An international team of researchers has conducted a thorough study of the cremated remains of infants and children found in the tophet of Zita, Tunisia, revealing a complex history of poor health and careful mortuary rituals that challenges previous interpretations of these controversial sacred sites.
The study, recently published in the journal Antiquity, focuses on the osteological analysis of 12 individuals, both infants and children, whose remains were discovered in urns and pits within the tophet of Zita, an archaeological site inhabited from the 5th century BC until AD 450.
The tophets, Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried, have been the subject of intense academic debate for decades, with interpretations ranging from the practice of child sacrifice to specialized cemeteries for children who died of natural causes.
The research team, led by Jessica I. Cerezo-Román of the University of Oklahoma and Brett Kaufman of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, took an innovative approach in examining these remains, drawing inspiration from the life course perspective to explore not only the circumstances of these individuals’ deaths but also aspects of their short lives and the socioeconomic context in which they lived.
The study’s findings are surprising and reveal a complex picture of life in Zita during the Neo-Punic period. The researchers found widespread evidence of chronic health problems among the examined infants and children, including signs of scurvy, anemia, and physiological stress or infection. Of the 12 individuals analyzed, nine showed suggestive evidence of scurvy, a condition caused by vitamin C deficiency that could reflect nutritional deficiencies in both the children and their breastfeeding mothers.
Additionally, six individuals showed signs of cribra orbitalia, a condition associated with anemia, and two presented lesions in the cranial bones typical of severe anemia. These findings suggest that life in Zita was difficult, with a child population facing multiple health challenges that likely contributed to their early mortality.
What makes this study particularly intriguing is the absence of direct evidence of perimortem trauma or violence in the examined remains, which calls into question previous interpretations that automatically associated tophets with practices of child sacrifice. Instead, the researchers found indications of careful and respectful funerary treatment, with evidence that the cremated bones were meticulously collected from funeral pyres and placed in urns or pits with great attention to detail.
The study also sheds light on living conditions in Zita during this period, suggesting that the transition from a Punic rural economy to an industrialized Roman surplus economy, which began in the 1st century AD, may have had a substantial impact on the population. The presence of scurvy among infants and children could indicate that some sectors of the population did not have access to vitamin C-rich agricultural products, such as grapes and olives, which were grown nearby but possibly destined primarily for export as wine and oil.
Furthermore, the increase in industrial activities in Zita, evidenced by extensive production of metals, ceramics, and charcoal, likely contributed to environmental pollution and deteriorating air quality, factors that could have exacerbated the health problems observed in the children’s remains, particularly respiratory tract infections.
The researchers emphasize that, while they cannot definitively determine the exact cause of death for these infants and children, it is evident that many of them suffered from poor nutrition and health problems at the time of their death. This finding offers a new perspective on the role of tophets in Punic and Neo-Punic society, suggesting that these sites may have served as sacred spaces for the burial of children who died of natural causes, but whose deaths were intrinsically linked to the harsh living conditions and prevalent health challenges in the community.
SOURCES
Cerezo-Román J.I, Kaufman B, McGowan G, et al., The life and death of cremated infants and children from the Neo-Punic tophet at Zita, Tunisia. Antiquity. 2024;98(400):936-953. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.85
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