Burning the dead: Human bones subjected to fire in southwestern Swedish megalithic graves

Abstract: In this paper, a series of new radiocarbon dates on burnt human bones recovered from megalithic graves in southwestern Sweden is reported. The purpose was to reveal possible chronological patterns of these depositions. Both the location of the bones within the grave and the characterisation of the burnt bones are discussed. The megalithic graves in the study area were mainly used for successive inhumation burials and have been subjected to extensive reuse throughout prehistory. Burnt human bones have therefore been assumed to originate from later periods when cremation was the dominant burial practice, although indications of Neolithic cremations occur. The radiocarbon dates demonstrate that most of the burnt bones derived from later reuse of the graves. More unexpectedly, several depositions also dated to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, confirming parallel practices of inhumation and cremation during these periods. Furthermore, the results indicate that the placement of the bu.... https://www.jna.uni-kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/239

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Burning the dead: Human bones subjected to fire in southwestern Swedish megalithic graves ; volume:23 ; day:07 ; month:09 ; year:2021 ; Journal of neolithic archaeology ; 23 (07.09.2021)

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Urheber: Blank, Malou

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.12766/jna.2021.2
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022012813532007054301
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 15.08.2025, 07:24 MESZ