SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF MORTUARY PRACTICES IN A MESOLITHIC

POPULATION FROM WADI HALF A, SUDAN

ARTHUR A. SAXE

ABSTRACT
Assuming an individual's treatment at death is a reflection of the position occupied in a status system in life,
and that differences between individual interments reflect the type of status system participated in (e.g.,
egalitarian versus ranked), the outlines of extinct status systems should be ascertainable. This paper will present
the results of such an attempt using data collected from the mesolithic occupation and burial site of Wadi Haifa,
northern Sudan. These data include age, sex, pathology, treatment of the body, and mode of interment. The
evidence argues for an egalitarian status system with differences in disposal associated with differences in age,
sex, and personal achievement. Differences in mortality rates are examined in light of constraints placed on
hunting and gathering societies. There is also evidence of post-marital residence favoring the husband's agnates.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Ohio State University
February, 1971

FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW, such noted anthropologists as Claude Levi-Strauss (1961)
have been sounding the death knell of anthropology's "traditional" societies under the onslaught
of industrial cultural dominance. Our prime responsibility, we are told, should be the ethnographic
study of those societies that still survive for soon only archaeological data will be available. The
validity of this contention is indisputable.
However, just as archaeologists in the 1960's are beginning to do paleosocial anthropology, so
ethnologists must begin to do ethnographic "archaeology" if their observations are to be useful to
the paleo-anthropology of the future. Data never speak for themselves. The data we get are a
function of the questions we ask. The sooner archaeologists begin to ask about the social meaning
of their data and ethnologists begin asking about the material correlates of their data, the greater
will be the contribution of both types of cultural anthropologists to the future. Both must look
for, record and experiment with synthesizing types of data. It is to this end that this paper is
dedicated.
INTRODUCTION

The data analyzed in this paper are from a combined living and burial site in the northern
Sudan at about the latitude of Wadi Haifa (Fig. 1). It is on the West side of the Nile
approximately 2.5 km west of the present flood plain. The site, designated 6-B-36, was excavated
in early 1964 by the author with the invaluable assistance of George Armelagos, George Ewing,
and David Greene in exhuming and recording burials. All were members of the University of
Colorado Nubian Expedition.
The site was discovered toward the close of the field season and was excavated under the
pressure of time. The major aim was to obtain a sufficiently large sample of the human remains
and artifacts to show the variation within the site and to make possible comparisons with other
sites. The site was not exhausted, and new burials were being found up to the last day of the field
season (Figs. 2 and 3).
The occupation debris evidences large game hunting, fishing, and shellfish gathering. Large,
re-used fire-pits and both small and large grindstones are probably indicative of the harvesting of
grass seed. The abundance of limb bones in contrast to the paucity of skulls and the virtual
absence of vertebrae of large animals indicate its use as a base camp. Unfortunately, whatever
conditions were responsible for the mineralization of bone destroyed other organic material, thus
rendering accurate Carbon-14 dating impossible at this time. Various guess dates based on affinities
of the as yet incompletely analyzed lithic materials have placed the site in a range of from 8000 to
11,000 yr ago. The lithic materials are of microlithic proportions on flakes from cores of locally
available pebbles, and show affinities with the Qadan industry for which the Combined Prehistoric
Expedition has radiocarbon ages ranging from 11,950 to 6400 yr ago (Wendorf 1965).

39
40 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

Fig. 1. Location of site 6-B-36.

Saxe] MESOLITHIC POPULATIONS 41

Fig. 2. Site 6-B-36, Sudanese Nubia.

Although attributes of the burials were determined by the physical anthropology team
mentioned above, responsibility for the culturally relevant data and interpretations remains my
own.
This paper will focus on status considerations, but other social dimensions of mortuary
practices which emerge from the data will be considered.
We shall first attempt to evaluate whether the age and sex structure of this population is a
selected or random sample of the living population. This is necessary since, as other papers in this
symposium will demonstrate, non-egalitarian status cemeteries are often selective in the segments
of the population represented.

Fig. 3. Site 6-B-36, East Hill.

42 APPR OA CHES TO MOR TUAR Y PRA CTICES [Memoir 25

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION

Two questions were asked of these data. The first question is whether selectivity for one sex
over the other is evident in the composition of the burial sample.
First, as to the figures themselves (Tables 1 and 2), the total male to total female ratio is 13/16
or .812 (i.e., 45% male and 55% female). As noted in the footnote to Table 1, the questionable sex
identifications (M? and F?) are probably correct identifications. However, if we remove them from
the sample for sake of argument, the male/female ratios 8/11 or .727. This is approximately 44%
male and 56% female, or a difference of 2% from the figures taken from the larger sample. For a
population this size such a difference is insignificant. Furthermore, of the 10 "probable" cases,
five are male and five female, which would indicate random misidentification if guessing were all
that were involved. However, since the identifications were not guesses, we have confidence in
them on two grounds. First, as we shall see below, the cultural attributes tend to support these sex
identifications in all cases except one. Therefore, there is little doubt that our sample population
consists of approximately 10% more females than males.
Table 1. Summary table of age and sex for total population of 38.

Very mature No age except

adult Mature adult Adult Young i dult Sub-adult Child "Non-child"
35-40+ yr 30-35 yr 25-30 y r 20-25 yr 20-puberty

Burial Burial Burial Burial Burial Burial Burial

No. Sex No. Sex No. Sex No. Sex No. Sex No. Age No. Sex

20 F 29 M 24 M 3 M 17 M? 39A post- 4 M
28 F? 2 M? 31(30) M 26 M 27 F 5A 4 yr 5 M
21 M? 37 M 12 M? 15 F? 22 8yr 7 F?
6 F 34 M? 8 F 35 8yr 9
11 F 38(19) X 13 F 16
36 F 1 F 14 F 18
23 F? 32 F 33 F 39
25 F?

Age Group
Totals: 2 8 7 7 3 4 7

Sex
Totals 2F 3M 5F 4M 2F lx 3M 4F IM 2F 2,M|l,F 4x

26 were identifiable for both age and sex; 31 were identifiable for age group; 29 were identifiable for sex groups. '
The evaluations were made in 1965 by George Armelagos, George Ewing and David Greene, also of the
University of Colorado Nubian Expedition. Where identifications were positive: M=Male, F=Female; where the ;
three agreed on a probable identification: M?, F?; otherwise, no judgment: x.

Table 2. Association of sex and age group.

Very
Mature Mature Young Sub- Non- Sub-group Group
Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult Child Child Totals Totals Percent
Male 0 1 3 2 0 0 2 8
13 45%
Male? 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 5

Female 1 3 2 4 1 0 0 11
16 55%
Female ? 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 5

Sex? 0 0 1 0 0 4 4 9 9 100%

Totals 2 8 7 7 3 4 7 38
Saxe ] MESOLITHIC POPULA TIONS 43

Secondly, as to the meaning of the sex ratio, if more males are born than females which appears
to be a biological mammalian trait (Clarke 1965:73) and if more females are alive at any one time,
then one would expect a greater number of male burials (see Appendix). Yet male burials account
for 45% of the total sexable sample (Table 2) and 41% of the capable of aging and sexing sample
(Table 3). In other words, is this an indication that males are being buried elsewhere?
For two reasons, our answer must be negative. First, having no data on child mortality rates by
sex, we are not free to assume a greater number of either males or females reaching adulthood. But
the fact that males generally have a higher infant mortality rate than females (Clarke 1965:74)
would tend to cancel the higher male birth rate.
Secondly, the burial proportions would be an indication of birth proportions only if all
individuals remained in their natal locality. However, given patrilocality (see below) with women
coming in from elsewhere, (1) sex-correlated birth and childhood survival rates would be obscured,
and (2) we would expect a minimum 1:1 male-female ratio, and, if polygymous, more females
than males.
Table 3. Proportions of each sex by age group.
Very
Sub- Young Mature mature
adult adult Adult adult adult

No. % N % No. % No. % No. % Total Total

No. %

Male
Total 1 .04 3 .11 4 .15 3 .11 0 .00 11 .41

Female
Total 2 .08 4 .15 2 .08 5 .19 2 .08 15 .58

Age group
totals 3 .12 7 .26 6 .23 8 .30 2 .08 26 .99

Therefore, the difference between male and female proportions cannot be taken to indicate a
differential selection for interment by sex. In fact, given the cultural inferences, both sexes are
present in expectable proportions.
Having established an apparent lack of selectivity for sex in this cemetery, let us now ask: Is
there a selectivity for burying persons of certain age in this cemetery? We found all six possibilities
of age represented. However, unlike the approximately equal proportions of male and female, we
have great disparities among age groups, which in themselves are inexplicable; but are explicable
when you consider sex attributes concomitantly. However, dividing these age groups by sex makes
the amount of variability even greater.
The first task in bringing order to the sample is to eliminate parts of the sample for which there
is inadequate information, namely pre-pubescent children, and "unaged" adults. Children must be
eliminated for two reasons: first, the skeleton reveals no indication of sex, and second, the
ethnographic cultural treatment of them and biological preservation seldom parallel the adult. The
"unaged" adult category consists of individuals whose age could not be determined aside from the
fact that they had passed puberty. Most were unsexable also. This leaves us with a sample of 26
individuals for whom both age and sex were identifiable. The proportions of the total sample
accounted for by each combined age-sex group (e.g., adult, male) is shown in Table 3 and Fig. 4.
Are these proportions representative of the age-sex group deaths that occurred, or is the variability
between these groups indicative of selective burial in this cemetery? The following model helps
answer this question.
Let us postulate a finite, living population occupying the site. By finite we mean there are just
so many people of given attribute combinations (such as age and sex) available to die and be
buried here, so that when any one person with any one set of attributes dies and is buried, this
immediately limits the possibilities of what future individuals will be like.
 r
44 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

group accounts for. Since we now want to

observe (1) differences between the sexes, (2)
1)30- "longitudinality" (wherein deaths in younger
% age groups limit the number available subse-:
a quently to become older groups, and (3)
>
920- cumulative effects of longitudinality, we will
rearrange the data to represent proportions of
u. the total sex group accounted for by each age :
o
10- group. Table 4 and Fig. 5 present the per- r
ct
UJ
m
centage of the total number of individuals ;
s
3
within sex (male or female) accounted for by ;
o-i the males and females in that age group.
S'A YS 2 VIA VMA Table 5 and Fig. 6 present the cumulative
totals, i.e., the percentage of the total sex group
AGE GROUPS
accounted for up to and including that age
Fig. 4. Proportions of each sex by age group. group, e.g. young adult male = 9% + 27% =
36%. Of all the males (or females) who even-
Eventually, when they are all buried, the tually die, this represents the proportion dead
burials will present the composition of the by the time they reach young adulthood.
population at the time of their deaths. From Fig. 5 we can see that both the male and
Now, since death is irreversible and statis- female death rates increase between sub-adult \
tically regular in the way it strikes different and young adult status. The male rate increases \
segments of populations, it follows that we do somewhat more rapidly so that during adult- \
not have to wait for whole populations to die. hood 27% of each sex group dies even though a
In fact, assuming that almost all the dead have greater percentage of female sub-adults had
been buried in the cemetery for a number of died. The male death rate continues to rise in
generations, that cemetery should contain not adulthood (25-30 yr of age) whereas the female
only all age-sex groups, but also contain them rate drops so that approximately 30 yr of age
in proportion to their existence in the popula- (see Table 5 and Fig. 6) 72% of the males are
tion at large. dead whereas only 53% of the females are dead.
Another way this may be conceptualized is The causes of these differential mortality
"by assuming a stable population" (Howells rates may be explained by the differential adult
1960:170), wherein the birth rate and death roles of males and females. Assuming a sex
rate are equal thus generational replacement is division of labor as we know it, the adult males
constant; i.e., the demographic structure of the were hunting the big game whose remains were
population remains constant.
PERCENT WITHIN SEX

Finally, if age groups and other relevant 40-i

groups were randomly buried in the cemetery
(e.g., rather than being localized in one area 30-
according to some attribute or other), then a
chance sample of the cemetery should expose 20-
^ * \ *
that cross-section of the population. The ob-
io-
verse is that if such a cross-section is exposed it
may be taken as an indication that individuals 0-
of all such groups were treated similarly with
respect to location of interment. We shall now SA YA A MA VM
present such a cross-section of our population. AGE GROUPS
In Table 3 and Fig. 4, we have seen the Fig. 5. Percentage of within sex totals accounted
proportion of the total sample that each age for by age groups.
Table 4. Percentage of each sex accounted for by age groups.

SA YA MA VMA SUM

Male 9% 27% 36% 27% 0 99%

Female 13% 27% 13% 33% 13% 99%
 Saxe] MESOLITHIC POPULA TIONS 45

On rl00%

"0
m
D 20- 80 ;o
<t o
Ul m
Q 3% 0* dead
X r40%0dead
Id 40- 60 o
•n
CO \ 53% 9 dead CO
u. m
o x
t- 60- -40
z
UJ
O <
K m
Ul
0. 80- 6 % 9 dead -20

L
100% 0
T"
SUB-ADULT YOUNG ADULT ADULT MATURE ADULT VERY
MATURE ADULT

Fig. 6. Cumulative percentage of within sex totals accounted for by age groups.

found at 6-B-36, and were engaging in warfare. Among the pathologies found by George
Armelagos, two are attributable to violence. One, a chert fragment embedded in a parietal [Burial
38(19)], the other a distinctive "parry fracture" so named because its cause is the parrying of a
blow with the forearm (Burial 37). Both individuals were adults, one unsexable, the other a male.
Both risky activities would begin with adult status (probably with marriage during the sub-adult
period) and continue until physiological old age or death ensued.
Females would begin bearing children sometime during the sub-adult period. During the first
few pregnancies, those women with obstetric and gynecological problems would be selected out of
the population. Unlike the men's, the women's risky activity peak would last only into young
adulthood (20-25 yr). The women's mortality rate thereafter declining until old age set in.
I would suggest that it is these adult role activities that account for the mortality curves to age
30.
By age 35 all the males and 86% of the females have died. This may be accounted for by normal
physiological aging for both sexes with continued hunting and warfare by males. Because only 27%
of the males died during the 30-35 period, these mortality figures should not be taken as
indication of a decreased death rate. This only indicates the fact that 27% of the males were still
available to die.
The survival of old, widowed females would probably not be possible without a sedentary or
semi-sedentary corporate group existence. The presence of a cemetery is itself an additional
indication of this (see below).
The short life expectancy is not unusual. In the U.S.A. in A.D. 1920, the average life
expectancy at birth for non-white males was 35 yr, and for non-white females was 38 yr (Davis
1965:285, Fig. 2). Furthermore, of the populations compared by Howells (1960) and Vallois
(1960:196, 202), the age group proportions compare most favorably with the Mesolithic data and
least favorably with the Pecos Pueblo data. The Indian Knoll data are intermediate (Table 6). It
should be noted however that the reassessments of the Indian Knoll data by Johnston and Snow
(1961) and Stewart (1962) have made the fit less by generally increasing the ages, especially the
over 35 category.
Table 5. Cumulative percent of age groups by sex.

SA YA MA VMA SUM
Male
cumulative ' 9% 36% 72% 99% 99%
Female
cumulative ' 13% 40% 53% 86% 99% 99%
 ¥

46 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

Table 6. Percentage of group burials of adult age at 6-B-36 compared to Mesolithic, American Archaic, and
Formative samples.

Age Groups

No. 12-20 21-34 35+ Total

6-B-36 26 12% 79% 8% 99%

Mesolithic 50 12% 78%* 10% 100%
Archaic 1,132 20% 70% 10% 100%
(Indian Knoll)
Formative 1,213 12% 35% 52% 99%
(Pecos Pueblo)

*Since Vallois has Mesolithic age groups divided into 10 year groups (viz., 21-30, 31-40), I have taken the 12% of
the 31-40 year group and allocated 8% to the 31-35 group and 4% to the 35+ in order to make this sample
comparable to the Pecos and Indian Knoll samples. This estimation is justified because the 21-30 yr age group
accounted for 70%, but the 41-50 yr age group made up only 2%.
We may now answer our second question. There is no apparent selectivity for either age or sex
in this cemetery; nor is there any evidence for either other than a random distribution of these
groups within the cemetery.
The age-sex group distribution is what would be expected, given a territorially based group
engaged in warfare with other groups and subsisting by mixed large game hunting, fishing, and
collecting.
We may conclude that egalitarian standards govern the interments. Before leaving the question
of social status we must ask similar questions of other interment practices.

Positioning of the Interments

The variability in the positioning of the interments was recorded for numerous attributes, a
summary of which is presented in the "Code for Burial Data List" (Appendix).
Four questions were asked of this data, each of which are taken up below.
1. Is there any non-egalitarian within-group treatment evident?
2. Are there any consistent differences between sub-groups that may indicate the presence of
different social groups?
3. Are there any consistent orientation patterns which would indicate a non-random normative
pattern?
4. Do orientation patterns indicate any relation to solar positioning which may indicate
seasonality of interment?

Egalitarian Treatment

There is no non-egalitarian within-group treatment of positions evident. The normal pattern for
attributes No. 3 to 13 is for the single burial to be lying on its left side oriented between 65° east
of north to 215° (clockwise) of north with a tight flex (less than 45°) between the femur tibia and
the humerus generally at an angle of less than 45° to the orientation of the vertebral column and
with the hands somewhere in the area of the face and chest. No age group consistently exhibits
different treatment from other groups among any of the attributes. However, differences do occur
between the sexes.
Females in general show more variability than males. For example, three of the four aberrant
cases involve females. The sole burial oriented to the north is female (see Fig. 4). She is not only
on her back (there are 3 cases: 2 female, 1 male) but is also in extended position for the
femur-spine attribute which is unique. The only burial lying on the right side is also female, which
is unique in not having the tight femur-tibia flex present in all of the other burials.
Females also evidence greater variability than males in positioning of the hands. The normal
position for both sexes is in the face and chest area (29 hands out of 36); Table 7. Where the
remaining 7 hands were positioned in lower areas (hips, pelvis, legs, etc.) all were female except
one (Burial 34) that of a "probable" male. We note that 3 of these 7 hands also belong to the
females responsible for the aberrant orientations and positions (see above). Once again we may
Saxe ] MESOLITHIC POPULA TIONS 47

Table 7. The position of hands in single interments.

Face and Chest Hip and Pelvis

Area Area Total

Right hand M 6 (3) 0 (0) 6 (3)

F 9 (7) 2 (2) 11 (9)

Left hand M 6 (4) 1 (0) 7 (4)

F 8 (6) 4 (4) 12 (10)

Total 29 7 36

Figures in ( ) represent those confidently assigned to sex.

note that the female sex group exhibits greater internal variability than the male sex group.
However, no differences between the cross-cutting age groups are evident, hence the variability
appears to be a function solely of sexually defined status.
A specific difference between the sexes involves attribute No. 4: the degree of flexure between
spinal column and femur. All of the positively identified male single interments were tightly flexed
(less than 45°). Two "probable" males were not as tightly flexed (one of which, as previously
mentioned, we suspect to be female on cultural grounds). On the other hand, none of the females
(except one probable female) exhibited a tight flexure, and within the female group, great
variability in the degree of flex is exhibited (from 45° to 180°, average over 80°). Here we witness
consistent group differences once again co-varying with sex and hence, sex determined status.
What this status difference is, we shall return to in the next section.
There are three double burials (Table 8). Two are male and female and one consists of two
females. Where both sexes comprise a pair, the individuals are of similar age. The paired females
evidence extreme ages. Because the ages in the heterosexual pairs are so similar we can suppose
that they represent married pairs. We may also note the individuals on the outside ("cradling" the
other?) are individuals who would tend to have higher status in a hunting and gathering, egalitarian
society; e.g., males as against females of similar ages, and older females more than younger females.
But because the sample of 3 is so small, we cannot generalize these observations to a pattern. The
point relevant to our present concern, however, is that the structure and composition of these
double burials is commensurate with two determinants of egalitarian statuses: age and sex.
One final bit of data. One young adult male burial had his left and right humeri switched in an
otherwise intact skeleton. There are three possible explanations.
1. This is a rearticulated burial. This is unlikely since the remainder of the burial was complete
and in proper order.
2. The limbs were exhumated by his survivors. This is a custom found in Melanesia, e.g., the
Lakelai who exhume the humeri of important men for ceremonies honoring the dead. They,
however, do not replace them (Valentine 1965:175).
3. One of our local workmen re-articulated them since this was excavated early in the
excavation prior to their complete training.
Since the two humeri were of different sizes but not pathological, we favor interpretation 2.
Because this burial is a single occurrence, it does not constitute a pattern. However, because the
individual is a male (probably in a patrilocal setting, see below) we see no conflict with the other
evidence for an egalitarian status system.
Table 8. Association of age and sex among group burials.

Age Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

Very mature adult - - F20*

Mature adult F25
Adult M24*
Young adult - Ml2*
F13
Sub-adult - - F15

•Denotes the outside skeleton in the group. Group 1 (B 24 & B 25), Group 2 (B 12 & 13), Group 3 (B 15 & 20).
 p

48 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25 \

Difference in Social Affiliation

The presence of different social groups can be confirmed. Differences among male and females ;
in the expression of attribute No. 6 (degree of flex between femur and vertebral column) j
constitute the best evidence. The differential behavior by sex is as follows: (1) The male subgroup I
is internally consistent for attribute No. 6. (2) Male degree of flex is consistently different from
female. (3) The female subgroup is not internally consistent for attribute No. 6, indeed it is quite
variable.
I would like to advance the hypothesis that post-marital (adult) residence is patrilocal or biased
towards patrilocality. Briefly, the difference between sexes can be explained if the males remain in
their natal territory as members of a single group but females come in from other groups all of
which possess their own variants on interment practices. Ethnographically, the taking of wives
from other groups, even from those whose languages are unintelligible, is not unusual for both
bands and tribes.
The aberrant positioning data previously noted (i.e., those completely at odds with the
normative range of positioning) are also accounted for by this assumption of patrilocality. Of the
four children found, only one was completely articulated in situ. It was tightly flexed as were the
males. This would be expected given premarital residence and burial in the partilocal natal group.
Differences in the position of the legs implies different treatment after death but prior to
burial. Male legs must have been tightly bound shortly after death, before rigor mortis had set in
(i.e., both the femur and tibia were tightly pressed to the trunk). This sets a time limit of one to I
seven hours after death. Among the females the femur and tibia were uniformly tight but the legs '•
were not necessarily bound to the body nor was one leg bound next to the other. It may be these
pre-interment ritual differences that are being reflected in the "degree of flex" attributes, rather
than a man at graveside, protractor in hand.
If one does not assume patrilocality or some other co-residental exclusiveness, then the flex
differences must be laid to a formulation which simply states that adult males were apparently
more important and were therefore treated with more rigor. However, this leaves the question of
why they should be more important unanswered, and furthermore there is an implied
contradiction in the articulated child burial.
Finally, the existence of patrilocality (or some pattern of descent group locality) is probably
commensurate with the very existence of a cemetery. As will be developed below, there are
indications that group burial grounds exist where membership in a corporate localized descent
group (lineage or clan) is necessary to have legitimate access to vital resources in a defined and
defended territory; the presence of the group's ancestors being the basis of the symbolic claim to
the right of eminent domain.
In conclusion, the assumption of patrilocality explains the available data simply and fits other
implications drawn from it.
The disposition of the interments does not reveal any groups receiving qualitatively different
treatment for any attribute. The observed differences are quantitative (degree of variability), and
degree of flex angle). Because these differences in treatment of the dead correspond to sex, the
statuses they represent must be sex ascribed and hence commensurate with an egalitarian status
system.

Consistency of Orientation

We turn now to the question of whether the burial orientations are random or not. An
inspection of Fig. 7 shows that orientation is not random. The figure incorporates skeletal
orientations (attribute No. 3) within the circle and orientation of face (attribute No. 4) outside
only.
No consistent covariation between orientation and other attributes was evident. Nor does the
inclusion of the nominal data "direction facing" effect this conclusion, with the exception of a
single month oriented burial (B 33) range was quite well defined between 65° and 215° east of
north with the largest clustering occurring in the southeast quadrant (11 out of 18 compass
recorded orientations). Exluding B 33, this means that the range utilizes only 42% of the 360°
Saxe] MESOLITHIC POPULA TIONS 49

Fig. 7. Burial orientations. Distribution of orientation within circle, that of the direction the skull's facing
outside the circle. Heavy lines represent approximate facing directions; dashed blocks are approximate skeletal
orientations; fine lines are more precise observations.

range of possibilities, a sure indication of patterned behavior although we find it difficult to decide
the basis of this patterning at this point.

Seasonality of Interments

In the search for the orientation rationale, the exception to this normative pattern is the same
female (B 33) burial previously mentioned as incorporating a number of aberrant attributes in the
relation of burial orientation to solar position at various times of the year. The azimuth of sunrise
and sunset was determined by the formula:
cos A = 5 sin 4> sec
where A is the azimuth as measured in degrees from true north
5 is the declination of the sun (depending on the season of the year)
0 is the latitude of the observer (Smart 1962:47)
The values for 5 and <p ephemeris time are found in The American Ephemeris and Nautical
Almanac (1967:18-33). The following results for the Wadi Haifa latitude are incorporated in Fig.
7:
Summer Solstice = 65° (sunrise) and 295° (sunset)
Winter Solstice =115° (sunrise) and 245° (sunset)
Equinoxes Solstice = ca. 90° and 270°
50 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

Although little detailed information is available for Sudan, two maps show that magnetic
declination for the area of the site is within 2° east of north.
The next problem was to find the declination from true north of compass readings taken at
6-B-36. [The first a 1934 English map of Kordofan Province was 8° latitude to the south of 6-B-36
(University of Michigan map No. 87384) and showed a declination of 1°20' west with an
annual decrease of 7' (i.e, 2° 10' east of north). The second, a 1940 German map in the
"International" series (NF36) was of the correct section and showed a declination of 0°5'
(University of Michigan map No. 40990)]. Although these maps disagree slightly, they indicate
that the compass readings taken in 1964 are approximately correct for true north, or at least no
more inaccurate than other sources of error such as other magnetic anomalies, diffraction of
sunlight below 10° altitude (Breed Hosmer and Bone 1958:27-28, 285), and the consistency of the
grave diggers. Thus we may state that the burial orientations and solar positions shown in Fig. 7
are in approximately correct relationship to each other.
One phenomenon then becomes immediately apparent: The northeastern limit of the burial
orientation range is exactly the same as the sunrise at the summer solstice; i.e., this is the furthest
north the sun ever rises. However since the majority of orientations are greater than 115° (the
winter solstice) the sunrise could not possibly be the basis of the patterning.
For six months out of the year the sun rises between 65° and 90°. For a short period it passes
either approximately overhead or for a very short period it passes slightly to the north (at the ;
summer solstice). For the remainder of the year the sun both rises and traverses the sky at various
degrees to the south.
Now let us assume for the moment that the burials are oriented toward the sun in its daily ,
traverse across the sky and see what can then be explained. Such an assumption could be tested on
cemeteries of similar cultures found in other latitudes.
First, it would follow that burials only took place between sunrise and early afternoon, with
the greatest concentrations in mid-morning. Secondly, B 33, with her aberrant northern
orientation, would no longer be excluded but would be a high noon burial sometime around the
summer solstice (June 22). In fact, Burials 15 and 20 (a double interment with orientations of 65°
and 95°) could very well have been buried during the same time of the year only earlier in the day.
Nevertheless, there are only a few burials that can have occurred only between the traverse at the
two equinoxes and the traverse at the summer solstice, roughly, between early April and early
September. The total is no more than 6 from a sample of 24 (Burials 33, 15, 20, 26, 3, 7). Of the
remaining 18 burials, no seasonality can be inferred. This is due to the great amount of daily
overlap in azimuth so long as the sun stays somewhere to the south, and our guess is that that
occurs approximately 11 months out of the year. Now, Burials 33, 15, and 20 could only have
occurred at the time of the summer solstice or within a period of about one month. This also
means no other burials could have occurred at this time. Therefore three twenty-fourths (ca. 12%)
of the interments occurred within one-twelfth (8%) of the year. A very close agreement for the
crude approximations that went into it! Now these three burials plus 26, 3, and 7, can only have
occurred during a 6 mo period, but we do not know how many others were also occuring since the
sun's traverse is dipping south much of the time. Therefore at least six twenty-fourths (25%) of the
burials occurred within six twelfths (50%) of the year.
In summary, assuming burial orientations are patterned in relation to the traverse of the sun, '*
(1) we can demonstrate a preference for mid-morning burial, (2) B 33's aberrant orientation is no [
longer aberrant, (3) the site was utilized about the time of the summer solstice (June 22) and for 3 '
mo preceding it, and/or following it. Since any burials greater than 95° could have occurred during \
this 3 to 6 mo period we can say nothing about the season of their interment. 5
In conclusion, the assumption of solar traverse orientation is presently a fruitful one, but until a •
larger sample is obtained, it cannot be tested and must remain an assumption. Other possibilities are
orientation to mythical places and vital resources. I

SIGNIFICANCE OF CEMETERIES IN GENERAL

Our next question relates to the significance of the existence of cemeteries. Do cemeteries
occur only in certain types of socio-cultural systems? Naturally, such a question requires a paper in
Saxe] MESOLITHIC POPULA TIONS 51

itself. However a rapid glance at the ethno- (high)

graphic literature gives rewarding results. > •

Meggitt (1965a:279) dealing with New CHIMBU

Guinea Highland Societies has shown that jz
"where the members of a homogeneous society Q CENTRAL ENGA
of horticulturists distinguish in any con- §
sistent fashion between agnates and other rela- fj KUIWE
tives, the degree to which social groups are ^
FORE
structured in terms of agnatic descent and %
patrilocality varies with the pressure on avail- °" HULI
able land resources"; and that "the people * ,ow '
(low)
emphasize the importance of the continuity of DEGREE OF AGNATION (high)
solidarity of descent groups which can assert Fig. 8. Relative relationships of population density
clear titles to the highly valued land. The to degree of agnation,
popular religion is well designed to support
these ends . . . rituals regularly reaffirm the . . . patrilineal group . . . the dogma in itself implies a
title to land by relating living members of the group to a founding ancestor" Meggitt (1965b: 131).
In other words, Meggitt first builds an empirical link between demographic factors and
agnation, i.e., effective patrilineality and patrilocality. He then links these factors to rituals which
reaffirm the group structure and dogmas which legitimize the control of vital resources.
I hypothesized that Meggitt's demographic factors and effective lineality-locality would also
control the customs of disposition of the dead in these egalitarian groups since (1) rituals reaffirm
the social group, and (2) land control is legitimized by ancestor reference. To test this hypothesis,
five of Meggitt's Highland groups ranked from high to low as follows: (see Fig. 8; modified from
Meggitt 1965a:279).
1. Chimbu: special cemeteries for clan and/or subclan members and their wives on the clan
lands. The cemetery is only framed if abandoned as a cemetery (Brookfield and Brown
1963:40).
2. Central Enga: Males buried on clan land; carried back if at all possible; in a narrow zone
above the fields but below the forest or in fallow land; females in waste or common land
near clan forest. Although not a formal cemetery, the archaeological results would appear as
such. (Meggitt 1965b: 182-184 and personal communication).
3. Kuma: Clan "burial grounds: for males and wives .veay 1959:141-142, and passim).
4. Fore: Cannibalism and burial (in any order) in ga:iens of the lineage.
5. Hull: In coffin on platform (Glasse 1965:36).
In a general way our hypothesis is confirmed. The importance of ancestors as measured by degree
of permanence of interments (as opposed to platform burials and shifting garden burials which
eventually leave no trace) and by degree of increasing specialization in burial areas, does co-vary
with Meggitt's variables.
If, instead of his word "land," we think of the term "vital resources" (since our population at
6-B-36 was not horticulturalist), and add to this transformation the concepts of warfare,
patrilocality, and egalitarianism plus existence of a highly structured cemetery, than perhaps the
type of social organization found in Highland New Guinea, i.e., egalitarian tribes, may not be too
far off base for our archaeological remains.
Australian Aborigines such as the Murngin (Warner 1958:42-432) leave nothing of their dead
when rituals are finished except a few cracked bones on the surface. The Tiwi leave burials and
graveposts but bury where they die, in or out of their own district (Hart and Pilling 1965:90).
A band type of mortuary practice will probably not correspond to our data. However, stronger
conclusions must await further research.

SUMMARY OF INTERPRETATIONS

One is never secure in generalizing from a single site to a socio-cultural system. At this point we
have no way of knowing whether 6-B-36 represents but one aspect, one activity, or one social
52 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

segment of a larger settlement system. But for purposes of illustrating the utility of the types of
observations presented in this paper, let us proceed as if 6-B-36 did represent a total social j
system, and as if our inferences are correct. What could we say? !
The age and sex group composition is a reflection of the living population and hence of the f
adaptation. Life expectancy was lower than Neolithic populations with a higher mortality for 1
females due to childbirth selection during the early years of marriage. Since the sub-adult female j
population behaved as differently from the males as the older females, we may infer that marriage
occurred early in adolescence. Thereafter, the male adult mortality rate was relatively higher due
to warfare and probably big game hunting. Post-marital residence was with the husband's agnates,
and was perhaps patrilineal as inferred from the low male variability in, and presence of, a
cemetery. Patrilocality, plus the fact of a cemetery, in turn would tend to support the inference of
warfare. In any one age group and in general, there were more females than males present,
probably indicating polygamy. Furthermore, the presence of the aged widowed females is more
likely to occur in a sedentary or semi-sedentary group than not. This inference, in turn, is
supported by the existence of a cemetery, the presence of large grindstones, and possibly the
seasonal utilization of riverine resources. Burials oriented to the traverse of the sun across the sky
indicate utilization of the site for at least 3 mo prior to and/or following the summer solstice (June
22).
Finally, status differences between individuals reflect sex, age, and some personally achieved
characteristics most of which are symbolized by grave goods. There is perhaps some indication of
personal achievement represented in the humeri disturbances. The sum indicates participation in
an egalitarian status system in life.

CONCLUSION

We have used the material correlates of human behavior to reconstruct that behavior. Some of
these reconstructions were hypotheses, whereas some were assertions. The faster archaeologists
and ethnologists learn to monitor the behavior of socio-cultural systems by empirically relatable
phenomena, the fewer the assertions will be.

APPENDIX
PROFILE OF THE LIVING POPULATION

Assuming a stable population, there must be more young of any category than any older
category since it is the younger that eventually form the older groups. Therefore, reversing the
procedure we used in forming Fig. 5, we can derive a table of cumulative percent illustrating the
percentages of each of the age groups accounted for within each sex (Table 9).
Multiplying the male and female percentages by the number of males (11) and females (15) in
the original sample and adjusting for 100, the age-sex groups for a living 6-B-36 population of
100 can be seen in Fig. 9 and Table 10.

Table 9. Cumulative percent of age groups by sex.

SA YA A MA VMA Total

Male 35% 32% 22% 10% 0% 99%

Female 33% 28% 19% 15% 4% 99%
Male & Female 34% 30% 21% 13% 2% 100%

Table 10 Adjusted proportions of age groups by sex.

SA YA A MA VMA Total

Male 13 13.5 9.3 4.2 0 42

Female 19 16 11 8.7 2.3 57

Total 34 29.5 20.3 12.9 2.3 99

Saxe] MESOLITHIC POPULATIONS 53

SITE 6-B-36 CODE FOR BURIAL DATA LIST

Row Type of Information Code

1 Burial number From 1 to 39a (as given in the field)

2 Number of other interments 0 = none

1 = double
2 = in mass burial area
1 + 2 = double in mass burial area

Orientation of spinal column Where azimuth in degrees clockwise from

(line from sacrum to foramen
magnum; or where a discontinuity
use two numbers: the first is
the thoracic through the cervical
vertebra).
north are available, record the angle.
Where nominal approximations, record the
name, e.g., ESE.

Facmg-Direction in which in-

dividual would be facing if alive,
included since heads are sometimes
turned. A rough approximation
at best.

How laid out-li simply on back, Simple

right side, or left side record 1 = left side
only one number. If twisted, 2 = right side
choose one of the above as basic 3 = on back
and then add the qualifer sym- Twisted
bols, e.g., "1,1.),a)" = on 1.) shoulder and arm area
left side but twisted so that a) canted back
shoulder and arm area is canted b) canted forward
back. 2.) hip area
a) canted back
b) canted forward
3.) leg area
a) to left of spinal column
b) to right of spinal column

Degree of flex-angle between 1 = approximately 45 ("medium")

femur and vertebral column- 2 = less than 45° ("tight")
Where different for each leg 3 = 45° to 90° ("loose")
record 2 numbers, the left first, 4 = between loose and estended ("open")
the right second. 5 = 180° ("extended")

Degree of flex-angle between

femur and tibia.

Location of left hand For single interments

1 = face and chest area
2 = abdominal, pelvic, leg area
Location of right hand For double interments
1 = own head and chest area
2 = own abdominal, pelvic, leg area
3a = cupping other individual's head
3b = under other individual's spine

10 Left arm - degree of flex angle 1 = approximately 45 ("medium")

between vertebral column and
humerus.
11 Left arm - degree of flex angle
between humerus and ulna.
2 = less than 45° ("tight")
3 = 45° to 90° ("loose")
4 = between loose and extended ("open")
5 = 180° ("extended")
54 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

SITE 6-B-36 CODE FOR BURIAL DATA LIST (Continued)

Row Type of Information Code

12 Right arm - Degree of flex angle

between vertebral column and
humerus.

13 Right arm - Degree of flex angle

between humerus and ulna.

14 Age group C = child (followed by chronological age)

SA = sub-adult (below 20, but not a child)
YA = young adult (20-24)
A = adult (25-29)
MA = mature adult (30-34)
VMA = very mature adult (35 and older)
NC = non-child whose age was undetermined

15 Sex M = male
F = female
M? or F? = male or female with a certainty
evaluation of III (see below)
x = undetermined

16 Violence induced injury 1 = none

2 = parry fracture
3 = chert fragment in parietal
4 = humeri disturbed

Note: In order to aid in drawing inferences, the data was recorded with an evaluation of certainty. The code is as
follows:
I = normal certainty
II = data o.k., but more than one interpretation possible.
III = data not certain but judgment probably correct.
IV = data unclear, judgment is guess.
V = no data (ND).
Where no Roman numeral is shown, the evaluation is = I. Where other than I, the Roman numeral follows the
data.

BURIAL DATA LIST

Row No. C NC

1 B5A B22 B35 B39A B4 B5 B7 B9 B16 B18 B39

2 1 IV 2 2 2 IV 0 1 IV 0 II 0 0 0 1 IV
3 V 200° S IV V SE III V E E IV E II V E II
4 V WNW N IV V V V SW V SE II V V
5 V 1 V V 1 IV V 1 1 IV V V V
6 V 2 V V V V 3 V V V V
7 V 2 V V V V 2 2 V V V
8 V 1 V V V V 1 V V V V
9 V 1 V V 2 V 1 V V V V
10 V 2 V V V V 2 V V V V
11 V 2 V V V V 2 V V V V
12 V 2 V V V V 2 V V V V
13 V 2 V V V V 2 V V V V
C post
14 C 8 C 8 C 8 natal NC NC NC NC NC A IV NC
15 V V V V M? M F? V V V V
16 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
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 56 APPROACHES TO MORTUARY PRACTICES [Memoir 25

Acknowledgments. The paper is essentially the

CO
40n same as when presented in 1965. Although continued
analysis has modified some interpretations of the data,
< the methodological and conceptual goals which moti-
vated the initial paper remain valid.
| 30H Research was supported by the National Science
Foundation grants and by the U.S. Department of
State under Public Law 480 Funds, G. W. Hewes,
administrative director. Valuable field assistance was
provided by the Sudan Antiquities Service, Sayed T.
20- H. Thabit, commissioner for archaeology, and his
staff.

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