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Buried with turtles: the symbolic role of the Euphrates soft-shelled turtle (Rafetus euphraticus) in Mesopotamia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2016

Rémi Berthon ,
Yılmaz S. Erdal ,
Marjan Mashkour  and
Gülriz Kozbe
Rémi Berthon
Affiliation:
Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques et environnements (UMR 7209), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, CP56–55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France (Email: rberthon@mnhn.fr) Archéorient—Environnements et sociétés de l’Orient ancient (UMR 5133), CNRS, Université Lyon 2, MSH Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée—Jean Pouilloux, 7 rue Raulin, 69365 Lyon cedex 7, France
Yılmaz S. Erdal
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Letters, Hacettepe University , 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey
Marjan Mashkour
Affiliation:
Archéozoologie, archéobotanique: sociétés, pratiques et environnements (UMR 7209), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, CP56–55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France (Email: rberthon@mnhn.fr)
Gülriz Kozbe
Affiliation:
Department of Art History, Faculty of Letters and Sciences, Batman University, 72100 Batman, Turkey
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Abstract

Excavations at Kavuşan Höyük (south-eastern Turkey) have revealed evidence of the use of turtles, tortoises and terrapins in post-Assyrian funerary practices. Of particular significance are the remains of the Euphrates soft-shelled turtle (Rafetus euphraticus), distinguished from other species of turtle by their quantity and treatment in the burial pit under investigation here. The unique finds from Kavuşan Höyük, coupled with archaeological and textual records, underline the economic and symbolic significance of these animals for communities in prehistoric and early historical Mesopotamia.

Keywords

MesopotamiaKavuşan Höyükpost-AssyrianEuphrates soft-shelled turtlechelonian
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 90 , Issue 349 , February 2016 , pp. 111 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016 

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