The Hasanlu Lovers are a pair of human remains found at the Teppe Hasanlu archaeological site, located in the

Naqadeh Naqadeh (; ; ), formerly known as Sulduz, is the main town of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 72,975, in 18,320 families. Name Naqadeh is the current name of the town (and county). The for ...

in the West Azerbaijan Province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Around 800 BCE, the city of Hasanlu, located in north-western Iran, was destroyed by an unknown invader. Inhabitants were slain and left where they fell. In 1973, the lovers were discovered by a team of archaeologists from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

led by Robert H. Dyson. The two human skeletons were found together in a bin during

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

, seemingly embracing at the time of death, with no other objects except a stone slab under the head of one skeleton. They died together around 800 BCE, during the last destruction of the Hasanlu. Approximately 246 skeletons were found at the site altogether.Muscarella, Oscar W. "Warfare at Hasanlu in the Late 9th Century B.C." ''Expedition Magazine'' 31.23 (1989): ''Expedition Magazine''. Penn Museum, 1989 Web. 31 Jul 2020 http://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/?p=2478 How the lovers died and ended up in the bin is still under speculation but both skeletons lack evidence of injury near the time of death and possibly died of

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that ca ...

tion. They were exhibited at the

Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...

from 1974 until the mid-1980s. The right skeleton, referred to as HAS 73-5-799 (SK 335), is lying on its back and the left skeleton, referred to as HAS 73-5-800 (SK 336), is lying on its left side facing SK 335. When excavated, the skeletons were tested to determine various characteristics. Dental evidence suggest SK 335 was a young adult, possibly 19–22 years of age. Researchers identified the skeleton as male largely based on the pelvis. The skeleton had no apparent evidence of disease or healed lifetime injuries. Skeleton SK 336 appeared to have been healthy in life; the skeleton had no apparent evidence of healed lifetimes injuries, and was estimated to have been aged to about 30–35 years. Sex determination of the left skeleton was less definitive. Evidence suggests SK 336 was also male after being originally identified as female. The skeletons have been a subject of debate since they were first excavated.

Archaeological record of Hasanlu

Hasanlu is an

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

ern site located in the Qadar River valley, on the southern shore of

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia; az, اۇرمۇ گؤلۆ, script=Arab, italic=no, Urmu gölü; ku, گۆلائوو رمیەیێ, Gola Ûrmiyeyê; hy, Ուրմիա լիճ, Urmia lich; arc, ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܘܪܡܝܐ is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is l ...

in northwest Iran. The city of Hasanlu was occupied consistently from the sixth millennium BCE to around 800 BCE, when the site was invaded and destroyed by fire. In 1934–1936 Hasanlu was commercially dug by

Sir Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

, a British archaeologist. Then, in 1956, the Hasanlu Project was launched by the sponsorship of the University Museum of Pennsylvania, the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

of Art, and the Archaeological Service of Iran. Following the launch of the Hasanlu Project, a team of archaeologists from Penn Museum led by Director Robert H. Dyson excavated the site from 1957 to 1974. This team completed nine excavation campaigns, and the excavation of the site ended more than 40 years ago (as of in 2022). Excavation of the site revealed burnt remains of huge mudbrick walls, thick layers of ash, skeletons, vessels, and more. Excavation exposed extensive destruction – evidence of the city’s invasion and arson. Archaeologists explain that the nature of the destruction resulted in the city being frozen in time, preserving buildings, artefacts, and skeletal remains. Approximately 246 skeletons, of a variety of ages and genders were found. The bodies were left where they were killed in the streets and in buildings. Some victims were found in groups, with head lacerations, and dismembered limbs which suggested mass executions had taken place. Among the 246 skeletons found, two of them were the remains of the Hasanlu Lovers. Who attacked Hasanlu is still unknown, but the general academic consensus is that the Iranian Empire were the invaders, but the

Assyrian Empire Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyr ...

was also very prominent in the region. There is no indication from the skeletons themselves or from the artefacts exactly who the invaders were. The city of Hasanlu itself is considered

protohistoric Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

: they didn’t have any writing around the site, unlike other regions around them. Because of this, archaeologists do not know how they would have identified themselves, or who they were, or the language they would have spoken.

Rediscovery and excavation

The skeletal remains of the Hasanlu Lovers were found together in a plaster-lined brick bin with no other objects except a stone slab under the head of one skeleton. The excavation took place in 1973, directed by Robert H. Dyson, Jr. Dr. Selinsky stated that the lovers perished together during the invasion of the site, around 800 BCE, during the last destruction of the Hasanlu, but did not have any lethal wounds. Archaeologist Oscar Muscarella suggests that the hole in the right skeleton's skull is not due to an injury, but the result of a blow created by a workman’s

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly fiberglass. A stand ...

. When discovered, the two skeletons were facing and embracing each other. The skeleton on the left is lying on their left side, reaching with their right hand towards the skeleton on the right. There is no definitive explanation as to how the two skeletons ended up in the binonly assumptions. One assumption is that, “they must have crawled into this bin, which was probably covered at the time, and escaped detection.” Since cause of death wasn’t due to injury, archaeologists have concluded that the probable cause of death was asphyxiation, when debris fell from the burning building, and sealed them in.

Scientific analysis

Anthropologists Page Selinsky and Janet Monge go into extensive detail about the

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, o ...

of the Hasanlu lovers and how the DNA testing compares to the skeletal assessment of their biological sex. The lovers were first sampled for specific

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numb ...

s to see if there were any differences in the skeletal series and the diets that they consumed. What the isotopic testing revealed was that the diets of the individuals were quite varied, but they were not patterned in any particular way.

Isotopic signature An isotopic signature (also isotopic fingerprint) is a ratio of non-radiogenic ' stable isotopes', stable radiogenic isotopes, or unstable radioactive isotopes of particular elements in an investigated material. The ratios of isotopes in a sample ...

s indicate that the diets of the residents of Hasanlu were varied, including

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s. Isotopic signatures coming from oxygen revealed the lovers' settlement patterns; these oxygen isotopic signatures revealed that the lovers, and the other Hasanlu people, were all born and raised in the Hasanlu area. It was concluded by Selinsky and Monge that both individuals were male. They came to this conclusion when comparing both the DNA analysis and skeletal assessment. Dr Selinsky stated that the pelvis was the single best criterion for estimating the sex of the skeletons as there are distinctive features between a female and a male pelvis. The skeleton on the right (referred to as SK 335) is lying on its back. The front portion of his pelvis was lost but when examining his sciatic notch, it was evident he was a male due to the very narrow gap which is a distinctive feature of the male pelvis. As such, researchers identified the skeleton as male largely based on the pelvis. The skeleton had no apparent evidence of disease or healed lifetime injuries. For the left skeleton (SK 336), lying on its left side facing SK 335, the sex estimation was less clear, but overall research suggests a male: the cranium is distinctively male, while the pelvis is more mixed in its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

. At the time of excavation, this skeleton was originally identified as female. This was because his sciatic notch was quite wide, a characteristic of a female pelvis, but the front portion of his pelvis which was retrieved from the site, had an acute angle in the front and was less pulled out than a female’s, which suggested the skeleton was a male. The individual appeared to have been healthy in life, and the skeleton had no apparent evidence of healed lifetime injuries. The sex of the lovers was confirmed from a bone sample for an ancient DNA analysis. The genetic determination of the Hasanlu lovers was male. The age of the two skeletons was also determined. Dental evidence suggests that the right skeleton was a young adult or subadult, estimated to be aged 19–22 years old, as he has third

molars The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone to ...

, and his

wisdom teeth A third molar, commonly called wisdom tooth, is one of the three molars per quadrant of the human dentition. It is the most posterior of the three. The age at which wisdom teeth come through ( erupt) is variable, but this generally occurs betw ...

recently grew. His skull was less developed, which was attributable to the young age of the individual. The left skeleton was estimated to be an older adult 30–35 years old; his skull had fully developed, and the cranium was distinctively male.

Controversy

Some researchers argue sensationalism about the Hasanlu Lovers, and other potential examples of non-

heteronormative Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal mode of sexual orientation. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most ...

behaviours in the past are problematic. The two skeletons received their sobriquet 'Hasanlu Lovers' due to the intimate position they were found in. Before the skeletons were subjected to DNA analysis one skeleton was thought to be male and the other female. Muscarella, an archaeologist who was heavily invested in the discoveries made at Hasanlu, states, "I knew at first sight who was the female," in reference to the two skeletons. However, the team from the University of Pennsylvania, assessed that the right skeleton was likely male due to its morphology. The left skeleton had less clear

osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, func ...

indicators, but was later identified to be male through DNA analysis. Limitations of osteological sex assessments as noted by one author is that there are many times when the biological sex can not be certain, and that these tests do not reveal anything about the culturally-constructed gender. Reasons for expecting the skeletons to be heteronormative couple, as Killgrove and Geller explain, is because we are encultured to see this representation. Projecting contemporary assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality onto the past can be problematic, states Geller. Finally, the true relationship between the two skeletons is unknown and remains up to speculation.

Archaeological record of Hasanlu

Rediscovery and excavation

Scientific analysis

Controversy

See also

References

Further reading