Date of Graduation

12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Anthropology

Advisor/Mentor

Jerome C. Rose

Committee Member

JoAnn D'Alisera

Second Committee Member

George Sabo

Keywords

18th Dynasty, Akhetaten, Bioarchaeology, Egypt, Enthographic Novel, Osteobiography, Social Bioarchaeology

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to define and implement osteoethnography. Osteoethnography is the analysis and description of an ancient culture through the bioarchaeological and archaeological evidence, utilizing cultural anthropological theories and techniques. An osteoethnographic narrative is presented in this dissertation, which describes the embodied lives of the people of the 18th Dynasty Egyptian city of Akhetaten, now known as Amarna, founded in 1355 B.C.E. by the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Osteoethnography looks at how people are shaped by and shape their environment, how culture impacts health, and how culture informs the lives of its practioners. Osteoethnography employs life course theory, and the concepts of embodiment and agency. To present a recreation of a culture from the past I utilized skeletal and archaeological data, primary sources from the culture being studied, and secondary sources from scholars who have studied the culture in-depth. Osteoethnography’s purpose is to show the connections between cultures and people, the importance of culture in humanity’s development, and the necessity to respect and preserve the stories of our past to better understand ourselves.

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