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Über die Toten zu den Lebenden: Menschliche Überreste vom spätlatènezeitlichen Fundplatz Basel-Gasfabrik und ihre kulturgeschichtlichen Deutungen.

Research Project
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01.01.2011
 - 30.06.2014

The treatment of dead bodies in the Late La Tène period in particular is a prominent phenomenon, the manifestations of which break present-day taboos. Besides the interment of complete bodies in grave fields, a variety of burials in settlements and sanctuaries are known. Skulls as well as isolated bones showing traces of manipulation have been found in settlements, sometimes associated with refuse, reminiscent of some form of ancestor worship or even anthropophagy. The coexistence of various modes of treating the dead is a manifestation of the complexity that existed in terms of the practices that revolved around dead bodies. These should be analysed and interpreted as a whole and while remaining conscious of one's own taboos. Using the Late La Tène site of Basel-Gasfabrik (c. 150 - 80 BC) as a case study, the research project addresses this desideratum in European Iron Age research. With its two cemeteries and its large-scale settlement area where all the aforementioned categories of mortal remains are represented, this well-documented site offers unique prerequisites for the study of the treatment of the dead in the Late La Tène period, while taking into account for the first time its complexity and multidimensionality. Pioneering work will also be carried out in terms of the systematic analysis of the archaeological features which contained skeletons or parts thereof in the general settlement context, while also paying attention to and reconstructing the underlying taphonomic processes. The study follows the 'integrative archaeology' concept with a close collaboration between archaeology, anthropology, bioarchaeometry, geoarchaeology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany. Only within this framework will it be possible to address questions as to whether human remains in settlements were dumped as waste or whether they might, for example, represent the remnants of multi-stage funerary rites. The multidimensional comparison between individuals from the grave fields and those from the settlement will constitute another central aspect of the investigations. Besides reconstructing potential ritual differences, it will be of interest to ask whether the individuals belonged to different social groups. In this context the great potential of bioarchaeometric and anthropological analyses will provide fundamental information regarding hitherto unknown selection mechanisms in the treatment of the dead. The study of the human remains from Basel-Gasfabrik promises to provide fundamental insight into the collective and individual living conditions, the origins and the gene pool of the population, the social situation and funerary rites.

Collaborations & Cooperations

2013 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations within own University
Schibler, Jörg, Universität Basel, Research cooperation
2013 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on a national level
Lassau, Guido, Archäologische Bodenforschung Basel-Stadt, Research cooperation
2013 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Alt, Kurt, Universität Mainz, Research cooperation

Publications

Warnberg, Ole et al. (2022) ‘Missing lactase persistence in Late Iron Age Central Europe’, Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 52(2), pp. 225–248.

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Pichler, Sandra L. et al. (2014) ‘Life in the proto-urban style: the identification of parasite eggs in micromorphological thin sections from the Basel-Gasfabrik Late Iron Age settlement, Switzerland’, Journal of archaeological science, 43, pp. 55–65. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.12.002.

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Pichler, Sandra et al. (2013) ‘Die Regelmässigkeit des Irregulären : menschliche Skelettreste vom spätlatènezeitlichen Fundplatz Basel-Gasfabrik’, in Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte. Rudolf Habelt: Rudolf Habelt (Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte).

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Rissanen, Hannele et al. (2013) ‘‘Wenn Kinder sterben...’ : Säuglinge und Kleinkinder vom latènezeitlichen Fundplatz Basel-Gasfabrik (Kanton Basel-Stadt, Schweiz)’, in Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas. Beier & Beran: Beier & Beran (Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas).

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Members (7)

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Guido Lassau

Principal Investigator
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Brigitte Röder

Co-Investigator
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Jörg Schibler

Co-Investigator
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Maria Luise Marlu Kühn

Project Member
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Sandra Pichler

Project Member
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Norbert Spichtig

Project Member
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