Histology is a technique that has any number of diagnostic uses in modern hospital laboratories. However, as a scientific method employed in the study of ancient and mummified remains, it appears to have lost its popularity.This project explores the advantages and limitations of histology as a technique for such studies. In order to do so, soft tissue and bone samples from ten early Roman Period mummies (30 BCE – 250 CE) from the Kellis 1 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis have been histologically examined.While this project focuses on the scientific technique of histology, and its application for the study of ancient remains, it also aims to be cross-disciplinary by incorporating scientific results from the ten mummies with the historical data and archaeological remains uncovered during excavations of the Kellis site. By bringing the results of science and Egyptology/archaeology together, it hoped that a better understanding of ancient Egyptian society could be achieved.

Stable isotope analysis is often used to evaluate elements of the lives of past peoples, such as diet and health status, at a societal level. Analysis at an individual level is exceptionally rare, and has not been conducted using a variety of tissues representing both early life and life approximate to death. In this study, δ 13C and δ15N isotope signatures are used to create life histories for single individuals from Romano-Christian period Kellis 2 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Samples are obtained from several different tissues, including tooth dentin, bone collagen, hair, nail, skin, and gut content, all of which have been previously researched, but have not been studied at such an individualistic level. By using data and previous research conducted by Drs. Tosha Dupras and Lana Williams, this research uses isotopic values from the aforementioned tissues, and the differing turnover rates of these tissues, to develop lifetime timetables for 15 individuals (female, male, and juvenile). Results show that individual analysis is possible, informative, and can enlighten researchers not just concerning the individual, but about the population as a whole. The methods presented can serve as a model for reconstructing individual life histories using isotope data from multiple tissues.

Use of paleohistology to identify histological structures in mummified tissues can allow insight into pathological conditions such as parasites, cirrhosis and lung scarring. However, increasing concerns in archaeological sciences include restrictions on removal of human remains from their site of origin for scientific study. In the case of mummified remains, the use of a field paleohistology kit may be deemed useful for ‘point-of-care’ pathological assessment of preserved tissues. This study evaluates field paleohistology protocols for mummified soft tissue based on techniques used modern medical field missions. The application of this technique alleviates the need for export or removal of remains from the site for analysis. Samples from the Kellis 1 Cemetery (c. 60BC – AD100) and Deir abu Metta Christian church (c. 4th century AD) in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt were processed using field paleohistology techniques in both a laboratory and field setting. Two processes of soft tissue preservation were identified in this sample; anthropogenic or ‘artificial’, and spontaneous or ‘natural’ mummification. In cases of artificial mummification, the use of resin, both on internal and external surfaces of the body, caused difficulty in the rehydration process and visualization of the cellular structures. In cases of natural mummification, the technique was more successful in rehydration, slide mounting, imaging, and detection of cellular structures. Results also showed some tissue samples to be unsuitable for this method due to variable preservation and loss of tissue integrity during processing (e.g., liver). However, consistent quality microscope slides and digital images were obtained from samples of skin, muscle, lung, and liver indicating this point-of-care field method is a viable option for paleohistological field analyses and identification of pathological conditions in mummified human remains.

The present study evaluates two fetal individuals (B532 and B625) from the Kellis 2 cemetery (Roman period circa A.D. 50 A.D. 450), Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, that display skeletal anomalies that may explain their death. Both individuals exhibit bowing of the long bones in addition to other skeletal deformities unique to each individual. To assess these pathologies a differential diagnosis based on the congenital occurrence of long bone bowing is developed. Long bone bowing is selected because it is the more prevalent abnormality in the paleopathological literature and the other abnormalities are not as easily identifiable in the literature. For the purposes of this study, the differential diagnosis is defined as a process of comparing the characteristics of known diseases with those shared by an archaeological specimen, in the anticipation of diagnosing the possible condition. It is expected that the differential diagnosis will assist in providing a thorough assessment of each skeleton and yield a possible diagnosis for the condition(s). Macroscopic and radiographic analyses are used to document and examine the bone abnormalities for each individual and compare the results with the developed differential diagnosis. Results suggest that the bent long bones of B532 were caused by osteogenesis imperfecta whereas the cause of the bent long bones of B625 is not clear. Further analyses of B625, including the pathologic abnormalities of its skull, suggest that the neural tube defect iniencephaly with associated encephalocele was the likely cause of the observed skeletal abnormalities. The abnormalities of the long bones complicate estimations of the age-at-death of these two individuals, thus the pars basilaris bone was used to assess age estimation. A population sample of 37 Kellis 2 fetal individuals allowed for the development of linear regression formulae of the pars basilaris measurements for long bone length estimates and a comparison of which would provide the most accurate age estimate. Finally, the diagnoses of the fetal specimens are considered in relation to the cultural aspects and disease pattern of the Kellis 2 cemetery

In many studies into the infant breastfeeding and weaning practices of ancient communities, it is often the case that a failure to incorporate the isotopic signatures of different tissues leads to a degree of unreliability in breastfeeding and weaning practices (BWP) reconstructions. Using isotopic signatures found in the bone, dentition, and hair tissues of a sample of 171 adults and 164 non-adults, this study addresses a current research gap and builds on previous research, presenting a more thorough examination of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) values found in the Kellis 2 Cemetery population of the Dakhleh Oasis. These isotopic signatures were used to reconstruct breastfeeding and weaning patterns experienced by the infants and children who lived in Kellis during the Roman period in Egypt (AD 50-450). The results show that infants between 1 and 3 years of age displayed overall enriched δ13C and δ15N values compared with the adult average. Between ages 6 months and 1.5 years, infants maintain a position one trophic level higher than the adult female samples and all non-adult isotopic values in the variant tissues show weaning to be complete by around 2.5-3 years of age. Results of the study present general weaning patterns similar to those reported in a previous study by Dupras et al., 2001, and lend further support to established trends, with slight improvements in the precision of timeline reconstruction. The results highlight the importance of using tissues other than bone collagen for the extraction of isotopes and suggest a need for further study of these BWP to gain a full comprehension of the heterogeneous dietary behaviors and cultural attitudes towards childrearing that were present at Kellis.