Migration in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom period: a preliminary strontium isotope study

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.10.029

Journal of Archaeological Science

Volume 34, Issue 9, September 2007, Pages 1391-1401

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.10.029 Get rights and content

Abstract

The value of strontium isotope analysis in identifying immigrants at numerous archaeological sites and regional areas has been demonstrated by several researchers, usually by comparing ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of human tooth enamel and/or bone with the local strontium isotope signature determined by faunal and environmental samples. This paper examines the feasibility of using ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios to investigate residential mobility in the Nile Valley region, specifically at the New Kingdom period (∼1050–1400 BC) archaeological site of Tombos (ancient Nubia). Archaeological and textual information regarding this period indicates that immigrant Egyptians and local native Nubians were likely interacting at this site during a period of Egyptian colonial occupation. The results of this study suggest that non-local individuals may be distinguished from locals using ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values and that colonial agents in the Tombos population were probably both local native Nubians and immigrants.

Introduction

Researchers have established strontium isotope analysis as an exceptionally useful tool for examining human migration in the past. Archaeological questions regarding human residential mobility have been addressed in various areas of the world where strontium ratios are sufficiently varied to show differences between potential places of origin. Strontium isotope ratios have been used to identify immigrants in locations such as ancient Maya communities (Hodell et al., 2004, Wright, 2005a, Wright, 2005b), the North American Southwest and Mexico (Ezzo et al., 1997, Ezzo and Price, 2002, Price et al., 1994, Price et al., 2000, Price et al., 2006), Central Europe (Bentley et al., 2003, Bentley et al., 2004, Grupe et al., 1997, Price et al., 1998, Price et al., 2001, Price et al., 2004, Schweissing and Grupe, 2003), Bolivia and Peru (Knudson et al., 2004, Knudson et al., 2005), South Africa (Cox and Sealy, 1997, Sillen et al., 1995, Sillen et al., 1998), and Britain (Budd et al., 2004, Evans et al., 2006, Montgomery et al., 2000, Montgomery et al., 2003, Montgomery et al., 2005). The success of these studies in revealing local and immigrant individuals demonstrates the value of this technique and the potential for identifying residential mobility patterns in other areas that have been previously unexplored using strontium isotope analysis.

In this paper, we examine the feasibility of using strontium isotope analysis to identify first generation immigrants at the New Kingdom period Egyptian colonial site of Tombos, located in ancient Nubia (modern-day Sudan). We also investigate if the most likely place of origin for immigrants at Tombos, Thebes, Egypt (based on textual sources), is reflected in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio data and provide preliminary conclusions regarding evidence of residential mobility at this site.

Section snippets

Tombos and New Kingdom period residential mobility in the Nile Valley

Historically, the populations of Nubia and Egypt had a long, dynamic history of interaction, ranging from diplomatic coexistence to total invasion. The Egyptian New Kingdom colonial occupation of Nubia is a particularly momentous episode in this history. It is during this time that the foundations of the Nubian Napatan Kingdom, which later ruled Egypt as the 25th Dynasty, were first established. Scholars disagree about who controlled Nubia during this important time: Egyptian colonists or

Principles of strontium isotope analysis

Strontium, found in rock, groundwater, soil, plants, and animals is composed of four isotopes: ⁸⁴Sr, ⁸⁶Sr, ⁸⁷Sr, and ⁸⁸Sr. ⁸⁷Sr is the only radiogenic isotope, produced by the slow radioactive decay of ⁸⁷Rb (Faure, 1986). Because the relative mass difference between strontium isotopes is small, no isotopic fractionation through biological processes occurs (Faure and Powell, 1972). Strontium concentrations and ratios differ according to variations in local geology. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios reflect the

Geology and strontium sources of the Nile Valley, Tombos, and Thebes

The region considered in this study is the Nile Valley of ancient Nubia and Egypt. This area includes all of modern Egypt and northern Sudan (Fig. 1). Ancient Nubia extended from the First cataract of the Nile in Egypt south approximately to the modern city of Khartoum (Edwards, 2004, Morkot, 2000). In particular, two areas in this Nile Valley region are of interest for this study: the Third cataract area where Tombos is located and Middle Egypt, near Thebes. Based on information from Egyptian

Materials and methods

This study included tooth enamel samples from 49 individuals buried in the Tombos chamber pits and the alleyway surrounding the pyramid in order to determine if individuals lived in the Tombos local area as children (during tooth development). The minimum number of individuals excavated at Tombos is 100; with the exception of two individuals excavated after analyses were complete, it appears that all of the burials in the non-elite portion of site have been excavated. The 49 individuals sampled

Isotopic results for human enamel samples

Fig. 3 illustrates the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the 49 human enamel samples from Tombos. The values for the individuals buried at Tombos range from 0.70712 to 0.70911 (Table 1). Of interest, some values for the enamel samples (Table 1) are similar and corroborate the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr value of ∼0.7075 recorded by Nile River delta sediments during the New Kingdom period (Krom et al., 2002). The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios do not show a correlation with the strontium concentration (ppm) for each sample (Table 1),

Feasibility of strontium isotope analysis of residential mobility in the Nile Valley

The variable strontium isotope values recorded for human tooth enamel, faunal remains, and burial matrix samples from the Tombos area display a range that exceeds those obtained from Nile water during the New Kingdom Period (Krom et al., 2002), suggesting that the biologically available strontium within the Tombos region comes from the soil (which is then incorporated into plants, etc.) rather than the water. Given the somewhat complex local geological situation at Tombos, the strontium isotope

Conclusions and future research

The preliminary data in this exploratory study confirm the feasibility of using strontium isotope analysis to examine migration at Tombos. This analysis has revealed that the biologically available strontium within the Tombos region likely comes from the soil, rather than only Nile water and is thus influenced by the variable local geology. The group from Tombos analyzed in this study appears to contain some individuals of non-local origin (possibly from Thebes), based on the local strontium

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the Killam Trust (to MRB), the Institute for Bioarchaeology (to MRB), American Philosophical Society Franklin Research Grant (to MRB), and the National Geographic Society (grant to Tombos director Dr. Stuart Tyson Smith). The Radiogenic Isotope Facility at the University of Alberta is supported, in part, by an NSERC Major Facilities Access grant. We extend our gratitude to Jaime Donnelly for sample preparation and GuangCheng Chen for assistance with the

References (68)

R.A. Bentley et al.
Determining the ‘local’ ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr range for archaeological skeletons: a case study from Neolithic Europe
Journal of Archaeological Science
(2004)
P. Budd et al.
Differential diagenesis of strontium in archaeological human tissues
Applied Geochemistry
(2000)
T.L. Dupras et al.
Strangers in a strange land: stable isotope evidence for human migration in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt
Journal of Archaeological Science
(2001)
J.E. Ericson
Strontium isotope characterization in the study of prehistoric human ecology
Journal of Human Evolution
(1985)
J. Evans et al.
A strontium and oxygen isotope assessment of a possible fourth century immigrant population in a Hampshire cemetery, southern England
Journal of Archaeological Science
(2006)
J.A. Ezzo et al.
Migration, regional reorganization, and spatial group composition at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona
Journal of Archaeological Science
(2002)
J.A. Ezzo et al.
Analytical perspectives on prehistoric migration: a case study from east-central Arizona
Journal of Archaeological Science
(1997)
G. Grupe et al.
Mobility of Bell Beaker people revealed by strontium isotope ratios of tooth and bone: a study of southern Bavarian skeletal remains
Applied Geochemistry
(1997)
R.E.M. Hedges et al.
Bones and groundwater: towards the modelling of diagenetic processes
Journal of Archaeological Science
(1995)
D.A. Hodell et al.
Spatial variation of strontium isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) in the Maya region: a tool for tracking ancient human migration
Journal of Archaeological Science
(2004)

P. Iacumin et al.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes as dietary indicators of ancient Nubian populations (northern Sudan)

Journal of Archaeological Science

(1998)

K.J. Knudson et al.

The origin of the Juch'uypampa Cave mummies: strontium isotope analysis of archaeological human remains from Bolivia

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2005)

D. Küster et al.

Sr, Nd isotopes and geochemistry of the Bayuda Desert high-grade metamorphic basement (Sudan): an early Pan-African oceanic convergent margin, not the edge of the East Saharan ghost craton?

Precambrian Research

(2001)

B.K. Nelson et al.

Effects of diagenesis on strontium, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen concentration and isotopic concentration of bone

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

(1986)

T. Price et al.

Residential mobility in the prehistoric southwest United States: a preliminary study using strontium isotope analysis

Journal of Archaeological Science

(1994)

T.D. Price et al.

Immigration and the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico: a study using strontium isotope ratios in human bone and teeth

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2000)

M.M. Schweissing et al.

Stable strontium isotopes in human teeth and bone: a key to migration events of the late Roman period in Bavaria

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2003)

A. Sillen et al.

Strontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) and strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of Australopithecus robustus and Homo sp. from Swartkrans

Journal of Human Evolution

(1995)

A. Sillen et al.

⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in modern and fossil food-webs of the Sterkfontein Valley: implications for early hominid habitat preferences

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

(1998)

A.H. Thompson et al.

Isotopic paleodiet studies of ancient Egyptian fauna and humans

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2005)

C. White et al.

Exploring the effects of environment, physiology and diet on oxygen isotope ratios in ancient Nubian bones and teeth

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2004)

L.E. Wright

Identifying immigrants to Tikal, Guatemala: defining local variability in strontium isotope ratios of human tooth enamel

Journal of Archaeological Science

(2005)

W.Y. Adams

The first colonial empire: Egypt in Nubia 3200–1200 BC

Comparative Studies in Sociology and History

(1984)

R.A. Bentley

Strontium isotopes from the earth to the archaeological skeleton: a review

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory

(2006)

R.A. Bentley et al.

Human mobility at the early neolithic settlement of Vahingen, Germany: evidence from strontium isotope analysis

Archaeometry

(2003)

D.J. Brewer et al.

Domestic Plants and Animals: The Egyptian Origins

(1994)

P. Budd et al.

Investigating population movement by stable isotope analysis: a report from Britain

Antiquity

(2004)

W.H. Burke et al.

Variation of seawater ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr throughout Phanerozoic time

Geology

(1982)

M.R. Buzon

Biological and ethnic identity in New Kingdom Nubia: a case study from Tombos

Current Anthropology

(2006)

G. Cox et al.

Investigating identity and life histories: isotopic analysis and historical documentation of slave skeletons found on the Cape Town foreshore, South Africa

International Journal of Historical Archaeology

(1997)

D.N. Edwards

The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan

(2004)

G. Faure

Principles of Isotope Geology

(1986)

G. Faure et al.

Strontium Isotope Geology

(1972)

H. Gerstenberger et al.

The origin of strontium and the strontium isotope budget of the river Nile

Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies

(1999)

Cited by (99)

Metals and pigments at Amara West: Cross-craft perspectives on practices and provisioning in New Kingdom Nubia
2023, Journal of Archaeological Science
This paper presents the results of elemental and lead isotopic analysis of copper alloys, copper-based pigments and an extremely rare tin-based alloy from the town of Amara West (Sudan), the centre for pharaonic control of occupied Upper Nubia between 1300 and 1070 BCE. It is the first assemblage of its kind to be analysed for Upper Nubia during this period. This research examines the selection and consumption of alloys in a colonial context, in light of earlier and contemporaneous practices and patterns in both Egypt and Nubia, to assess broader systems of resource management and metal production. Drawing on the complementary information obtained from pigment analysis, novel insights into interactions between different high-temperature crafts are obtained, particularly in terms of shared provisioning systems. From this unique perspective, pigment analysis is used for the first time to illuminate copper sources not reflected in metal assemblages, while scrap copper alloys are identified as a key colourant for Egyptian blue manufacture. The integrated application of strontium isotope analysis further highlights the potential for identifying links between glass, faience and Egyptian blue production systems within Egypt and for distinguishing these from other manufacturing regions such as Mesopotamia. The analysis of a tin artefact further expands our understanding of potential tin sources available during the New Kingdom and their role in shaping copper alloy compositions. Overall, this holistic approach to copper alloys and their application in other high-temperature industries ties together different strands of research, shaping a new understanding of New Kingdom technological practices, supply networks and material stocks circulating throughout the Nile Valley.
Resource allocation and rising complexity during the Iron Age IIA: An isotopic case study from Khirbet Summeily, Israel
2023, Quaternary International
Isotopic analyses can be a useful tool in identifying animal exploitation patterns and herding strategies in the southern Levant. Here, carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses of domestic animal tooth enamel are used to investigate herd management at the Iron Age IIA site of Khirbet Summeily in Israel. The site was located in a prime ecological and political locale along the fringes of the emerging polity (potentially Judah), which ascended to regional significance by the Iron Age IIB. In order to understand the diets and movement of sheep, goats and cattle, we undertook intra-tooth sequential sampling and isotopic analyses of mandibular molars (n = 20). Results suggest that the livestock recovered at Khirbet Summeily were raised in different locations with varied management patterns. Variation in the dietary intake of sheep and goats indicates that they were pastured in different ecological zones. While some goats were mobile across long-distances, the majority of livestock were from local and regionally managed herds. Alongside material evidence of exotic goods from nearby polities, our findings lend further support to the idea that Khirbet Summeily acted as a resource allocation outpost strategically located on the edge of a political entity (potentially Judah), suggesting a trend towards increased economic complexity during the Iron Age IIA.
Trace element and Pb and Sr isotope investigation of tooth enamel from archaeological remains at El-Kurru, Sudan: Evaluating the role of groundwater-related diagenetic alteration
2021, Applied Geochemistry
This study reports new trace element and Pb and Sr isotope compositions of tooth enamel from archaeological remains at a Medieval (Christian) cemetery located adjacent to the Kushite royal cemetery of El-Kurru, Sudan. The archaeological site of El-Kurru is located along the Nile River on the southern edge of the Nubian Plateau; the bedrock geology consists of Neoproterozoic crystalline basement and is overlain by fluvial sandstones and mudstones of Cretaceous age. El-Kurru is situated between two well-developed drainage basins, and in the past has been subjected to periodic (wadi-related) flooding as a result of intense local precipitation events. Enamel samples were taken from 18 individuals of varying ages and both sexes. Trace element abundances for a significant number of samples record elevated concentrations relative to modern (“in-vivo”) enamel, including Pb and U; however, the abundances for both elements do not correlate significantly with the contents of the remaining trace elements (Ba, Fe, Mg, Mn, Nd, Sr) investigated here. The calculated enrichment factors for all trace elements studied here relative to average crustal values are not consistent with exposure to Pb ores for human purposes, which is corroborated by the Pb isotope results. The Sr isotope compositions define 2 main groups that yield ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios that are either higher or lower than 0.7072 with similar Sr abundances (range between ~100 and ~400 ppm). The Pb isotope compositions are extremely variable and correlate well with their corresponding U/Pb ratios; the former overlap Pb isotope ratios for proximal Neoproterozoic rocks belonging to the Saharan Metacraton and Arabian Nubian Shield tectonic provinces. The combined trace element abundances and Sr and Pb isotope compositions for the enamel samples located within the Christian cemetery at El-Kurru are best interpreted to record interaction with groundwater that occurred post-mortem during flooding events. As reported in previous anthropological studies of a similar nature, the Pb isotope results reported here are particularly sensitive to monitoring post mortem diagenetic alteration given their extremely low abundances in non-altered tooth enamel. In contrast, the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios have been minimally perturbed by post mortem alteration, and therefore most likely represent individuals with distinct Sr isotopic signatures inherited from different geographic regions.
Mapping of spatial variations in Sr isotope signatures (<sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr) in Poland — Implications of anthropogenic Sr contamination for archaeological provenance and migration research
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Citation Excerpt :
They attest strong Sr contamination derived from anthropogenic sources, and therefore, caution is required when 87Sr/86Sr values of water from the watersheds of these rivers were to be used in the archaeological research as a baseline in provenance and migration studies. In archaeological research in the past, Sr isotope composition of the geological substrate or fauna was most often used for defining the local 87Sr/86Sr baselines (e.g., Bentley et al., 2004; Buzon et al., 2007; Gregoricka et al., 2014; Grupe et al., 1997; Price et al., 2002). There was also a relatively small number of studies in which 87Sr/86Sr values of soil leachates, surface water or plants were taken as a reference (e.g., Alt et al., 2014; Frei et al., 2015).
This study presents first isoscape maps of strontium isotope signatures and their spatial variation in Poland, based on ~900 samples of rocks, sediments, surface water, and flora. This dataset is supplemented by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios predicted for several carbonate rock units. High, radiogenic Sr isotope ratios (>0.72), related to the Pleistocene glacial deposits, are omnipresent throughout the country and are also found in the Sudetes and the Holy Cross Mountains, where igneous and clastic Palaeozoic rocks are widely exposed. The lowest Sr signatures (<0.71) occur predominantly in the Silesian-Małopolska and Lublin uplands and are related to exposures of Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, and Neogene carbonate rocks. The large variation of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the environment across the country is chiefly driven by the diversity in the geological substrate, and locally, it is also influenced by anthropogenic contamination. Strontium isoscapes for the geological substrate and surface waters differ from each other, in terms of the range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values and their distributional pattern. The differences result primarily from mixing processes in the geosphere (weathering), hydrosphere, and biosphere that control Sr inputs from various natural sources present in the environment. On the other side, they are also created by anthropogenic contamination of surface water and presumably of soils. This situation has important implications for future archaeological provenance and migration studies, as isoscapes for surface water and vegetation cannot be directly used to estimate the local ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr baselines for past human populations. Therefore, caution is required when modern Sr data of surface water and plants are used in archaeological research. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of the geological substrate, which may be affected by anthropogenic contamination to a lesser extent than water, soil, and vegetation, are favoured for the baseline estimation for historical times.
Far from home: A multi-analytical approach revealing the journey of an African-born individual to imperial Rome
2021, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Rome saw its number of foreign individuals increase considerably as the empire expanded. These foreigners arrived as either free persons or slaves from the newly conquered provinces and near-frontier zones and came to influence the whole life of the city. Yet relatively little is known about their life histories. In this study, we bring direct evidence for the first example of an African-born migrant, with an origin beyond the southern imperial border, discovered in Rome. Based on a multi-tissue sampling strategy including molar teeth and mandibular cortical bone, a multi-analytical approach including isotopic (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), dental morphology (geometric morphometrics, nonmetric traits) and ancient DNA (mitochondrial DNA, Y chromosome) analyses allows reconstructing the journey and lifeway patterns of the individual US215/Mand1 buried in the mass grave from the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus. The successful isotopic and dental morphology analyses suggest that the individual was probably born in the vicinity of the Nile Valley or within the central Sahara Desert. Results also suggest a diachronic change of residence in the area during their early life. The way US215/Mand1 reached Rome is still hypothetical, although it seems likely that the individual could have undergone forced migration as a slave to the capital.
Population movements of the Huron-Wendat viewed through strontium isotope analysis
2020, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Environmental isotopes can provide information about the composition of groups and the movement of people across landscapes. The archaeological record of Huron-Wendat communities in south-central Ontario is one of numerous drainage-based sequences of small villages among which families or larger population segments moved. These villages amalgamated in the early to mid-sixteenth century into fewer, larger communities. Strontium isotope values (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) are used to test hypotheses about these early localized interactions and later amalgamations. There is little prior information about strontium values from this region which was recently glaciated and receives ample precipitation. From the late thirteenth century onward, ancestral Huron-Wendat communities had distinct burial practices of primary burial followed by secondary, collective ossuary burial. Strontium values from tooth enamel of 118 human first permanent molars from 15 archaeological contexts spanning four centuries are interpreted in a framework of archaeologically derived deer (N = 34), small (N = 35) and other large (N = 7) mammals. Reflecting their local origins, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of small mammals from three geological substrates differ significantly from one another. Each small mammal group clusters more tightly than those of deer. Most human ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values agree with small mammal values, by region. Three sites, out of six with more than 10 data points, show mean human ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values that differ significantly from the small mammal values of their geological substrate, signaling community movement and individual in-migration. Interpretation of individual human values outside local ranges is informed by information from dietary isotopes. Environmental isotopes substantiate and enhance our prior understandings of the ancestral Huron-Wendat.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Migration in the Nile Valley during the New Kingdom period: a preliminary strontium isotope study

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Tombos and New Kingdom period residential mobility in the Nile Valley

Principles of strontium isotope analysis

Geology and strontium sources of the Nile Valley, Tombos, and Thebes

Materials and methods

Isotopic results for human enamel samples

Feasibility of strontium isotope analysis of residential mobility in the Nile Valley

Conclusions and future research

Acknowledgments

Journal of Archaeological Science

Applied Geochemistry

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Human Evolution

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Applied Geochemistry

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Precambrian Research

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Human Evolution

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

Journal of Archaeological Science

The first colonial empire: Egypt in Nubia 3200–1200 BC

Comparative Studies in Sociology and History

Strontium isotopes from the earth to the archaeological skeleton: a review

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory

Human mobility at the early neolithic settlement of Vahingen, Germany: evidence from strontium isotope analysis

Archaeometry

Domestic Plants and Animals: The Egyptian Origins

Investigating population movement by stable isotope analysis: a report from Britain

Antiquity

Variation of seawater 87Sr/86Sr throughout Phanerozoic time

Geology

Biological and ethnic identity in New Kingdom Nubia: a case study from Tombos

Current Anthropology

Investigating identity and life histories: isotopic analysis and historical documentation of slave skeletons found on the Cape Town foreshore, South Africa

International Journal of Historical Archaeology

The Nubian Past: An Archaeology of the Sudan

Principles of Isotope Geology

Strontium Isotope Geology

The origin of strontium and the strontium isotope budget of the river Nile

Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies

Variation of seawater ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr throughout Phanerozoic time