Affiliation: Eastern Carolina University
Megan A. Perry is Professor of Anthropology at East Carolina University. She holds her degrees from the University of New Mexico (Ph.D.), Case Western Reserve University (M.A.), and Boston University (B.A.). Her primary research interests involve investigating human skeletal remains to assess ancient disease, diet, and mobility patterns, in addition to mortuary practices of ancient populations in 1st to 6th century A.D. Jordan. Her bioarchaeological research at Petra focuses on how one neighborhood in the ancient city adapted to their increasingly urban environment through evidence of physiological stress, isotopic evidence of diet and migration, population demography, and sources of the site’s most important resource, water. Professor Perry has been working on archaeological projects in Jordan for over 30 years, and she is on the Board of Trustees of the American Center of Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan.
The study of isotopes in human bones and teeth has become a critical tool in reconstructing patterns of diet and human mobility in the past, including for the ancient Near East. Data from carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotopes can be used to explore subsistence strategies, migration dynamics, and climatic shifts through time. In addition, they can reflect how early life diet and environments can impact morbidity and mortality later in life, providing a complete life course approach to human health. This talk will focus on multiple examples of how isotopic evidence integrated with archaeological and historical data has provided a more nuanced understanding of ancient Jordan, particularly from the 2nd century BC through the 6th century AD.
Ensconced within the sandstone hills of southern Jordan, evidence from mortuary structures in the ancient Nabataean city of Petra tells powerful stories about life, illness, death, and commemoration of its residents. This talk will focus on their experiences across the life course through bioarchaeological evidence of disease, diet, and immigration from the skeletal remains recovered from tombs within the city. In addition, evidence of mortuary behaviors within these tombs will reveal the rich and varied forms of remembrance after their deaths. This integrated approach, shifting away from Petra’s temples and monuments, offers new perspectives on resilience, identity, and memory in a dynamic ancient city.
Children both in the past and present are especially sensitive to environmental, nutritional, and social stresses, and therefore evidence of their health can serve as a powerful barometer of the living conditions of the larger community. During the late 19th century CE, Bedouin communities in central Jordan experienced the transition between traditional nomadism to increased settlement, which profoundly affected their way of life. This talk will focus on the Bedouin children of Hisban, whose bones suggest they navigated a fragile and often precarious existence at the end of Ottoman rule. Many children were dying with active rickets and scurvy, evidence of which is rarely documented in the region. Drawing on bioarchaeological evidence to reconstruct patterns of illness and survival, we can gain critical insight into maternal health, child rearing practices, and other biological and cultural dimensions of childhood. In addition, these data highlight the resilience and vulnerability of a community in early modem Jordan, offering a more complete and humanized understanding of the past.
