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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Switching Mortuary Codes and Ritual Programs: The Double-Monolith-Circle from Sine-Ngayene, Senegal
Authors:Holl, Augustin F.C.ISNI
Bocoum, Hamady
Dueppen, Stephen
Gallagher, Daphne
Year:2007
Periodical:Journal of African Archaeology
Volume:5
Issue:1
Pages:127-148
Language:English
Geographic term:Senegal
Subjects:prehistoric graves
archaeology
Anthropology and Archaeology
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/43135423
Abstract:This paper addresses a number of connected issues revolving around mortuary practices in the Senegambian megalithic through traditions,through the lenses of the intriguing double-monolith-circle no. 27 of Sine-Ngayene, also known as Diallombere. Despite more than a century of archaeological investigation, the diversity of Senegambian megalithic features is still very poorly understood. Most of the cases investigated so far have been claimed to feature single or multiple simultaneous primary burials. The presence of incomplete skeletons is generally explained by poor preservation due to soils' corrosive effects. Monument no. 27, located at the centre of the Sine-Ngayene cemetery, presents an unexpectedly long use life, characterized by shifting ways of arranging humans' skeletal remains - mortuary codes switching - as well as their associated ritual use of material culture, within the general context of secondary burial practices. Four distinct and successive cycles, spanning over ca 700 years (AD 700-AD 1350), have been identified and the construction sequence of this complex monument deciphered. Bibliogr., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]
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