R e m e m b e R i n g t h e D e a D i n t h e a n c i e n t n e a R e a s t R e m e m b e R i n g t h e D e a D i n t h e a n c i e n t n e a R e a s t Recent contributions from bioarchaeology and mortuary archaeology e d i t e d b y b e n j a m i n W. P o R t e R a n d a l e x i s t. b o u t i n university Press of colorado Boulder © 2014 by university Press of colorado Published by university Press of colorado 5589 arapahoe avenue, suite 206c boulder, colorado 80303 all rights reserved Printed in the united states of america The university Press of colorado is a proud member of the association of american university Presses. The university Press of colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by adams state university, colorado state university, Fort lewis college, metropolitan state university of Denver, Regis university, university of colorado, university of northern colorado, utah state university, and Western state colorado university. ∞ This paper meets the requirements of the ansi/niso Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). library of congress cataloging-in-Publication Data Remembering the dead in the ancient near east : recent contributions from bioarchaeology and mortuary archaeology / [edited by] benjamin W. Porter & alexis t. boutin.        pages cm   includes bibliographical references and index.   isbn 978-1-60732-324-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-1-60732-325-9 (ebook) 1. Human remains (archaeology)—methodology—middle east. 2.  excavations (archaeology)—middle east. 3.  Funeral rites and ceremonies—middle east. 4.  Human skeleton—analysis. 5.  middle east—antiquities.  i. boutin, alexis t. ii. Porter, benjamin W.   Ds56.R456 2014   939.4—dc23 2014001151 jacket and text design by Daniel Pratt 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 cover photograph: The standard of ur; Reg. no. 1928,1010.3; bm big no. 121201; PRn. Wco24764; © The trustees of the british museum This book is dedicated to five very cool kids: Rosey, eva, and charlie Harris & Quinn and Desmond jacobs Porter Contents List of Figures ix List of Tables xiii Acknowledgments xv 1 introduction: bringing out the Dead in the ancient near east 1 Benjamin W. Porter and Alexis T. Boutin 2 burying Things: Practices of cultural Disposal at late neolithic Domuztepe, southeast turkey 27 Stuart Campbell, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, Rachel Bichener, and Hannah Lau 3 strange People and exotic Things: constructing akkadian identity at Kish, iraq 61 William J. Pestle, Christina Torres-Rouff, and Blair Daverman 4 commemorating Disability in early Dilmun: ancient and contemporary tales from the Peter b. cornwall collection 97 Alexis T. Boutin and Benjamin W. Porter vii 5 bioarchaeological Reconstruction of group identity at early bronze age bab edh-Dhra‘, jordan 133 Susan Guise Sheridan, Jaime Ullinger, Lesley Gregoricka, and Meredith S. Chesson 6 identity, commemoration, and Remembrance in colonial encounters: burials at tombos during the egyptian new Kingdom nubian empire and its aftermath 185 Stuart Tyson Smith and Michele R. Buzon 7 abandoned memories: a cemetery of Forgotten souls? 217 Gretchen R. Dabbs and Melissa Zabecki Contributors 251 Index 255 viii contents Figures 2.1 location of Domuztepe, with site plan 29 2.2 The main phases in the Death Pit 32 2.3 Dog cranium from phase 5a of the Death Pit 36 2.4 looking east along the Red terrace 41 2.5 stone bowl with three milk teeth 48 2.6 Painted vessel with the unusual building motif that is frequently found in the Ditch assemblage 50 3.1 map of mesopotamia showing location of Kish and plan of the city 66 3.2 two-dimensional multidimensional scaling of positive standardized mean measure of Divergence results 79 3.3 typical a “cemetery” grave 80 3.4 Pair of copper-alloy clappers 83 3.5 akkadian-style mackay type a vessel from grave a106 84 3.6 akkadian-style copper-alloy straight pins with pierced shank from grave a104 85 4.1 Peter cornwall and his hired laborers in front of an unspecified tumulus 104 4.2 a map of the central gulf region 106 4.3 medial view of proximal end of 12-10146’s right humerus 110 4.4 Posterior view of articulation of right humerus with scapula at shoulder joint 111 4.5 anterior photograph and anterior-posterior radiograph of 12-10146’s right femur 111 ix