Folklor/Edebiyat (Aug 2016)
THE BURIALS IN PALEOLITHIC AGE AND THE CONCEPT OF DEATH / PALEOLİTİK ÇAĞDA MEZARLAR VE ÖLÜM KAVRAMI
Abstract
There are discussions about the concept of death, earliest grave applications and the purpose of primitives to bury their dead. Findspots which are associated with symbolic world of Paleolithic Age primitives and defined as graves are quite interesting. Defined as graveyards findspots are known for at least 100.000 years on settlement areas in continental Europe, Africa and Asia. The purpose of our study is to analyze findings described as graveyards on these settlement areas, evaluate associated data in the light of information available, and to summarize significant processes required to explain the above. Tried to be explained with symbolic thoughts, religious rites and rituals as well, Paleolithic age graves and findings do not also provide information about abstract and spiritual world of people that lived in that era, but also points to the fact that these implementations may have started in very early times. Concepts including ‘sense of soul’ and ‘hope for rebirth’ which are tried to be explained on the basis of findings such as ‘cannibalism’, ‘skull cult’ and Ochre put forth importance of the issue. Findings described as the earliest grave belong to Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) age and it can be observed that these findings become much more complex in Upper Paleolithic period (Gravettian and Magdelenian stages). Our article is limited to the Paleolithic Era and deals with Homo sapiens and Homo neandertalensis looking anatomically modern and dating to Mid-Paleolithic period as well as grave findspots of Homo sapiens dating to Upper Paleolithic period.
