Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative pathological condition of the appendicular joints which affects the cartilage and underlying bone. OA is relatively common in both the archaeological and clinical context, and a significant amount of research has been conducted on this osteological condition. The purpose of this thesis is to assess the incidence, demographic prevalence, and general severity of hip and knee OA in a Roman-Christian period (50 A.D – 450 A.D) population sample from the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The bioarchaeological sample originates from the Kellis 2 cemetery which is associated with the ancient town of Kellis. The town of Kellis is believed to have been a prosperous economic hub in Egypt, located in the Western Sahara Desert approximately 250 kilometers west of the Nile. The skeletal samples (n=135, 83 females and 51 males) was visually assessed for the osteological characteristics of OA in the hips and the knees. Joint surfaces of the hip include the acetabulum and femoral head. Joint surfaces of the knee include lateral/medial tibio-femoral compartments and the patellofemoral compartment. The ages of the individuals assessed in this study range from 19-72 years, and have been divided into five age categories which were then cross-tabulated with sex and OA incidence in order to determine demographic prevalence of OA. Findings indicate that age is a significant etiological factor of OA prevalence for both males and females. Males are afflicted by the disease significantly more than females in the hips (F: [L] 3.6%, [R] 5.9% and M: [L] 13.7%,[R] 13.7%) and also slightly more affected in the knees(F: [L] 17.5%,[R] 18.3% and M: [L] 22.9%,[R]21.3%). The acetabulum tends to be more arthritic than the femoral head for both males and females. Femoral condyles tend to be more arthritic than tibial condyles for both males and females. The patello-femoral compartment tends iv to be the most arthritic part of the knee while the medial condyles of both tibiae exhibit virtually no OA (with the exception of one individual). The joint surface observed with the highest OA prevalence is the femoral surface of the patella (F: [L] 17.5%,[R] 15.9% and M: [L] 21.3%,[R] 21.3%). The highest prevalence of OA by joint complex is observed on the left knee in males (22.9%), and the lowest prevalence of OA is observed on the left hip of females (3.6%). Both hip and knee joints have higher prevalence of unilateral OA manifestation than bilateral. Isotopic and archaeological evidence indicates that the individuals at Kellis maintained an agricultural subsistence regime, and that the males within the population may have been highly mobile migrating to and from the Dakhleh Oasis. Subsistence agriculture has its necessary physical demands which may have been a contributory factor to OA rates. Males show higher OA rates than females throughout the joints of the legs. Sexual dimorphism of OA for the hips is suggestive of sexual divisions of labor. OA of the knees lacks sexual dimorphism therefore the knee joint complex of males and females were likely subjected to similar levels of mechanical loading. It can be concluded based on the OA data that males and females exhibit similar activity, or biomechanical stress levels in the knee joint complexes. Males exhibit significantly higher pathological manifestation of OA in the hip joint complexes, indicative of higher levels of mechanical loading in the hip joint complex which can theoretically be attributed to sexual divisions of labor or perhaps terrestrial mobility

The Kellis 2 cemetery site within the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt provides a unique study opportunity due to the large number of infant, perinatal, and fetal individuals that have been recovered. Several of the infant and fetal remains have undiagnosed circular defects on the temporal bone, and others have undiagnosed lesions on the zygomatic bone. Of the 268 individuals under one year of age that have been analyzed from the Kellis 2 cemetery, twentysix individuals have the temporal bone defect and six have the zygomatic bone lesions. A survey of clinical and paleopathological research provided possible pathological conditions that could cause abnormalities such as defects or lesions on the temporal bones or zygomatic bones in the fetal and infant population. For this study, the temporal bone defects and zygomatic bone lesions were macroscopically observed and a descriptive analysis was created. The information garnered from the literature survey was then compared to the individuals from the Kellis 2 cemetery that had the temporal bone defects and zygomatic bone lesions to create a differential diagnosis. A differential diagnosis of the temporal bone defects includes mastoid emissary vein defects and petrosquamous sinus anomalies. A differential diagnosis of the zygomatic bone lesions includes scurvy. Contributing factors may also have been present in order for these defects and lesions to occur. Creating a differential diagnosis of the defects and lesions can provide information on the health, growth, and morbidity of the youngest members of the society related to the Kellis 2 cemetery.

This thesis focuses on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to examine mortuary practices in the Romano-Byzantine period Kellis 2 cemetery located in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. The first research objective examines the relationship between age, sex and grave substructures of 701 burials in Kellis 2 cemetery. The aim of this research objective was to determine if the presence and style of grave substructures were influenced by sex or age. Although not statistically significant, GIS analysis revealed that most of the graves in the Kellis 2 cemetery have no associated substructures, but of those that did have associated substructures, adult male burials were more likely to have a substructure than adult females or juveniles. Moreover, males and females aged from 22 to 50 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than younger and older individuals. In the juvenile age categories, newborns and children aged 1 to 5 years were more likely to have an associated substructure than the other juvenile age categories. This may be related to the second research objective which focused on the spatial relationship between infant and adult burials in the Kellis 2 cemetery. The second objective was to determine if infants were more likely to be buried between two adults, perhaps representing family units. GIS and statistical analysis revealed that the infants in the Kellis 2 cemetery were more likely to be buried closer to each other or to adult females than to adult males. Of those 25 infants buried between two adults most of them were either buried between two adult females, or between an adult male and female. Only three infants were found buried between two males. Interestingly, many of the adult females buried in close proximity with an iv infant were of child-bearing age. GIS was a very useful tool for examining questions of mortuary practices, particularly in examining spatial relationships between variables recorded for the Kellis 2 cemetery.

The inclusion of human fetal skeletons in the archaeological record can reveal much about past cultures' perception of life and death. The preservation of fetal remains in the archaeological record is a rarity, and the discovery of pathological skeletons is even rarer. A fetal skeleton from a Roman period cemetery (c. 31BC - 303AD) in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, displays what are thought to be classic skeletal indicators of the neural tube defect, anencephaly. The published literature concerning the skeletal diagnosis of anencephaly is scant so in order to diagnose this individual it is pertinent to create a diagnostic standard. The purpose of this thesis is twofold - first to create a quantitative standard from which researchers can determine the presence of anencephaly in the archaeological record, thus ruling out trauma or taphonomic processes as reasons for missing cranial elements. The second objective of this research is to conduct a qualitative comparison in order to diagnose the individual from the Dakhleh Oasis. A comparative analysis of nine documented anencephalic skeletal remains housed at the Smithsonian Institute was conducted to create a diagnostic standard for the skeletal characteristics of anencephaly. The comparative analysis of the Dakhleh specimen supports the diagnosis of anencephaly.