dc.contributor.author
Alarashi, Hala
dc.contributor.author
Benz, Marion
dc.contributor.author
Gresky, Julia
dc.contributor.author
Burkhardt, Alice
dc.contributor.author
Fischer, Andrea
dc.contributor.author
Gourichon, Lionel
dc.contributor.author
Gerlitzki, Melissa
dc.contributor.author
Manfred, Martin
dc.contributor.author
Sakalauskaite, Jorune
dc.contributor.author
Gebel, Hans Georg K.
dc.date.accessioned
2023-09-11T07:56:09Z
dc.date.available
2023-09-11T07:56:09Z
dc.identifier.uri
https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/40808
dc.identifier.uri
http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-40529
dc.description.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.
en
dc.format.extent
54 Seiten
dc.rights.uri
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject
Neolithic period
en
dc.subject
Raw materials
en
dc.subject.ddc
900 Geschichte und Geografie::930 Geschichte des Altertums (bis ca. 499), Archäologie::930 Geschichte des Altertums bis ca. 499, Archäologie
dc.title
Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan)
dc.type
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.articlenumber
e0288075
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi
10.1371/journal.pone.0288075
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.journaltitle
PLoS ONE
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.number
8
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.volume
18
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.url
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288075
refubium.affiliation
Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften
refubium.affiliation.other
Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie
refubium.resourceType.isindependentpub
no
dcterms.accessRights.openaire
open access
dcterms.isPartOf.eissn
1932-6203
refubium.resourceType.provider
WoS-Alert