Mortuary Symbolism and Social Differentiation at Mokrin

Abstract

To this point, the discussion has focused on the Maros funerary program across the seven Maros cemeteries and has considered the association of each aspect of mortuary treatment relative to the referent dimensions of age, sex, pervasiveness, and effort. The spatial character of the occurrence of each trait has also been considered, in terms of the location within graves (in the case of artifacts), location within individual cemeteries, and, more broadly, the occurrence of traits or attributes across the Maros cemeteries. What has not been described systematically, however, is the covariation of these various attributes or the potential social categories that the patterns of occurrence may suggest. Since these categories, and the patterns of social differentiation that underlie them, are the principal focus of the research, these aspects of the Maros funerary program are the subject of this chapter.

My life is now drawn to its closing As all will someday be so, But we’ll take a full bumper at parting To the memory of old Rosin the Beau.

—“Rosin the Beau” Traditional Irish ballad