Ancient tombs in Anatolia suggest reverence for youth preceded elite burials

University College London, the University of Central Lancashire, Ege University, and other institutions have discovered that radical inequality existed in burial practices among teenagers in Early Bronze Age Anatolia, predating the development of social hierarchies in the broader society. The finding challenges traditional understandings of how complex societies emerged.

Archaeology often describes the rise of power and hierarchy in early Mesopotamia as a move from small, equal communities to big, complex societies run by cities, kings, and bureaucrats. Much of that view comes from cities and unequal burials in southern Mesopotamia, where growing wealth disparity, centralized rule, and early legal codes coincide with urban development.

In the study, "Inequality at the Dawn of the Bronze Age: The Case of Başur Höyük, a 'Royal' Cemetery at the Margins of the Mesopotamian World," published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, researchers carried out a combined archaeological, anthropological, and genetic analysis of an Early Bronze Age cemetery to investigate early signs of social hierarchy.

Analysis focused on 18 graves at Başur Höyük, dated to approximately 3100–2800 BCE, including stone-built cists and pit graves, some containing multiple individuals buried in subordinate positions.

The team applied ancient DNA sequencing, strontium and lead isotope analysis, and forensic osteological assessments, alongside detailed study of beadwork composition, metallurgical artifacts, and spatial burial configurations to assess indicators of social differentiation and hierarchical structuring.

Tombs built with stone contained large quantities of metal weapons, ornaments, and ornate beadwork. Most primary individuals in these graves were adolescents between 12 and 16 years old, often elaborately dressed in clothing made with non-local materials.

Adjacent burials showed evidence of sharp-force trauma consistent with ritual killing. DNA analysis revealed no close biological relationships among individuals, and sex determinations showed both males and females, with no pattern linking biological sex to burial treatment. Isotope results indicated many had grown up outside the local region.

Findings suggest that radical inequality emerged in funerary rituals without evidence of a broader political hierarchy. Richly furnished tombs were concentrated among adolescents, with no indication of elite lineages, centralized authority, or inherited status.

Researchers propose that the cemetery reflects something unexpected. Elaborate burials centered on adolescents may point to a ranked age-based social structure, or possibly a symbolic reverence for youth that existed outside formal political life.

Evidence of wealth and sacrificial violence in these graves suggests a form of social differentiation that emerged beyond institutions like cities, dynasties, or bureaucracies, raising questions about how inequality first took shape in ritual and ceremonial settings.

The authors caution that, "Much remains unclear about the nature of these deposits, and the rituals that gave rise to them, but one thing we may already conclude is that the identification of Başur Höyük as the site of a 'royal' or 'elite' cemetery is premature. It also seems quite improbable, given the wider archaeological setting of the cemetery, and what can be deduced about its social context."

Regional adult elite burials that appear after the Early Bronze Age echo many of the adornments and practices seen at Başur Höyük, including the presence of ritually killed attendants.

Transferring reverence from society's fallen youth to adults who had accumulated wealth and power suggests more than a simple consolidation of dynastic authority. It may reflect a deeper reordering of social values—an appropriation of status by wealth and power that replaced the honor once reserved only for the children of society.

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