Death and Dying in the Neolithic Near East

Going beyond traditional concerns such as wealth, status, and social hierarchy, Karina Croucher here explores a variety of new approaches to the mortuary archaeology of the Neolithic Near East. Case studies reinterpret the remarkable plastered skulls, as well as plaster statuary, headless burials, relationships between human and animal remains, food consumption and cannibalism. Topics such as human interaction with the environment, identity, personhood and gender are stressed, providing a window on a more complex, more "humanised" Near Eastern Neolithic.