| Entry: | So, burial 7508 continues to fascinate both archaeologists and the bi-ped specialists. The spine is placed in such and angle that it have to be broken, which makes you wonder about the burial practice in Catal. This person is extremely flexed and cramped in this small hole, shoved up against the wall and the placement of the bones suggests that the soft tissue had started to decay and go even softer.
So this image of unburied decaying bodies, possibly bound and put in sacs, maybe even hanging from the ceeling, compacting on its own from the gravitational force and then shoved in small pits with a force strong enough to break backs, is actually supported by the placement of the skeletons in the burial pits. But is this theory a bit romantic? In my experience the answer to archaeological riddles through history is often explained by a compromise and combination of different theories. But in the case of burial F.7508 I am, at this stage, quite willing to accept the decay and violence. |
