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

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

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.