The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)

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dc.contributor.authorStrauss, Andréen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Rodrigo Eliasen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBernardo, Danilo Ven_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSalazar-García, Domingo Cen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorTalamo, Sahraen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJaouen, Klerviaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHubbe, Marken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBlack, Sueen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorWilkinson, Carolineen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorRichards, Michael Phillipen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-28T06:50:16Z
dc.date.available2015-12-28T06:50:16Z
dc.date.issued2015en_ZA
dc.description.abstractWe present here evidence for an early Holocene case of decapitation in the New World (Burial 26), found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in 2007. Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site located in the Lagoa Santa karst in east-central Brazil with evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 11.7-12.7 cal kyBP (95.4% interval). An ultra-filtered AMS age determination on a fragment of the sphenoid provided an age range of 9.1-9.4 cal kyBP (95.4% interval) for Burial 26. The interment was composed of an articulated cranium, mandible and first six cervical vertebrae. Cut marks with a v-shaped profile were observed in the mandible and sixth cervical vertebra. The right hand was amputated and laid over the left side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the chin and the left hand was amputated and laid over the right side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the forehead. Strontium analysis comparing Burial 26's isotopic signature to other specimens from Lapa do Santo suggests this was a local member of the group. Therefore, we suggest a ritualized decapitation instead of trophy-taking, testifying for the sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during the early Archaic period. In the apparent absence of wealth goods or elaborated architecture, Lapa do Santo's inhabitants seemed to use the human body to express their cosmological principles regarding death.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationStrauss, A., Oliveira, R. E., Bernardo, D. V., Salazar-García, D. C., Talamo, S., Jaouen, K., ... Richards, M. P. (2015). The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil). <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16062en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationStrauss, André, Rodrigo Elias Oliveira, Danilo V Bernardo, Domingo C Salazar-García, Sahra Talamo, Klervia Jaouen, Mark Hubbe, Sue Black, Caroline Wilkinson, and Michael Phillip Richards "The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)." <i>PLoS One</i> (2015) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16062en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationStrauss, A., Oliveira, R. E., Bernardo, D. V., Salazar-García, D. C., Talamo, S., Jaouen, K., ... & Araujo, A. G. (2015). The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil). PloS one, 10(9), e0137456. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137456en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Strauss, André AU - Oliveira, Rodrigo Elias AU - Bernardo, Danilo V AU - Salazar-García, Domingo C AU - Talamo, Sahra AU - Jaouen, Klervia AU - Hubbe, Mark AU - Black, Sue AU - Wilkinson, Caroline AU - Richards, Michael Phillip AB - We present here evidence for an early Holocene case of decapitation in the New World (Burial 26), found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in 2007. Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site located in the Lagoa Santa karst in east-central Brazil with evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 11.7-12.7 cal kyBP (95.4% interval). An ultra-filtered AMS age determination on a fragment of the sphenoid provided an age range of 9.1-9.4 cal kyBP (95.4% interval) for Burial 26. The interment was composed of an articulated cranium, mandible and first six cervical vertebrae. Cut marks with a v-shaped profile were observed in the mandible and sixth cervical vertebra. The right hand was amputated and laid over the left side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the chin and the left hand was amputated and laid over the right side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the forehead. Strontium analysis comparing Burial 26's isotopic signature to other specimens from Lapa do Santo suggests this was a local member of the group. Therefore, we suggest a ritualized decapitation instead of trophy-taking, testifying for the sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during the early Archaic period. In the apparent absence of wealth goods or elaborated architecture, Lapa do Santo's inhabitants seemed to use the human body to express their cosmological principles regarding death. DA - 2015 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0137456 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2015 T1 - The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil) TI - The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil) UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16062 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/16062
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137456
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationStrauss A, Oliveira RE, Bernardo DV, Salazar-García DC, Talamo S, Jaouen K, et al. The oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil). PLoS One. 2015; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16062.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Archaeologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2015 Strauss et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSkullen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHeaden_ZA
dc.subject.otherArchaeologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherCraniumen_ZA
dc.subject.otherStrontiumen_ZA
dc.subject.otherRadioactive carbon datingen_ZA
dc.subject.otherArchaeological excavationen_ZA
dc.subject.otherTeethen_ZA
dc.titleThe oldest case of decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)en_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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