Bering Sinkhole
Bering Sinkholeis an early American archaeological site inKerr County, Texas,United States. Themortuary sinkholeincluded human remains of 62 individuals, animal remains, and turtle-shell, marine-shell, antler and stone artefacts. Radiocarbon dating found that the earliest burials were from approximately 5000 years BC.[1]
The natural limestonesinkholeon theEdwards Plateauwas used as a burial place for 5,500 years[2]by hunter-gatherers of theLlano Riverbasin.[1]Sinkholes are relatively common in thekarstregions of Texas.[2]The cavern at the base of the sinkhole is largely inaccessible without ladders or special equipment so it is likely that bodies were simply dropped in the hole from the surface, and sometimes roughly covered by large limestone rocks.[1]Similar mortuary sinkhole sites includeSeminole Sink,Mason Ranch Sinkhole,andHitzfelder Cave,andCueva de la Candelariain northern Mexico.[1]The sinkhole was discovered and initially excavated with heavy equipment by the land owner in the mid to late 1980s; upon discovery ofhuman skullsand what was later identified as a wolf's spinal column, the land owner contacted archeologists at theUniversity of Texas.[1]More than 25 types of animal remains were found in the sinkhole including bison, badger, armadillo, coyote, gray wolf, domestic dog andhog-nosed skunk.[1]
One of the human bodies deposited in the sinkhole was found to have what was likely alithopedion,orstone baby,the rareobstetriccircumstance of a dead fetuscalcifyingwithin the mother's living body. The Bering Sinkhole lithopedion dated to approximately 1100 BC and is the earliest documented case of a human lithopedion.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefBement, Leland C. (1995-12-31).Hunter-Gatherer Mortuary Practices during the Central Texas Archaic.University of Texas Press.doi:10.7560/708174.ISBN978-0-292-76760-7.
- ^abGraves, Russell A. (January 2008)."When the Earth Opens".Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine.Retrieved2023-05-09.
- ^Rothschild, Bruce M.; Rothschild, Christine; Bernent, Leland G. (July 1993)."Three-millennium antiquity of the lithokelyphos variety of lithopedion".American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.169(1): 140–141.doi:10.1016/0002-9378(93)90148-C.PMID8333440.
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