Multidisciplinary discovery of ancient restoration using a rare mud carapace on a mummified individual from late New Kingdom Egypt.

Funder: Rundle Foundation for Egyptian ArchaeologyCT scans of an unnamed mummified adult from Egypt, now in the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney (NMR.27.3), reveal it to be fully sheathed in a mud shell or carapace, exposing a mortuary treatment not previously documented in the Egyptian archaeological record. The carapace was placed between layers of linen wrappings thus it was not externally visible. Radiocarbon dating of textile samples provide a range of c.1370-1113 cal BC (95.4% probability), with a median date of 1207 cal BC. When assessed against mummification techniques of the era, the individual is placed in the late 19th-20th Dynasty, at the later end of this date range. Multi-proxy analysis including μ-XRF and Raman spectroscopy of carapace fragments from the head area revealed it to consist of three layers, comprising a thin base layer of mud, coated with a white calcite-based pigment and a red-painted surface of mixed composition. Whether the whole surface of the carapace was painted red is unknown. The carapace was a form of ancient conservation applied subsequent to post-mortem damage to the body, intended to reconfigure the body and enable continued existence of the deceased in the afterlife. The carapace can also be interpreted as a form of elite emulation imitating resin shells found within the wrappings of royal bodies from this period

Island questions: the chronology of the Brochtorff Circle at Xagħra, Gozo, and its significance for the Neolithic sequence on Malta

Bayesian chronological modelling of radiocarbon dates from the Brochtorff Circle at Xagħra, Gozo, Malta (achieved through the ToTL and FRAGSUS projects), provides a more precise chronology for the sequence of development and use of a cave complex. Artefacts show that the site was in use from the Żebbuġ period of the late 5th/early 4th millennium cal BC to the Tarxien Cemetery phase of the later 3rd/early 2nd millennia cal BC. Absolutely dated funerary activity, however, starts with a small rock-cut tomb, probably in use in the mid to late fourth millennium cal BC, in the Ġgantija period. After an interval of centuries, burial resumed on a larger scale, probably in the 30th century cal BC, associated with Tarxien cultural material, with the use of the cave for collective burial and other depositions, with a series of structures, most notably altar-like settings built from massive stone slabs, which served to monumentalise the space. This process continued at intervals until the deposition of the last burials, probably in the 24th century cal BC; ceremonial activity may have ended at this time or a little later, to be followed by occupation in the Tarxien Cemetery period. The implications for the development of Neolithic society on Malta are discussed, as well as the changing character of Neolithic Malta in comparison to contemporary communities in Sicily, peninsular Italy and southern Iberia. It is argued that underground settings and temples on Malta may have served to reinforce locally important values of cooperation and consensus, against a wider tide of differentiation and accumulation, but that there could also have been increasing control of the treatment of the dead through time. The end of the Maltese Neolithic is also briefly discussed

Analysis of periosteal lesions from commingled human remains at the Xagħra Circle hypogeum reveals the first case of probable scurvy from Neolithic Malta

Funder: FP7 Ideas: European Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199; Grant(s): 323727Funder: Magdalene College, University of Cambridge; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000653Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000267Abstract: Objectives: Palaeopathological analysis is key for characterising population health at the individual level and across large assemblages but is rarely exploited to unite the remains of disarticulated individuals. This study explores the potential for individual identification through differential diagnosis of periosteal lesions in a commingled deposit, both to ascertain the number of individuals represented and provide a differential diagnosis. Materials and Methods: The late Neolithic Xagħra Circle hypogeum on Gozo contains the remains of more than 800 individuals, most of which were transformed to a collective disarticulated assemblage. Across the excavated population, pathological observations are strikingly low. In one specific 1 × 1‐m area in a single stratigraphic context, fragmented and disarticulated cranial and post‐cranial non‐adult bones were identified that displayed periosteal new bone formation. To aid differential diagnosis, macroscopic analysis, taphonomic analysis and micro‐computed tomography (μCT) imaging were integrated. Results: This approach, when combined with osteobiographical analyses, reveals that the elements most likely derive from one individual, a young child, who presents a probable case of scurvy. The potential for micronutrient co‐morbidities are explored, but without further microscopic study it cannot be determined if this individual also experienced iron‐deficiency anaemia and/or rickets. Discussion: In the context of the Mediterranean and Europe in later prehistory, reported cases of scurvy are currently low and often reveal periods of environmental instability and resource insufficiency. Our finding of non‐adult scurvy in late 3rd millennium BC Malta contributes to a developing picture of an increasingly unstable palaeoenvironment and declining population health at this time, although it may also indicate an individual case of poor childhood health within this broader context

Adaïma 3. Demographic and Epidemiological Transitions before the Pharaohs Éric Crubézy (ed.) Fouilles de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (FIFAO) 76, Institut français d’archéologie orientale, Le Caire, 2017

Power Ronika K. Adaïma 3. Demographic and Epidemiological Transitions before the Pharaohs Éric Crubézy (ed.) Fouilles de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (FIFAO) 76, Institut français d’archéologie orientale, Le Caire, 2017. In: Archéo-Nil. Revue de la société pour l'étude des cultures prépharaoniques de la vallée du Nil, n°28, 2018. pp. 137-138

From the cradle to the grave: child, infant and foetal burials in the Egyptian archaeological record from the Early Dynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom (ca. 3300-1650 BC)

Theoretical thesis.Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Dept. of Ancient History, 2012.Bibliography: pages 315-366 of volume 1.Volume 1. Text 1. Introduction ; 2. Literature review ; 3. Primary results ; 4. Palaeodemography ; 5. Body position and orientation ; 6. Bodily treatment ; 7. Tomb architecture ; 8. Associated features ; 9. Grave goods ; 10. Discussion ; 11. Conclusion -- Volume 2. Figures and tables.This research investigates how current disciplinary perceptions of ancient Egyptian child, infant and foetal mortuary culture correspond with its actual nature and scope. It engages the fields of history, archaeology, physical anthropology and philosophy to present an inter-disciplinary investigation of child, infant and foetal burials in the Egyptian archaeological record. The research is based on a sample of 1,809 children, infants and foetuses derived from a survey of all available published archaeological data from the Egyptian Early Dynastic to Middle Kingdom Periods (ca. 3300—1650 BC), supplemented by unpublished Early Dynastic cemetery data from the Australian Centre for Egyptology’s Helwan Project. This thesis addresses the absence of child, infant and foetal mortuary culture in Egyptian archaeological research. To date, scholars have surmised that published cemetery data rarely include significant numbers of child, infant and foetal burials, thereby rendering them unavailable for study. This apparent absence is attributed to differential burial practices for these individuals, based on an assumption that at this young age, they were not considered embodied members of the community. However, these hypotheses have been formed without consultation of available historical, archaeological, and skeletal evidence. As a result, children are marginalised within Egyptian archaeological narratives. While many studies consider the position, value and agency of Egyptian children via their artistic and epigraphic representations, such methodologies confine children’s lived experiences within the conceptual boundaries of socialisation and familism. In this frame, they are denied the same ontological status as adults. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses delivered in this thesis recalibrate these perspectives of child, infant and foetal mortuary culture and revise their lived experiences and cultural capacities in Egyptian society. The identification of so many children in the archaeological record confirms their suitability as subjects of research. The observation of the majority of child, infant and foetal burials in communal cemetery contexts refute hypotheses of supposed differential mortuary treatment. Consistent observations of profound similarities between child and adult mortuary culture are found to be indicative of their ontological equity during the timeframes canvassed by this research. In contrast to current reconstructions of children as passive familial appendages, this research demonstrates that ancient Egyptian children, infants and foetuses were considered individual social entities with complete cultural capacities, and were actively engaged in extensive social networks between and amongst communities of both the living and the dead.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (2 volumes) illustrations (some colour), map

Building bridges: A practical guide to developing and implementing a subject-specific peer-to-peer academic mentoring program for first-year Higher Education students

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Strangers in a strange land : the Australian Museum's collections of Egyptian human remains housed in the Museum of Ancient Cultures at Macquarie University

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Building bridges : a practical guide to developing and implementing a subject-specific peer-to-peer academic mentoring program for first-year higher education students

The Telemachus Ancient History Mentor Program (informally known as Tele’s Angels) has been offering peer-led transition services to first-year students at Macquarie University since 2002. Tele’s Angels volunteer Mentors create a ‘learning community’ by providing their first-year colleagues with transition assistance, academic support and resources, and networking for and amongst students and staff. Individual mentoring is offered, as well as free peer-support services which focus on developing academic skills and building social networks. The program also focuses on student leadership – a key objective is that Mentors themselves are beneficiaries of all activities, embodying the program motto: “to give is to receive”. It is timely to report Tele’s Angels’ experiences to a wider audience and offer practical guidelines to those wishing to develop and implement subject-specific academic mentoring programs for first-year students in their own institutions.12 page(s