Reconstructing Ancient Egyptian Diet through Bone Elemental Analysis Using LIBS (Qubbet el Hawa Cemetery).

Ghada Darwish Al-Khafif,Rokia El-Banna

doi:10.1155/2015/281056

Abstract

One of the most important advantages of LIBS that make it suitable for the analysis of archeological materials is that it is a quasi-nondestructive technique. Archeological mandibles excavated from Qubbet el Hawa Cemetery, Aswan, were subjected to elemental analysis in order to reconstruct the dietary patterns of the middle class of the Aswan population throughout three successive eras: the First Intermediate Period (FIP), the Middle Kingdom (MK), and the Second Intermediate Period (SIP). The bone Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios were significantly correlated, so the Sr/Ca ratios are considered to represent the ante-mortem values. It was suggested that the significantly low FIP Sr/Ca compared to that of both the MK and the SIP was attributed to the consumption of unusual sorts of food and imported cereals during years of famine, while the MK Sr/Ca was considered to represent the amelioration of climatic, social, economic, and political conditions in this era of state socialism. The SIP Sr/Ca, which is nearly the same as that of the MK, was considered to be the reflection of the continuity of the individualism respect and state socialism and a reflection of agriculture conditions amelioration under the reign of the 17th Dynasty in Upper Egypt.

Highlights

Social, economic, and belief system of a society can be reflected in food [1]
The elemental analysis of bone and soil samples using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was performed: Ca was detected at 432 nm, Sr at 461 nm, and Ba at 455.5 nm
The published anthropological studies concerning the skeletal collection of the Aswan population had covered many domains except diet reconstruction through elemental analysis of bones; that is why it was recommended by Rosing [34] to conduct researches concerning this item

Summary

Introduction

Social, economic, and belief system of a society can be reflected in food [1]. Information about the ancient Egyptians diet is mainly provided by artistic and textual sources [2]. It is important to note that there many difficulties that interrupt the precise identification of food types consumed in ancient Egypt such as problems of translation [3]. As calcified tissues as bones and teeth can contain the indicators of diet and the environmental conditions, they are considered as the biological “archives” of the living organisms [4]. Elemental analysis of archeological bones can be used as an important tool for paleodiet reconstruction. From the Neolithic era and throughout the historic era, the base of masses daily diet was cereal foods. The ancient Egyptian meals were mainly set from vegetables, fruit, milk, dairy products, and fish. Many species of fattened poultry or wild birds were eaten in ancient

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion