Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: A Bioarchaeological Investigation of Marginalization through Diet, Oral Health and Mobility

博士论文改进奖：通过饮食、口腔健康和流动性进行边缘化的生物考古学调查

• 批准号: 2327388
• 负责人: Jane Buikstra
• 金额: $ 1.7万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2327388&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Award; Bioarchaeological

The goal of this doctoral dissertation project examines the degree to which social categories such as gender and status are associated with health and diet during the Athenian Archaic period—a politically unstable period in Athenian history. During this period political organization oscillated between nascent democracy and rule by aristocratic “tyrants.” Primary knowledge comes from accounts by writers who were often members of the upper class. Additionally, they were writing from secondary historical sources, not events they themselves experienced. Because these are the works that survive to the present, it is not known how non-aristocratic and marginalized people experienced this political turmoil. This project focuses on information contained in archaeological evidence: the skeletal remains of the people who lived during this period. The Phaleron cemetery is not only one of the few examples of an Archaic period burial space, but it also contains graves of low status adults and children. In addition, the cemetery includes multiple burials and mass graves of shackled adults. This provides a unique opportunity to understand how cuisine—which the researchers are defining as diet, oral health, and immigrant status—reflects social categories like gender and status during this tumultuous period. Political turmoil and instability, especially in areas where democratic rule has been recently established, continues to be of interest to national security and to humanitarian aid groups who are interested in human health. The project fosters collaboration between American and Greek scholars and creates opportunities for American undergraduate students in the laboratory sciences.Researchers utilize biogeochemical methods alongside oral health data to investigate social differences at the site of Phaleron. From an analysis of both bone and tooth samples, the researchers determine if differences in diet—identifiable from distinctive ratios of stable isotopes in the structure of the sample—coincide with differences in burial circumstance or other factors, such as age, sex, or migratory status. Additionally, these researchers collect data on oral health and disease to strengthen arguments about the variability of health and diet in this community. Were there strict divisions between those buried in simple pit graves and those who were shackled at the time of burial? Or did this community have many different cuisines and diets that suggest that social status did not determine one’s health status? The researchers employ multiple lines of evidence and sophisticated statistical techniques to discuss complex social issues during a turbulent period.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一博士论文项目的目标是考察雅典古代时期--雅典历史上政治不稳定的时期--社会类别(如性别和地位)与健康和饮食的关联程度。在此期间，政治组织在萌芽的民主和贵族“暴君”的统治之间摇摆。基本知识来自作家的记述，他们往往是上流社会的一员。此外，他们写的是二手史料，而不是他们自己经历的事件。因为这些都是流传至今的作品，所以不知道非贵族和边缘化的人是如何经历这场政治动荡的。该项目的重点是考古证据中包含的信息：生活在这一时期的人的骨骼遗骸。冥王星墓地不仅是为数不多的古代墓地之一，还埋葬着地位低下的成年人和儿童的坟墓。此外，墓地还包括多个墓地和戴着脚铐的成年人的乱葬岗。这提供了一个独特的机会来理解烹饪--研究人员将其定义为饮食、口腔健康和移民身份--在这个动荡的时期如何反映性别和地位等社会类别。政治动荡和不稳定，特别是在最近建立民主统治的地区，继续关系到国家安全和关心人类健康的人道主义援助团体。该项目促进了美国和希腊学者之间的合作，并为美国本科生创造了在实验室科学方面的机会。研究人员利用生物地球化学方法以及口腔健康数据来调查Phalung现场的社会差异。通过对骨骼和牙齿样本的分析，研究人员确定饮食的差异--通过样本结构中稳定同位素的不同比例来识别--是否与埋葬环境或其他因素的差异一致，如年龄、性别或迁徙状态。此外，这些研究人员收集关于口腔健康和疾病的数据，以加强关于这个社区健康和饮食的可变性的论点。埋葬在简单坑里的人和埋葬时戴着脚链的人之间有严格的区分吗？或者，这个社区有许多不同的菜肴和饮食，表明社会地位并不决定一个人的健康状况？研究人员使用多种证据和复杂的统计技术来讨论动荡时期的复杂社会问题。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。