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Neo-Lithics. The Newsletter of Southwest Asian Neolithic Research , Bd. 21 (2021)

With increasing sedentism, many early Holocene communities of Southwest Asia experienced an unprecedented increase in medial priming, in various ways and on many levels. Here, we combine new research from the social neurosciences and investigations on mediality to trace the social impact of early Neolithic symbolism in Southwest Asia. We have analysed three case studies: the sedentary hunter-gatherer-fisher communities from Northern Mesopotamia of the 10th to 9th millennium BCE as well as the village farming communities of the Levant and Central Anatolia of the 9th to 7th millennium BCE. Our studies show that the increase in medial priming was not linear, but was rather driven by changing social conditions and human decisions concerning how to address the social challenges of increasing population densities. The novel mediality supported new relationships between people and places, between past and present, and strengthened new interpersonal relations. Outwardly similar symbols had different effects in varied social contexts. In the long run, we have observed a shift from integrative relations between humans and nature, to the dominance and representation of human groups, as well as a greater use of symbols within domestic households. Ever since this shift occurred, symbols have played a crucial role in creating commitment and aligning people., Neo-Lithics. The Newsletter of Southwest Asian Neolithic Research , Bd. 21 (2021)

Rezension zu: Ian Gilligan, Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory. Linking Evidence, Causes, and Effects. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2019. ISBN 978-1-108-45519-0 (Paperback). ISBN 978-1-108-55588-3 (E-Book). doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108555883. xx + 326 Seiten mit 101 Schwarz-Wei��-Abbildungen, Germania : Anzeiger der R��misch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Arch��ologischen Instituts, Bd. 98 2020(2021)

Benz, Marion; Gresky, Julia; Alarashi, Hala. "Similar but different. Displaying social roles of subadults in burials from the late Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Ba`ja, Southern Jordan". In: H. Alarashi and R.M. Dessì (eds.). The art of human appearance : from prehistory to the present day. Actes des 40es Rencontres Internationales d'Archéologie et d'Histoire. Nice: Éditions APDCA., [EN] Increasing social differentiation and the emergence of collective identities are considered to be fundamental changes brought about by Neolithisation. Commitment and loyalty – and therefore socialization within the group – became important elements in Neolithic agricultural communities. Henceforth, personal identities were probably mainly determined by the group and the ascription of social roles will have begun at quite an early age. Within the framework of the project Household and Death – Commodification and Identities in Ba`ja during the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) of the Southern Levant, more than eighteen subadult interments in single, double and collective burials were discovered. On the one hand, these burials show striking similarities in their rituals, obviously adhering to distinct social rules, but on the other hand, there are many differences in the way the bodies are displayed and in the organization of the funerary space. Besides grave constructions of differing complexity, jewelry and so-called grave goods were used as diacritical means with which the community indicated social differences during burial rituals. The locations and associations of certain burials could be indicative of Neolithic concepts concerning social groups. We will compare the burial rituals, the appearance of the bodies and the objects within the graves to seek reasons for these differences, and thereby assess the social roles ascribed to subadults at the Neolithic site of Ba`ja., [FR] L’augmentation de différences sociales et l’émergence des identités collectives sont considérées comme des changements fondamentaux de la Néolithisation. L’engagement et la loyauté envers le groupe – et donc la socialisation – devinrent des critères décisifs pour les communautés néolithiques. Dès lors, l’identité personnelle était probablement profondément déterminée par le groupe et l’attribution des rôles sociaux commençait sans doute dès l’enfance. Dans le cadre du projet Household and Death – Commodification and Identities in Ba`ja during the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) of the Southern Levant, plus de dixhuit squelettes d’enfants furent découverts dans des sépultures individuelles, doubles et collectives. D’une part, ces sépulcres montrent des similitudes frappantes dans leurs rites funéraires, reflet probable de conventions sociales bien définies. D’autre part, des différences considérables relatives à la disposition des corps et à l’organisation de l’espace funéraire sont observées. Parallèlement à la construction généralement complexe des tombes, la variabilité des parures corporelles et le mobilier funéraire suggèrent une mise en scène des différences sociales des individus enterrés. La localisation et l’association de certaines tombes peuvent indiquer un concept de « groupe social » au sein de cette société néolithique. Nos études intégrales des funéraires, de l’apparence du corps et des offrandes tentent d´expliquer ces différences sociales rendues visibles au sein des inhumations d’enfants du site néolithique de Ba`ja.

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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.

Rezension zu: Richard J. Chacon / Rubén G. Mendoza (Hrsg.), Feast, Famine or Fighting? Multiple Pathways to Social Complexity. Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation Band 8. Springer, New York 2017. ISBN 978-3-319-48401-3. (Hardcover). ISBN 978-3-319-48402-0. (E-Book). 490 Seiten, 41 s/w-Abbildungen, 108 Farbabbildungen, Germania : Anzeiger der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Bd. 96 2018(2019)

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Germania : Anzeiger der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Bd. 93 (2015)