Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
This richly illustrated Element introduces the reader to the basic principles of archaeological m... more This richly illustrated Element introduces the reader to the basic principles of archaeological mapping and planning. It presents both the mathematical and the practical backgrounds, as well as many tips and tricks. This will enable archaeologists to create acceptable maps and plans of archaeological remains, even with limited means of in adverse circumstances.
Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde, Jan 6, 1999
The mother of an Egyptian friend of the author is admitted to Asyut University Hospital after bre... more The mother of an Egyptian friend of the author is admitted to Asyut University Hospital after breaking her hip. A number of direct relatives spend the night in her hospital room and discuss the situation with the surgeon the next day. They are subsequently sent out to buy an artificial joint, and to bring the fee for the operation. The 2000 Egyptian Pounds which is claimed for this is later, during the operation, increased by 500 Egyptian Pounds, equivalent to about 150 US dollars. This is relatively cheap compared with the kidney transplant of another relative, which amounted to 40,000 Egyptian Pounds. Most of this money was used to pay the donor, since Egyptian law only allows the transplantation of organs from living donors.
The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015... more The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015. This contribution examines eight sites studied between 1990 and 1999 that lay east of the Nile city of Qena in Upper Egypt. They include mines, quarries, and road infrastructure (forts and accommodations for transport animals) that supported these mineral extraction activities. Sites throughout the region range from pre-historic to Islamic and modern, but this study focuses only on those from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Examination of sites presented here expands our knowledge of the economic importance of this area of the Eas- tern Desert, dominated by mines and quarries and the infrastructure that facilitated exploitation of mineral resources and their transport to the Nile valley city of Qena. أجرت جامعة ديلاوير العديد من أعمال المسح الأثري في الصحراء الشرقية بين عامي 1987 و2015. تتناول هذه المقالة ثمانية مواقع تمت دراستها بين عامي 1990 و1999 وتقع شرق مدينة قنا في صعيد مصر....
In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in ove... more In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in over 100 large and accessible mortuary structures associated with the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1400 CE), the Late Horizon (1400-1532 CE), and the Colonial Period (1532-1825 CE). We characterize 38 red pigment samples, reveal their potential sources and how they were processed and applied to human remains, and determine the demographic profiles of pigmented individuals. Results suggest that cinnabar-(HgS) and hematite (Fe 2 O 3)-based pigments, likely from local and nonlocal sources, were mixed in water and applied to skeletonized and disarticulated individuals of different age and sex categories. We interpret red pigment application to human remains as part of a prolonged process of social dying that transitioned the ontological status of the dead and contributed to the development of social difference and group identity. Multidisciplinary research designs are ideal for studying red pigment practices, which are activities concerning the production and use of red pigment that range from procurement to the treatment of the dead. Here, we advance a methodology integrating archaeometric, archaeological, and bioarchaeological analyses with anthropological theories of personhood and social dying to investigate red pigment practices.
Journal the American Research Center in Egypt, 2022
The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015... more The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015. This contribution examines eight sites studied between 1990 and 1999 that lay east of the Nile city of Qena in Upper Egypt. They include mines, quarries, and road infrastructure (forts and accommodations for transport animals) that supported these mineral extraction activities. Sites throughout the region range from pre-historic to Islamic and modern, but this study focuses only on those from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Examination of sites presented here expands our knowledge of the economic importance of this area of the Eastern Desert, dominated by mines and quarries and the infrastructure that facilitated exploitation of mineral resources and their transport to the Nile valley city of Qena.
Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
This richly illustrated Element introduces the reader to the basic principles of archaeological m... more This richly illustrated Element introduces the reader to the basic principles of archaeological mapping and planning. It presents both the mathematical and the practical backgrounds, as well as many tips and tricks. This will enable archaeologists to create acceptable maps and plans of archaeological remains, even with limited means of in adverse circumstances.
Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde, Jan 6, 1999
The mother of an Egyptian friend of the author is admitted to Asyut University Hospital after bre... more The mother of an Egyptian friend of the author is admitted to Asyut University Hospital after breaking her hip. A number of direct relatives spend the night in her hospital room and discuss the situation with the surgeon the next day. They are subsequently sent out to buy an artificial joint, and to bring the fee for the operation. The 2000 Egyptian Pounds which is claimed for this is later, during the operation, increased by 500 Egyptian Pounds, equivalent to about 150 US dollars. This is relatively cheap compared with the kidney transplant of another relative, which amounted to 40,000 Egyptian Pounds. Most of this money was used to pay the donor, since Egyptian law only allows the transplantation of organs from living donors.
The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015... more The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015. This contribution examines eight sites studied between 1990 and 1999 that lay east of the Nile city of Qena in Upper Egypt. They include mines, quarries, and road infrastructure (forts and accommodations for transport animals) that supported these mineral extraction activities. Sites throughout the region range from pre-historic to Islamic and modern, but this study focuses only on those from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Examination of sites presented here expands our knowledge of the economic importance of this area of the Eas- tern Desert, dominated by mines and quarries and the infrastructure that facilitated exploitation of mineral resources and their transport to the Nile valley city of Qena. أجرت جامعة ديلاوير العديد من أعمال المسح الأثري في الصحراء الشرقية بين عامي 1987 و2015. تتناول هذه المقالة ثمانية مواقع تمت دراستها بين عامي 1990 و1999 وتقع شرق مدينة قنا في صعيد مصر....
In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in ove... more In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in over 100 large and accessible mortuary structures associated with the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1400 CE), the Late Horizon (1400-1532 CE), and the Colonial Period (1532-1825 CE). We characterize 38 red pigment samples, reveal their potential sources and how they were processed and applied to human remains, and determine the demographic profiles of pigmented individuals. Results suggest that cinnabar-(HgS) and hematite (Fe 2 O 3)-based pigments, likely from local and nonlocal sources, were mixed in water and applied to skeletonized and disarticulated individuals of different age and sex categories. We interpret red pigment application to human remains as part of a prolonged process of social dying that transitioned the ontological status of the dead and contributed to the development of social difference and group identity. Multidisciplinary research designs are ideal for studying red pigment practices, which are activities concerning the production and use of red pigment that range from procurement to the treatment of the dead. Here, we advance a methodology integrating archaeometric, archaeological, and bioarchaeological analyses with anthropological theories of personhood and social dying to investigate red pigment practices.
Journal the American Research Center in Egypt, 2022
The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015... more The University of Delaware conducted numerous surveys in the Eastern Desert between 1987 and 2015. This contribution examines eight sites studied between 1990 and 1999 that lay east of the Nile city of Qena in Upper Egypt. They include mines, quarries, and road infrastructure (forts and accommodations for transport animals) that supported these mineral extraction activities. Sites throughout the region range from pre-historic to Islamic and modern, but this study focuses only on those from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Examination of sites presented here expands our knowledge of the economic importance of this area of the Eastern Desert, dominated by mines and quarries and the infrastructure that facilitated exploitation of mineral resources and their transport to the Nile valley city of Qena.
The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, ... more The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of the Eastern Desert—the area between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley—in whose territories these ports, roads, mines, and quarries were located. The historical overview of the Eastern Desert in the shape of a roughly chronological narrative presented in this book fills that gap.
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
A majority of laymen, politicians and scholars consciously or subconsciously understand settled l... more A majority of laymen, politicians and scholars consciously or subconsciously understand settled living as the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. Accounts of people surviving and even thriving in peripheral areas are often instrumental to construct and maintain the dichotomy between 'the desert and the sown.' It is sometimes stated that mobile peoples obtain their material culture from neighboring settled populations, rather than produce their own, and that they do not leave recognizable archaeological traces apart from 'ephemeral campsites.' From the 24 chapters in this volume, however, it is clear that there is indeed an 'archaeology of mobility.' By applying specific and well-defined methods, it is eminently possible to come to a better understanding of mobile people in archaeological contexts. Such an archaeology of mobility encompasses much more than tracing ephemeral campsites. Much like any other group, mobile people produce, appear to use and discard a distinct material culture which includes functional objects, art and architecture.
The publication of the Eastern Desert Roads Surveys brings together the research of two survey pr... more The publication of the Eastern Desert Roads Surveys brings together the research of two survey projects, the Michigan-Assiut Koptos-Eastern Desert Project and the University of Delaware-Leiden University Eastern Desert Surveys. From 1987 to 2001 and intermittently thereafter until 2015, these two survey teams worked independently to explore and document the archaeological remains along the routes connecting the Nile Valley cities of Koptos (modern Qift) and Apollinopolis Magna (modern Edfu) to the Red Sea port city of Berenike in Egypt. The result of these surveys was the documentation of seventy discrete archaeological sites ranging in date from the late Dynastic to the Late Roman periods, with many sites demonstrating long-term, multi-period occupation. The survey also recorded road sections, route marking cairns and graves/cemeteries.
This monograph brings together and integrates the discoveries of both teams, presenting a coherent analysis of the extensive surveys and the materials documented by each. Emphasis is placed on the physical setting of each site, its material remains--including preserved architecture, pottery and other surface finds--and relevant textual evidence, such as inscriptions, ostraka and related historical texts. A single chapter in gazetteer form is devoted to the sites themselves (excluding mines and quarries, which form a separate chapter), while other chapters present the geology of the region and ancient mines and quarries, which made use of the road network, the pottery evidence by phase, and specialist studies. An Introductory chapter offers historical and disciplinary context for the surveys and their subjects, tying the Berenike-Nile roads surveys into the corpus of archaeological surveys in Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.
Our ability to control our movements seems intricately connected with our sentience, which create... more Our ability to control our movements seems intricately connected with our sentience, which creates a sense of unity and continuity, both in time and in space, as well as a sense of urgency to keep the individual functional whole, and safe. These phenomena are often approached as exclusive functions of the brain; a problematic hypothesis, as a brain is as ineffective without a body and its senses as a body is without a brain.
The Archaeological Survey of the Desert Roads between Berenike and the Nile Valley Expeditions by the University of Michigan and the University of Delaware to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, 1987-2015, 2019
The publication of the Eastern Desert Roads Surveys brings together the research of two survey pr... more The publication of the Eastern Desert Roads Surveys brings together the research of two survey projects, the Michigan-Assiut Koptos-Eastern Desert Project and the University of Delaware-Leiden University Eastern Desert Surveys. From 1987 to 2001 and intermittently thereafter until 2015, these two survey teams worked independently to explore and document the archaeological remains along the routes connecting the Nile Valley cities of Koptos (modern Qift) and Apollinopolis Magna (modern Edfu) to the Red Sea port city of Berenike in Egypt. The result of these surveys was the documentation of seventy discrete archaeological sites ranging in date from the late Dynastic to the Late Roman periods, with many sites demonstrating long-term, multi-period occupation. The survey also recorded road sections, route marking cairns and graves/cemeteries.
This monograph brings together and integrates the discoveries of both teams, presenting a coherent analysis of the extensive surveys and the materials documented by each. Emphasis is placed on the physical setting of each site, its material remains--including preserved architecture, pottery and other surface finds--and relevant textual evidence, such as inscriptions, ostraka and related historical texts. A single chapter in gazetteer form is devoted to the sites themselves (excluding mines and quarries, which form a separate chapter), while other chapters present the geology of the region and ancient mines and quarries, which made use of the road network, the pottery evidence by phase, and specialist studies. An Introductory chapter offers historical and disciplinary context for the surveys and their subjects, tying the Berenike-Nile roads surveys into the corpus of archaeological surveys in Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.
In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in ove... more In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in over 100 large and accessible mortuary structures associated with the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1400 CE), the Late Horizon (1400-1532 CE), and the Colonial Period (1532-1825 CE). We characterize 38 red pigment samples, reveal their potential sources and how they were processed and applied to human remains, and determine the demographic profiles of pigmented individuals. Results suggest that cinnabar-(HgS) and hematite (Fe 2 O 3)-based pigments, likely from local and nonlocal sources, were mixed in water and applied to skeletonized and disarticulated individuals of different age and sex categories. We interpret red pigment application to human remains as part of a prolonged process of social dying that transitioned the ontological status of the dead and contributed to the development of social difference and group identity. Multidisciplinary research designs are ideal for studying red pigment practices, which are activities concerning the production and use of red pigment that range from procurement to the treatment of the dead. Here, we advance a methodology integrating archaeometric, archaeological, and bioarchaeological analyses with anthropological theories of personhood and social dying to investigate red pigment practices.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHQH6raS52M>
(Cotsen Institute of Archaeology - Author Spotligh... more <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHQH6raS52M>
(Cotsen Institute of Archaeology - Author Spotlight, recorded 1 June 2023, edited by Andy Madison, duration 1:09:29)
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Papers by Hans Barnard
The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
This monograph brings together and integrates the discoveries of both teams, presenting a coherent analysis of the extensive surveys and the materials documented by each. Emphasis is placed on the physical setting of each site, its material remains--including preserved architecture, pottery and other surface finds--and relevant textual evidence, such as inscriptions, ostraka and related historical texts. A single chapter in gazetteer form is devoted to the sites themselves (excluding mines and quarries, which form a separate chapter), while other chapters present the geology of the region and ancient mines and quarries, which made use of the road network, the pottery evidence by phase, and specialist studies. An Introductory chapter offers historical and disciplinary context for the surveys and their subjects, tying the Berenike-Nile roads surveys into the corpus of archaeological surveys in Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.
This monograph brings together and integrates the discoveries of both teams, presenting a coherent analysis of the extensive surveys and the materials documented by each. Emphasis is placed on the physical setting of each site, its material remains--including preserved architecture, pottery and other surface finds--and relevant textual evidence, such as inscriptions, ostraka and related historical texts. A single chapter in gazetteer form is devoted to the sites themselves (excluding mines and quarries, which form a separate chapter), while other chapters present the geology of the region and ancient mines and quarries, which made use of the road network, the pottery evidence by phase, and specialist studies. An Introductory chapter offers historical and disciplinary context for the surveys and their subjects, tying the Berenike-Nile roads surveys into the corpus of archaeological surveys in Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.
(Cotsen Institute of Archaeology - Author Spotlight, recorded 1 June 2023, edited by Andy Madison, duration 1:09:29)