Postmortem treatment of preterm infants at the Gangshang site during the Late Neolithic period, Shandong Province, China

Abstract

AbstractJar burial is a particular burial practice generally used in the Neolithic period of China. However, the rarity of finding prenatal individuals limits the ability to study their treatment in jar burial contexts. In this paper, to study the postmortem treatment of this specific age further, we focus on three jar burials of infant individuals excavated in 2021 at the Gangshang site in China, where the skeletal remains were relatively well preserved. The skeletal remains of three well‐preserved individuals are presented into inverted ceramic tripods near the residential area and with a crouched posture. In terms of this condition, we apply the osteometric method to estimate the range and mean of age at death for each individual investigated. Meanwhile, we use micro‐computed tomography (CT) scans to help judge the degree of microbial bioerosion. Besides, histological analysis on skeletal remains combined with the Oxford Histological Index (OHI) assessment allows us to estimate the developmental stage at the time of death by analyzing the results of micro‐CT scans. By using osteometric methods, the results show that the gestational age of the three individuals is 22–26, 24–28, and 22–26 weeks, respectively. The results of the micro‐CT scans indicate that all three fetuses died shortly after birth, or had died in their mother's uterus before birth, with the OHI score of 5. Moreover, we indeed observe infant skeleton remains with no bacterial bioerosion, indicating that it is effective using this method to judge the developmental stage at the time of death with a specific taphonomic environment in the Gangshang site of the Dawenkou culture period. Combined with the placement of the jars in which the three infants were buried, it is believed that this unique placement method was intentional and specific to the infant deaths. These results are instructive for exploring the postmortem treatment of dead infants by ancient residents of the Dawenkou culture period (4200 bc–2600 bc) in Shandong Province, China, and the significance and possible causes of the unique burial type.