Cutmarks on the bones of ten individuals from Körtik Tepe, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Southeastern Anatolia, were analysed using a bioarchaeological approach. Half of the ten individuals possess cutmarks on their crania only while the other five have cutmarks on both their cranial and postcranial bones. Diagnoses of these cutmarks suggest they were made on fresh cadavers, while skeletal data and burial customs reveal that the individuals with cutmarks were subject to human intervention in the decomposition process, understood as post-burial practices rather than secondary burials. This conclusion is supported by the application of plaster and paint as part of the burial customs. The process of defleshing is interpreted as an attempt to purify the corpse and to separate death from life.

Investigations in the El Multaga area, located in Upper Nubia, brought to light Neolithic burials differing from other known local and contemporary burial sites. The skeletons lay under moundS in a very contracted positions inside pits just large enough to contain them. Grave goods are not regular and rather poor. The authors feel that such practices probably relate to local nomadic groups. The cemetery which had not been picked up by research surveys was discovered in a salvage project.