Proceedings of the 9 th ICAZ Conference, Durham 2002 Vol 1: Behaviour Behind Bones (eds. Sharyn Jones O’Day et al.) pp. 2-13 1. Feasting With the Dead? – A ritual bone deposit at Domuztepe, south eastern Turkey (c. 5550BC 1 ) Sarah Whitcher Kansa 2 and Stuart Campbell 3 Abstract The Halaf period in the Near East (ca.6000-5200BC) saw important developments in social complexity illustrated by elaborate craft production, use of seals, and the establishment of long-distance exchange networks. This period laid the foundations for the later rise of state institutions in the Near East but also saw the continuation of earlier forms of organization. The site of Domuztepe is located at the north eastern extreme of the Halaf cultural phenomenon in south eastern Turkey. Domuztepe is the first large Halaf site to be extensively excavated, offering a unique window on Halaf settlement in this region. A unique feature of the settlement at Domuztepe is an extensive and complex funerary deposit, focused around a pit in Operation I in which portions of at least 40 individuals were recovered. Animal bones were also found associated with the human bones in the pit. This paper presents results of a detailed, albeit preliminary, examination of the animal remains in this ritual deposit. The results of this study are critical to a better understanding of both the overall ritual activity itself and the social strategies that integrated an early large-scale society. The identified portion of the Domuztepe faunal assemblage consists of 8,000 fragments, about 2,000 of which come from this pit. The nature of the faunal remains from this pit are presented and then compared with those from the rest of the site. Differences in body part representation and in relative abundance of taxa between the two areas reflect both human choice and preservation biases. The role played by cattle in forming this special assemblage is highlighted. The results from Domuztepe are then compared with archaeological and ethnographic parallels as we attempt to understand the nature of the (likely) ritual feasting that formed this assemblage. Keywords Ritual, Halaf, south eastern Turkey, feasting, zooarchaeology 1 All dates are calibrated BC. 2 Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA 3 Department of Art History and Archaeology, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK Introduction This paper presents the initial results of faunal analysis from an extensive funerary deposit at Domuztepe, a 6 th millennium site in south eastern Turkey. This pit, generally referred to as the “Death Pit” contained highly fragmented and jumbled human and animal bones, as well as a few complete and articulated bones. This study asks how zooarchaeological analysis adds to our understanding of this pit and the ritual associated with its creation. First, we will present an overview of the site of Domuztepe, with specific commentary on the Death Pit. Then, we will delineate some of the criteria that have been used in the past to identify “ritual” in the zooarchaeological record. We will then discuss the results of zooarchaeological analysis, and how these results can help to understand ritual behavior at this site. Finally, we will draw upon one ethnographic example of ritual feasting that helps demonstrate the variability and unpredictability of human actions that can result in assemblage such as this Domuztepe Death Pit assemblage. The Domuztepe Excavations The site of Domuztepe is located to the south of the modern city of Kahramanmaraş in south eastern Turkey (Fig. 1). Although it has distinctive local characteristics, its most obvious links are with the Halaf phenomenon in north Mesopotamia. Domuztepe is the first large Halaf site to be excavated, offering a unique window on prehistoric settlement in this region. The site itself covers at least 20 hectares, making it one of the largest prehistoric sites in the Near East. Most of this area was probably occupied simultaneously in the latter stages of occupation. Figure 1: Map Showing the Location of Domuztepe in South Eastern Turkey Although several areas at Domuztepe have been examined, the main concentration has been on Operation I, a large exposure on the southern part of the site which now extends to over 1000 square meters (Fig. 2). The periods excavated are confined