Grand River Chapter - Investigating the Long-term Impacts of Ancient Pollution in the Looted Landscape of Wadi Faynan, Jordan

  • November 12, 2019
  • 7:30 PM
  • PAS 1229 University of Waterloo

Speaker: Dr. Alexis Dolphin, Univeristy of Waterloo

Topic: Investigating the Long-term Impacts of Ancient Pollution in the Looted Landscape of Wadi Faynan, Jordan

During the 2019 field season of the Barqa Landscape Project (BLP) in southern Jordan, a major focus of the project was to excavate several early Bronze Age burials at Wadi Feynan 100 (WF100). These burials, as well as others in the Wadi Feynan region, are of central importance to researching the long-term footprint of anthropogenic pollution in the landscape in southern Jordan. To complete this work, human remains from WF100, and from earlier and later occupations in the region, are to be subject to osteobiographical and chemical analyzes in order to assess to the impacts of paleopollution and environmental change on human health. However, as with many other archaeological sites in Jordan, evidence of looting is apparent at WF100. This presentation will explore how we are working toward addressing a large and complex question about the long-term exposure of peoples to pollutants using human remains (especially teeth) from disturbed contexts.