| Project Detail |
Ancient Egyptian burial practices were complex and involved mummification rituals to ensure a successful transition to the afterlife. However, current research tends to overlook the burial customs of middle- and low-class Egyptians. The MSCA-funded HEADS project will delve into underrepresented segments of the Egyptian populace, encompassing adults and juveniles in Assiut and Gebelin. It will leverage advancements in scientific methodologies for analysing human remains. This will facilitate the identification of embalming components and techniques, the assessment of the deceased individuals’ well-being prior to death, and the determination of the remains’ chronological age. By discerning biological sex and age at death, the project will also explore how these factors influenced treatment in mortality and health.
In ancient Egypt, death was the beginning of a new life, and the body was the anchor for the soul. Complex mummification practices and burial rituals were needed to ensure a successful transition to the afterlife. These have so far mainly been explored through the study of texts and archaeological contexts, which are principally focused on the elites. However, thanks to scientific advances in the study of human remains, it is possible to make the life of underrepresented categories of Egyptian people come to the fore.
HEADS, through a collaboration with the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the University of Turin (MAET), offers the unique opportunity to study a relatively unexplored section of society, including adult and juvenile males and females from the low and middle classes of two key archaeological sites in Egypt (Assiuit and Gebelin). Four methods will be employed to generate a clearer picture of their past and provide the MAET with new datasets: lipid residue analysis, palaeoproteomics, CT scanning, and radiocarbon dating. These will be applied to 1) identify the ingredients and procedures used in embalming and how these differ based on body parts, 2) characterise the health of the deceased, and 3) date the remains. Identification of biological sex and age-at-death will further elucidate how gender and age influenced treatment in death and health.
In answering these questions, HEADS will be the first comprehensive biomolecular study on the mummified remains from the MAET, using an innovative multidisciplinary approach that goes beyond the current state-of-the art. The combined methodologies will allow HEADS to paint a detailed picture of mummification practices and the past health of an ancient lower- and middle-class Egyptian population and place these within a robust chronological framework, filling lacunae in our knowledge of the non-elite Egyptian community. |
