Cultural behaviour or natural processes? A review of southern Britain iron age skeletal remains
This thesis focuses on the British Iron Age and challenging the current hypotheses of exposing the dead on five Iron Age sites in Hampshire and one from Dorset, England. Current theories are based on anthropological analogies and classical texts to understand and interpret the burial record. However, this research focused on understanding the formation of the burial record employing a new science-based methodology. This new approach is both integrated and multidisciplinary, combining the osteological and context taphonomic physical or material evidence to discern cultural behaviour from natural processes. The approach utilises a wide range of forensic anthropology and taphonomy, including I 'anthropologie de terrain or archaeothanatology, to identify archaeological signatures from three key and interrelated areas: the remains, the deposition context, and the relationship between the corpse and its deposition circumstance. A new system of categorising Iron Age remains was developed to differentiate funerary and depositional behaviour between sites. The results show that during the Iron Age , several depositional practices can be observed: intentional exposure, propitiatory deposits and intentional practices
Tracey, Justine
Cultural behaviour or natural processes? A review of southern Britain iron age skeletal remains. This thesis focuses on the British Iron Age and challenging the current hypotheses of exposing the dead on five Iron Age sites in Hampshire and one from Dorset, England. Current theories are based on anthropological analogies and classical texts to understand and interpret the burial record. However, this research focused on understanding the formation of the burial record employing a new science-based methodology. This new approach is both integrated and multidisciplinary, combining the osteological and context taphonomic physical or material evidence to discern cultural behaviour from natural processes. The approach utilises a wide range of forensic anthropology and taphonomy, including I 'anthropologie de terrain or archaeothanatology, to identify archaeological signatures from three key and interrelated areas: the remains, the deposition context, and the relationship between the corpse and its deposition circumstance. A new system of categorising Iron Age remains was developed to differentiate funerary and depositional behaviour between sites. The results show that during the Iron Age , several depositional practices can be observed: intentional exposure, propitiatory deposits and intentional practices
cultural behaviour natural process review southern_britain iron_age skeletal_remain focus british_iron_age challenge_current hypothesis expose dead iron_age site hampshire dorset england current_theory base anthropological analogy classical_text interpret burial record however focus formation burial record employ new science based methodology new integrate multidisciplinary combine osteological context taphonomic physical material_evidence discern cultural behaviour natural process utilises wide_range forensic anthropology taphonomy include terrain identify archaeological signature three_key interrelate area remains deposition context relationship corpse deposition circumstance new system iron_age remain developed differentiate funerary depositional behaviour site show iron_age several depositional_practice observe intentional exposure deposit intentional practice