Abstract

Death marks not only the end of an individual’s biological life, but also the transformation of personhood into a new social identity. However, archaeological studies have largely interpreted mortuary practices in terms of social hierarchy, status, and political organization, paying relatively little attention to the symbolic implications of bodily manipulation after death. This study examines exhumation and secondary burial practices of Dawenkou culture in Shandong, China, focusing on the disassembly and reconstruction of the human body as a means of exploring dividuality and relational personhood. By integrating evidence on the spatial and temporal distribution of these burials, patterns of skeletal selection and rearrangement, and associated grave goods, this study demonstrates that secondary burial was not a simple disposal of human remains, but a deliberate process of reconstructing the deceased within a new social framework. Skulls and major limb bones were selectively collected during exhumation and recombined into diverse arrangements, while grave goods were scarce. Notably, Guxingbei drinking vessels, which commonly symbolized food and alcohol in primary burials, were virtually absent in secondary burials, indicating that these rituals served fundamentally different purposes from those of ordinary interments. The predominance of multiple secondary burials further suggests that the emphasis shifted from the memory of individual lives to the creation of collective identities embedded within broader social relationships. These patterns indicate that bodily fragmentation did not signify the destruction of personhood; instead, it was an essential stage in the transformation of personhood. Therefore, secondary burial in Dawenkou culture can be understood as a ritual process through which the deceased became ancestors by dismantling and reassembling the body, revealing that personhood was conceived as relational, divisible, and continuously reconstituted through mortuary practice.