A Healed Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture, Shoulder, and Rib Fractures in an Ancient Nubian Female: An Osteoarchaeological Perspective.

This report is a case of a healed proximal intertrochanteric femur fracture nonunion in an ancient Nubian adult female, approximately 58 years old at the time of death, from the Tombos archaeological site in present day northern Sudan. Tombos was founded as an Egyptian colonial town during the New Kingdom Period (14001070 BC). The individual was radiocarbon dated to 1114-910 BC and also exhibited healed fractures of the left proximal humerus and ribs.

Massive bone destruction in a human proximal femur from ancient Nubia.

Massive bone destruction in a human right proximal femur is described and differentially discussed in this case study. The individual was an older adult female buried at the ancient Nubian site of Tombos (modern-day Sudan) dating to the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069-750 BCE).

Twenty-first century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward.

This article presents outcomes from a Workshop entitled "Bioarchaeology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward," which was held at Arizona State University (ASU) on March 6-8, 2020. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (ASU), and the Center for Bioarchaeological Research (CBR, ASU), the Workshop's overall goal was to explore reasons why research proposals submitted by bioarchaeologists, both graduate students and established scholars, fared disproportionately poorly within recent NSF Anthropology Program competitions and to offer advice for increasing success. Therefore, this Workshop comprised 43 international scholars and four advanced graduate students with a history of successful grant acquisition, primarily from the United States.

Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene.

Climate change is an indisputable threat to human health, especially for societies already confronted with rising social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and a cascade of concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological data about past climate and environment provide an important source of evidence about the potential challenges humans face and the long-term outcomes of alternative short-term adaptive strategies. Evidence from well-dated archaeological human skeletons and mummified remains speaks directly to patterns of human health over time through changing circumstances.

Femoroacetabular impingement in ancient Nubia 1400-656 BC.

Introduction: There is significant recent interest in femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in orthopaedics. The etiology of the cam deformity is unknown but has been hypothesized to be due to stresses from sporting activities in our modern society. Few archeological studies exist of femora and FAI.

Two cases of skeletal dysplasia from New Kingdom (c. 1400-1050 BCE) Tombos, Sudan.

Objective: This project investigates two cases of skeletal dysplasia from archaeological excavations of the New Kingdom Period (c. 1400-1050 BCE) portion of the Tombos cemetery in Sudan.

Materials: Fair to well-preserved skeletal remains of two individuals, one adult and one juvenile, are examined here.

A diachronic examination of biomechanical changes in skeletal remains from Tombos in ancient Nubia.

Using morphometric assessment, we diachronically analyse mechanical stress and limb function at the Tombos (modern Sudan) archaeological site through time and changing socioeconomic circumstances. Based on previous research, we expect that during the Third Intermediate/Napatan (c. 1070-656 BCE) people were larger and more physically active than in the New Kingdom (∼1400-1070 BCE).

Tombos during the Napatan period (∼750-660 BC): Exploring the consequences of sociopolitical transitions in ancient Nubia.

This study examines the consequences of the sociopolitical transition in the Nile Valley from New Kingdom Egyptian control (18-20th Dynasties of Egypt, ∼1550-1069 BC) to Napatan Nubian rule (25th Dynasty of Egypt, ∼750-660 BC) through the analysis of skeletal remains and mortuary ritual at the site of Tombos in Upper Nubia (modern Sudan). Demographic variables as well as indicators of nutritional deficiency and infectious disease (linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, osteoperiostitis, and femur length) are used to assess the effects of governmental changes on people living in Nubia during these periods. It is evident from the skeletal sample that the Egyptian-Nubian community at Tombos continued to thrive after the fall of the New Kingdom Egyptian empire.

Strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) variability in the Nile Valley: identifying residential mobility during ancient Egyptian and Nubian sociopolitical changes in the New Kingdom and Napatan periods.

As a successful technique for identifying residential mobility in other areas, this study investigates the feasibility of using 87Sr/86Sr analysis to track the movements of the ancient peoples of Egypt and Nubia in the Nile Valley, who interacted via trade, warfare, and political occupations over millennia. Dental enamel from faunal remains is used to examine variability in strontium sources in seven regional sites; human enamel samples are analyzed from eight Nile Valley sites in order to trace human movements. The faunal samples show a wide range of 87Sr/86Sr values demonstrating that some animals were raised in a variety of locales.

Investigating health at Kerma: sacrificial versus nonsacrificial individuals.

This analysis examines heterogeneity in risks by assessing the health status of individuals in two distinct burial contexts from the Nubian site of Kerma: sacrificial (n = 100) and nonsacrificial (n = 190) burial areas dated to the classic Kerma period ( approximately 1750-1500 BC). Indicators of physiological stress that were examined include cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, tibial osteoperiostitis, and femur length. The analysis presented here shows that the people interred in the sacrificial and nonsacrificial burial contexts at Kerma in Upper Nubia had similar health profiles that were comparable with other contemporaneous samples from the region.

Traumatic injuries and imperialism: the effects of Egyptian colonial strategies at Tombos in upper Nubia.

As circumstances of conquest change, leaders of empires must adapt their colonial strategies in order to be successful. One example of such modification in approach is the shift from Middle Kingdom to New Kingdom Egyptian colonial activities in Nubia. During the Middle Kingdom (2050-1650 BC) Egypt used aggressive military campaigns to subdue the strong Nubian polity at Kerma, resulting in the construction of fortresses and many victory stelae.

Health of the non-elites at Tombos: Nutritional and disease stress in New Kingdom Nubia.

During the New Kingdom period, Egypt succeeded in occupying most of Nubia. Colonial towns were built, which served as centers of government and redistribution. This paper uses a bioarchaeological approach to address the effects of this cultural contact on non-elites.