Collaborative Research: A Bioarchaeological Investigation of Identity Development During Napatan State Formation

由米歇尔·布松博士和斯图尔特·泰森·史密斯博士领导的一个国际小组将进行一项生物考古研究项目，以检查努比亚纳帕坦国家第三个中期时期(公元前1050-750年)和晚期(公元前750-332年)关键起源时期的相关人员的身份。虽然与埃及的努比亚人相比鲜为人知，但原住民努比亚人曾被埃及殖民，后来获得独立，并建立了一个国家，然后征服了埃及。汤博斯遗址是这个项目的重点，它记录了这个纳帕坦国家的崛起。对尼罗河流域国家形成过程的研究一般集中在埃及对土著文化发展的影响上。然而，最近的研究表明，事实上，情况可能发生了逆转--由于努比亚有影响力的土著国家，埃及失去了权力。对托博斯这一关键地点的研究将揭示努比亚历史的这一“黑暗时代”，并提供必要的关键信息，以澄清社会过程的性质。利用多学科的生物考古方法，该项目将通过新的挖掘以及对种族认同、生物关系和地理起源的评估，确定参与纳帕坦国家形成的参与者，以确定是否有证据表明土著活动和当地社会力量导致了这个努比亚政体的形成。这项研究项目将通过第三中期和纳帕坦时期两个季节的考古田野工作来解决这些问题，这些墓葬位于上努比亚尼罗河第三大瀑布的Tombos遗址，并将在普渡大学和加州大学圣巴巴拉分校进行额外的博物馆收藏采样和实验室和统计分析。拟议研究的学术价值在于它对有关身份发展和转变过程的更大的考古学和人类学研究问题的贡献；它将提供关于历史、生物文化和地理对国家起源的影响的新信息。汤博斯独特的历史背景为揭示纳帕坦国家的形成过程提供了巨大的潜力，为了解在这个强大的努比亚政体的发展中发挥作用的非王室民族提供了重要数据。该项目将协助扩大在尼罗河流域利用锶和氧同位素分析进行的移徙研究。此外，拟议的挖掘和分析将为评估文化和种族动态提供关键数据。这一研究项目的更广泛影响还包括对学生和研究人员的培训以及促进国际研究合作。从Tombos遗址挖掘和管理人类骨骼遗骸将安全地存储重要的生物考古数据和收藏品，并确保未来对Tombos材料的研究机会。拟议研究产生的数据将被广泛传播，以便为其他研究人员提供机会。

An international team, led by Dr. Michele Buzon and Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith will conduct a bioarchaeological research project to examine the identities of those involved during the critical origin period of the Napatan state during the Third Intermediate Period (1050-750 BC) and Late Period (750-332 BC) in Nubia. Although less known than its Egyptian counterpart, indigenous Nubians were colonized by Egypt, later gained independence and formed a state which then conquered Egypt itself. The site of Tombos, the focus of this project, documents the rise of this Napatan state. The study of state formation processes in the Nile Valley has generally centered on the impact that Egypt had on the developments of indigenous cultures. However, recent studies suggest that, in fact, the reverse may have taken place - Egypt lost power as a result of the influential indigenous states in Nubia. Research at this key site of Tombos will shed light on this 'dark age' of Nubian history and provide crucial information necessary to clarify the nature of the social processes. Using a multi-disciplinary bioarchaeological approach, this project will identify the players involved in Napatan state formation through new excavation, and the assessment of ethnic identity, biological relationships, and geographic origins in order to determine if there is evidence for indigenous activities and local social forces leading up to the formation of this Nubian polity. This research project will address these questions through two seasons of archaeological fieldwork of Third Intermediate Period and Napatan Period burials at the site of Tombos, located at the 3rd Cataract of the Nile in Upper Nubia, with additional museum collection sampling and laboratory and statistical analyses at Purdue University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The intellectual merit of the proposed research rests on its contribution to larger archaeological and anthropological research questions regarding the process of identity development and transformation; it will provide new information regarding the historical, biocultural and geographic influences on the origins of a state. Tombos' unique historical context offers significant potential to shed light on the process of Napatan state formation, providing important data on the non-royal people who played a role in the development of this strong Nubian polity. This project will assist in the expansion of migration studies using strontium and oxygen isotope analysis in the Nile Valley. Also, the proposed excavation and analysis will offer crucial data to assess cultural and ethnic dynamics. Further broader impacts of this research project include the training of students and researchers as well as promotion of international research collaboration. The excavation and curation of human skeletal remains from the site of Tombos will provide secure storage of important bioarchaeological data and collections as well as ensure the opportunity for future research on the Tombos material. The data produced from the proposed research will be widely disseminated in order to provide access for other researchers.