Biography
I am a third year PhD student in Archaeology, specialising in the regions of ancient Egypt and Sudan, funded by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP – Trinity Hall Match. My research focuses on contextualising social and political relations within the Nubian landscape between Egyptians and Indigenous groups during the Egyptian Old Kingdom (c.2686-2181 B.C.E.). I am especially interested in the Old Kingdom Town of Buhen and surrounding Indigenous sites, and their respective ceramic repertoires. I studied both my BA in Archaeology (Egyptology) and MPhil in Archaeological Research at Cambridge University, where I focused on Nubian-Egyptian relations within Egypt during the First Intermediate Period.
I also have a keen interest in Indigenous archaeology, as a mixed and Maaya Wíinik woman. I am in the process of putting together and editing a volume (39.2) for the Archaeological Review from Cambridge titled "Indigenous Archaeologies". Through this work I am thinking about how the things we learn from Indigenous Archaeology could be applied to the ancient world.
Research
I am interested in applying post-colonial theories to my research, and aim to further explore concepts of Indigeneity in early Nubia. I am also exploring modern ethnographic research relating to desert nomadism, to understand the types of networks existing within this landscape. I am drawn to social and domestic aspects of ancient life 'from below', especially of those marginalised in earlier archaeologial research, and how they intersected with larger scale administrative and political networks. Other interests relate to concepts of identity and ethnicity in Upper Egypt and of "foreigners" within Egypt, and how these identities manifest in the archaeological record. In previous work I have examined connections and migrations between ancient Egypt and Nubia through various mortuary material.
Teaching and Supervisions
A3 – Introduction to the Cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia – Supervisor
Principle Supervisor: Dr Kate Spence
Other Professional Activities
I have previously volunteered at the “Circulating Artefacts” project at the British Museum, identifying looted objects from ancient Egypt, and I have been involved in various excavations in the UK and Italy. I am also a co-convener of the Indigenous Studies Discussion Group at Cambridge (CRAASH funded).
