Dissertation Research: "A Biocultural Study of Centralized Economic Control in the Roman Period of Egypt"

罗马统治时期的古埃及被认为是一个文化和经济大复兴的时期。历史文献显示，一个强大的中央集权政府在出口、税收和领土扩张方面都很繁荣。然而，罗马在埃及的统治也被描述为不公正的，通过无政府状态和宗教迫害对民众的生活产生了不利影响。事实上，对罗马人口普查数据的分析表明，埃及女性的死亡率很高，出生时的预期寿命只有22.5岁。同样，埃及男性的预期寿命为25岁。本研究项目的具体目标是了解埃及罗马时期生活质量与中央集权之间的关系。这一目标将通过研究考古和历史记录所揭示的经济地位与生活质量之间的关系来实现，生活质量由饮食摄入不足、疾病负担高和创伤等骨骼指标评分。在埃及巴哈里亚绿洲，将进行2座古墓的发掘工作。出土遗骸的骨骼分析将在开罗使用标准方法进行。为本研究项目设计的方法考察了在历史背景下个人成长与其他压力指标之间的关系。根据罗马人口普查记录汇编的人口统计数据，这使得确定罗马统治下的死亡率是否上升，预期寿命是否下降成为可能。此外，我们可以测试利用骨骼数据来了解过去人口生活质量的准确性，同时提高我们对集中的罗马埃及统治下的埃及人口的理解。

Roman rule in Ancient Egypt has been characterized as a period of great cultural and economic revival. Historic documents reveal a strong centralized government that prospered, as measured in exports, revenues collected and territorial expansion. However, Roman rule in Egypt also has been described as unjust, adversely affecting the lives of the populace through anarchy and religious persecution. Indeed, analyses of Roman census data indicate that Egyptian females were subject to high mortality, with life expectancy at birth of only 22.5 years. Similarly, life expectancy for Egyptian males was 25 years. The specific objective of this research project is to understand the relationships between quality of life and centralized authority during the Roman period of Egypt. This objective will be realized by examining relationships between economic status as revealed by archaeological and historic records, and quality of life, as scored by skeletal indicators of poor dietary intake, high disease loads, and trauma. Excavation of two tombs from Baharia Oasis, Egypt will be conducted. Skeletal analysis of excavated remains will be performed in Cairo using standard methods. The methodology designed for this research project examines the relationship between how well an individual grows in conjunction with other stress indicators within a historical context. This makes it possible to determine if mortality increased and life expectancy decreased under Roman rule, as suggested by the demographic data compiled from Roman census records. In addition, we can test the accuracy of utilizing skeletal data to inform about quality of life of past populations while improving our understanding of the Egyptian population under centralized Roman Egypt.