Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Isotopic Investigation of Mobility, Exchange, and Tomb Membership in Bronze Age Arabia

该项目调查了人类迁移模式的变化，阿拉伯联合酋长国在整个青铜时代（约1000年）的区域间交流网络的发展。公元前3100-1200年）。 从人牙釉质中提取的稳定的锶、氧和碳同位素值将用于重建个人的童年地理居住地，以识别阿曼半岛坟墓中埋葬的非本地成年人。 这项研究测试的假设，埋葬外国人在当地的坟墓是一种常见的做法，由青铜时代早期，但在青铜时代中期下降后，印度河流域文明，这一地区是相互关联的秋天迅速下降。 这项研究挑战了长期以来的假设，即这些纪念性的坟墓是将当地人口与他们祖先埋葬的土地联系起来的强大符号;这些坟墓中的非当地人的存在可能表明比以前推测的更灵活和复杂的丧葬意识形态。 该项目将大大有助于我们了解古代阿拉伯贸易对流动性和移民模式的影响，并通过挑战这些关系背后的理论假设来解决更广泛的问题。通过对骨骼遗骸的同位素特征的分析，人们交流的证据有可能使人们深入了解这一地区生活的政治经济和思想方面，并有助于将考古记录与直接的生物地球化学证据进行比较，以了解这一时期对外关系和从属关系的真实性质。 该项目对一名女研究生的培训产生了影响，创造了成功的机会，并有助于对本科生进行与稳定同位素分析有关的方法学方面的教育和培训。 该项目提供与阿联酋学者的跨学科合作。 公众宣传也是这个项目的一个关键方面，代表性不足的群体将能够参加女孩探索考古！该项目向中学生介绍考古学背后的科学。

This project investigates changes in human migration patterns with the development of interregional exchange networks in the United Arab Emirates throughout the Bronze Age (ca. 3100-1200 BC). Stable strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope values extracted from human tooth enamel will be utilized in reconstructing the childhood geographic residence of individuals in order to identify non-local adults interred in tombs across the Oman Peninsula. This study tests the hypothesis that the burial of foreigners within local tombs was a common practice by the Early Bronze Age but declined rapidly in the Middle Bronze Age after the fall of the Indus Valley civilization, with which this region was interconnected. This research challenges the long-standing assumption that these monumental tombs acted as powerful symbols tying local populations to the land where their ancestors were buried; the presence of non-locals in these tombs may point to a more flexible and complex funerary ideology than previously speculated. This project will contribute significantly to our knowledge of the influence of trade on mobility and migration patterns in ancient Arabia and seeks to address broader issues by challenging the theoretical assumptions behind these relationships. Through analyses of isotopic signatures from skeletal remains, evidence of the exchange of people has the potential to give insight into the political economy and idealogical aspects of life in this region and facilitate a comparison between the archaeological record and direct biogeochemical evidence as to the true nature of foreign relations and subordination during this time. This project impacts a female graduate student's training and generates opportunities for success, as well as contributing to the education and training of undergraduates in methodology related to stable isotope analysis. The project provides interdisciplinary collaboration with Emirati scholars. Public outreach is also a key aspect of this project and underrepresented groups will be able to attend the Girls Explore Archaeology! Program, which introduces middle school-aged girls to the science behind archaeology.