Paper short abstract:

This paper presents the study of the burials from Ding si shan cemetery. The biological profile of the very first neolithic people, and the very specific ritual sequence spent in implementing their funerals have been approached through a bioanthropological and a traceological analysis.

Paper long abstract:

The site of Ding si shan presents some complex funerary practices which seem to be representative of the Early Neolithic Culture of the region of Guangxi. These practices involve an intricate discourse around the manipulation of the human body. The importance of the manipulation can be underlined during the treatment of the corpse (which is dismembered in nearly 30 % of the cases) and till on the cemetery field through a very specific and original layout of the bodies on the grave. The re-analysis of the mortal remains shows a standardized preparation of the corpse, involving a specific pattern of dismemberment according to a very strict schedule after the biological death.

The presence of faunal remains used to substitute some parts of the human bodies highlights the complexity of the practices and the subtlety of the eschatological discourse elaborated by the neolithics. The gathering of different individuals in the same pit and the arrangement of their bodies according to a specific scenography is an other key focal point of the ritual life of Ding si shan people.

The choice of the persons concerned by this specific treatment have been approached by an anthropological and paleopathological analysis, in order to determinate how the selection of the individuals have been made.

Through this global study, we move toward a better understanding of the specificities of the settlers of the Bachi and the Yong rivers valleys, from a both biological and cultural perspective.