Michaela Binder - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Michaela Binder

This volume presents the proceedings of the 22nd Annual Egyptological Colloquium held at the Brit... more This volume presents the proceedings of the 22nd Annual Egyptological Colloquium held at the British Museum in 2013, augmented by additional papers. It reflects an ongoing research focus, supported by new fieldwork, on the relationship between Egypt and Nubia during the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC). Until recently characterised in terms that mirror the ideology promulgated on ancient temple walls - the pharaonic state enjoying complete political control and cultural dominance over 'wretched Kush' - the re-assessment of this relationship has foregrounded models of cultural entanglement and hybridisation. The papers reflect a variety of disciplinary approaches - archaeological, epigraphic, architectural, environmental and bioarchaeological - which are helping to provide a more nuanced understanding of what it was like to live in colonial Kush during the later second millennium BC.

Wien liegt heute an der Spitze europäischer Großstädte, was die Lebensqualität angeht. Ganz im Ge... more Wien liegt heute an der Spitze europäischer Großstädte, was die Lebensqualität angeht. Ganz im Gegensatz beispielsweise zum 18. Jahrhundert, wo die frühindustrielle, rasch wachsende Stadt aufgrund von Armut, Hunger und Seuchen (Pocken, Syphilis und Tuberkulose) die höchste Sterblichkeitsrate in ganz Europa aufweist. Dass die Schilderungen von Zeitzeugen zu mangelnden Hygienestandards, beengten Wohnverhältnissen, fehlender medizinischer Versorgung und Nahrungsmittelknappheit alles andere als übertrieben sind, bestätigt die vorliegende anthropologische Untersuchung nur zu deutlich. Anhand pathologischer Veränderungen und Anzeichen von Stress am Skelett und den Zähnen ließen sich auch im Nachhinein statistisch signifikante Hinweise auf Mangelernährung und Infektionskrankheiten feststellen.
Anlässlich der 2005 durch die Stadtarchäologie Wien erfolgten Ausgrabung auf dem Areal eines ehemaligen Soldatenfriedhofs, der zum ersten Militärspital der Habsburgermonarchie gehörte, konnten unter Mitwirkung der Autorin 58 Skelette einzeln geborgen werden. Da der Belegungszeitraum des Friedhofes urkundlich feststeht, die zugehörigen Sterbematriken u. a. Auskunft über Sterbedatum, Herkunft, Alter, Regimentszugehörigkeit und Dienstgrad der Verstorbenen geben und die Knochen bestens erhalten sind, ist das Sample sehr gut auswertbar.
Es bietet die einzigartige Möglichkeit, den Gesundheitszustand und die Lebensbedingungen von Rekruten und niedrigrangigen Soldaten der theresianisch-josephinischen Ära in Friedenszeiten zu untersuchen und damit gleichzeitig die Verhältnisse eines Teils der Unterschicht des gesamten Habsburgerreiches zu beleuchten.

Papers by Michaela Binder

In N. Spencer, A. Stevens and M. Binder (eds). 2017. Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived experience, ... more In N. Spencer, A. Stevens and M. Binder (eds). 2017. Nubia in the New Kingdom. Lived experience, pharaonic control and indigenous traditions. British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 3. Leuven, Paris and Bristol CT, 227-57

Since 2005 cremation experiments and the experimental reconstruction of pyres are carried out as ... more Since 2005 cremation experiments and the experimental reconstruction of pyres are carried out as part of University courses in Experimental Archaeology held in Austria. The aim of the experiments was to gain a better understanding of the time and effort prehistoric People invested in cremating their dead.

Even though the earliest prosthetic devices date to the Ancient Egyptian Empire and iconographic ... more Even though the earliest prosthetic devices date to the Ancient Egyptian Empire and
iconographic sources attest their use in the Greco-Roman world, archaeological evidence for
this practice prior to 2nd millennium AD is very scant. In 2013, a skeleton dating to the
Frankish period (6th century AD) was excavated at the Hemmaberg in southern Austria. The
middle adult male was missing his left foot from above the ankle. In its place, an iron-ring and
wooden remains were recovered and interpreted as a prosthesis replacing the lost foot. This
represents one of the oldest examples of prosthetic limb replacement associated with the
skeleton of its wearer in Europe to date.
Analysis through macroscopic assessment, radiography and CT-scanning revealed healing of
the lesion even though it may have initially been complicated by osteomyelitis. Atrophy of the
left lower leg further indicates immobilisation and suggests survival of several years.
Osteoarthritis in the knees and shoulder girdle provides tentative indications towards the
functionality of the prosthesis, perhaps aided through a crutch. These findings are set against
the historic, archaeological, bioarchaeological and social context of the man in order to
discuss whether removal of the foot was due to medical, punitive or traumatic causes.

Calcifications commonly occur in association with soft tissue inflammation. However, they are not... more Calcifications commonly occur in association with soft tissue inflammation. However, they are not often discussed in palaeopathological literature, frequently due to problems of identification and diagnosis. We present a calcified object (40 × 27 × 27 cm) found with a middle-aged male from a post-medieval cemetery in Vienna. It was not recognized during excavation, thus its anatomical location within the body remains unknown. The object was subject to X-ray, SEM and CT scanning and compared to historic pathological objects held in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna. Two of closest resemblance, a thyroid adenoma and goitre were subject to similar analytical techniques for comparison. Despite similarities between all objects, the structure of the object most closely conforms to a thyroid tumor. Nevertheless, due to similar pathophysiological pathways and biochemical composition of calcified soft tissue, a secure identification outside of its anatomical context is not possible. The research further highlights the fact that recognition of such objects during excavation is crucial for a more conclusive diagnosis. Historic medical records indicate that they were common and might therefore be expected to frequently occur in cemeteries. Consequently, an increasing the dataset of calcifications would also aid in extending the knowledge about diseases in past human populations.

PloS one, 2014

Binder M, Roberts C, Spencer N, Antoine D, Cartwright C. Cancer, one of the world’s leading cause... more Binder M, Roberts C, Spencer N, Antoine D, Cartwright C. Cancer, one of the world’s leading causes of death today, remains almost absent relative to other pathological conditions, in the archaeological record, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product of modern living and increased longevity. This paper presents a male, young-adult individual from the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan (c. 1200BC) displaying multiple, mainly osteolytic, lesions on the vertebrae, ribs, sternum, clavicles, scapulae, pelvis, and humeral and femoral heads. Following radiographic, microscopic and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging of the lesions, and a consideration of differential diagnoses, a diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma secondary to an unknown soft tissue cancer is suggested. This represents the earliest complete example in the world of a human who suffered metastatic cancer to date. The study further draws its strength from modern analytical techniques applied to differential diagnoses and the fact that it is firmly rooted within a well-documented archaeological and historical context, thus providing new insights into the history and antiquity of the disease as well as its underlying causes and progression.

The British Museum has recently published a guidebook to the site of Amara West, funded by the Qa... more The British Museum has recently published a guidebook to the site of Amara West, funded by the Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project. The book seeks to share, in an accessible manner, the latest research on this important site on Egypt’s southern New Kingdom frontier.

Co-authored by team members of the Amara West Project, it covers such themes as: how the town of Amara West came to be; what it was like to live there in pharaonic times; and how the Egyptian colonisers co-existed and interacted with local Nubian populations.

It provides an overview of early 20th century excavations at the site, and an insight into how archaeologists work today. And, of course, it provides information about visiting Amara West.

Sonderdruck aus dem JAHRBUCH DES RÖMISCH-GERMANISCHEN ZENTRALMUSEUMS MAINZ 57. Jahrgang 2010

Cancer, one of the world's leading causes of death today, remains almost absent relative to other... more Cancer, one of the world's leading causes of death today, remains almost absent relative to other pathological conditions, in the archaeological record, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product of modern living and increased longevity. This paper presents a male, young-adult individual from the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan (c. 1200BC) displaying multiple, mainly osteolytic, lesions on the vertebrae, ribs, sternum, clavicles, scapulae, pelvis, and humeral and femoral heads. Following radiographic, microscopic and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging of the lesions, and a consideration of differential diagnoses, a diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma secondary to an unknown soft tissue cancer is suggested. This represents the earliest complete example in the world of a human who suffered metastatic cancer to date. The study further draws its strength from modern analytical techniques applied to differential diagnoses and the fact that it is firmly rooted within a well-documented archaeological and historical context, thus providing new insights into the history and antiquity of the disease as well as its underlying causes and progression.

PloS one, 2014

It provides an overview of early 20th century excavations at the site, and an insight into how archaeologists work today. And, of course, it provides information about visiting Amara West.

Sonderdruck aus dem JAHRBUCH DES RÖMISCH-GERMANISCHEN ZENTRALMUSEUMS MAINZ 57. Jahrgang 2010

The floodplain surrounding the town of Aspern, now a district of Vienna, was the site of one of t... more The floodplain surrounding the town of Aspern, now a district of Vienna, was the site of one of the largest battles during the Napoleonic wars to take place on Austrian grounds. On May 21st/22nd 1809, Napoleon saw his first ever defeat on land which cost the life of an estimated 55 000 soldiers. Residential development works in the area of the battle site over the last decades have prompted large-scale archaeological surveys undertaken by the Stadtarchäologie Wien. In 2009 and 2010, three multiple burials of soldiers as well as two large bone pits holding human remains which were presumably disturbed during earlier construction works during WW II were recovered and the human remains made available for further anthropological analyses.
The scope of this paper is twofold. It aims to provide an overview of all known interment sites excavated over the course of the 20th century and to discuss the archaeological evidence of treatment of the victims of the battle of Aspern. Furthermore it will present the results of the anthropological analysis of the human remains recovered from the multiple burials discussing aspects of battle-related violence but also general indicators of health of the soldiers during the time of the Napoleonic wars.