ADSactly History - Burial Rites and Human Evolution
Us humans are the only species that cries as an emotional response. All land-animals have tear-ducts to moisten their eyes, but humans are the only ones who can shed tears when in distress.
For a very long time, scientists maintained that humans are the only animals with the brain capacity to create tools, until groups of monkeys have been observed doing the same thing. Not such an unique trait, then.
We are so accustomed to us, humans, being the dominant species on Earth we no longer see ourselves as part of the animal world, which only begs the question - what makes us unique?
Reconstruction of a Neanderthal burial site at Chapelle-aux-Saints (France)
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Many experts believe that modern people, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, differentiate themselves from all other species by their capacity for abstract thought, the ability to think about things that are not right in front of them and are of a spiritual nature. We have no way of actually knowing what our primitive ancestors actually thought so the only way of trying to understand them is studying the fossils that have been uncovered.
According to scientists, one way of understanding primitive spirituality is studying burial rituals. The idea is that developing a complex burial ritual and disposing of the remains of the dead in a meaningful manner is a mark of evolving spirituality. By showing respect for the dead and marking their passing, primitive humans proved they were aware of their own mortality and the burial ritual was a way of separating the past from a future where the deceased no longer existed.
So, when did burial rituals appear and are they specific to Homo Sapiens? The issue is one hotly debated in academic circles, despite the increasing number of proofs that such behavior is not unique to the Sapiens species. Once again, we’re not that special as we might like to believe.
Over the past decades, more and more fossil finds indicate that our much-maligned cousins, the Neanderthals, were also capable of symbolic thinking and had developed burial ceremonies. We have no way of knowing about their grieving process, whether they sang a mournful song or cried during such ceremonies. All we have to go by is the burial sites uncovered.
Entrance to the Shanidar cave in norther Iraq
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One of the most interesting finds is that of the so-called ‘flower burial’ in the Shanidar Cave in Northern Iraq. The remains of an adult Neanderthal buried in fetal position on a rough bedding of woven plants were found to be covered in clumps of pollen belonging to several species of flowers. Some paleo-anthropologists were quick to assert that proved those flower offerings were a mark of respect for a leader or possibly a medicine man and the gesture was obviously symbolic, which proves the capacity for spiritual thinking. There was and still is a lot of resistance in the scientific community to the idea that Neanderthals were anything but inferior brutes, which sort of explains the apparition of a different theory - that the pollen was brought to the sites by rodents or even that the site was contaminated upon its very discovery in the 1950s. We will undoubtedly hear more about this find as excavations at the Shanidar have resumed this year. Already, the international team in charge has announced the discovery of other fossil remains beneath the original ‘flower burial’ site.
Artist rendering of the burial scene at Shanidar Cave, Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution
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The discovery of other skeleton fragments at the same site proves that the place was used as burial ground by Neanderthals some 60-90,000 years ago. Another of the Shanidar skeletons was discovered to have a deformed arm and leg, yet survived till possibly 40, which proves the clan took care of him.
Shanidar 1, the skull of the crippled Neanderthal
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Another interesting Neanderthal burial site was found in France, at Le Moustier, where the body of a young man was buried in a position simulating sleeping, with the head resting on a pile of flints. The remains had been sprinkled with red ochre, a gesture that must have carried a symbolic meaning.
The same sleeping position was used at a burial site in Uzbekistan, at Teshik-Tash, were the remains of boy aged around nine were laid to rest with a limestone slab to support the head. Mountain goat horns were arranged in a circle around the body.
Other Neanderthal burial sites reveal the presence of flint tools and animal bones, which would have served the dead in the afterlife, much like in the Egyptian funeral practices tens of thousands of years later.
All these finds point to the fact that the Neanderthals were capable of much more complex thought processes that they are given credit. Still, as modern humans and Neanderthals co-existed and even mated together for a period of time, we can accept the idea of them being almost human.
Shedding light into the mystery of the Rising Star cave
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Recent discoveries in South Africa point to the fact that other distant hominin species might have been sophisticated enough as to develop their own burial rituals. It is the case of Rising Star cave system, part of the Cradle of Humanity World Heritage Site, were two distinct almost inaccessible chambers appear to have been used as burial lots. The remains belong to the so-called Homo Naledi, first described in 2015. The fossils were dated some 250,000 years old and the Homo Naledi where probably contemporary with modern humans and Neanderthals. These people were short, an adult male reaching only 150 cm and weighing some 45 kg. At the same time, the cranial volume of the Homo Naledi was no more than 40-45 % the volume of modern human skulls. Exploration of the Dinaledi Chamber led to the discovery of more than 130 different skeletons, remains of people buried there over a long period of time.
One theory circulating in the scientific community is that even if early hominids did bury their dead it was to keep away predators and get rid of bad odors, no spiritual value whatsoever. Yet, as far as the Rising Star cave is concerned such explanation is hard to believe because of the impossible location of the burial chambers. Gaining access to the Dinaledi Chamber required a journey of vertical climbing, crawling, and tight squeezing through spaces only 20 centimeters across. Imagine carrying a dead body over such a journey! Digging a hole in the ground would have been much easier at this point. If the Homo Naledis went to all the trouble to lay their dead in that specific place it must have carried a symbolic meaning, which indicates a spiritual dimension associated with death and brings this long-extinct species much closer to our way of thinking.
Speaking of burial practices of the other hominin species, we have seen that they used flower and animal offerings, laying the dead in specific resting positions and they placed tools near the body. If you think about it, many cultures today have quite similar funeral rituals, which can be traced back to very old pagan beliefs rather than religious practices. Where I live, in Eastern Europe, besides the food offered at wakes, mourners are usually gifted with plates, cups, towels, handkerchiefs with coins sewn in at the corners. The items are not placed in the coffin, but the symbolic meaning is the same, those are things that might be useful to the deceased in the afterlife. In rural communities, there is still the tradition of putting money, a hair-comb and small mirror in the deceased’s pockets, also to be used presumably on the other side.
What weird burial rites are traditional in your area and what do they mean?
Post authored by @ladyrebecca
References: 1, 2, 3.
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An extremely interesting publication, @ladyrebecca. Almost all the information you offer us here, I didn't know. It is striking that since ancient times human beings have had rites to celebrate death and that some remain in time. In my country, Venezuela, people carry their dead on their shoulders, even to the cemetery. They go in a kind of caravan, walking and crying. Normally everyone is dressed in black. They make up the deceased and dress him in the best clothes. If they put a shirt on him, the buttons are removed, as well as the zipper on his trousers. They don't put jewelry on him either. If the dead man is a child, they put white socks on him so that when he walks to heaven, he does not mistreat his feet. There are so many things that I think I'm going to make a post on this subject. ;) Thank you for this publication and for giving me the idea. Greetings
I think that would be a very interesting post. The idea of removing buttons or zippers does not exist in our burial rituals. Such things do sound like superstition, but they are all rooted in very old pagan beliefs, which are fascinating to explore.
Indeed, I consider that the cult of the dead, from what I have read and intuit, is one of the fundamental components of the human condition. You have done an archaeological and anthropological walk through this practice.
In my references there are many examples. It is emblematic that of Mexican culture, which is nourished by previous cultures (Nahuatl, Aztec). The book The Labyrinth of Solitude by the writer Octavio Paz (Nobel Prize for Literature) is very illustrative in this respect (I recommend it to everyone). Many of the funerals that Mexicans carry out exist in other towns and American countries, such as eating, drinking alcohol, dancing, telling stories, etc., around the tomb of the loved one. Before that, it was necessary to found their new habitat through the installation of the ceremonial center, which, according to Christian Duverger (quoted by me in my previous commentary), was based on the bones of the founding ancestors, which they carried with them.
Perhaps death, like birth, the extremes of life, is the great universal and eternal archetype.
I will look up the book you mentioned. I've heard of Octavio Paz, but never read anything that he's written. Lately, I have been trying to broaden my horizons and read more books from different cultures, other then the English-speaking sphere.
I don't know about that. I have seen some animals cry, especially sea turtles when they are butchered. not a pretty sight.
Arquealogical discoveries can be a tricky business when it comes to getting to conclusions about beings that existed centuries ago and who left no record of their ways of life, other than the few artifacts that can be unearthed (including their bodies).
I find it interesting that the early findings show people buried in fetal or sleeping possition, which woud make sense with the modern notion of death as the eternal sleep/slumber, which is in turn paradoxicalgiven the scary possition modern humans are burried (who sleeps face up hands on chest or by the sides?).
Your post is fascinating because it strongly suggest that even from ancient (primitive?) times, humans seem to have assigned a certain spiritual or symbolic meaning to death and the act of burrial.
The burrial sites that impressed me the most are those of kings and emperors who had entire armies along with riches and comcubines burried with them.
Some say that was an act of belief in the after life; for me it was more of a selfish act of if-I-will-not-enjoy-this-nobody-will :)
Now that you mention it, burying people in fetal position does sound strange. What we describe as fetal position is only known to us due to modern techology that has allowed us to see the baby in the womb. Thousands of years ago people had very limited notions about pregnancy, let alone the position of the baby.