Notes for the analysis and interpretation of archaeological contexts with human bone remains

Abstract

Burials are archaeological deposits with enormous social significance to provide insights into the past societies. Funerary deposits reveal a set of cultural practices and conceptions that develop and strengthen identities, collective memories and social relationships. But they are also manipulated to distort or invert social reality as a reflection of different attitudes towards death or for the benefit of certain social groups. This article reflects on the analysis and interpretation of archaeological contexts where human skeletal remains appear, with special consideration of funerary deposits, and using the theoretical-methodological basis provided by funerary taphonomy. This discipline attempts to identify and explain the anthropogenic and natural processes that occurred during the formation of archaeological contexts with human skeletal remains. Given the complexity of funerary deposits, it is necessary to generate high resolution contextual information as a basis for establishing different interpretative hypotheses. Funeral taphonomy integrates different lines of evidence that contribute significantly to the development of these hypotheses.