Mortuary Practices in the Process of Levantine Neolithisation

Description

This book examines mortuary practices in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) (ca 10,000-7,000 BC) and early Pottery Neolithic (PN) (ca 7,000-6,000 BC) Levant. The great transformation of economic structures taking place in this period in the Levant was accompanied by a remarkable abundance and elaboration of ideologic/symbolic expressions, many related to the deceased. The author here explores the possible meanings and functions of mortuary practices, with the ultimate aim of better understanding the ideologic foundations of the process of Levantine Neolithisation. The work places the PPN mortuary practices in their wider economic, social and ideologic/symbolic context, with emphasis on the latter, and examines their chronological development and general cultural framework. Finally, the author investigates whether they reflected systematic social differentiations, their social base of organisation and their possible symbolic meanings and functions, offering potential interpretations against a theoretical background.