Inequality at the Dawn of the Bronze Age: The Case of Basur Höyük, a ‘Royal’ Cemetery at the Margins of the Mesopotamian World

Abstract

On the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, archaeologists encounter evidence that challenges conventional understandings of early state formation as a transition from ‘small-scale, egalitarian’ to ‘large-scale, stratified’ societies. One such location is the Early Bronze Age cemetery of Basur Höyük, which presents evidence of grand funerary rituals—including ‘retainer burials’ and spectacular deposits of metallic wealth—in an otherwise small-scale, egalitarian setting. A further, puzzling feature of this cemetery is the preponderance of teenagers in the richest tombs. Here we describe the combined results of archaeological and anthropological analysis at Basur Höyük, including ancient DNA, and consider the challenges they pose to traditional accounts of early state formation.