Defining labret and ear ornament use in archaeological contexts

A labret is an item of bodily ornamentation that is worn by its insertion through a hole that has been created for the purpose, usually a perforation of the upper or lower lip (Gonthier & Durieux Reference Gonthier, Durieux, Moncel and Fröhlich2009). In most cases, labrets have two parts: a shaft and a head or flange (Keddie Reference Keddıe1981: 59–60). Items of similar form and function can also be used to ornament the ear, through the perforation of either the fleshy lobe or the cartilage. Both lip and ear ornamentation result in potentially permanent alteration of the body that may outlast the use of the ornaments themselves. Because of the physical adaptation required in their use, and the associated pain, ornaments used in body perforations are often associated with adults as an indication of maturity and social status (Keddie Reference Keddıe1981: 60). The social implications of body ornamentation can be significant: ethnographic studies show that labrets are used as indicators of sexual or social maturity/status or of group or ethnic affiliation (Gonthier & Durieux Reference Gonthier, Durieux, Moncel and Fröhlich2009), and non-wearers might be regarded as different and dangerous. In some contexts, however, labrets are also seen as aiding in strength, aggressiveness and even the ability to speak or hear (Garve et al. Reference Garve, Garve, Türp and Meyer2017). In other circumstances, they are used in the communication of identity and economic status (Rorabaugh & Shantry Reference Rorabaugh and Shantry2017). The use of labrets has implications for both the representation and perception of self, incorporating notions of time and the individual—both in their own right and as part of a group (Gonthier & Durieux Reference Gonthier, Durieux, Moncel and Fröhlich2009). Regional labret grammars display not only belonging but also adherence to associated social practices shared within and between groups and regions (Rorabaugh & Shantry Reference Rorabaugh and Shantry2017). Body modification through cranial shaping at some sites in South-west Asia also appears to be associated with regional identities (Croucher Reference Croucher2012: 98) but this practice was associated with early childhood, unlike the body perforations, which were practised in adulthood. In these contexts, the body itself is a primary medium of communication, the main location for signifying identity and experience and for moderating social relations and interactions.

In prehistory, our approaches to interpreting the body are materially informed (Sørensen Reference Sørensen, Hughes, Rebay-Salisbury and Sorensen2010). Existing ornament typologies based on the form and use of archaeological artefacts, ranging from Neolithic Africa (Gonthier & Durieux Reference Gonthier, Durieux, Moncel and Fröhlich2009) to the Pacific Rim (Keddie Reference Keddıe1981), show shared features that display a combination of practical and aesthetic considerations. Although the shape of these artefacts is often suggestive of their use in body perforations, sufficient contextual evidence is rarely found to support precise interpretation. Rare incidences of atypical wear to the anterior surfaces of the lower incisors are comparable with dental attrition from modern and ethnographic labret use (Torres-Rouff Reference Torres-Rouff2003; Frayer et al. Reference Frayer, Nava, Tartaglia, Vidale, Coppa and Bondioli2020) and grave contexts provide crucial proximity data, indicating which areas of the body were likely to have been augmented. The burial of a young adult female at the Late Neolithic site of Tell Sabi Abyad included a rock crystal labret that was found in situ in front of the mandible (Nilhamn Reference Nılhamn, Akkermans, Brüning, Huigens and Nieuwenhuyse2014: 179). Wear or faceting on the lower incisors suggests consistent use of labrets over an extended period of time before death—and probably since later adolescence, given the age at death of this individual (Torres-Rouff Reference Torres-Rouff2003). Dating to around 6000 BC, this burial constitutes the earliest well-contextualised evidence for the use of a labret in South-west Asia. Here, we use both context and osteological evidence to explore similar breaking of the skin boundary at Boncuklu Tarla.

Labrets and ear ornaments at Boncuklu Tarla, south-east Türkiye

The site of Boncuklu Tarla is located in Mardin province in south-east Türkiye. It sits within the boundary of the village of Ilısu, which gave its name to the hydroelectric dam project that prompted the rescue excavation work carried out at the site. The settlement is on a natural hill 2km to the west of the Tigris River on the Nevale Mahrek stream (Figure 1) (Ökse et al. Reference Ökse, Görmüş and Atay2010; Kartal et al. Reference Kartal, Taşkıran, Bulut and Dinç2014). Work at the site between 2012 and 2017 has provided information relating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures of the region, with settlements dating from the Epipalaeolithic to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB, see Table 1 for radiocarbon dates). The site exhibits intense use of personal ornaments, with a wide variety of forms and materials, most of which are beads from grave contexts.

Figure 1. The location of Boncuklu Tarla and the distribution of labrets and ear ornaments in South-west Asia (figure by E. Kodaş).

Table 1. Habitation levels and radiocarbon dates of Boncuklu Tarla, Türkiye. SD: standard deviation.

There are currently 106 examples of ornaments intended for use in body perforations, 85 of which are complete (Table 2). Common materials include serpentine, limestone, chlorite, flint, obsidian and copper (Figure 2, Table 2). There are more than 3500 copper items of ornamentation at Boncuklu Tarla, 500 of which were hot-worked or annealed. All of the copper labret-like and ear ornaments discussed here were crafted from pieces of native copper that were cold worked, often treated like stone. The material is unlikely to have had any health-related side effects other than the possibility of allergic reaction (Li et al. Reference Li2016). Although most of the ornaments that were probably used in body perforations date to the PPNB, a significant number were recovered from PPNA levels. While some were discovered in various architectural contexts, 85 complete, and several incomplete, examples derive from graves of adult males and females where they were on, or close to, the skeletons. Most of these burials are middle PPNB (n = 49) or PPNA–B transition (n = 16) in date, only five are from the PPNA, three from the early PPNB and 12 from the late PPNB. No body perforation ornaments are associated with sub-adult individuals, and none are yet dated to the earliest proto-Neolithic habitation levels.

Table 2. Distribution of Boncuklu Tarla labrets and ear ornaments by type, raw material and period (for typology see Figure 3).

Figure 2. Examples of labrets from Boncuklu Tarla. Type 1: c1–3; type 2: a1 & a4; type 3: a2 & a3; type 4: c4; type 5: b1 & b2; type 6: d1–6; type 7: e (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive).

Figure 3. Typology of the ear ornaments and labrets of Boncuklu Tarlas showing types 1–7 described in Tables 2 & 3 (figure by authors).

Table 3. Characteristics of the ear ornaments and labrets from Boncuklu Tarla.

The 85 examples that were complete enough for typological classification are made from a variety of raw materials (Table 2), the most common of which are limestone, obsidian and assorted river pebbles. The remaining 21 ornaments are classified as having uncertain form and are not evaluated here. Seven types can be distinguished (Figure 2, Figure 3, Tables 2 & 3), although these are somewhat unstandardised. Our typology was developed from that of Aurenche and Kozlowski (Reference Aurenche and Kozlowskı2005: 30, 231–44), with the addition of new types among the Boncuklu Tarla assemblage (Table 2). Technically, any artefact in this typology with a defined head could be used as a labret; however, this form is also suited to use in ear perforations, so our findings add further nuance.

Type 1 ornaments are notable for the surface inlays in the heads of some examples, usually serpentine into limestone (Tables 2 & 3, Figure 2c, no. 1, Figure 3, no. 1), and a long shaft, giving the artefacts a nail-like appearance (Figure 2c, nos. 1–3). This type is found in south-east Anatolia and across South-west Asia (Table 4). At Boncuklu Tarla, in situ examples in graves were found in the region of the ear and sometimes parallel to the external ear canal (Figure 4). This indicates use as ear decorations rather than labrets. Type-1 artefacts from the PPNA, PPNA–B transition and PPNB all exhibit similar characteristics, although inlaid examples come only from the PPNA–B transition levels in the eastern settlement area. A single smaller artefact dated to the middle PPNB and made from marble (Figure 2c, no. 4) has a more conical shape than the other nail-type examples and thus constitutes the only type-4 ornament currently known (Figure 2c, no. 4, Figure 3, no. 4). As this artefact was not found in situ, we can only suggest that its use was similar to type 1 based on the similarity of morphology. Like type 1, some type-2 examples (Figure 2a nos. 1 & 4, Figure 3, no. 2) also have inlays in the head, although the heads are convex and have a sharper transition. Examples come from the PPNA, PPNA–B transition and throughout the PPNB. Copper appears only in the PPNB; and obsidian examples are from the middle and late PPNB levels. As with type 1, they were recovered from the ear area or parallel to the external ear canal (Figure 5) and are therefore identified as ear ornaments.

Table 4. Regional distribution of lip and ear ornaments by type according to published sources (Voigt Reference Voıgt1988; Aurenche & Kozlowski Reference Aurenche and Kozlowskı2000: 66–8; Aurenche & Kozlowski Reference Aurenche and Kozlowskı2005: 30, 237, 238, 240, 242, 243; Cauvin et al. Reference Cauvın, Aurenche, Cauvın, Balkan-Atlı, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011: 12; Erim-Özdoğan Reference Erim-Özdoğan, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011: 221–2; Hauptmann Reference Hauptmann, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011; Karul Reference Karul, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011: 4; Özbaşaran & Duru Reference Özbaşaran, Duru, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011; Özdoğan Reference Özdoğan, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011; Schmidt Reference Schmıdt, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011: 67; Tekin Reference Tekin, Özdoğan, Başgelen and Kuniholm2011: 158).

Figure 4. Grave 2017/100, PPNA, showing artefacts associated with the skeleton (poor condition) in situ and after cleaning: a) and c) are type-1 nail forms used in ears; b) is a type-3 mushroom-form labret (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive, figure by authors).

Figure 5. Grave 2017/103, PPNA, flexed skeleton with associated artefacts shown in situ and after cleaning: a) is type 1 and b) is type 2, both were used in the ears; c) is a type-5 labret worn through the lip (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive, figure by authors).

Most type-3 artefacts (Figure 2a, nos. 2–3, Figure 3, no. 3 & Figure 4) come from grave contexts. In some cases, length and diameter are almost the same. Some are similar to types 2 and 5 in profile but with a more pronounced neck area and more bulbous body. Similar examples come from a wide area across South-west Asia (Table 4). At Boncuklu Tarla this type comes from graves of the PPNA–B transition and from the middle PPNB. They are found either in the neck or ribcage area (Figure 6) and are therefore interpreted as true lip labrets. Type-5 artefacts are more exaggerated: the heads are wider than their body length, with either rounded or triangular profiles (Figure 2b, Figure 3, no. 5 & Figure 7)—though both show a characteristic T-form and are similar in size. Type-5 artefacts come from PPNA and PPNA–B transition levels at Boncuklu Tarla and their distribution within South-west Asia is limited to the southern Zagros region. This suggests that the use of type-5 was more restricted than type-2 artefacts with a round body and convex centre, which were present throughout the Neolithic across South-west Asia. That examples of type-5 have been found at Boncuklu Tarla indicates wider connections with the southern Zagros.

Figure 6. Grave 2017/16 Middle PPNB skull with in situ artefacts: a) is type 2, used in ear; b) is a type-3 labret (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive, figure by authors).

Figure 7. Grave 2017/103, PPNA: a type-5 labret example from inside the mouth (inset illustration). Top half of the Figure shows labial wear on the lower incisors of the individual caused by habitual adornment with the labret (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive, figure by authors).

Type-6 artefacts are commonly made of obsidian, usually in the form of adapted micro-blade cores that were reshaped and polished (Figure 2d & Figure 3, no. 6). In some cases, the negatives of the removals can still be seen. The use of these cores to make ear decorations indicates a combination of recycling and symbolic activity, given that obsidian sources were not local. Type-6 artefacts date to the middle and late PPNB at Boncuklu Tarla, but are known from settlements of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic in the wider region (Table 4). They were found in several graves at Boncuklu Tarla (Figure 8), in most cases they are not in situ due to taphonomic processes or disturbance by later burials; however, examples recovered from the region of the head suggest use in ear perforations, as is also indicated by the lack of a defined head.

Figure 8. A middle PPNB type-6 ear ornament made from obsidian, found in grave 2017/64 (photographs from the Boncuklu Tarla Excavation Archive; figure by authors).

Type 7 consists of a single soapstone disc of middle PPNB date with concave sides and a small hole in the middle (Figure 2e, Figure 3 no. 7). It was found broken in half in a grave context, the pieces in opposite corners of the grave. Ethnographic examples indicate that such a form could be used as an ear decoration or labret (Reddish Reference Reddish2013). Similar artefacts are known from Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlements in the Zagros and southern Mesopotamia. In ethnographic examples, perforations in labrets are associated with the tethering of the ornament to the teeth to prevent its loss (Keddie Reference Keddıe1981: 63).