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

古埃及的罗马统治一直被描述为一个文化和经济的伟大复兴时期。历史文件显示了一个强大的中央集权政府，以出口、税收和领土扩张衡量，它取得了繁荣。然而，罗马人在埃及的统治也被描述为不公正，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。这项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。这一目标将通过检查考古和历史记录揭示的经济状况与生活质量之间的关系来实现，生活质量是通过饮食摄入量不佳、疾病负荷高和创伤的骨骼指标来评分的。将对埃及巴赫里亚绿洲的两座陵墓进行挖掘。将在开罗使用标准方法对挖掘出的遗骸进行骨骼分析。为这项研究项目设计的方法论考察了一个人在历史背景下与其他压力指标一起成长的良好程度之间的关系。这使得有可能确定在罗马统治下死亡率是否增加，预期寿命是否减少，正如从罗马人口普查记录汇编的人口数据所表明的那样。此外，我们可以测试利用骨架数据来了解过去人口的生活质量的准确性，同时提高我们对中央集权的罗马埃及人的理解。

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.