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SUMMARY:Beyond status: rethinking the meaning of stone tools in Mesolithic
  burials - Dr. Aimée Little (University of York)
DTSTART:20220527T153000Z
DTEND:20220527T163000Z
UID:TALK175163@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:106589
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract:* Personal ornaments placed into Mesolithic graves a
 re often interpreted as “prestige items” given to privileged members o
 f society\, resulting in a bias towards ornaments as a means of understand
 ing symbolic mortuary behaviour\, status\, social identity\, and society m
 ore generally. In contrast\, stone tools\, often found in the same graves 
 are typically considered utilitarian items and have received far less atte
 ntion. This has created a false dichotomy whereby personal ornaments funer
 ary offerings are perceived as symbolic markers of identity\, wealth and s
 tatus\, while the lithic tools are viewed as incidental/less symbolic incl
 usions: the residual debris from everyday life. Yet ethnohistoric accounts
  reveal the rich symbolic significance accorded to stone tools amongst dif
 ferent societies: from associations with the world of the dead to living b
 eings with their own life course. Similar understandings may have existed 
 in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic with female figurines made from flint\,
  suggestions that stone tools may have at times been seen as animate or as
 sociated with major rites of passage\, or ritually “killed” as part of
  the funerary process. This talk will introduce the AHRC-funded Stone Dead
  project which is investigating the diversity of roles lithic grave goods 
 played in Mesolithic mortuary rites and rituals.\n\nTo receive a Zoom link
 \, please register "here":https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwod
 eCvqTgoHNPXI1z-75dQ7FPTphiPTiIQ
LOCATION:Henry Wellcome Building Seminar Room\, Department of Archaeology/
 Zoom
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