Name: ____________________________
Section: ___________________________
ANT 4114: Principles of Archaeology
11/05/10
Lab 8: Patterning in Social Relations
Mortuary remains are a major source of data on human social relations. In this lab you will analyze data
from a fictive mortuary assemblage (described below), and then discuss some of the ambiguities and pitfalls
of this sort of analysis.
Shoen-Tell Mortuary Analysis (with thanks to Massachusetts archaeologist Eric Johnson)
An unscrupulous archaeologist by the name of Heinrich Hochstetter excavated the Shoen-Tell site in Turkey
in the late 1920s. Hochstetter was interested more in antiquities than in data, so he provided little substantive
information to the professional community about his dig or his findings. However, a conscientious assistant
of Hochsetter’s, Roxanne Bownes, managed to collect detailed information on fifty of the burials Hochstetter
plundered. Her data are the only information we have for the site. The only other thing we know is that
Hochstetter postulated that the Shoen-Tell burials reflect the rise of the first ranked societies in this part of
Asia. You may assume that Bowne’s data are a representative sample of the mortuary practices at ShoenTell. You may also assume that the burials are more or less contemporaneous. Using the attached data,
answer the following questions. Be sure to support your answers with data from the burials and/or
information discussed in class or in the text.
1. What are the differences in the types and quantities of grave goods associated with the following groups
of people: (a) infants; (b) children; (c) adult males; (d) adult females? Compare each of these categories for
(a) presence/absence of grave goods; (b) different number of grave goods; (c) different kinds of grave goods.
Also, describe the variation within each age/sex category.
Tally your results in the table below
+/- grave goods
Infants
Children
Adult males
Adult females
types of grave goods
2. Are there any differences in the location (cemetery vs. midden) and/or form (FF, PF, EX, OO) of the
burials that relate to age, sex or social class? What is the pattern?
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3. Is there a correlation between people who died in childbirth or in warfare and burial treatment? What is
the pattern?
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4. Do you think that the Shoen-Tell society had an egalitarian (achieved status) or ranked (ascribed status)
social organization? Explain.
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5. What do the mortuary data show about division of labor?
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6. What methods can we use to infer the social value of particular artifacts in burials (e.g. is a “copper
bracelet” more valuable than a “grey pot”)?
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7. Must the mortuary accoutrements of an individual burial represent the personae of that person in life?
What are some other possible alternatives?
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Sex Nurnber
1
2
3
4
M
?
F
M
Age
20-24
<1
20-24
40-44
Location
M
C
M
M
Position
FF
EX
FF
PF
Grave Goods/Remarks
chert blade, chert point
2 copper bracelets, amber beads, colored pottery bird, colored pot
greybowl
2 chert blades, chert point
5
6
7
8
9
10
M
M
M
?
?
?
30-34
20-24
15-19
1-4
1-4
5—9
M
M
M
M
M
M
FF
FF
FF
FF
OO
FF
2 chert blades, chert point
chert blade
chert point
none
none
grey pottery bird
11
12
13
14
15
F
M
F
M
F
15-19
15-19
35-39
35-39
20-24
M
M
C
M
C
FF
FF
EX
FF
EX
grey jar
chert blade, chert point, grey bowI with charred barley seeds
copper bracelet and beads, amber pendant, 3 colored pots, colored pottery figurine and colored howl with charred barley
chert blade, chert point, grey pot
copper bracelet, beads and pendant, 4 colored pots, amber figurine
16
17
18
19
?
F
?
F
<1
15-19
1—4
20-24
C
M
M
M
EX
FF
FF
FF
copper bracelet and beads, colored pot (found with female #15)
grey pottery figurine
none
grey bowl with charred wheat
20
21
F
M
25-29
45-49
M
M
FF
PF
grey jar
chert blade, 3 chert points, grey jar
22
23
24
25
M
?
?
F
50-54
5—9
1—4
15-19
M
M
M
M
EX
FF
00
FF
2 copper bracelets, copper pendant, 3 obsidian blades, 3 obsidian points, 5 colored pots, charred wheat
chert blade
none
grey pottery beads
26
27
28
?
?
F
<1
<1
60+
M
M
M
00
00
PF
none
none (found with burial #26)
3 grey pots, chert blade, grey pottery beads, charred barley
29
F
30-34
M
FF
stone mortar and pestle
30
M
25-29
C
EX
4 obsidian blades, copper bracelet, copper neck collar, 2 colored pots, 3 obsidian points, 1 chert point
31
32
?
M
1-4
15-19
M
M
OO
FF
Grey pottery bird
chert blade
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
F
?
?
?
?
?
F
45-49
<1
<1
<1
<1
<1
25-29
M
M
M
M
M
M
M
PF
FF
00
00
FF
00
FF
2 grey pots, stone grinding mortar and pestle with charred barley
none
none (found with burial #34)
none
none
none
none
40
F
15-19
M
FF
None
41
M
30-34
M
FF
Chert point, grey bowl, chert and wooden sickle
42
M
25-29
M
FF
No goods; obsidian point found embedded near base of spine
43
?
5-9
C
EX
Amber beads and bracelet, colored pottery bird, pottery beads, charred wheat, bones of small bird
44
?
10-14
C
EX
2 copper bracelets, 2 obsidian blades, colored bowl with carred wheat
45
?
<1
M
OO
None
46
F
25-29
M
FF
1 grey bowl, chert and bone sickle
47
F
20-24
M
FF
Grey pottery beads
48
?
1-4
M
FF
None
49
M
60+
M
FF
2 chert blades, 1 obsidian point, 1 grey pot, grey jar with charred barley
50
F
55-59
M
FF
2 grey pots, shell beads and pendant, stone mortar and pestle with charred barley
Codes for data:
Sex: M=male; F=female; ?=indeterminate
Location: M=midden; C=cemetary
Position: FF=fully flexed; PF=partially flexed; EX=extended; 0O=other