Threads of memory: Reviving the ornament of a dead child at the Neolithic village of Ba`ja (Jordan)

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 2;18(8):e0288075. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288075. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

In 2018, a well-constructed cist-type grave was discovered at Ba`ja, a Neolithic village (7,400-6,800 BCE) in Southern Jordan. Underneath multiple grave layers, an 8-year-old child was buried in a fetal position. Over 2,500 beads were found on the chest and neck, along with a double perforated stone pendant and a delicately engraved mother-of-pearl ring discovered among the concentration of beads. The first was found behind the neck, and the second on the chest. The meticulous documentation of the bead distribution indicated that the assemblage was a composite ornament that had gradually collapsed, partly due to the burying position. Our aim was to challenge time degradation and to reimagine the initial composition in order to best explore the significance of this symbolic category of material culture, not as mere group of beads, but as an ornamental creation with further aesthetic, artisanal and socioeconomic implications. The reconstruction results exceeded our expectations as it revealed an imposing multi-row necklace of complex structure and attractive design. Through multiple lines of evidence, we suggest that the necklace was created at Ba`ja, although significant parts of beads were made from exotic shells and stones, including fossil amber, an unprecedented material never attested before for this period. The retrieval of such an ornament from life and its attribution to a young dead child highlights the significant social status of this individual. Beyond the symbolic functions related to identity, the necklace is believed to have played a key role in performing the inhumation rituals, understood as a public event gathering families, relatives, and people from other villages. In this sense, the necklace is not seen as belonging completely to the realm of death but rather to the world of the living, materializing a collective memory and shared moments of emotions and social cohesion.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Compulsive Behavior*
  • Female
  • Fossils
  • Humans
  • Jordan
  • Pregnancy
  • Social Perception
  • Social Status*

Grants and funding

- ArchaeologyHub.CSIC 2022 Internal Research Grant (HA) https://archaeologyhub.csic.es/ - H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, grant number 846097 (HA) https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/846097 - German Research Foundation (BO 1599/14-1; BO 1599/16-1) (MB, HGG) https://www.dfg.de/en/ - Franz-and Eva Rutzen Stiftung Foundation (MB) https://www.deutsches-stiftungszentrum.de/stiftungen/franz-und-eva-rutzen-stiftung - Junta de Andalucía (Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad), under contract P20_01080 (CPO) https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/organismos/universidadinvestigacioneinnovacion.html The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.