The PCMA Research Centre in Cairo invites to an open lecture: Humans and Their Environment: Investigating the Collapse of the Kushite Kingdom of Meroe, Sudan by Dr Iwona Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Warsaw.
The collapse of the once-powerful and prosperous Kushite Kingdom of Meroe (c. 300 BC – AD 350) in the present-day Sudan remains unclear and open to speculation. The available historical and archaeological evidence points to several likely causes for the decline and eventual fall of the kingdom in the 4th century AD; the most frequently cited factors being political and economic instability, and social unrest. More recently, the environmental changes caused by overexploitation of the natural environment have been postulated as a contributing factor to the kingdom’s demise.
This presentation will discuss a new approach to investigating the circumstances behind the collapse of the Meoritic kingdom, focusing on human migration and subsistence in response to environmental changes.
Dr Iwona Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Warsaw, where she leads a project aimed to investigate the link between environmental changes and the collapse of the Kingdom of Meroe in Sudan. She is a bioarchaeologist, with extensive expertise in the archaeological excavation of Egyptian and Sudanese cemetery sites, and the examination of mummified and skeletonised human remains, using established protocols and state-of-the-art techniques. Her research is concerned with various aspects of the relationship between humans and their environment in the Nile Valley, including the impact of environmental changes on childhood development and adult health, disability and care, as well as ancient burial practices. Over the last 16 years, she has worked extensively in Egypt (Saqqara, Tell el-Farkha, Theban necropolis) and Sudan, investigating various aspects of life and death of ancient populations, in collaboration with researchers from the UK, Poland, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany.
Dr Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin is a member of the Egypt Exploration Society, Sudan Archaeological Research Society, International Society for Nubian Studies, British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology, and Paleopathology Association (USA).
Lecture: Humans and Their Environment: Investigating the Collapse of the Kushite Kingdom of Meroe, Sudan
Dr Iwona Kozieradzka-Ogunmakin, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Warsaw
Tuesday, 8th of January 2019, 6:00 p.m.
PCMA Research Centre in Cairo 11, Mahalla St., Heliopolis