Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: A Bioarchaeological Perspective on State Formation in the Nile Valley

该研究项目是对在努比亚（苏丹北部）新王国遗址Tombos埋葬的人的健康状况、遗传亲缘性和种族进行生物考古研究。汤博斯是在一个社会转型时期被占领的，在这个时期奠定了纳帕坦王国的基础。虽然一些研究人员认为，埃及化的当地官僚为新王国时期这个强大国家的崛起提供了基础，但另一些人则认为，埃及殖民管理者占据了努比亚政府的最高层，吸纳了当地领导人。最近挖掘的材料和博物馆收藏将用于解决有关这些人身份的长期未解决的问题。了解在跨文化接触情境中运作的过程不仅是人类学研究的中心目标，而且具有重要的现实意义。回答与努比亚和埃及政治之间互动的本质有关的问题具有人类学的重要性，因为它有可能为有关帝国战略、文化接触和区域互动模式的更大理论问题提供新的线索。由于其独特的历史背景，来自Tombos的骨骼样本具有巨大的潜力，可以作为国家形成和扩张的社会政治过程的信息来源。因此，所提出的研究将大大增加我们对文化接触情境中运作过程的理解。新的方法和研究材料将用于解决关于努比亚新王国殖民统治者的生物和文化特性的长期问题，并确定这一社会经济转型时期对当地人口的健康影响。这一时期的大部分文献都与深奥的宗教问题和社会精英有关。尽管人们对努比亚和埃及的许多王室墓葬进行了研究，但对地位较低的新王国墓葬的古病理学研究却很少发表。因此，Tombos墓葬提供了一个独特的机会，可以了解一个重要但很少被研究的人口的人口关系、健康状况和生活条件。这项研究更广泛的影响包括它对(1)研究生培训和教育的贡献，(b)促进国际科学合作的发展，(c)保护努比亚文化。汤姆博斯所在的尼罗河地区在考古学上并不为人所知。定居点和种植的迅速扩张威胁着这一地区的遗址，并使其记录成为当务之急。由于苏丹国家文物和博物馆公司缺乏资金和工作人员，这些遗址没有得到保护和调查。这项研究将帮助苏丹人民记录迅速消失的古代努比亚生活和文化的考古证据。

This research project is a bioarchaeological study of health status, genetic affinities and ethnicity of the people buried at Tombos, a New Kingdom site in Nubia (northern Sudan). Tombos was occupied during a period of social transition in which the foundations of the Napatan Kingdom were laid. While some researchers suggest that Egyptianized native bureaucrats provided the basis for the rise of this powerful state during the New Kingdom, others instead argue that Egyptian colonial administrators occupied the top echelon of Nubian government, co-opting local leaders. Recently excavated materials as well as museum collections will be used to address longstanding unresolved questions concerning the identities of these people. Understanding the processes that operate in situations of cross-cultural contact is not only a central goal of anthropological research but also one of great practical significance. Answering questions related to the nature of the interaction between the Nubian and Egyptian polities is of anthropological importance because of its potential to shed new light on larger theoretical issues concerning imperial strategies, cultural contact, and regional interaction patterns. Because of its unique historical context, the skeletal sample from Tombos has great potential as a source of information on the socio-political process of state formation and expansion. As a result, the proposed research will significantly increase our understanding of the processes operating in culture contact situations. New methods and research materials will be used to resolve longstanding questions about the biological and cultural identities of Nubian New Kingdom colonial administrators and determine the health consequences this period of socio-economic transition had for the local population. Most of the documents dating to this period are concerned with esoteric religious issues and the social elite. Although many royal burials in Nubia and in Egypt have been studied, little paleopathological research on lower status New Kingdom burials have been published. The Tombos burials thus provide a unique opportunity to learn about the population affinities, health status, and living conditions of an important, yet little studied population.The broader impacts of this research include its contributions to (1) graduate training and education, (b) fostering the development of international scientific cooperation, and (c) conservation of Nubian culture. The region of the Nile where Tombos is located is not well known archaeologically. The rapid expansion of settlement and cultivation threatens sites in this area, and makes their documentation imperative. Because of a lack of funding and staff at the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums in Sudan, sites are left unprotected and uninvestigated. This study will assist the people of Sudan in documenting the rapidly disappearing archaeological evidence of ancient Nubian life and culture.