Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
216
result(s) for
"Perry, Megan A"
Sort by:
Bioarchaeology and behavior : the people of the ancient Near East
An archaeological exploration of the ancient inhabitants of the circum-Mediterranean region exploring their migration patterns, health, and diet.
Book
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. Here, we describe variation in human epidemiological patterns in the context of past rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of past environmental change. Case studies confirm that human communities responded to environmental changes in diverse ways depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological contingencies. Certain factors, such as social inequality and disproportionate access to resources in large, complex societies may influence the probability of major sociopolitical disruptions and reorganizations—commonly known as “collapse.” This survey of Holocene human–environmental relations demonstrates how flexibility, variation, and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge can be mitigating factors in the face of environmental challenges. Although contemporary climate change is more rapid and of greater magnitude than the RCC events and other environmental changes we discuss here, these lessons from the past provide clarity about potential priorities for equitable, sustainable development and the constraints of modernity we must address.
Journal Article
Remains of the Invisible: Reconstructing Nineteenth-Century Plantation Life through the Biohistories of an Eastern North Carolina Family
Planned restoration of a 19th-century burial vault in Jones County, North Carolina, associated with the Foscue family, led to its excavation in 2010. Family lore and related documents identify only three family members buried in the vault, but nine individuals are represented by the remains. Possible identities of the unnamed individuals are explored using biological data, family documents, and family lore. The invisibility of some individuals in the historical record reflects a period of shifting family structures, high female and infant mortality, and the effects of social status on documentation and remembrance.
Journal Article
Sensing the Dead: Mortuary Ritual and Tomb Visitation at Nabataean Petra
The visual prominence of mortuary structures within the Nabataean capital city of Petra clearly indicates that the deceased maintained a constant presence amongst the living. However, current systematic archaeological exploration of these mortuary features documents a more intimate view of the interaction between the living and the dead. Since 1998, the Petra North Ridge Project has sought to record the mortuary practices and gather data on health and diet of non-elite residents of 1st cent. ad Petra. Artifactual, taphonomic, and osteological data indicate that engagement of the city’s inhabitants with the dead occurred through the senses of smell, touch, taste, and sight. Nabataean visits to their familial tombs included ritual feasting and reorganization of the mortuary space, accompanied by the scents of incense, perfumed oils, and quicklime. In addition, mourners left behind material goods that served to illuminate, bedazzle, and entertain the dead. Through this repeated exchange of sensory stimulation, the Nabataeans established and preserved a dynamic relationship with their deceased ancestors.
Journal Article
Cybele, Atargatis, or Allāt? A Surprising Tomb Artifact from Petra’s North Ridge
The complex Nabataean “Götterwelt” incorporates deities from both their own tradition as well as imports from the larger Mediterranean and peninsular Arabian context. In 2014, a small naiskos depicting a possible imported deity was discovered in a tomb containing at minimum eight individuals, located on the northern edge of the ancient city of Petra. Geochemical investigation of the individuals buried in the tomb using strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotopes indicated only locally born individuals were interred within the tomb. The goddess depicted in the bas-relief sculpture is wearing a tunic and covered by a cloak and is flanked by two lions. Comparanda from the eastern Mediterranean showing similar iconography of the naiskos point to the goddess’s identity as Cybele, Atargatis, or Allāt, with most evidence suggesting Allāt. However, the emic perceptions of and ritual praxis involving this object and the goddess beyond its mortuary inclusion remain unclear. Therefore, regardless of the identification of the goddess it venerates, this portable naiskos served an important mortuary purpose for an individual locally born in the Petra region.
Journal Article
Bioarchaeology and Behavior
While mortuary ruins have long fascinated archaeologists and art historians interested in the cultures of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean, the human skeletal remains contained in the tombs of this region have garnered less attention. InBioarchaeology and Behavior, Megan Perry presents a collection of essays that aim a spotlight on the investigation of the ancient inhabitants of the circum-Mediterranean area.
Composed of eight diverse papers, this volume synthesizes recent research on human skeletal remains and their archaeological and historical contexts in this region. Utilizing an environmental, social, and political framework, the contributors present scholarly case studies on such topics as the region's mortuary archaeology, genetic investigations of migration patterns, and the ancient populations' health, disease, and diet.
Other key anthropological issues addressed in this volume include the effects of the domestication of plants and animals, the rise of state-level formations, and the role of religion in society. Ultimately, this collection will provide anthropologists, archaeologists, and bioarchaeologists with an important foundation for future research in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean.
eBook
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. Here, we describe variation in human epidemiological patterns in the context of past rapid climate change (RCC) events and other periods of past environmental change. Case studies confirm that human communities responded to environmental changes in diverse ways depending on historical, sociocultural, and biological contingencies. Certain factors, such as social inequality and disproportionate access to resources in large, complex societies may influence the probability of major sociopolitical disruptions and reorganizations-commonly known as \"collapse.\" This survey of Holocene human–environmental relations demonstrates how flexibility, variation, and maintenance of Indigenous knowledge can be mitigating factors in the face of environmental challenges. Although contemporary climate change is more rapid and of greater magnitude than the RCC events and other environmental changes we discuss here, these lessons from the past provide clarity about potential priorities for equitable, sustainable development and the constraints of modernity we must address.
Journal Article
Life and Death in Nabataea: The North Ridge Tombs and Nabataean Burial Practices
Excavations of two tombs on Petra's North Ridge provide bioanthropological and artifactual evidence of the health and funerary practices of a small group of Petra citizens. Perry discusses about the tombs and Nabataean burial practices.
Journal Article
Impacts of Imperial Interests on Health and Economy in the Byzantine Near East
Traditionally, historical archaeology has involved documenting the effects of post-1492 A.D. colonial expansion, exploration, and the establishment of modern world-systems. Perhaps most notable are the archaeological and bioarchaeological studies of the impact of European contact in the Americas. Some scholars, such as Andrén (1998) and Funari (1999), argue that historical archaeology, as a discipline, should include all researchers wrestling with similar issues incorporating written documentation with the material remains of an ancient community. Post-1500 historical archaeology and the primarily pre-1500 historical archaeology of the Old World have countless similar research agendas, such as the consequences of population aggregation, outcomes of
Book Chapter
A Preliminary Report on the Cemeteries of Bir Madhkur
The Bir Madhkur Excavation and Survey's 1997 season sought to uncover the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine site's sociocultural, political-economic, and biological history through archaeological survey and excavation. The excavation component of this project served to demonstrate the feasibility of future bioarchaeological investigations through exploration of two cemeteries within the site's environs. Skeletal remains from Bir Madhkur's cemeteries potentially can address questions regarding the nature of regional military conscription and the origin of and social and economic interactions between local populations. Excavation of three surface features within the two cemeteries revealed well-preserved burials dating to the Roman/Byzantine and Islamic periods. The date and preservation of these skeletal remains demonstrate the fruitfulness of bioarchaeological analyses for addressing relevant archaeological and historical research questions at Bir Madhkur.
Journal Article