The Hyksos in Egypt: A bioarchaeological perspective

Abstract

The term Hyksos commonly refers to the foreign dynasty that inhabited and held power in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, circa 1640–1530 BCE. Recent research has integrated archaeological, artistic and textual evidence, revealing the Hyksos origin and presence in Egypt more complex than previously envisioned. Answers to questions regarding the Hyksos origin (and reasons for migration), ethnic and biological homogeneity, nature of rule and impact on the Egyptian worldview are sought by the ‘Hyksos Enigma Project’. One of the research tracks is dedicated solely to the analysis of human remains.
Bioarchaeology is a subfield of archaeology focusing on the analysis of human remains in the archaeological record. Here, bioarchaeology refers to the analysis and contextualization of human remains to answer the questions of Hyksos mobility and life history. This paper focuses on methods available for the investigation of mobility from human remains to illustrate the usefulness of bioarchaeological analyses.
Mobility studies have experienced a new awakening in archaeology, caused by recent theoretical and methodological developments in both non-destructive and biochemical techniques. Ancient DNA analysis can be used to investigate both individuals and populations. Stable isotope analysis using strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) act as proxies for provenance and diet. Non-destructive biodistance analysis, using dental non-metric trait analysis and geometric morphometrics, reflects morphological closeness of individuals and groups. The analysis of human remains cannot only reveal movement of the Hyksos but can increase understanding of mobility in the eastern Mediterranean.

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ORCID for Sonia Zakrzewski: orcid.org/0000-0003-1796-065X

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