Massimo Vidale

The iceman as a burial

Since his discovery in 1991 the iceman has been widely seen as meeting a dramatic end – mortally wounded by an arrow shot while attempting to flee through an Alpine pass. A careful study of all the located grave goods, here planned comprehensively for the first time, points strongly towards the scene as one of a ceremonial burial, subsequently dispersed by thawing and gravity. The whole assemblage thus takes on another aspect – not a casual tragedy but a mortuary statement of its day.

A Chlorite Container Found on the Surface of Shahdad (Kerman, Iran) and its Cosmetic Content

Abstract Analysis of a stone flagon found on the surface of the early urban site of Shahdad (Kerman, Iran) has shown that the vessel contained a lead-based cosmetic. Other finds recovered from the same surface context suggest a dating within the second half of the fourth millennium BC or slightly later. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) have been used to reconstruct the manufacturing techniques of the cosmetic. The substance was likely made of artificial lead carbonates. As our find and recent studies confirm that wet chemical processing of lead was common in the third millennium BC, the social implications of cosmetology in the early cities of the Near East and Middle Asia of the fourth-third millennia BC are briefly addressed.

Mahtoutabad III (Province of Kerman, Iran): An “Uruk-Related” Material Assemblage in Eastern Iran

Abstract During recent excavations in the third-millennium BC plundered graveyard of Mahtoutabad, next to Konar Sandal (Kerman, Iran), the authors excavated layers with Uruk-related ceramics. The types include bevel-rim bowls, flowerpots, low-sided trays, nose-lugged jars and other types previously encountered at several other contemporary sites in highland Iran. This new material is presented here with some preliminary comments on the general picture of the Uruk-related sites and pottery assemblages across the Iranian plateau of the mid- and late fourth millennium BC. We suggest that the related elements of the material culture of these contexts should be considered as open single questions, rather than as part of a monolithic cultural pattern awash with demanding historical or even ethnic implications.

Harappan Chimaeras as ‘Symbolic Hypertexts’. Some Thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus Civilization

This paper presents an analysis and interpretation of the so-called Harappan chimaera, one of the most peculiar and elaborate iconographies of Indus Civilization (c. 2600–1900 BCE). It is represented on many stamp seals of fired steatite and corresponding clay sealings, terracotta tablets in bas-relief, copper tablets, and tokens. The Harappan chimaera was composed of body parts derived from different animals, as well as humans and other fantastic beings of the Indus imagination. A detailed documentation and description of all the objects bearing chimaeras makes it possible to recognize not only a basic set of regular combinations and some aspects of their possible change in time, but also visual associations among selected parts of the chimaeras body that could be perceived and semantically interpreted at different levels. We believe that the sophisticated structure of these images fully deserves to be considered an early form of ‘hypertext’, following definitions currently used in computer sciences. We conclude by relating the evidence and its cognitive background to other spheres of the early urban societies in the Indus basin.

Indus Components in the Iconography of a White Marble Cylinder Seal from Konar Sandal South (Kerman, Iran)

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the iconography carved on a cylinder seal found in a metallurgical site within the archaeological complex of Konar Sandal South, near Jiroft, in the Halil river valley of the Kerman province, south-eastern Iran. This seal is made of a whitish marble and – even if heavily worn by use – it retains traces of different animal figures. These animals represent the translation into local style of a rare but characteristic iconography found in the seal production of the Indus Civilization. The merging into a single seal of different animals, some of which clearly belong to the standard animal series of the Indus seals, might have provided the owner with a special authority that allowed him/her to hold different administrative functions. Moreover, the discovery at Konar Sandal South of a cylinder seal bearing an Indus-related iconography might further testify to the direct interest of Indus merchants and probably craftsmen in trade exchanges with a major early urban site in south-eastern Iran.

PG 1237, Royal Cemetery of Ur: Patterns in Death

This article discusses the identity of the people buried in the Great Death Pit PG 1237, a mass grave of the Royal Cemetery of Ur, and the ways they died and entered the shaft. Admittedly, the evidence required to positively solve the many taphonomic and osteological questions involved does not exist, because of the way the site was excavated and published in the early twentieth century. Nonetheless, the original excavators’ skill and unquestioned care in mapping and recording still prepares the ground for new alternative interpretations. As the ‘Rams Caught in a Thicket’ (two statuettes found in the mass grave) may have been the front parts of lyres, and almost all the dead might have entered the shaft impersonating musicians, singers and dancers, the paramount importance of music in the funerals of Sumerian elites is emphasized. New radiographic evidence recently suggested that some of the buried persons were killed violently, refuting the traditional theory of a voluntary mass suicide by poison. The bodies of the victims might have been formally prepared and serially brought to the pit in burial groups. Stratigraphy and spatial distribution reveal consistent depositional patterns dictated by specific rituals, as already proposed on the basis of more limited evidence by other authors. Formal arrangement and ritualism, in turn, support Woolleys identification of the graves as sacred constructions and thus reaffirms their royal character. The article ends by considering the historical meaning of the nature of these impressive funerals at the verge of the political unification of Mesopotamia by the house of Sargon.

A Preliminary Note on the Metallography and Chemical Analysis of Silver Samples from the Mahboubian Collection, London

ABSTRACT This is the chemico-physical examination of 13 samples collected from the early 2nd millennium BC Linear Elamite inscribed silver gunagi vessels of the Mahboubian collection (see Desset; preceding paper). Chemical composition of the silver-copper alloys as well as their physical microstructure are considered here.

Cosmetics and Cosmetology at Shahr-I Sokhta

Abstract A set of X-rays Diffraction and SEM investigations of the contents of thirteen stone flagons at Shahr-i Sokhta (Sistan, Iran, third millennium BC) demonstrates that they held cosmetic substances. A surprisingly varied list of mixtures of mineral phases (natural and possibly synthetic) indicates the use of green, blue, and white pigments. After discussing the typology of the stone flagons, their geographical distribution and morphological changes in time, we show how cosmetic ingredients were moved and mixed from a specific type of elongated vial to miniature vessels and/or finally, before application, to a stone perforated cap, previously interpreted as a “lid” or “spindle whorl”. Bird feathers were probably drawn through these perforated caps holding cosmetic powders to apply the substances to the skin. The economic implications of the cosmetology of Shahr-i Sokhta are briefly outlined in the Conclusions.

From clays to pots: chaînes opératoires and technical options at a burnt Late Iron Age potter’s workshop (north-eastern Italy)

The unusual discovery of a potter’s workshop suddenly destroyed by a firing-cum-collapse event at Montebello Vicentino (north-eastern Italy), dated to the Late Iron Age (ca. late fifth–fourth centuries BC), offers the unique possibility of studying two parallel operational sequences or chaines opératoires of ceramic manufacturing in this period, by direct analysis of the various base materials and products lost during destruction. Raw materials (prepared clay batch, sand, and other temper inclusions), unfired vessels knocked to the ground by the collapse, and samples of fired pottery were comprehensively characterized by petrographic and mineralogical analysis. Comparisons with similar ceramic products found at nearby settlements of Montebello can also better define the differences between production which was actually taking place at the workshop at the moment of destruction and previous work, as documented by sherds found at the same site.

Protohistoric graveyards of the Swat Valley, Pakistan: new light on funerary practices and absolute chronology

Abstract The protohistoric graveyards of north-western Pakistan were first excavated in the 1960s, but their chronology is still debated, along with their relationship to broader regional issues of ethnic and cultural change. Recent excavation of two graveyards in the Swat Valley has provided new dating evidence and a much better understanding both of grave structure and treatment of the dead. Secondary burial was documented at Udegram, along with the use of perishable containers and other objects as grave goods. The complexity of the funerary practices reveal the prolonged interaction between the living and the dead in protohistoric Swat.