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Skeletal analysis at Tombos, an ancient Egyptian colonial settlement in Nubia, reveals a more complex labor and social hierarchy than previously understood. Researchers from Leiden University, Purdue University, and the University of California at Santa Barbara, reassessed physical activity patterns in the community, indicating that individuals interred in pyramid tombs were not exclusively elite officials but included individuals who engaged in physically demanding labor.

The findings challenge previous interpretations of social stratification in an Egyptian colonial settlement, particularly regarding labor and burial practices.

Tombos was established during the Egyptian New Kingdom (1400–650 BCE) as part of an imperial strategy to maintain control over Nubia. Previous research suggested that the settlement's population engaged in relatively low levels of physical labor, leading to interpretations that its residents were minor officials, professionals, and craftspeople.

Previous analyses supported this theory by demonstrating minimal skeletal adaptations associated with strenuous activity. Expanded excavations and additional biomolecular testing allowed researchers to reassess these earlier conclusions.

In the study, "Daily life in a new kingdom fortress town in Nubia: A reexamination of physical activity at Tombos," in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, researchers conducted a bioarchaeological analysis of skeletal remains from three cemetery areas at the site: the Western, Northern, and Eastern cemeteries.

Entheseal changes (skeletal markers of muscle and ligament attachment) were analyzed to evaluate physical activity levels. When people use certain muscle groups repeatedly or carry heavy loads, the attachment sites (entheses) can develop extra ridges or irregularities. By examining these changes, researchers can gauge the intensity and kinds of physical work performed during a person's lifetime.

Skeletal remains originated from tombs of different architectural styles, including Egyptian-style pyramid and chapel tombs, chamber tombs, and Nubian-style tumulus burials. Burial positions at Tombos vary between Egyptian-style extended burials and Nubian-style flexed burials, reflecting cultural identities within the ancient colonial settlement.

Researchers assessed burial position alongside skeletal evidence of physical activity to determine whether labor intensity was connected to burial traditions.

A skeletal cohort included 110 individuals from three cemeteries at the Tombos site. A total of 17 fibrocartilaginous entheseal sites per individual were analyzed using a standardized six-point scale.

Higher entheseal scores were observed in individuals from pyramid and chapel tombs, suggesting engagement in repetitive strenuous labor. Chamber tombs contained individuals with moderate entheseal scores, aligning with earlier interpretations that middle-class officials, scribes, and craftspeople were interred in these structures. Lower entheseal scores characterized many individuals in Nubian burial mounds, indicating lower levels of physical exertion.

Strontium isotope analysis was used to identify individuals' geographic origins, distinguishing between those who were local to Tombos and those who migrated from other regions. Skeletal markers showed no significant difference in activity levels between locals and migrants, suggesting that migration status did not affect labor patterns.

Individuals buried in pyramid tombs included both elite officials and laborers, contradicting assumptions that monumental tombs exclusively housed high-status individuals. Evidence from mortuary practices suggests that some lower-status individuals were buried alongside elites, possibly as household staff or workers attached to elite families.

Flexed burials associated with Nubian traditions exhibited some lower entheseal scores, suggesting that Nubian identity did not always correlate with increased physical labor.

Reuse of tomb structures over centuries complicates interpretations of status and burial patterns, yet skeletal data suggest that New Kingdom colonial settlements included a broader socioeconomic spectrum than previously recognized.

Researchers state that the notion of New Kingdom towns as elite-only enclaves is flawed. Entheseal data from individuals buried in pyramid tombs indicate that some lower-status individuals with physically demanding roles may have been interred alongside elites.

Low entheseal remodeling scores among certain local women buried in flexed positions suggest they were not exclusively laborers, but may have played a role as social brokers between Egyptian colonists and the local population through intermarriage rather than an exploitation of local labor to serve the colonists.

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