Radical Death and Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East

该项目汇集了几种尖端的考古研究技术，以揭示在世界上最早的国家形成之前的关键过渡时期，在死亡中受到非常不同待遇的个人的生物和社会身份。这一独特的机会是通过考古恢复位于底格里斯河上游的Basur Höyük遗址的人类遗骸而产生的，该地区对于理解美索不达米亚第一个城市政体的大规模互动非常重要。坐落在几个重要的贸易路线，在现场发现的墓地提供了对早期青铜时代（公元前3100-2800年）的深入了解，这是在南美索不达米亚（Mesopotamian）的影响力从更大的地区撤出之后，但在Lagash等地的第一个城市国家巩固之前。这一时期不断变化的政治和社会组织尚不清楚，由于现代条件，对上底格里斯地区知之甚少。然而，最近的发掘揭示了一个包含精英墓葬的墓地，人类牺牲的证据和一个大规模的死亡坑;三个非常不同的埋葬环境提供了一个完美的模板来检查通过埋葬实践定义的不断变化的社会角色。该地区引入人祭被认为反映了埋葬仪式功能的变化和社会组织的转变，这些变化与早期国家和王权的兴起密切相关。这个项目将详细介绍三种非常不同类型的坟墓中的埋葬之间在获得资源，一般健康和亲属关系方面的差异（或相似性），以概述这些新的埋葬仪式的社会背景。该项目将对人类遗骸的生物考古学信息进行分析，如儿童健康和终生身高、疾病负担和死亡原因，并分析每个墓葬的空间和社会背景。稳定同位素分析将比较不同个体以及同一个体中代表童年和成年的组织之间的碳，氮，锶和氧的比例，以解决获得资源（例如肉类）的问题。一个古老的DNA分析将被用来调查人口关系和测试的存在病原体DNA的死亡坑。再加上对每个墓葬的全面三维重建，这将形成一个采用激进墓葬做法的社会的独特完整画面。

This project brings together several cutting edge archaeological research techniques to uncover the biological and social identities of individuals who were treated very differently in death, during the critical transition period preceding the formation of the world's earliest states. This unique opportunity has arisen through archaeological recovery of human remains from the site of Basur Höyük located in the Upper Tigris Valley, a region that has been very important in understanding the large-scale interactions of the first urban polities in Mesopotamia. Sitting astride several important trade routes, the cemetery uncovered at the site provides an insight into the Early Bronze Age period (3100-2800 BC), which follows the withdrawal of Uruk (Southern Mesopotamian) influence from the much larger region but comes before the consolidation of the first urban states at places like Lagash. The changing political and social organisation of this period is not well understood and due to modern conditions, very little is known about the Upper Tigris region. However, recent excavations have revealed a cemetery containing elite burials, evidence of human sacrifice, and a mass death pit; three very different burial contexts which provide the perfect template to examine the changing social roles defined through burial practice. The introduction of human sacrifice to the region has been argued to reflect the changing function of burial rituals and shifts in social organisation that are firmly linked to the rise of early states and kingship. This project will detail the differences (or similirities) in access to resources, general health, and kin relationships between the burials in the three very different types of grave to outline the social context of these new burial rituals. The project brings together the analysis of bioarchaeological information on the human remains such as childhood health and lifetime stature, disease burden, and cause of death with the analysis of the spatial and social context of each burial. Stable isotope analysis will compare ratios of Carbon, Nitrogen, Strontium, and Oxygen in different individuals and between tissues representing childhood and adulthood in the same individual to address issues of access to resources (e.g. meat) place of origin, and lifetime mobility. An ancient DNA assay will be used to investigate population relationships and test for the presence of pathogen DNA in the death pit. Brought together with a comprehensive 3d reconstruction of each burial, this will form the a uniquely complete picture of a society that has adopted radical burial practices.