gender in Near Eastern archaeology; Gender roles; Imagery: masculine and wild; Human representations: figurines; Family organization and the problem with our labels; Conclusion; 6. Personhood, Identity, and the Dead; Introduction; Bodies; Personhood; Relational identities

Personhood in the Neolithic Near East: identity-forming relationships between people, animals, and thingsThe living and the dead: an overview of fragmentation in the mortuary arena in the Neolithic Near East; Relationships: people and things; Conclusion; 7. Conclusion; An alternative approach to interpreting the mortuary practices of the Neolithic Near East; Small-scale, bottom-up approach and genealogies of practice; The living and the dead; Beyond death and dying; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-180484-3

1-282-13521-X

9786613807793

0-19-162634-1

OCLC:

806205271