Bioarchaeology and Archaeothanatology in Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Despite the Nile Valley’s rich mortuary record, archaeological research in Egypt and Nubia has traditionally privileged textual sources, monumental architecture, and material culture, often overlooking the informative potential of human remains. As a result, disciplines such as bioarchaeology and archaeothanatology have yet to be fully integrated into regional scholarship. This stands in contrast to their widespread application in other contexts worldwide, where these approaches are routinely employed to investigate everyday life and mortuary practices, and have contributed significantly to both methodological and theoretical developments.

This special issue of Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology seeks to reframe this longstanding imbalance by foregrounding the role of bioarchaeological sciences and archaeothanatology in Egyptian and Nubian research. We invite submissions that employ osteoarchaeology, paleopathology, archaeothanatology, bone taphonomy, and biomolecular analysis to investigate themes such as health, diet, mobility, violence, inequality, gender, activity patterns, identity, and mortuary practices across any period from the Predynastic to the Christian era.

Papers that explore the combined application of bioarchaeology and archaeothanatology with contextual archaeological data, or that critically reflect on methodological challenges in the study of human remains in the region, are particularly welcome.

By bringing together diverse methodological approaches and case studies, we aim to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and demonstrate the critical role of consistently incorporating the study of human remains into reconstructions of ancient life histories and deathways in the Nile Valley.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: bioarchaeology, archaeothanatology, egypt, nubia, architecture, material culture

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.