ABSTRACT

This paper integrates the results of recent bioarchaeological and spatial analyses at one of the largest collective burial sites in Europe, the Xagħra Circle Hypogeum on Gozo. This suite of new approaches has addressed demography, funerary practices, interactions with the dead, and the changing use of space. Modelling structural events and reconstructing funerary practices from 2900 to 2350 cal BC, we trace persistent variation and flexibility in the use of space over time. Taphonomic analysis shows that young individuals (from foetal age and above) were included within the burial space, and their depositions occasionally informed subsequent interments. Such results resonate beyond this site and enhance our understanding of society in third millennium BC Malta. We advance a model of broad accessibility to the burial space, strengthening emerging narratives of heterarchical social dynamics in the Maltese islands.

摘要

本文综合了欧洲最大的集体墓地之一，戈佐（Gozo）的XagħraCircle Hypogeum最近的生物考古学和空间分析的结果。这套新方法解决了人口统计学，丧葬活动，与死者的互动以及不断变化的空间使用问题。对结构事件进行建模并重建公元前2900年至2350年的丧葬活动，我们追踪了空间使用随时间的持续变化和灵活性。音速分析显示，青年人（胎龄及以上）被包括在墓地中，其沉积偶尔会为以后的葬礼提供信息。这样的结果在这个地点之外引起了共鸣，并加深了我们对马耳他公元前三千年的社会认识。我们提出了广泛进入墓地的模型，