Aida Tadesse awarded grant for PhD research on ancient Nubia
PhD candidate Aida Tadesse of the Faculty of Archaeology has been awarded the prestigious NWO PhD in the Humanities grant. The funding will allow her to dedicate the next four years to her research on long-term changes in subsistence and health in ancient Nubia.
A new chapter
Tadesse is already a familiar face at the Faculty of Archaeology. She studied at the Faculty, and over the past year, she has worked as a research assistant on the Embodied Inequality project led by Sarah Schrader.
Reflecting on the moment she heard the news, Tadesse says: ‘I felt incredibly happy and grateful. It was a long and demanding application process, so I am glad it all worked out!’
Nubian pathways
Tadesse’s project focuses on a major development in human history: the agricultural transition. Her research zeroes in on the Third Cataract region of ancient Nubia, present-day Sudan. ‘To sum it up,’ she explains, ‘my work examines the transition from foraging to food production and how it relates to human health in ancient Nubia. What makes this region particularly interesting is that its pathway to food production appears to have been quite distinct. In many parts of the world, this transition centred on crop cultivation, but in Nubia, pastoralism appears to have played a much more important role’, she notes.
Long-term perspectives
Tadesse’s research traces changes in diet and health over an extraordinary timespan of over 8000 years. By analysing human skeletal remains, alongside plant remains and milk proteins preserved in dental calculus, Tadesse aims to reconstruct what people ate and how changes in diet may have affected human health over time. Within this long-term perspective, she also hopes to consider continuities between past and present subsistence practices.
Her project also challenges the long-standing practice of interpreting Nubian history through the lens of ancient Egypt. ‘Nubia is too often compared with its northern neighbor Egypt, also in discussions about the transition to farming. We should let the evidence from Nubia speak for itself.’
Challenging times
The Third Cataract region of ancient Nubia is located in Sudan, a country currently facing war. Due to the conflict, fieldwork is out of the question for now. ‘I would have loved to do fieldwork in Sudan, but for now I have to rely on Nubian skeletal collections housed in European institutions. Some of the remains I hope to include are housed here, at our Faculty.’
At the same time, Tadesse remains committed to engaging with communities in Sudan. ‘This may take the form of digital presentations, or hopefully visits to communities living around some of the archaeological sites included in the project. I want to be involved in whatever way is possible.’
Looking ahead
For Tadesse, the grant represents more than just funding: it is an opportunity to pursue a project she feels deeply connected to. ‘I am very happy with this PhD project,’ she says. ‘It brings together topics I find fascinating, with a wonderful supervision team, and a Faculty community I really enjoy being part of.’