Homines, Funera, Astra

Proceedings of the International Symposium on

Funerary Anthropology
5-8 June 2011
1 Decembrie 1918 University
(Alba Iulia, Romania)
Edited by

Raluca Koglniceanu
Roxana-Gabriela Curc
Mihai Gligor
Susan Stratton

BAR International Series 2410

2012

Published by
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BAR S2410
Homines, Funera, Astra: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Funerary Anthropology.
5-8 June 2011, 1 Decembrie 1918 University (Alba Iulia, Romania)

Archaeopress and the individual authors 2012

ISBN 978 1 4073 1008 4

Cover image: Alba Iulia-Lumea Noua - Human Remains. Trench III/2005, Square B (-0,70-0,80m). Foeni cultural group
(4600-4500 BC). Copyright Mihai Gligo
This work was possible with the financial support of the Sectorial Operational Program for Human Resources Development 20072013, co-financed by the European Social Fund, under the project number POSDRU/89/1.5/S/61104 with the title Social sciences
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Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D

Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D.

Techno-typological analysis
Monica Mrgrit
Universitatea Valahia, Trgovite, Romania
valves and have provided, in the context of the
Cernavod necropolis, eight typological categories,
belonging exclusively to the adornments group
(Figure 1).

Abstract
Although in the autochthonous literature the studies on
the use of Spondylus valve adornments in the Neolithic
are quite numerous they have been concerned strictly
with the morphological description and the
identification of similarities, in order to classify them
into different typological categories. That is why we
wish to propose a new type of study concerning these
adornments, on the level of the Romanian research,
developed according to five aims:
- raw material used to identify whether we are dealing
with a random selection or one dictated by cultural
factors;
- morphology and morphometry of the blank, in order
to determine whether standard objects were produced
to be used in composite ornaments, especially beads;
- manufacturing techniques, following the two major
operations of the reduction sequence debitage and
shaping;
- the function of the objects, including use wear
analysis, providing the possibility of answering the
question of whether they served strictly as funeral
offerings or were also used during life;
- identification of similar objects from both Neolithic
settlements and funeral contexts, in order to identify
possible cultural markers.

No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Typological categories
Tubular bead
Cylindrical bead
Biconvex bead
Three-lobed bead
Bracelet
Button
Perforated platelet
Arch-shaped pendant

Number of pieces
52
7
4
3
2
1
1
1

Key words
Neolithic, adornments, Spondylus shell, typology,
technology
Figure 1. Numerical weight of the different typological
categories made of Spondylus valve.

The present study has been carried out on a set of 71

items made from Spondylus valves from the necropolis
of Cernavod Columbia D (Constana County), which
are under the patrimony of the Vasile Prvan
Archeological Institute of Bucharest and the National
Museum of History of Romania. We consider that the
publication of these artifacts, despite the fact that they do
not represent the entire finds assemblage from the
Cernavod necropolis (a part of the inventory discovered
in the necropolis can be found at the National History
and Archeology Museum of Constana) and they come
from old archeological excavations (Morintz, Berciu and
Diaconu 1955; Berciu and Morintz 1957; 1959), which
raises enough problems specifically related to their
archeological context, may be an important contribution
to our understanding of the Hamangia communities,
given that, except for the necropolis of Durankulak
(Todorova 2002), no other monographs have been
published on the other Hamangia necropolises and
settlements.

Tubular beads - 52 pieces made of Spondylus valves

were included in this typological category (Figure 2.12). They have a straight profile, with rectilinear parallel
margins, and differ only in the shape of the section:
rectangular (20), circular (21), flat-convex (10) and
triangular (1) (Figure 2.3-6). The morphometric values
illustrate a standardization of the blank, in terms of the
beads diameter and perforations (Figure 3). There are
significant differences in the beads length (Figure 4),
yet, according to the graph several series can be
distinguished with pieces of quite similar length.
The items from the Cernavod necropolis have reached
us in their final stage of use, which has largely
eradicated the marks made by their mode of production.
So, in the case of these tubular Spondylus shell beads we
cannot positively identify their method of production.
However, we believe that sawing was used, at least
during a final manufacture stage. Through simple
percussion (although we cannot exclude it), fractures

The different stages of the manufacturing process have

radically changed the natural shape of the Spondylus
97

Monica Mrgrit
cannot be controlled, or, in this case quite standardized
blanks would be needed. The surface of the pieces is
shaped, by extremely fine polishing. The perforation was
carried out through rotation (Figure 5.3-4), from only
one side (10 items) (Figure 5.1); in some cases, there
was an intervention from the other extremity as well, in
order to enlarge the perforation (42 items), which
resulted in slightly flared walls on both extremities
(Figure 5.2).

The morphology of the extremities presents, for most

of the pieces, a concave facet (Figure 5.6). Moreover,
for some of the pieces the concave extremity seems to
correspond, in length, to a smooth and fine surface
(Figure 5.7-8). We can suggest that this is the area
affected by the wearing of the pieces.

Figure 2. 1-2: tubular beads made of Spondylus valve;

3: rectangular section; 4: circular section; 5: flat-convex section; 6: triangular section.

Figure 4. Dimensions of the tubular beads (length).

Figure 3. Dimensions of the tubular beads (diameter).

Cylindrical beads the seven pieces have rectilinear

parallel sides and irregular extremities (Figure 6.1-3).
All the items have a circular section and the perforation
was made starting from both extremities. As far as the
manufacturing technique is concerned, it is identical to
the one used for the tubular beads. Our opinion is that
they were obtained by cutting some long tubular beads
(maybe after they were broken), as their extremities are

irregularly cut and their perforations are asymmetrical,

hence the conclusion that they derive from already
finished pieces. Morphometrically, their dimensions
are very similar (Figure 7), maybe deliberately preestablished, in order to allow the assembling of the
pieces into composite elements.

98

Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D

Figure 5. 1: bead presenting a perforation executed from just one extremity (50x, 30x); 2: bead presenting a perforation realized
starting from both extremities (30x, 30x); 3-4: interior perforation presenting a few circular striations, illustrating the perforation
technique (50x); 5: perfectly smooth (lisse) interior perforation (30x); 6: extremity with a concave facet (50x); 7-8: smooth (lisse)
aspect of the extremity, on the level of the concavity (100x, 150x).

Figure 6. 1-3: cylindrical beads; 4-6: biconvex beads; 7: side shaping detail (50x); 8: perforation detail (50x).

99

Monica Mrgrit

Figure 7. Morphometry of the cylindrical beads made of

Spondylus valve.

Figure 8. Morphometry of the convex beads made of

Spondylus valve.

Biconvex beads the morphology of the pieces is

circular, with rectilinear parallel extremities and
convex sides (Figure 6.4-6). The surface of the items
was rigorously shaped (Figure 6.7), so as to obtain
convex margins, at the same time destroying the marks
of the debitage stage. The perforation is perfectly

cylindrical (Figure 6.8). The morphometrical data

(Figure 8) illustrate the more obvious (marked)
variations in the dimensions of the pieces, by
comparison with the previous typological group.

Figure 9. 1-2: three lobated beads; 3: polishing detail on the level of the lobes (50x); 4: fracture on the level of the perforation (50x);
5-6: three lobated beads perforation detail (30x).

Three-lobed beads they have a triangular (2) or

trapezoidal (1) section, with convex extremities and
convex-concave
sides
(Figure
9.1-2).
Their
morphometry
illustrates
clearly
standardized
dimensions: length ranging between 30.5 and 31.5 mm;

maximum width between 8.2 and 11.3 mm and

maximum thickness, between 4.7 and 6 mm.
During a first stage, a rectangular blank was extracted
from the valve. However, we cannot reconstitute the
100

Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D

debitage method, because of the subsequent
interventions. The three-lobed morphology was
obtained using oblique, progressively deepened cuts.
The lack of the characteristic marks specific for these
cuts demonstrates that the polishing of the piece was
achieved during a subsequent stage (Figure 9.3). The
perforation was carried out with the tool held obliquely
in relation to the surface of the piece, from both sides,
which determined the splayed morphology of the
perforations walls (Figure 9.5-6). On two pieces the
natural color of the valve (red) is still preserved,

demonstrating what would have been the true visual

impact of the Spondylus shell pieces. The way the wall
of one of the perforations broke (Figure 9.4) and also
the inner deformation of this wall in the other pieces
proves the way in which the pieces were held together.
The lower face has a strong polish; moreover, the area
is very smooth and fine when touched, from which we
conclude that it could be the area of contact and
rubbing with material.

Figure 10. 1: bracelet made of Spondylus left valve; 2: bracelet made of Spondylus right valve; 3: percussion marks of the margins
(30x); 4: interior aspect of the bracelets (200x).

Bracelets only one of the pieces is integrally

preserved, having a circular morphology, with convexconverging edges (Figure 10.1); on the other hand, for
the second item, its fragmentation no longer allows us
to reconstitute its morphology (Figure 10.2). The outer
diameter of the whole piece is of 78.6 mm, its height is
of 21 mm and its inner diameter is of 66 mm; for the
fragment we were only able to identify its height at
33.5 mm.

perforation, which was abandoned (Figure 11.3).

Maybe the axis along which the perforation was first
begun was not convenient and it was modified. The
inner wall of the perforation is deformed on the rim
(Figure 11.4), and the surface situated in between the
two facets of the perforation coming from both sides is
smooth, strongly polished (lisse) (Figure 11.5). It
seems to be a very worn-out piece.
Perforated platelet its general morphology is
trapezoidal (Figure 12.1-2). Its section is convexconcave, its extremities convex-concave, and its edges
rectilinear convergent. The morphometric data are:
30.74 mm high, 36 mm wide and 5.30 mm thick. Just
as in the case of the other items made of Spondylus
valve, the marks of the debitage that led to obtaining
the blank have not been preserved. The perforations
were realized through circular rotation from both sides
(Figure 12.4). There are three such perforations and a
fourth attempt, unfinished (Figure 12.3). This last one
is very important because it clearly illustrates the
execution technique. Towards the extremities, on the
upper side, the perforations present a depression
(Figure 12.5), which may have appeared due to
intensive wear and which is also an indicator of the
way the item was suspended. The entire surface of the
piece was rigorously polished.

The edges of the pieces seem to have been obtained

through debitage by percussion (Figure 10.3), after
which the surface was polished completely. On the
lower faces, they present an intense polish, with
striations perpendicular on the extremity, which may
have appeared from the wearing of the item (Figure
10.4). In order to make the entire bracelet the natural
shape of the valve was used, preserving an area of the
cardinal plateau, with its teeth and cardinal grooves, to
give it a special aesthetic appearance.
Button its morphology is slightly rectangular, with a
convex-concave section (Figure 11.1-2). It is 16.6 mm
in diameter and 4.71 mm thick. The piece was
rigorously finished, so that we do not know the
technique used to remove it from the valve. The
perforation was carried out through bilateral rotation.
Inside the perforation there is an obvious secondary

101

Monica Mrgrit

Figure 11. 1-2: button made of Spondylus valve; 3: button perforation detail (50x); 4-5: perforation wear detail (50x, 50x).

Figure 12. 1-2: perforated platelet; 3: abandoned perforation (50x); 4: perforation detail (50x); 5: wear of the perforation wall (50x).

Figure 13. 1: arc-shaped pendant; 2: pendant perforation detail (30x); 3: wear of the perforation walls (30x).

Arch-shaped pendant it presents a rectangular

section, with convex-concave margins, a pointed
proximal extremity and an irregular distal extremity
(Figure 13.1). Its dimensions are: length 54 mm,

average width 10.64 mm, average thickness 10.21 mm.

The surface of this piece is intensely polished, so that
we cannot identify the technique used for extracting a
blank out of the valve. On the distal level, a perforation
102

Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D

was carried out through rotation from both sides
(Figure 13.2). The perforation has splayed walls and
their morphology seems to prove that the tool used to
make the perforation was held in an inclined position,
so that the axis of the perforation is decentered as well.
The distal wall of the perforation is strongly affected
and deformed, with a concave morphology of the
walls, which allows us to suppose that this is the area
in which the item moved along in contact with the
attached thread (Figure 13.3). The shape of this piece
distinctly resembles that of a boar canine.

sites from Bavaria and Austria, adornments made of

local gastropods are sporadically used, and the material
selected comes from just one species, Theodoxus
fluviatilis, despite the fact that they are easy to gather
in the proximity of the site. Nevertheless, adornments
made of Spondylus, despite coming a significant
distance, from the Mediterranean area, are frequent.
This highlights a clear cultural choice (Jeunesse 2002).
Probably, at least as far as the adornments are
concerned, the most appreciated blanks were those that
presented particular aesthetic qualities and were hard to
acquire (Dubin 1995). Unfortunately, we cannot
reconstitute the selection criteria of the Neolithic
societies in order to identify the significance attributed
to each type of blank.

Conclusions
Raw material. In the necropolis from Cernavod the
adornments made of Spondylus valve represent the
most common category. Other raw materials were used
sporadically, either to create items belonging to other
typological groups, such as bone (a ring) or marble
(one pendant), or to imitate adornments made of
Spondylus (Figure 14). The use of imitation materials
may be due to the difficulties encountered in obtaining
these valves, and is demonstrated by the use of marble
(a tubular bead and a bracelet) and limestone (a
button). The ratio of the adornments in the assemblage
under analysis for different categories of raw material
is as follows:
No.
1
2
3
4

Raw material category

Spondylus
Marble
Bone
Limestone

It is obvious that, in the inventory from the necropolis

of Cernavod, the pieces made of Spondylus
gaederopus valves are the most charged with
symbolical connotations. The two valves are different
in shape and thickness (Borrello and Micheli 2004).
The left valve (the upper one), is quite fine, more
rounded and shaped like a lid, having small ears on
each side of the ligament and a relief of prominent
thorns all over its surface. On the right valve (the lower
one), which is longer and thicker, concentric lamellas,
in relief, are developed. These different morphological
aspects have generated constraints and have determined
their selection in order to create a certain type of
object, just as the material presented in this article
suggests.

Number of pieces
71
3
1
1

The issue of the origin of the species has not yet been
solved: Seferiades (1996, 2000, 2010) or Halstead
(1993) consider they are of Mediterranean origin,
denying the existence of this species in the Black Sea.
In contrast, Todorova (2002) speaks about the
possibility of a Black Sea origin. A practice often
encountered within a number of prehistoric
communities is that of using fossil species, but the
differentiation between the living valves and the fossil
ones can only be made using isotopic analyses
(Shakelton and Elderfield 1990; Vanhaeren et al.
2004). The studies carried out so far seem to
demonstrate that, at the level of the European
Neolithic, the blanks used were bivalves coming from
the Mediterranean Sea and not from fossil deposits or
from the Black Sea.
The identification of the source location of the raw
material used to create these adornments is crucial
because an adornment can provide indicators on the
limits within which these human groups moved, or in
connection to their exchange networks, more than any
other artifact category. Imports could represent the
direct import of raw material or of the finished pieces,
via a direct exchange or through group to group (kulalike exchanges, as those from Polynesia). The
archaeological evidence indicate the existence of
centers specialized in the processing of Spondylus
valves, most likely on the modern territories of Greece,
Montenegro, Albania and Croatia (Seferiades 2010).
Actually, we can invoke a similar situation among the

Figure 14. Numerical weight of the adornments on different

categories of raw material.

Study of primitive societies has proved that raw

material acquisition techniques are so strongly
integrated in the cultural tradition that a change in one
domain triggers a chain of mutations. On an
archeological level the proofs are not so obvious, yet
some discoveries allow us to infer the existence of
similar constraints. For the Danubian Neolithic, in the
103

Monica Mrgrit
may have been realized according to two variants:
percussion into increasingly smaller blanks up to the
desired dimensions or sawing in order to extract the
blank of the future piece directly.

populations of the Trobriand Islands (Malinowski

1989). The small perforated disks of the necklaces
circulating in the Islands kula exchange system are
manufactured in just two centers. In other territories,
the rarity and the importance of this valve obligated the
communities to recycle the raw material, as in the
situation of the fragmentation of the pieces see the
case of Hrova (Romania) (Galbenu 1963) or
Omurtag (Bulgaria) (Gaydarska et al. 2004).

Once the pre-form is finalized, perforation from one

side followed, and in some cases, was enlarged from
the other side as well. Despite study under the
microscope, the specific striations of a perforation
through rotation are only visible in a few cases (Figure
5.3-4). That is why the specialists propose the use of
the alsage technique, meant to regularize the
perforation and to enlarge it, and which finally creates
a perforation with straight walls and a strongly
polished (lisse) aspect (Bonnardin 2009). This
morphology is also visible in the case of the biconvex
beads, which present a perfectly cylindrical perforation.
The tool used to carry out the action of regularization
has not been identified so far. The finishing of the
surface and of the extremities was very rigorous and
was achieved by polishing on a fine abrasive surface.
The same stages of the chaine operatoire are also valid
for the platelet, the pendants or the button made of
Spondylus valve from the necropolis of Cernavod.

We cannot neglect the special socio-economic or

religious importance of this bivalve, considering its
pan-European presence at the level of the NeoEneolithic. The number of the sites containing in their
inventory objects made of Spondylus is estimated at
about 200, ranging from the Early Neolithic (the
Starevo and Vina cultures) to around 4300 B.C.
(Dimitrijevi and Tripkovi 2006). It is also interesting
to note that, according to the distribution map of the
Spondylus pieces published by Todorova (2000), they
are grouped in the Black Sea Region and the
Carpathian Basin and not in the areas in proximity to
their natural habitat.
Technical transformation scheme. It takes several
stages to manufacture an adornment:
- blank production, consisting in the extraction of a
segment of raw material;
- shaping, which concerns the outlining of the shape of
the future object;
- perforation, which confers, in most of the cases, the
status of adornment;
- finishing, completing and beautifying the object.

Tsuneki (1989) claims that the bracelets from Dimini

were manufactured from the left valve of a Spondylus
shell. However, some specialists consider that this
model is not observed by all cultures. In the Hamangia
culture, the individual bracelets were massive, made of
the right valve, while for the Eneolithic, the individual
bracelets were thin, and made of the left shell
(Chapman, Gaydarska and Slavchev 2008). This
hypothesis is not confirmed in the case of the
Cernavod necropolis (Hamangia culture): while for
the whole bracelet the left valve was used, in the
fractured piece a right valve seems to have been used.
For the first stages of the production process we will
again consult the study of Tsuneki (1989) from Dimini,
as we lack these pieces of information:
- percussion of the diverse elements in relief;
- abrasion of the external surface of the valve to reduce
its thickness and eventually to assure its interior
opening;
- if the opening is not large enough, one can apply
percussion on the fracture margins (Figure 10.3), and
such a percussion is visible on our items as well, under
the form of slight removal scars, largely overlapped by
the subsequent stages of the shaping;
- finishing (probably polishing) of the external surface.

The material under analysis highlights a great variety

of ways in which the Spondylus bivalve was
transformed: from bracelets, which allow the
recognition of the valves morphology and laterality, to
tubular, cylindrical, biconvex, three-lobed beads,
pendants, perforated platelets, buttons, for which the
identification of the anatomic morphology becomes
impossible. At the level of the Hamangia culture, there
seems to be a constant preference for certain
typological categories. In the first place, by far, are the
tubular beads, present in the necropolises from
Durankulak (Todorova 2002), Cernavod and Limanu
(Voinea, Neagu and Radu 2009), but also in
settlements - Ceamurlia de Jos, Cheia (Voinea, Neagu
and Radu 2009). They are followed by bracelets (in
necropolises Durankulak, Cernavod, Mangalia and
Limanu and settlements Ceamurlia de Jos, Medgidia
(Voinea, Neagu and Radu 2009). Other shapes, such as
different types of pendants or perforated platelets, seem
to appear in a smaller proportion (Voinea, Neagu and
Radu 2009), as in the necropolis from Cernavod.

The technical methods used by the inhabitants of the

Trobriand Islands to process the Spondylus valves
appear similar to those identified in Neolithic contexts.
For the Trobriand Islanders each stage is strongly
ritualized and sexually divided, starting with the
process of gathering the bivalves. One starts by
breaking the valve in small fragments, using a special
kind of stone (imported). This action is carried out
exclusively by men. The women rub the pieces on a
grind stone to reduce their thickness and to give them
the shape of a disk. Then the disks are placed into a
wooden cylinder, which facilitates the next operation,

Tsuneki (1989), who studied the process of bead

manufacturing for the site of Dimini (Greece),
considers that the tubular beads were made out of the
right valve of the shells, which, according to the same
author, is much better suited to cutting off the small
objects. The observation also appears to be valid in the
case of the cylindrical or biconvex beads. The debitage
104

Shell adornments from the Hamangia cemetery excavated at Cernavod Columbia D

namely rubbing the shell pieces onto the surface of a
grind stone until the final shape is obtained. The pieces
are perforated in the center using a bow (Malinowski
1989).

impossible. Additionally, the existence of funerary

goods in only some tombs raises questions about the
existence of hierarchies with these prehistoric groups,
and whether such hierarchies were hereditary or
acquired.

Functional hypotheses. The fact that most of the pieces

from the necropolis of Cernavod present traces of
wear indicates that they were worn during life as well.
So, it can be supposed that they were not created
exclusively to be deposited as funerary items. The
degree of wear of the pieces deposited in Neolithic
tombs has been noticed by other specialists as well
(Beldiman, Lazr, Sztancs 2008; Polloni 2008; Sohn
2008).

In the world of the living, adornment has

innumerable functions (ethnic belonging, social status,
exchange element, means of communication, amulet
etc.), but in the other world was its function the
same? As an answer to this question, we invoke the
simplest hypothesis, that of an adornment
accompanying the deceased. Thus, it could be an
element that belonged to the deceased and was worn by
him/her throughout his/her life. In the second case, the
adornment may have been deposited following a ritual,
signifying the status (the social identity of the
individual during his life) or protecting the individual
in his new status, which would confirm the rites of
passage within the Neolithic societies (Van Gennep
1996). The strong spiritual charge accompanying these
items is demonstrated, for instance, by the presence in
the Eneolithic cemetery of Varna I of a large number of
bracelet fragments, which cannot be amalgamated to
obtain complete items. This may mean that a part of the
object was kept to circulate in the world of the living
(or were deposited elsewhere), while the other part was
deposited in the world of the dead (Chapman,
Gaydarska and Slavchev 2008).

The wear marks are a valuable source of information.

Their morphology, their location and their intensity
allow us to think about the system used to tie the pieces
together. According to the experiments conducted by
Rodire (1996), an object can change its color through
use. It seems that the yellowish shade that can be
observed on some parts of the jewelry, where it should
normally be white, may be the result of rubbing on the
skin. The fact that this feature is limited to the zone in
which the surface is smoother and finer seems to
confirm this.
The constant presence of a large number of rounded
edges presenting a small concavity, along with a
smooth longitudinal facet that feels very fine when
touched probably results from the prolonged rubbing
between the piece, the thread on which it was tied, and
the garment or the skin. The strong morphometric
homogeneity (based on the identified series) in the
production of the tubular Spondylus elements suggests,
as we identified also in other cases in the specialist
literature (Bonnardin 2008; 2009), that these elements
were embroidered into composite ornaments. In the
case of the doubly perforated elements (three-lobed
beads), or in the case of the button, we can suppose that
they were sewed due to the presence of wear
exclusively in between the perforations, which, in
addition, are deformed, in some cases up to a fracture.
Sewing or a similar attachment system is also
recognizable in the case of the trapezoidal Spondylus
platelet, as the wear depression, marking the passage of
the thread, only affects one face of the item.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian
National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS
UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2011-3-0133.
References
Beldiman, C., Lazr, C. and Sztancs, D.-M. 2008.
Necropola eneolitic de la Sultana-Malu-Rou, com.
Mnstirea, jud. Clrai. Piese de podoab din
inventarul M1. Buletinul Muzeului Teohari
Antonescu 11 (anul XIV), 59-72.
Berciu, D. and Morintz, S. 1957. antierul arheologic
Cernavod (reg. Constana, r. Medgidia). Materiale i
Cercetri Arheologice III, 83-92.
Berciu, D. and Morintz, S. 1959. Spturile de la
Cernavod (reg. Constana, r. Medgidia). Materiale i
Cercetri Arheologice VI, 99-114.

The archaeological context determines the informative

potential of the objects. Moreover, if the adornment
preserves its original position on the skeleton, it becomes
possible to identify the morphology of a composite
adornment, as well as its function in the bodily
decoration (necklace, bracelet etc.), as is the case, for
instance, of the funeral inventory of tomb no. 1 from
Sultana Malu Rou (Beldiman, Lazr, Sztancs 2008).
As many of these pieces were sewed, it has been
possible to reconstitute even types of garments, bonnets
or hairdressing (Bonnardin 2009; Lenneis 2007). It
would be interesting to determine if the quantitative and
typological weight of the funeral inventory corresponds
to that of the settlement (the world of the living).
Unfortunately, in most cases, such parallels are

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