Hot Summer Nights in Roman Egypt

Join Anthropology Lecturer, Lana Williams, Ph.D., on Tuesday, April 26, as she talks about seasonality in conception, birth, and death and how it is one of the most fundamental and enduring patterns in life’s rhythms.

These patterns are mostly influenced by interactions between biology and environment. However, human culture also plays a very distinct role in giving a population its particular shape, primarily through participation in social and religious practices and prohibitions.

Dr. Williams will focus on the town-site of Kellis in Dahkleh Oasis, Egypt, and the unique opportunity it offers to explore local experiences of birth and practices surrounding conception and contraception during the Romano-Christian period (c. 100-360 AD).

As you will see from the various kinds of evidence, the summer nights in Roman Egypt were hot for more than one reason.

Dr. Williams a bioarchaeologist specializing in research of human health and diet. She has been a member of the Dakhleh Oasis Project in Egypt since 2002 and her research goal is to better understand the synergistic complexities among biological, social and physical environments in the past.

Dr. Williams teaches courses such as Life and Death in Ancient Egypt, Nutritional Anthropology, Human Biological Diversity, and Forensic Archaeology Field Methods.