CAPA-ACAP 2013 Symposium
Dr Tracy Betsinger, Amy Scott and myself have been delighted with the success of our co-organised Symposium for the 41st CAPA/ACAP Annual Meeting hosted by The University of Toronto Scarborough from Thursday October 17 to Sunday October 20, 2013.
The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: Human Deviant Burials and their Cultural Contexts
Deviant
burials provide an opportunity to gain invaluable insight to cultural
constructions of outsiders, non-conformers, or “others” of
different kinds. Sometimes, based on religious beliefs or other
social factors, individuals who were viewed in life or death as
extraordinary, separate from or outside of the social group were
given unique burials, reflecting the deceased’s otherness or
special status. These burials are identified in the archaeological
record by evidence of different or unusual burial rites to those
common in the given social group, segregated inhumations/cremations,
unexpected burial accompaniments, or alterations to the corpse.
Evidence of deviant
or non-normative
burials has been documented in a variety of geographic locations and
temporal periods, which will be reflected in this session. The allure
of deviant burials and their larger social meaning is tied to our
archaeological understanding of how the living choose/feel obligated
to bury the dead and the social values imprinted on these specific
burials. While non-normative burials are primarily focused on
specific individuals within a community, the social values that help
construct deviant status after death is arguably reflective of larger
social norms and beliefs. From this then, deviant burials provide a
unique opportunity to: 1) explore the specific burial context of
certain individuals within a community and 2) highlight the social
values or social constructions of identity after death through
various mortuary treatments.
Sunday October 20th morning
9:00 Betsinger, T.K., Scott, A.B., and A. Tsaliki
The evolution of the unknown: deviant burials and archaeological interpretations
9:15 Garvie-Lok, S.
A journey Into bone: detecting and interpreting ‘vampire’ burials in Byzantine and Ottoman Greece
9:30 Hosek, L.
Postmortem wanderings: a bioarchaeology of Early Medieval revenants
9:45 Kendall, C. and A.Roddick
Interpreting deviant burials in the ancient Andes
10:00 Congram, D. and R. Kosalka
What and who is deviant in Bosnia-Herzegovina; discerning culture and intent at burial sites from armed conflict
10:15 Liston, M.A.
Burial and social deviance in ancient Athens
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 Meyers, K.
From deference to deviance: changing burial patterns in Anglo-Saxon England
11:15 Reusch, K.
Castrate burials: normal, deviant, other?
11:30 Sadvari, J.W., Haddow, S.D., Knüsel, C.J., Larsen, C.S., and S.E. Nugent
Unearthing the unusual: a record of non-normative mortuary behaviors at
Çatalhöyük, Turkey
11:45 Discussion
