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Alarashi H, Benz M, Gresky J, Burkhardt A, Fischer A, Gourichon L, Gerlitzki M, Manfred M, Sakalauskaite J, Demarchi B, Mackie M, Collins M, Odriozola CP, Garrido Cordero JÁ, Avilés MÁ, Vigorelli L, Re A, Gebel HGK. Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan). PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288075. [PMID: 37531349 PMCID: PMC10396020 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2018, a well-constructed cist-type grave was discovered at Ba`ja, a Neolithic village (7,400-6,800 BCE) in Southern Jordan. Underneath multiple grave layers, an 8-year-old child was buried in a fetal position. Over 2,500 beads were found on the chest and neck, along with a double perforated stone pendant and a delicately engraved mother-of-pearl ring discovered among the concentration of beads. The first was found behind the neck, and the second on the chest. The meticulous documentation of the bead distribution indicated that the assemblage was a composite ornament that had gradually collapsed, partly due to the burying position. Our aim was to challenge time degradation and to reimagine the initial composition in order to best explore the significance of this symbolic category of material culture, not as mere group of beads, but as an ornamental creation with further aesthetic, artisanal and socioeconomic implications. The reconstruction results exceeded our expectations as it revealed an imposing multi-row necklace of complex structure and attractive design. Through multiple lines of evidence, we suggest that the necklace was created at Ba`ja, although significant parts of beads were made from exotic shells and stones, including fossil amber, an unprecedented material never attested before for this period. The retrieval of such an ornament from life and its attribution to a young dead child highlights the significant social status of this individual. Beyond the symbolic functions related to identity, the necklace is believed to have played a key role in performing the inhumation rituals, understood as a public event gathering families, relatives, and people from other villages. In this sense, the necklace is not seen as belonging completely to the realm of death but rather to the world of the living, materializing a collective memory and shared moments of emotions and social cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hala Alarashi
- IMF-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, CEPAM, Nice, France
| | - Marion Benz
- Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology, Free University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia Gresky
- German Archaeological Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alice Burkhardt
- Department of Conservation-Art History, Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Andrea Fischer
- Department of Conservation-Art History, Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | - Melissa Gerlitzki
- Landesamt für Geologie, Rohstoffe und Bergbau (LGRB) im Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Martin Manfred
- Landesamt für Geologie, Rohstoffe und Bergbau (LGRB) im Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jorune Sakalauskaite
- Section for GeoBiology, GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute of Bioscience, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Beatrice Demarchi
- ArchaeoBiomics, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Meaghan Mackie
- Section for GeoBiology, GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Matthew Collins
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Carlos P Odriozola
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
- UNIARQ, Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Miguel Ángel Avilés
- Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Universidad de Sevilla- CSIC, Seville, Spain
| | - Luisa Vigorelli
- Electronics and Telecomunication Department, Polytechnic of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Physics Department, University of Torino and INFN, Turin Section, Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Re
- Physics Department, University of Torino and INFN, Turin Section, Turin, Italy
| | - Hans Georg K Gebel
- Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology, Free University, Berlin, Germany
- ex oriente e.V., Berlin, Germany
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