Archaeologists have unearthed the burial of a woman, believed to have been a shaman, at Çemka Höyük, a Neolithic settlement in southeastern Turkey.

The burial, dating back approximately 12,000 years to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period, offers a rare glimpse into the symbolic relationships between humans and animals during a transformative era in human history.

The burial site, located in the Dargeçit district of Mardin province on the left bank of the Tigris River, was excavated in 2019. The woman, aged between 25 and 30 years at the time of her death, was found buried in a prone position on her right side, oriented northwest-southeast, and facing west. Her grave was notably covered with a large, flat limestone block, an atypical practice for the PPNA period.

The presence of numerous animal bones in the burial, including the skull of an extinct cattle species known as the aurochs, as well as remains of a small ruminant, a partridge, a canid, and a marten, intrigued researchers. These findings suggest a symbolic relationship between the buried individual and the animal remains, possibly indicating shamanic practices.

Lead author Ergül Kodaş from Mardin Artuklu University explained to Newsweek that the combination of human and animal bones in the burial indicates a symbolic relationship between the deceased and the wild animals, reflecting early sedentary peoples’ perspectives towards the natural world.

“Considering the fact that the female individual and the animal bones were deposited together in one burial, we may ᴀssume some symbolic relations between the animals and the hunter-gatherer-fishers of Çemka Höyük, who had already embarked towards a sedentary life,” the study authors wrote in the journal L’Anthropologie.

The inclusion of the auroch’s skull, a powerful symbol in many prehistoric cultures, along with the limestone slab covering the grave, suggests that the community may have intended to prevent the deceased from returning as a malevolent spirit. This practice reflects a complex belief system where the physical and spiritual worlds were closely intertwined.

Archaeologists like Steve Mithen of the University of Reading and Bill Finlayson of Oxford University highlight the potential shamanic role of the woman based on the unique burial context. The term “shaman,” coined in the 18th century to describe indigenous practices in Siberia, may not perfectly align with the spiritual leaders of the Neolithic period. However, similarities in burial practices provide valuable information.

The discovery at Çemka Höyük aligns with findings at other PPNA sites like Göbekli Tepe and Jericho, where early humans began forming settlements and engaging in complex ritual practices.

More information: Kodaş, E., Siddiq, A. B., Erdem, Ç., & Çiftçi, Y. (2024). A “shaman” burial from the PPNA settlement of Çemka Höyük, Upper Tigris Basin, Turkiye. L’ Anthropologie, (103277), 103277. doi:10.1016/j.anthro.2024.103277