Burying power: new insights into incipient leadership in the late Pre-Pottery Neolithic from an outstanding burial at Baʻja, southern Jordan
Abstract: In 2016, an extraordinary burial of a young adult individual was discovered at the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB, 7,500–6,900 BCE) settlement of Baʻja in southern Jordan. This burial has exceptional grave goods and an elaborate grave construction. It suggests discussing anew reconstructions of early Neolithic social structures. In this article, we will summarize former theories on the emergence of leadership and hierarchies and present a multivariate model according to which anthropological and archaeological data of the burial will be analyzed. In conclusion, we surmise that early Neolithic hierarchization in southern Jordan was based on corporate pathways to power rather than self-interested aggrandizers. However, some aspects of the burial point to regional exchange networks of prestige goods, a trait considered characteristic of network based leadership. In line with anthropological and sociological research, we argue that pathways to power should be considered as relational processes that can be understood only when comparing traits of the outstanding person to her/his social environment
- Location
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
- Extent
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Online-Ressource
- Language
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Englisch
- Notes
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PLOS ONE. - 14, 8 (2019) , e0221171, ISSN: 1932-6203
- Classification
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Alte Geschichte, Archäologie
- Keyword
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Neolithikum
Archäologie
Zahnen
Zahn
Oberschenkelknochen
Schädel
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (where)
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Freiburg
- (who)
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Universität
- (when)
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2020
- Creator
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Benz, Marion
Gresky, Julia
Štefanisko, Denis
Alarashi, Hala
Knipper, Corina
Purschwitz, Christoph
Bauer, Joachim
Gebel, Hans-Georg K.
- DOI
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10.1371/journal.pone.0221171
- URN
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urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-1540569
- Rights
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Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
- Last update
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14.08.2025, 10:53 AM CEST
Data provider
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Associated
- Benz, Marion
- Gresky, Julia
- Štefanisko, Denis
- Alarashi, Hala
- Knipper, Corina
- Purschwitz, Christoph
- Bauer, Joachim
- Gebel, Hans-Georg K.
- Universität
Time of origin
- 2020
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