Eugenio Bortolini
Strong interest in mechanisms of cultural change and cultural transmission, (Cultural Evolutionary Theory), quantitative methods, Statistics, Archaeology, Anthropology, Human Ecology, gene-culture coevolution, Prehistory of the Arabian Peninsula, Neanderthal-sapiens interaction, funerary archaeology
Supervisors: Stephen Shennan, Mark Lake, and Ethan Cochrane
Address: Institución Milà y Fontanals de investigación en Humanidades (IMF-CSIC)
C/ Egipcíaques 15, 08001 Barcelona
Supervisors: Stephen Shennan, Mark Lake, and Ethan Cochrane
Address: Institución Milà y Fontanals de investigación en Humanidades (IMF-CSIC)
C/ Egipcíaques 15, 08001 Barcelona
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Papers by Eugenio Bortolini
In the Oman Peninsula, funerary monuments represent one of the most important archaeological evidence to analyze the evolution of societies from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. From the 5th to the end of 3rd millennium BCE the most critical socials and demographic changes seem to be mirrored by their coeval funerary customs.
A certain level of continuity is apparent in the funerary practices documented on coastal settlements dated to the 5th and 4th millennia BCE in Oman. In this time-span of almost 2000 years, small groups of fisher-herders generally buried their dead in a pit dug not far from the living space, in a crouched position on one side, with a variety of goods (both ornaments and functional items). Faunal remains were often deposited in the graves, and then covered by stones. At RH-5, the probable symbolic role played by the marine turtle in funerary rituals has been enhanced. There is conspicuous evidence of corpse and bone manipulation, attested by secondary depositions, testifying of a strong link between the livings and their deceased.
By the end of 4th millennium eastern Arabia knew a period of increasing social complexity and growing trade networks, accompanied by highly-specialized adaptive strategies developed to cope with environmental instability. Copper exploitation and close relationships with Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus testify to flourishing commerce. However, ancient eastern Arabia (corresponding to modern Oman and United Arab Emirates) developed neither state nor urban centres: their impressive economic and demographic growth was led by complex, dynamic tribal relations. Both underground and surface water management systems were built to cope with unpredictably varying environmental pressures, creating the premise for the so-called “oasis revolution”(Cleuziou, 1982, 1996). Bronze Age oases and coastal plateaus were surrounded and signaled by hundreds of monumental collective burials. These have been studied and analyzed over the last thirty years according to the traditional chronological typology (Frifelt, 1975a) comprising Hafit-type tombs (3100-2700 BCE) and Umm an-Nar-type tombs (2700-2000 BCE).
The former are truncated-cone shaped towers, formed by 2-3 concentric ringwalls built around a central chamber. Walls were erected using dry local stone-bricks. The entrance consisted of a trapezoidal or groin-shaped breach, sometimes surmounted by a horizontal architrave. Hafit-type tombs could reach 8 meters in height and have an average diameter of 3-4 metres (Frifelt, 1975b; Yule and Weisgerber, 2002; Cleuziou and Tosi, 2007). These cairns contained 1 to 30 individuals, successively deposited, generally on one side in crouched position. Several graves present hundreds of ornamental beads (shell, faience, steatite, radiolarite, rock crystal, carnelian and limestone) produced in standardised forms (Salvatori, 2001). Hafit tombs contained only imported pottery, namely one or two Jemdet Nasr/Early Dynastic I vessels (3100-2800 BCE) from southern Mesopotamia. These monuments, always located on visible points separated from settlements, probably had a function of territorial and resources markers.
Umm an-Nar burials present larger diameter (about 8 to 14m), and lower height, greater structural articulation and different access strategies (Blau 2001). Inner walls were built assembling local stone-slabs, while outer ringwalls were made using perfectly squared and polished limestone blocks, sometimes bearing carved decorations. These tombs contained dozens or - in some cases - even hundreds of individuals, deposited successively during the grave use, in crouched position, on their side, regardless of age and sex. Personal ornaments are abundant (shell, steatite, heated steatite, radiolarite, faience and carnelian beads; pearls, rock crystals, silver, gold and copper implements). Pottery is abundant (sandy, fine, black-on-red locally made pottery and imported vessels from Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus) and soft stone vessels are also present although less numerous.
Archaeological investigations of these monuments started in the late 1960s and are still going on at present with the contribution of young researchers. These tombs - whose uniqueness remains unaltered in centuries of intense exchange and human interaction - are now offering insights on critical questions such as social complexity, cultural transmission, demographic pressure, local and regional contacts, as well as funerary practices, structural change and the complexity of emergent, kin-based social relations. In this context, the effort of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in documenting and supporting the investigation of such funerary landscape is fundamental for securing its extraordinary role in present-day Oman, and it is of pivotal importance for the preservation of a unique treasure of World heritage."
Les recherches archéologiques conduites depuis près de 30 ans dans la région, ont permis de répertorier de nombreux sites allant du Ve au IIIe millénaire avant notre ère. On connait plusieurs sites d’habitat, dont l’un des principaux, HD6 est daté de la fin du IVe à la première moitié du IIIe millénaire BC. Ce complexe architectural comprend plusieurs ensembles de maisons en briques crues. Il représente un témoignage majeur de l’interaction entre les oasis de l’Intérieur et la côte océanique, et les relations culturelles et économiques qui prennent place au cours du IIIe millénaire, au sein des routes commerciales de la Mésopotamie et de la Vallée de l’Indus. D’autres occupations, sont plus tardives, comme HD5 et HD99 ou RJ2.
Les prospections et les recherches archéologiques ont également permis de recenser plusieurs nécropoles qui couvrent l’ensemble du IIIe millénaire.
Lorsqu’il s’agit de dater les hommes eux-mêmes, par la méthode du radiocarbone, la prise en compte de la diète des populations de pêcheurs est essentielle, puisqu’elle détermine l’influence de l’effet réservoir marin, et par ce biais, la calibration de la datation.
Les données archéologiques dont nous disposons (pratiques funéraires, typologie du mobilier, typologie des tombes, stratigraphie) permettent de proposer une fourchette chronologique probable dans laquelle peut se ranger l’échantillon osseux daté. En procédant par simulation et en modulant l’apport de nourriture marine, en fonction de cette fourchette attendue, on obtient une information sur la part probable de l’alimentation d’origine marine dans la diète. Les mesures des isotopes du carbone (δ13C) apportent un complément d’information.
Les données archéologiques fournissent ainsi un moyen de développer une stratégie pour connaitre la diète des pêcheurs, et calibrer les dates obtenues."
A certain level of continuity is apparent in the funerary practices documented on coastal settlements dated to the 5th and 4th millennia BCE in Oman. In this time-span of almost 2000 years, small groups of fisher-herders generally buried their dead in a pit dug not far from the living space, in a crouched position on one side, with a variety of goods (both ornaments and functional items). Faunal remains were often deposited in the graves, and then covered by stones. At RH-5, the probable symbolic role played by the marine turtle in funerary rituals has been enhanced. There is conspicuous evidence of corpse and bone manipulation, attested by secondary depositions, testifying of a strong link between the livings and their deceased.
By the end of 4th millennium eastern Arabia knew a period of increasing social complexity and growing trade networks, accompanied by highly-specialized adaptive strategies developed to cope with environmental instability. Copper exploitation and close relationships with Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus testify to flourishing commerce. However, ancient eastern Arabia (corresponding to modern Oman and United Arab Emirates) developed neither state nor urban centres: their impressive economic and demographic growth was led by complex, dynamic tribal relations. Both underground and surface water management systems were built to cope with unpredictably varying environmental pressures, creating the premise for the so-called “oasis revolution”. Bronze Age oases and coastal plateaus were surrounded and signaled by hundreds of monumental collective burials. These have been studied and analyzed over the last thirty years according to the traditional chronological typology comprising Hafit-type tombs (3100-2700 BCE) and Umm an-Nar-type tombs (2700-2000 BCE).
The former are truncated-cone shaped towers, formed by 2-3 concentric ringwalls built around a central chamber. Walls were erected using dry local stone-bricks. The entrance consisted of a trapezoidal or groin-shaped breach, sometimes surmounted by a horizontal architrave. Hafit-type tombs could reach 8 meters in height and have an average diameter of 3-4 metres. These cairns contained 1 to 30 individuals, successively deposited, generally on one side in crouched position. Several graves present hundreds of ornamental beads (shell, faience, steatite, radiolarite, rock crystal, carnelian and limestone) produced in standardised forms.
Hafit tombs contained only imported pottery, namely one or two Jemdet Nasr/Early Dynastic I vessels (3100-2800 BCE) from southern Mesopotamia. These monuments, always located on visible points separated from settlements, probably had a function of territorial and resources markers.
Umm an-Nar burials present larger diameter (about 8 to 14m), and lower height, greater structural articulation and different access strategies. Inner repartitions were built assembling local stone-slabs, while outer ring walls were made using perfectly squared and polished limestone blocks, sometimes bearing carved decorations. These tombs contained dozens or - in some cases - even hundreds of individuals, deposited successively during the grave use, in crouched position, on their side, regardless of age and sex. Personal ornaments are abundant (shell, steatite, heated steatite, radiolarite, faience and carnelian beads; pearls, rock crystals, silver, gold and copper implements). Pottery is abundant (sandy, fine, black-on-red locally made pottery and imported vessels from Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus) and soft stone vessels are also present although less numerous.
Archaeological investigations of these monuments started in the late 1960s and are still going on at present with the contribution of young researchers. These tombs - whose uniqueness remains unaltered in centuries of intense exchange and human interaction - are now offering insights on critical questions such as social complexity, cultural transmission, demographic pressure, local and regional contacts, as well as funerary practices, structural change and the complexity of emergent, kin-based social relations. In this context, the effort of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture in documenting and supporting the investigation of such funerary landscape is fundamental for securing its extraordinary role in present-day Oman, and it is of pivotal importance for the preservation of a unique treasure of World heritage."