M R Buzon
Biographic Data
| ID | 74739 |
|---|---|
| NAME | M R Buzon |
| GIVEN NAMES | M R |
| FAMILY NAME | Buzon |
| SIGNATURE | BUZON M R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Purdue University West Lafayette |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1177-0962 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 332 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
The influence of activity levels on humeral retroversion
0.000001). There were no differences by sex, laterality, age, or burial cemetery. We hypothesize that those who were able to live to old age were better resourced with lower physical demands than other members of the community and thus developed less retroversion. Our results also indirectly support the postulate that an increase in general upper extremity physical activity may result in increased retroversion, and not exclusively due to throwing…
A bioarchaeological assessment of pubertal timing at Tombos, Sudan (1400–700 BCE)
This study aims to estimate pubertal timing and evaluate the method applicability in a sample from the ancient Egyptian and Nubian site of Tombos (modern-day Sudan), which dates to the New Kingdom through the Napatan periods (c. 1400–700 BCE) In individuals aged 7–21 years, pubertal development was observed by grading eight skeletal elements. Each grade was attributed to a pubertal phase: pre-puberty, initiation/ onset, acceleration, Peak Height …
Pre-Adult Burials at Tombos
In many archaeological sites in the Nile Valley of Northeast Africa, pre-adult burials are severely underrepresented due to differential burial practices, variable preservation, differential excavation, and curation practices. This study examines pre-adult burials from the New Kingdom–Early Napatan (1400–750 BCE) site of Tombos in Sudan. Historical and artistic documentation of social age categories from Egypt is presented in order to provide a b…
Daily life in a New Kingdom fortress town in Nubia
Previous analysis of skeletal indicators of physical activity suggested that the population at Tombos, an Egyptian colonial town in Nubia, may have benefited from an imperial framework through occupations that were not physically demanding. With more than ten years of continued excavations, coupled with further biomolecular testing, we reanalyze entheseal changes at Tombos. We compare entheseal changes between the three areas of cemetery, which h…
Maintaining the Ramesside Empire
Pharaonic Egypt ruled Upper Nubia (now northern Sudan) from around 1450 to 1070 BCE : previous research has demonstrated how co-opted local elites and descendants of earlier immigrants held senior administrative positions following the initial conquest. Strontium isotope data from 39 individuals buried at the colonial centre of Amara West, combined with archaeological and epigraphic evidence, enable us to demonstrate that elites continued to arri…
Massive bone destruction in a human proximal femur from ancient Nubia
Massive bone destruction in a human right proximal femur is described and differentially discussed in this case study. The individual was an older adult female buried at the ancient Nubian site of Tombos (modern-day Sudan) dating to the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069-750 BCE). The right femur displayed a pathologic fracture with extensive lytic destruction and resorption of the entire femoral neck, most of the femoral head, and …
Bioarchaeology in the Nile Valley
Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains within their archaeological and mortuary contexts. Bioarchaeologists use skeletal biology, mortuary practices, and the archaeological record to answer questions about past populations’ lives and lifestyles. The term Nile Valley defines a geographic region of Egypt and Nubia, the latter encompassing the region between the First Cataract at Aswan, Egypt, and the Sixth Cataract just north of Khartoum, Sud…
Exploring Intersectional Identities and Geographic Origins in Ancient Nubia at Tombos, Sudan
As part of an intersectional investigation of changes in identity and lifeways during sociopolitical changes in the ancient Nile Valley, strontium isotope analysis has provided a useful entry for understanding local practices. At the site of Tombos, human residential mobility was spurred through Egyptian imperial actions in Nubia during the New Kingdom period (~1450–1050 B.C.). During this period, immigrants and locals interacted and influenced c…
Assessing the Impact of Holocene Climate Change on Bioavailable Strontium Within the Nile River Valley
The impact of the climate drying during the Holocene within the Nile River Valley System (NRVS) has been the focus of recent debate in the archaeological community. It is argued that the increased contribution of aeolian material from the neighboring Sahara Desert during the last ~7,000 years has changed the isotope compositions of bioavailable Sr relative to the geological background and thus hinders provenance investigations of human remains wi…
The role of post-mortem alteration in tooth enamel revisited
Tumuli at Tombos
Bioarchaeology of Nubia
Bioarchaeology is the excavation and analysis of human remains from archaeological sites. Through numerous campaigns related to the building of dams and other projects, thousands of skeletal remains have been excavated from ancient Nubian sites. Paleopathological and morphological analyses of these collections have provided significant information about the lifeways of past inhabitants, including health, disease, activity patterns, traumatic inju…
Two cases of skeletal dysplasia from New Kingdom (c. 1400–1050 BCE) Tombos, Sudan
Intraregional 87Sr/86Sr variation in Nubia
Dental microwear texture analysis of Homo sapiens sapiens
OBJECTIVES: The current study seeks to determine if a sample of foragers, farmers, and pastoralists are distinguishable based on their dental microwear texture signatures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included a sample of 719 individuals from 51 archeological sites (450 farmers, 192 foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12 and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar® white-light confocal profiler we collected dental microwear texture anal…
A diachronic examination of biomechanical changes in skeletal remains from Tombos in ancient Nubia
Symbolic equids and Kushite state formation
Everyday Life after Collapse
Bioarchaeological perspectives of collapse scenarios have contributed to our understanding of the persistence and regeneration of communities after the fall of states and empires. We suggest that the osteological examination of everyday lived experience can further elucidate local lifeways during these transitory periods. Focusing on ancient Nubia after the decline of the colonial Egyptian New Kingdom Empire, we examine musculoskeletal activity p…
Morphometric Assessment of the Appendicular Skeleton in the New Kingdom and Napatan Components from Tombos in Upper Nubia
Due to its critical location on the Nile River controlling trade from the south, Tombos is an important ancient site to explore the interaction between Egyptians and Nubians. To assess population continuity at Tombos through sociopolitical transitions, the appendicular skeleton of people from the New Kingdom and Napatan periods was examined. Using morphometric and statistical analyses, body proportions on the upper and lower limbs were studied on…
Entanglement and the Formation of the Ancient Nubian Napatan State
Through the concept of entanglement, archaeological indications of cultural identity and skeletal evidence of biological and geographic interaction are used to explore the development of the Nubian polity who ruled as the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (Napatan period, ca. 750-656 B.C.E.). In this article, we examine the ways in which cultural and biological linkages affect the political, social, and cultural trajectories of the political entities in the …
Illuminating the Nubian ‘Dark Age’
Tombos during the Napatan period (∼750–660 BC)
Strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) variability in the Nile Valley
As a successful technique for identifying residential mobility in other areas, this study investigates the feasibility of using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis to track the movements of the ancient peoples of Egypt and Nubia in the Nile Valley, who interacted via trade, warfare, and political occupations over millennia. Dental enamel from faunal remains is used to examine variability in strontium sources in seven regional sites; human enamel samples are an…
Bilateral fractures of the scapula
The consequences of Wari contact in the Nasca region during the Middle Horizon
Strontium Isotope Evidence for Prehistoric Migration at Chokepukio, Valley of Cuzco, Peru
Although Spanish chroniclers referred frequently to coerced migration in the Inca Empire, these migrations have been difficult to document archaeologically. One approach to migration studies, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis, has emerged as an effective technique. Until now, however, this method has not been applied to the Inca heartland region of Cuzco, Peru. In this study, we use strontium isotope analysis to examine patterns of prehistor…
Migration in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom period
Identifying foreigners versus locals in a burial population from Nasca, Peru
Entanglement and the Formation of the Ancient Nubian Napatan State
Through the concept of entanglement, archaeological indications of cultural identity and skeletal evidence of biological and geographic interaction are used to explore the development of the Nubian polity who ruled as the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (Napatan period, ca. 750-656 B.C.E.). In this article, we examine the ways in which cultural and biological linkages affect the political, social, and cultural trajectories of the political entities in the …
Traumatic injuries and imperialism
As circumstances of conquest change, leaders of empires must adapt their colonial strategies in order to be successful. One example of such modification in approach is the shift from Middle Kingdom to New Kingdom Egyptian colonial activities in Nubia. During the Middle Kingdom (2050–1650 BC) Egypt used aggressive military campaigns to subdue the strong Nubian polity at Kerma, resulting in the construction of fortresses and many victory stelae. In…
Investigating a child sacrifice event from the Inca heartland
Biological and Ethnic Identity in New Kingdom Nubia
Past studies of culture contact have often used the concepts of unidirectional modification of a subordinate population by a socially dominant group. Reevaluations of these ideas suggest that this paradigm is not appropriate for all situations. The examination of power relations in such alternative circumstances provides insights into human agency, as it highlights the dynamic, bidirectional interactions that can occur between two cultures. The r…
Health of the non‐elites at Tombos
During the New Kingdom period, Egypt succeeded in occupying most of Nubia. Colonial towns were built, which served as centers of government and redistribution. This paper uses a bioarchaeological approach to address the effects of this cultural contact on non‐elites. Skeletal remains from the site of Tombos (N = 100), a cemetery in Upper Nubia dating to this important time, are analyzed, in addition to 1,082 individuals from contemporaneous Egypt…
The consequences of Wari contact in the Nasca region during the Middle Horizon
Strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) variability in the Nile Valley
As a successful technique for identifying residential mobility in other areas, this study investigates the feasibility of using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis to track the movements of the ancient peoples of Egypt and Nubia in the Nile Valley, who interacted via trade, warfare, and political occupations over millennia. Dental enamel from faunal remains is used to examine variability in strontium sources in seven regional sites; human enamel samples are an…
Dental microwear texture analysis of Homo sapiens sapiens
OBJECTIVES: The current study seeks to determine if a sample of foragers, farmers, and pastoralists are distinguishable based on their dental microwear texture signatures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included a sample of 719 individuals from 51 archeological sites (450 farmers, 192 foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12 and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar® white-light confocal profiler we collected dental microwear texture anal…
Refining oxygen isotope analysis in the Nasca region of Peru
The development of complex societies, irrigation agriculture and sociopolitical transitions are of interest to researchers working in the Nasca region on the south coast of Peru. Occupied for thousands of years, many questions regarding the circumstances of these changes in the area are being investigated. Oxygen isotope analysis provides a method for exploring residential mobility of past peoples during these transitions. This study presents new…
Oxygen and Carbon Isotope Analysis of Human Tooth Enamel From the New Kingdom Site of Tombos in Nubia
This study examines the feasibility of using oxygen isotope analysis of tooth carbonate to identify immigrants from the New Kingdom site of Tombos in Nubia (n = 30). In comparison with published data, the results (δ 18 O ca,VSMOW = 31.4‰) imply a substantial presence of immigrants. However, further analysis of these data strongly suggests the need to consider hydrological and cultural factors such as the contribution of aquifer waters to the Nile…
Investigating health at Kerma
This analysis examines heterogeneity in risks by assessing the health status of individuals in two distinct burial contexts from the Nubian site of Kerma: sacrificial ( n = 100) and nonsacrificial ( n = 190) burial areas dated to the classic Kerma period (∼1750–1500 BC). Indicators of physiological stress that were examined include cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, tibial osteoperiostitis, and femur length. The analysis presented here s…
Health and Disease in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco
Dental disease in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom
This study examines evidence for dental disease (caries, abscesses, antemortem tooth loss and severity of dental wear) in Nubian and Egyptian groups living in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom. Specific attention is given to individuals buried at the site of Tombos, a cemetery in Nubia used during the Egyptian colonial occupation. In addition, three Nubian and two Egyptian samples are included for comparative purposes. While some similaritie…
Symbolic equids and Kushite state formation
In‐situ Elemental and Sr Isotope Investigation of Human Tooth Enamel by Laser Ablation‐(mc)‐icp‐ms
Trace element and Sr isotope data were obtained by laser ablation‐ and solution mode‐(MC)‐ICP‐MS analysis for tooth enamel from remains excavated at the New Kingdom period Egyptian colonial and Nubian cemetery site of Tombos (Sudan). Elemental abundances determined by both methods of ICP‐MS analysis yielded comparable values; however, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values obtained by laser ablation were higher compared to their solution mode counterparts. This dis…
Daily life in a New Kingdom fortress town in Nubia
Previous analysis of skeletal indicators of physical activity suggested that the population at Tombos, an Egyptian colonial town in Nubia, may have benefited from an imperial framework through occupations that were not physically demanding. With more than ten years of continued excavations, coupled with further biomolecular testing, we reanalyze entheseal changes at Tombos. We compare entheseal changes between the three areas of cemetery, which h…
Tumuli at Tombos
Intraregional 87Sr/86Sr variation in Nubia
A Bioarchæological Analysis of Subsistence Strategies at the Su Site, New Mexico
Prehistoric health in the Southwestern United States and the effects of subsistence change are topics of continued research and debate. This study examines the patterns of health and disease in a population (n = 29) from the SU site in New Mexico, dated a.d. 450–;550, and uses paleopathological tools to determine the intensity of maize agriculture practiced at this site. Analysis of the frequency rates of porotic hyperostosis, caries, and enamel …
Massive bone destruction in a human proximal femur from ancient Nubia
Massive bone destruction in a human right proximal femur is described and differentially discussed in this case study. The individual was an older adult female buried at the ancient Nubian site of Tombos (modern-day Sudan) dating to the early Napatan/Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069-750 BCE). The right femur displayed a pathologic fracture with extensive lytic destruction and resorption of the entire femoral neck, most of the femoral head, and …
Two cases of pelvic osteochondroma in New Kingdom Nubia
Osteochondroma is one of the most common bone tumours found in clinical cases. These tumours usually occur on the metaphyseal surfaces of the bone; approximately 80% of osteochondromas are found on one of the limbs. Only about 5% of cases are located on the pelvis. This study examines two cases of single osteochondroma on the os pubis from Tombos, a New Kingdom period cemetery in ancient Nubia. Determined using macroscopic and radiographic examin…
A Bioarchæological Analysis of Subsistence Strategies at the Su Site, New Mexico
Prehistoric health in the Southwestern United States and the effects of subsistence change are topics of continued research and debate. This study examines the patterns of health and disease in a population (n = 29) from the SU site in New Mexico, dated a.d. 450–;550, and uses paleopathological tools to determine the intensity of maize agriculture practiced at this site. Analysis of the frequency rates of porotic hyperostosis, caries, and enamel …
Health and Disease in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco
Two cases of pelvic osteochondroma in New Kingdom Nubia
Osteochondroma is one of the most common bone tumours found in clinical cases. These tumours usually occur on the metaphyseal surfaces of the bone; approximately 80% of osteochondromas are found on one of the limbs. Only about 5% of cases are located on the pelvis. This study examines two cases of single osteochondroma on the os pubis from Tombos, a New Kingdom period cemetery in ancient Nubia. Determined using macroscopic and radiographic examin…
Migration in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom period
Health of the non‐elites at Tombos
During the New Kingdom period, Egypt succeeded in occupying most of Nubia. Colonial towns were built, which served as centers of government and redistribution. This paper uses a bioarchaeological approach to address the effects of this cultural contact on non‐elites. Skeletal remains from the site of Tombos (N = 100), a cemetery in Upper Nubia dating to this important time, are analyzed, in addition to 1,082 individuals from contemporaneous Egypt…
Biological and Ethnic Identity in New Kingdom Nubia
Past studies of culture contact have often used the concepts of unidirectional modification of a subordinate population by a socially dominant group. Reevaluations of these ideas suggest that this paradigm is not appropriate for all situations. The examination of power relations in such alternative circumstances provides insights into human agency, as it highlights the dynamic, bidirectional interactions that can occur between two cultures. The r…
Traumatic injuries and imperialism
As circumstances of conquest change, leaders of empires must adapt their colonial strategies in order to be successful. One example of such modification in approach is the shift from Middle Kingdom to New Kingdom Egyptian colonial activities in Nubia. During the Middle Kingdom (2050–1650 BC) Egypt used aggressive military campaigns to subdue the strong Nubian polity at Kerma, resulting in the construction of fortresses and many victory stelae. In…
A Bioarchaeological Perspective on Egyptian Colonialism in Nubia during the New Kingdom
During the New Kingdom, Egypt began a military campaign to regain command over Nubia. Extremely successful, their control extended to the fourth cataract by the time of Thutmose III. The circumstances of this power, however, are not well known. It is unclear whether Egyptian colonists or locals administered Nubia during this time. Using a bioarchaeological approach via the study of human skeletal remains and archaeological data from the New Kingd…
In‐situ Elemental and Sr Isotope Investigation of Human Tooth Enamel by Laser Ablation‐(mc)‐icp‐ms
Trace element and Sr isotope data were obtained by laser ablation‐ and solution mode‐(MC)‐ICP‐MS analysis for tooth enamel from remains excavated at the New Kingdom period Egyptian colonial and Nubian cemetery site of Tombos (Sudan). Elemental abundances determined by both methods of ICP‐MS analysis yielded comparable values; however, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values obtained by laser ablation were higher compared to their solution mode counterparts. This dis…
Investigating health at Kerma
This analysis examines heterogeneity in risks by assessing the health status of individuals in two distinct burial contexts from the Nubian site of Kerma: sacrificial ( n = 100) and nonsacrificial ( n = 190) burial areas dated to the classic Kerma period (∼1750–1500 BC). Indicators of physiological stress that were examined include cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, tibial osteoperiostitis, and femur length. The analysis presented here s…
Identifying foreigners versus locals in a burial population from Nasca, Peru
Strontium Isotope Evidence for Prehistoric Migration at Chokepukio, Valley of Cuzco, Peru
Although Spanish chroniclers referred frequently to coerced migration in the Inca Empire, these migrations have been difficult to document archaeologically. One approach to migration studies, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis, has emerged as an effective technique. Until now, however, this method has not been applied to the Inca heartland region of Cuzco, Peru. In this study, we use strontium isotope analysis to examine patterns of prehistor…
Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen as an indicator of paleodietary change among pre‐state metal age societies in northeast Thailand. BAR International series 1788. King CA. 2008. Archeopre…
Investigating a child sacrifice event from the Inca heartland
Oxygen and Carbon Isotope Analysis of Human Tooth Enamel From the New Kingdom Site of Tombos in Nubia
This study examines the feasibility of using oxygen isotope analysis of tooth carbonate to identify immigrants from the New Kingdom site of Tombos in Nubia (n = 30). In comparison with published data, the results (δ 18 O ca,VSMOW = 31.4‰) imply a substantial presence of immigrants. However, further analysis of these data strongly suggests the need to consider hydrological and cultural factors such as the contribution of aquifer waters to the Nile…
Dental disease in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom
This study examines evidence for dental disease (caries, abscesses, antemortem tooth loss and severity of dental wear) in Nubian and Egyptian groups living in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom. Specific attention is given to individuals buried at the site of Tombos, a cemetery in Nubia used during the Egyptian colonial occupation. In addition, three Nubian and two Egyptian samples are included for comparative purposes. While some similaritie…
Refining oxygen isotope analysis in the Nasca region of Peru
The development of complex societies, irrigation agriculture and sociopolitical transitions are of interest to researchers working in the Nasca region on the south coast of Peru. Occupied for thousands of years, many questions regarding the circumstances of these changes in the area are being investigated. Oxygen isotope analysis provides a method for exploring residential mobility of past peoples during these transitions. This study presents new…
Bilateral fractures of the scapula
The consequences of Wari contact in the Nasca region during the Middle Horizon
Strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) variability in the Nile Valley
As a successful technique for identifying residential mobility in other areas, this study investigates the feasibility of using 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis to track the movements of the ancient peoples of Egypt and Nubia in the Nile Valley, who interacted via trade, warfare, and political occupations over millennia. Dental enamel from faunal remains is used to examine variability in strontium sources in seven regional sites; human enamel samples are an…
Illuminating the Nubian ‘Dark Age’
Tombos during the Napatan period (∼750–660 BC)
Morphometric Assessment of the Appendicular Skeleton in the New Kingdom and Napatan Components from Tombos in Upper Nubia
Due to its critical location on the Nile River controlling trade from the south, Tombos is an important ancient site to explore the interaction between Egyptians and Nubians. To assess population continuity at Tombos through sociopolitical transitions, the appendicular skeleton of people from the New Kingdom and Napatan periods was examined. Using morphometric and statistical analyses, body proportions on the upper and lower limbs were studied on…
Entanglement and the Formation of the Ancient Nubian Napatan State
Through the concept of entanglement, archaeological indications of cultural identity and skeletal evidence of biological and geographic interaction are used to explore the development of the Nubian polity who ruled as the 25th Dynasty of Egypt (Napatan period, ca. 750-656 B.C.E.). In this article, we examine the ways in which cultural and biological linkages affect the political, social, and cultural trajectories of the political entities in the …
Everyday Life after Collapse
Bioarchaeological perspectives of collapse scenarios have contributed to our understanding of the persistence and regeneration of communities after the fall of states and empires. We suggest that the osteological examination of everyday lived experience can further elucidate local lifeways during these transitory periods. Focusing on ancient Nubia after the decline of the colonial Egyptian New Kingdom Empire, we examine musculoskeletal activity p…
Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (35 works) · Geography (30 works) · Archaeology (28 works) · Paleopathology and ancient diseases (19 works) · Demography (16 works) · History (16 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (14 works) · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology (13 works) · Medicine (13 works)