Doctoral Dissertation Research: Bioarchaeological Analysis of Diet and Activity Patterns in the Nile Valley

据推测，由于帝国扩张的经济动机，体力劳动可能被埃及帝国操纵，以增加贡品和支持努比亚境内的殖民地前哨。然而，饮食等非公共活动可能是当地努比亚人维护更传统社会身份的场所。本研究将从日常活动的角度审视扩张的社会权力与外围区域之间的对话。具体来说，从第二次中间时期（公元前1650 - 1550年）过渡到新王国时期（公元前1550 - 1069年），埃及帝国对当地努比亚社区的影响将被探索。这是埃及向南扩张的关键时期，征服了传统的努比亚领土（即现在的埃及南部和苏丹北部）。然而，生活在埃及统治下的当地努比亚人的生活和饮食仍然不清楚。为了解决这些问题，将对人类骨骼遗骸进行分析，以寻找活动和饮食的指标。骨关节炎是一种发生在关节系统内的退行性过程，骨骺重塑是肌腱和韧带附着部位的骨骼标记，与重复性和体力要求高的活动有关。这些生物考古技术将用于辨别努比亚体力劳动的历时变化，并将阐明适用于外围领土的帝国要求。将对碳和氮进行稳定同位素分析，以了解努比亚人在此期间食用的食物类型。将对努比亚尼罗河沿岸的六个考古遗址进行考察，以便更好地了解这一外围地带的变化。该项目有助于(1)培训和教育科学领域的女性研究生，(2)保护苏丹/努比亚文化遗产，以及(3)国际研究合作。努比亚的许多考古遗址都受到城市和农业扩张的威胁，对这些材料的即时记录对于该地区的史前保存非常重要。

It is hypothesized that due to economic motivations for imperial expansion, manual labor may have been manipulated by the Egyptian Empire in order to increase tribute and support colonial outposts within Nubia. However, non-public activities such as diet may have been a venue for local Nubian populations to assert more traditional social identities. This research will examine the dialogue between expansive social powers and peripheral zones in terms of everyday activities. Specifically, the effects of the Egyptian Empire on local Nubian communities during the transition from the Second Intermediate period (c. 1,650-1,550 BC) to the New Kingdom period (c. 1,550-1,069 BC) will be explored. This was a pivotal time period in which Egypt expanded southward, conquering traditional Nubian territories (what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan). However, the life and diet of native Nubians living under Egyptian domination remain unclear. To address these questions, human skeletal remains will be analyzed for indicators of activity and diet. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative process that occurs within joint systems, and entheseal remodeling, skeletal markers of tendon and ligament attachment sites, are correlated with repetitive and physically demanding activity. These bioarchaeological techniques will be used to discern diachronic alterations to Nubian manual labor and will elucidate imperial demands applied to peripheral territories. Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen will be conducted, which will inform what types of foods Nubians were consuming during this time. A total of six archaeological sites along the Nile River in Nubia will be examined to better conceptualize variation within this peripheral zone.The project contributes to (1) training and education for graduate women in science, (2) conservation of Sudanese/Nubian cultural heritage, and (3) international research collaboration. Many archaeological sites throughout Nubia are threatened by urban and agricultural expansion, and immediate documentation of this material is important for the prehistoric preservation of the region.