Chris Stantis

Dental non-metric traits have become widely used to estimate biological affinities, particularly by utilizing the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). Here, we offer information from the Middle Bronze Age site of Avaris, located near modern Tell el-Dab’a in the Egyptian Nile Delta, that was ruled by the Hyksos kings during the Second Intermediate Period (circa 1640-1530 BCE).
Dental non-metric traits were recorded from a sample of individuals (n=90) and analyzed using mean measure of divergence (MMD). Both intra- and inter-site analyses were conducted. The former compared the ancestry between locals and non-locals, defined isotopically by a recent study. The latter compared Avaris to other Egyptian sites to gauge its population distinctiveness.
Results indicated that individuals defined as locals and non-locals were not ancestrally different from one another. There was, however, a significant difference (p<0.01) between the pooled locals and non-locals of Avaris and other Egyptian sites, regardless of spatial and/or temporal proximity. The results are in line with the archaeological evidence, suggesting Avaris was an important hub in the Middle Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean trade network, welcoming people from beyond its borders.

Objectives: Found throughout the ancient Near East during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1600 BCE), many modern scholars emphasize that weapon-associated burials are ideological and symbolic associations, not reflections of occupation. However, the term "warrior burial" still carries interpretive value that misinforms popular perception. The site of Sidon (Lebanon) offers an excellent context to discuss this

The origin of the Hyksos dynasty (c. 1638-1530 BCE) is thought to be rooted in the Near East given the architectural features and burial customs present at the site of Tell el-Dab c a, identified as the capital of Hyksos rule in the Eastern Delta of Egypt. We expand previous 87 Sr/ 86 Sr research on the site's cemetery assemblage using a multi-isotopic methodology: oxygen (δ 18 O) and carbon (δ 13 C carb) stable isotopes from the carbonate portion of tooth enamel (n = 75), along with collagen (δ 13 C coll , δ 15 N) analysis of dentine and bone (n = 31). Pairing δ 18 O with previous 87 Sr/ 86 Sr data identifies 60% of the cohort as non-locals (45/75). Although there were a greater proportion of non-local females (24/30, 80%) compared to males (10/20, 50%), there were no significant differences between the sexes in δ 13 C carb or δ 18 O carb values. There were no spatial patterns regarding the three cemetery sites, nor any observable patterns regarding where non-locals were interred in the largest excavated cemetery, Area A/II. Both first-generation immigrants and individuals from the northeastern Nile Delta were buried following elite Asiatic burial customs, suggesting continuation of foreign burial culture. All collagen showed poor preservation; δ 13 C coll and δ 15 N analysis were not possible. δ 13 C carb showed no significant difference between locals and non-local diet, although non-locals at Tell el-Dab c a did eat a broader variety of foods as a group, suggested by a wider δ 13 C carb range (− 13.5 to − 9.6‰ in non-locals compared to locals' − 12.1 to − 10.3‰). If there is a difference in food culture between immigrants and native Egyptians, it was not observable using isotopic analyses.

The first foreign dynasty which ruled Egypt between c. 1640 and 1530 BC was seen by Egyptologists and historians alike for a long time through a filter of scanty contemporary and posthumous Egyptian as well as antique texts. They rendered the tradition about these rulers in an absolutely biased and distorted way. It is the methods of modern archaeology, which enable to elucidate aspects and parts of history, prehistory and the aftermath of the Hyksos rule in a new light. We want to know from where and when the elite and the people behind the Hyksos rule came from, how they arrived in Egypt and how they settled there and were able to build up their power. We also want to know what the backbone of their economy had been and how they interacted with the rest of Egypt and with whom they entertained their commercial and political contacts. Finally, the question arises, why the Hyksos rule failed in Egypt.

Within this workshop you will hear some of the answers to these questions. We are able to offer evidence that the Western Asiatic population, on which the Hyksos rule rested, came from a different region in the Levant - at least parts of their elite. Temple architecture and burial customs show that the religious inspirations and the concepts of afterlife in the eastern Nile Delta originated from northernmost Syria and northern Mesopotamia. The same can be also concluded from the introduction of the artificial irrigation systems for which new evidence could be collected from Tell el-Dab‘a, a harbour town which became the capital of the Hyksos. It is the site on which excavations between 1966-2011 under the supervision of the speaker produced with more than 80 field- and working-up-campaigns an enormous quantity of evidence on settlement, tombs, palaces, temples and a hoard of material culture which was partly published in 24 volumes but would still need the same amount of publications in the future if circumstances would allow it. Other excavations in the Delta and in the Wadi Tumilat such as Tell el-Retaba, Tell el Maskhuta and Tell el Khilgan contribute to the cultural phenomenon of the Hyksos. This ERC project was able to draw from these excavations but also produced conclusions, which place these archaeological results with the help of international colleagues into a much wider perspective. Our studies in relationship with the Hyksos lead us not only to the Levant but also to the wider cultural background of Mesopotamia and also to Asia minor, and concerning trade also to Cyprus and the Aegean. It seems clear now that the flourishing trading network built up by a Western Asiatic community before the Hyksos Period broke down during their reign, as they were cut off from the resources of Upper Egypt and Nubia and could not offer a barter for their trade with the Levant.

Objectives: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality within a population, and in the ancient Near East, it is possible to compare bioarchaeological reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices with the scant textual evidence. Materials and Methods: Nitrogen stable isotopes (δ 15 N) are analyzed here for dietary reconstruction in skeletal collections from five Bronze Age (ca. 2,800-1,200-BCE) sites in modern Lebanon and Syria. We employed Bayesian computational modeling on cross-sectional stable isotope data of collagen samples (n = 176) mainly from previous studies to test whether the bioarchaeological evidence aligns with the textual evidence of breastfeeding and weaning practices in the region, as well as compare the estimated weaning times to the global findings using the WARN (weaning age reconstruction with nitrogen isotope analysis) Bayesian model. Results: Though the Near East sites in this study had different ecological settings and economic strategies, we found that weaning was introduced to the five sites at 0.5 ± 0.2 years of age and complete weaning occurred around 2.6 ± 0.3 years of age on using the WARN computational model. These weaning processes are within the time suggested by historical texts, though average estimated weaning age on the Mediter-ranean coast is later than inland sites. Discussion: Compared globally, these Near Eastern populations initiated the weaning process earlier but completed weaning within the global average. Early initial weaning may have created short spacing between pregnancies and a high impact on demographic growth within these agricultural populations, with some variation in subsistence practices accounting for the inland/coastal discrepancies.

Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the central Tombigbee river valley (500-1200 AD), 50-100 km west of the emerging Moundville polity, suggest that while food production may have alleviated some ecological stress, it came at a cost. Markers of childhood arrest indicate earlier weaning, likely creating a cycle of rising fertility and competition, but surviving adults appear better off following intensification. Health disparities at farmsteads, including more prevalent anemia, growth defects, lower limb infections, and accidental trauma, are consistent with increasingly competing demands of domestic and corporate modes of production. Although these agricultural settlements in the hinterlands were not severely compromised as predicted by a strictly top down model of provisioning, health risks assumed by farmsteads may have resulted from provisioning to centers and/or corporate lineages while simultaneously mitigating larger risks (e.g., raiding). The greater health risks assumed by farmstead females suggest that they had less control over production and decision-making than women buried at centers, while height and upper body strength at mound centers, in addition to rare but extreme trauma, point to identities that were mapped not only onto the landscape, but onto the bodies of men and women occupying elite spaces.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1) was classified by some archaeologists as a commoner&#39;s mound while the second burial mound (To-At-2) was possibly used for interment of the chiefly class. In this study, stable isotope analyses of diet (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S; n = 41) are used to asses paleodiet and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (n = 30) are analyzed to investigate individual mobility to test whether sex and social status affected these aspects of life. Our results show significant differences in diet between burial mounds and sexes. Those interred in To-At-2 displayed lower δ13C values, indicating they ate relatively more terrestrial plants (likely starchy vegetable ...

Biocultural patterns surrounding the emergence of agriculture from 11 sites in the central Tombigbee River valley (500–1200 AD), 50–100 km west of the emerging Moundville polity, suggest that while food production may have alleviated some ecological stress, it came at a cost. Markers of childhood arrest indicate earlier weaning, likely creating a cycle of rising fertility and competition, but surviving adults appear better off following intensification. Health disparities at farmsteads, including more prevalent anemia, growth defects, lower limb infections, and accidental trauma, are consistent with increasingly competing demands of domestic and corporate modes of production. Although these agricultural settlements in the hinterlands were not severely compromised as predicted by a strictly top down model of provisioning, health risks assumed by farmsteads may have resulted from provisioning to centers and/or corporate lineages while simultaneously mitigating larger risks (e.g., raiding). The greater health risks assumed by farmstead females suggest that they had less control over production and decision-making than women buried at centers, while height and upper body strength at mound centers, in addition to rare but extreme trauma, point to identities that were mapped not only onto the landscape, but onto the bodies of men and women occupying elite spaces.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1) was classified by some archaeologists as a commoner&#39;s mound while the second burial mound (To-At-2) was possibly used for interment of the chiefly class. In this study, stable isotope analyses of diet (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S; n = 41) are used to asses paleodiet and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (n = 30) are analyzed to investigate individual mobility to test whether sex and social status affected these aspects of life. Our results show significant differences in diet between burial mounds and sexes. Those interred in To-At-2 displayed lower δ13C values, indicating they ate relatively more terrestrial plants (likely starchy vegetable ...

Objectives: Bourewa, on the southwest coast of Viti Levu in Fiji, is a multi-period site that contained burials dated to the later Vuda Phase (750–150 BP), a period of climatic fluctuations that potentially impacted the availability of food resources. We aim to investigate diet and movement at this site during a time of possible ecological pressure and political change. Materials and Methods: We analyzed d 13 C, d 15 N, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of these Vuda Phase individuals (n 5 25) interred at the site. By analyzing dentin and bone, both childhood diet and the diet within the past few years of adults' lives were examined. Results: The paleodietary results suggested that adult diets consisted largely of low trophic level marine organisms. Dentin and bone isotopic values differed significantly: childhood diet involved consumption of more higher trophic level terrestrial foods. Most individuals displayed 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios expected of people living along a marine coastline. However, a few individuals displayed 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios and paleodietary values (d 13 C dentin , d 15 N dentin) suggestive of living further inland or consuming a more terrestrial-based childhood diet. Discussion: The results are compared with past studies of sites from Fiji and nearby archipelagoes, placing our interpretations into a wider regional context. The Bourewa community appears to have consumed more low trophic level marine foods than any nearby site, possibly because terrestrial foods were more difficult to acquire. Interpreting the childhood diet is challenging due to the paucity of ethnohistoric literature on Fijian childhood; small meals outside of communal mealtimes or feeding children terrestrial animal protein as a means of cultural buffering are potential explanations. Am J Phys Anthropol 000:000–000, 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The rise of stratified societies fundamentally influences the interactions between status, movement, and food. Using isotopic analyses, we assess differences in diet and mobility of
individuals excavated from two burial mounds located at the `Atele burial site on Tongatapu, the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga (c. 500 - 150 BP). The first burial mound (To-At-1)
was classified by some archaeologists as a commoner’s mound while the second burial mound (To-At-2) was possibly used for interment of the chiefly class. In this study, stable isotope analyses of diet (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S; n = 41) are used to asses paleodiet and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (n = 30) are analyzed to investigate individual mobility to test whether sex and social status affected these aspects of life. Our results show significant differences in diet between burial mounds and sexes. Those interred in To-At-2 displayed lower δ13C values, indicating they ate relatively more terrestrial plants (likely starchy vegetable staples) compared with To-At-1 individuals. Females displayed significantly lower δ15N values compared with males within the entire assemblage. No differences in δ34S values were observed between sexes or burial mound but it is possible that sea spray or volcanism may have affected these values. One individual displayed the strontium isotopic composition
representative of a nonlocal immigrant (outside 2SD of the mean). This suggests the hegemonic control over interisland travel, may have prevented long-term access to the island by
non-Tongans exemplifying the political and spiritual importance of the island of Tongatapu in the maritime chiefdom.

Mobility and migration patterns of groups and individuals have long been a topic of interest to archaeologists, used for broad explanatory models of cultural change as well as illustrations of historical particularism. The 14th century AD was a tumultuous period of history in Britain, with severely erratic weather patterns, the Great Famine of 1315–1322, the Scottish Wars of Independence, and the Hundred Years' War providing additional migration pressures to the ordinary economic issues drawing individuals to their capital under more stable conditions. East Smithfield Black Death Cemetery (Royal Mint) had a documented use period of only 2 years (AD 1348–1350), providing a precise historical context (∼50 years) for data. Adults (n = 30) from the East Smithfield site were sampled for strontium and oxygen stable isotope analyses of tooth enamel. Five individuals were demonstrated to be statistical outliers through the combined strontium and oxygen isotope data. Potential origins for migrants ranged from London's surrounding hinterlands to distant portions of northern and western Britain. Historic food sourcing practices for London were found to be an important factor for consideration in a broader than expected 87Sr/86Sr range reflected in a comparison of enamel samples from three London datasets. The pooled dataset demonstrated a high level of consistency between site data, divergent from the geologically predicted range. We argue that this supports the premise that isotope data in human populations must be approached as a complex interaction between behavior and environment and thus should be interpreted cautiously with the aid of alternate lines of evidence. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.