test
Search publications, data, projects and authors

Article

French

ID: <

10670/1.p20ibr

>

Where these data come from
Between sign and symbol

Abstract

The collective graves of the Late Neolithic are propitious contexts for studying the value of sepulchral objects and their various functions within the funeral and social practices. The analysis of 203 well documented and recently excavated graves, geographically distributed between the North of Germany and the South of France, and the comparison of the results with the data from over 1000 other collective graves, allowed to define a plurality of functions for the funeral goods. The objects found in the collective graves, very common and often worn, can be divided into « collective » and « individual » finds. The collective finds refer to the objects (which are) deposited at a certain distance from the buried, outside or at the entrance of the graves for example. These deposits give evidence for several main moments in the use of the graves: foundation and worship deposits, remains of funeral ceremonies even banquets, and commemoration or condemnation deposits. The symbolic value of two objects, the axe and pottery, and their connection with the sacred and religious domains are particularly strong, as the engraved representations of axes and « funeral divinities » at the entrance of the graves can testify. On the contrary, the individual finds refer to the objects found on the dead (ornaments, weapons in a functional position on the body) or placed next to them (pottery, axes). As a true « social sign », the individual finds display the differences between the dead according to their membership (lineage, family), to their age, their sex or their rank in the social pyramid. Thus the study of collective graves brings us to identify two essential functions for the funeral goods, a symbolic function and the « social sign » function, the one not necessarily excluding the other.

Your Feedback

Please give us your feedback and help us make GoTriple better.
Fill in our satisfaction questionnaire and tell us what you like about GoTriple!