Death and dying in the Neolithic Near East

Abstract

This book focuses on mortuary practices in the Neolithic Near East to challenge some of the common assumptions about death and the dead body. It explores the way the corpse was treated during the period, in the process raising new questions about identity, personhood, and gender in the past, as well as concepts such as social memory and ‘ancestors’. It also examines the webs of relationships between people, their environments, and their new material world, between humans and animals, and between the living and the dead. Using a case-study approach, the book highlights differences and similarities as well as patterns in archaeological evidence. In addition, it analyses alternative perspectives on gendered identities and family roles, along with human-animal relationships, possible consumption of the human body and animals, and the notion of animals as ancestors. In this chapter, cultural attitudes to death and dying, including practical aspects of dealing with the dead and the emotional reactions of grieving and mourning, are discussed.