Protohistoric graveyards of the Swat Valley, Pakistan: new light on funerary practices and absolute chronology. (4th April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vidale, Massimo; Micheli, Roberto
• Is Part Of: Antiquity. Volume 91:Number 356(2017)
• Page Start: 389
• Page End: 405
• Publication Date: 2017-04-04
• Subjects: Pakistan, -- Swat Valley, -- Bronze Age, -- Iron Age, -- funerary practices, -- radiocarbon dating, -- chronology; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Antiquities -- Periodicals; 930.05
• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2017.23
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-598X

Abstract

Abstract: Abstract : The protohistoric graveyards of north-western Pakistan were first excavated in the 1960s, but their chronology is still debated, along with their relationship to broader regional issues of ethnic and cultural change. Recent excavation of two graveyards in the Swat Valley has provided new dating evidence and a much better understanding both of grave structure and treatment of the dead. Secondary burial was documented at Udegram, along with the use of perishable containers and other objects as grave goods. The complexity of the funerary practices reveal the prolonged interaction between the living and the dead in protohistoric Swat.