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8 - Calcified Structures as Potential Evidence of Atherosclerosis Associated with Human Skeletal Remains from Amara West, Nubia (1300–800 BCE)

from Part II - Cardiovascular Diseases Associated with Human Skeletal Remains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2023

By
Michaela Binder  and
Charlotte A. Roberts
Edited by
Michaela Binder ,
Charlotte A. Roberts  and
Daniel Antoine
Michaela Binder
Affiliation:
Novetus GmbH Archaeological Services
Charlotte A. Roberts
Affiliation:
Durham University
Daniel Antoine
Affiliation:
British Museum, London
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Summary

The Papyrus Ebers, written in ancient Egypt in c. 1550 BCE, provides the earliest known historic medical description of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), likely attesting to the widespread occurrence of these conditions (Nunn, 1996: 85–7). However, evidence to prove that they were indeed a frequent health problem in antiquity remains scarce and confined to mummified remains despite the multitude of human remains discovered and analysed since the beginning of archaeological exploration of the Nile Valley (Davies & Walker, 1993; Binder 2019).

Type
Chapter
Information
The Bioarchaeology of Cardiovascular Disease , pp. 147 - 163
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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