About

Michele Buzon is a Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University, having joined the faculty in 2007. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2004. Her specialization includes bioarchaeology, paleopathology, culture contact, biological and ethnic identity, environmental stress, and the Nile Valley. Her research focuses on burial archaeology in the Nile Valley, specifically ancient Nubia and Egypt, where she uses mortuary and skeletal data to explore the consequences of contact between populations. She maintains an active field site in Tombos, Sudan, investigating the effects of Nubian-Egyptian contact on identity and health during the New Kingdom and Napatan periods. Dr. Buzon directs the analysis of skeletal remains from Tombos, curated at Purdue, and has published extensively in international archaeological and anthropological journals. Her work has been funded by notable organizations including the National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and the American Philosophical Society.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Political Science
• Social Science
• Psychology
• Geochemistry
• Anthropology
• Environmental ethics
• Environmental resource management
• Geology
• Archaeology
• Biology
• Paleontology
• Mineralogy
• Ecology
• Environmental planning
• Geography

Selected publications

• Humeral Septal Aperture in Ancient Tombos Nubians

  The Scientific World JOURNAL · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  Objective: The majority of the published literature regarding the septal aperture (SA) dates to the last 200 years. The archeological literature is sparse. The collection from Tombos along the Nile River (1400-656 BCE) provides an opportunity for further study of SA in ancient populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and shape of SA in the population as well as the size of the humerus and correlate that with and without SA in the Tombos population. Methods: Adult humerus specimens from the Tombos skeletal population with intact distal humeri were studied using both photography and caliper measurements. The caliper and photographic methods gave equal results. Results: There were 164 distal humeri; an SA was present in 40.9%. There were no differences by sex, age group, or laterality. Of the 34 individuals with bilateral intact paired humeri, 47% had SAs. The involvement was bilateral in 13, left in 2, and right in 1. The shapes of the apertures were oval/elliptical in 73%, irregular in 15%, and circular in 12%. Those humeri with an SA had smaller epicondylar breadths, vertical humeral head diameters, humeral shaft diameters, condylar articular width, and trochlear articular width. There were no differences in the coronoid or olecranon fossa width/height. The 41% prevalence of SA in the Tombos population is similar to the 45%-60% in other African archeological studies but higher than the 20%-37% in prehistoric Native Americans. Smaller humeri had a higher prevalence of SA similar to several modern-day studies. Conclusions: The etiology of SA is not definitively known, with mechanical, structural, and genetic etiologies postulated. A high prevalence of bilaterality is supportive of a genetic etiology; our 81% prevalence of bilaterality suggests a strong genetic component in the etiology of SA in this particular population.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A bioarchaeological assessment of pubertal timing at Tombos, Sudan (1400–700 BCE)

  Bioarchaeology of the Near East · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access

  This study aims to estimate pubertal timing and evaluate the method applicability in a sample from the ancient Egyptian and Nubian site of Tombos (modern-day Sudan), which dates to the New Kingdom through the Napatan periods (c. 1400–700 BCE) In individuals aged 7–21 years, pubertal development was observed by grading eight skeletal elements. Each grade was attributed to a pubertal phase: pre-puberty, initiation/ onset, acceleration, Peak Height Velocity (PHV), deceleration, maturation, and post-puberty. Many individuals were found to be in a combined pubertal range such as PHV/deceleration. Precise determination of PHV was challenging due to the small sample size and short timeframe of the pubertal stage. Initiation occurred between 8 to 12 years, acceleration and PHV showed a broader range of 10 to 20 years, and the deceleration phase was predominantly observed in individuals aged 13 to 21 years. Menarche is associated with females at Tombos aged 15 to 20 years. Deceleration occurred earlier in females and revealed broader transitional phases in males. Males and females showed varied fusion between elements, such as the radius and ulna. Individuals with absent features, due to poor preservation, resulted in broader ranges of pubertal stages. These results bring important insights into research on pubertal analysis and methodology of ancient skeletal remains and expand regional coverage of pubertal data. Additionally, morphological variation in the Tombos sample is noted in comparison with published literature and some suggestions for future research are provided.

  PublisherDOI

• Isotopes in Archeology: Perspectives on Post-Mortem Alteration and Climate Change

  Geosciences · 2025-08-07 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Isotopic investigations focused on determining the mobility and provenance of ancient human civilizations and sourcing of archeological artifacts continue to gain prominence in archeology. Most studies focus on the premise that the geographic variation in isotope systems of interest (e.g., Sr, Pb, Nd, O) in the natural environment is recorded in both human hard tissues of local individuals and raw materials sourced for artifacts within the same region. The introduction of multi-collection–inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) and laser ablation systems are techniques that consume smaller sample sizes compared to previous mass spectrometric approaches due to their higher ionization efficiency and increased sensitivity. This development has facilitated the isotopic measurement of trace elements present at low abundances (e.g., Pb, Nd, <1-to-low ppm range) particularly in human tooth enamel. Accurate interpretation of any isotope ratio measurement for the proveniencing of such low-abundance samples requires the adequate evaluation of post-mortem diagenetic alteration. A synopsis of practices currently in use for identifying post-mortem alteration in human archeological samples is discussed here. Post-mortem shifts in radiogenic isotope signatures resulting from secondary alteration are distinct from those potentially related to the impact of climate change on the bioavailable budgets for these elements. This topic is of interest to the archeological community and discussed here in the context of Holocene-aged samples from burial sites within the Nile River Valley System, and preferred dust source areas from the neighboring Sahara Desert.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Growing Old at Tombos: A View of Older Adults in an Ancient Egyptian‐Nubian Community

  American Journal of Biological Anthropology · 2025-08-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVES: The experiences of older adults in ancient communities are often overlooked in studies due to many factors, such as preservation, methodological issues, and less frequent mention in available texts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study combines community- and individual-level data to explore life for older adults at the ancient Egyptian/Nubian Tombos site (c. 1450-660 bce) in modern-day Sudan (N = 125). Age data, estimated using Transition Analysis, are examined in conjunction with health, physical activities, burial context, sex, cultural, and geographic identities. RESULTS: At Tombos, 29% of discretely buried individuals who could be aged are estimated to be 50 years of age or older, including individuals estimated to have reached their late 70s. This percentage is high compared to regional sites; however, the use of traditional age estimation methods in other studies may have impacted estimates above age 50. DISCUSSION: Overall, older adults are found at Tombos in a range of socioeconomic statuses ranging from modest to elite and were buried across different cemetery areas reflective of cultural and/or religious variation. Few older individuals show evidence of nutritional deficiencies from early life, infectious disease, or very high physical workload. The osteobiographies presented suggest individuals likely received assistance due to injuries and possible disabilities. Individuals who were able to live until old age may have been those with access to better resources.

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• Daily life in a New Kingdom fortress town in Nubia: A reexamination of physical activity at Tombos

  Journal of Anthropological Archaeology · 2025-03-03 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  • A multi-method approach to better understanding physical activity and socioeconomic status in a colonial Egyptonubian space. • Novel quantitative and qualitative assessment of points of muscle and ligament attachment. • Bioarchaeological methods are bolstered by archaeological excavations, isotope analysis, and comparative Egyptian/Nubian contexts. • Pyramid complexes, once thought to be the burials for the elite, were actually resting places for a socioeconomic cross section of this community. • Illustrates the importance of reanalyzing data. Previous analysis of skeletal indicators of physical activity suggested that the population at Tombos, an Egyptian colonial town in Nubia, may have benefited from an imperial framework through occupations that were not physically demanding. With more than ten years of continued excavations, coupled with further biomolecular testing, we reanalyze entheseal changes at Tombos. We compare entheseal changes between the three areas of cemetery, which house drastically different tomb types. Additionally, we also assess burial position (Egyptian, Nubian) and we incorporate the results of previous strontium isotope analysis to better understand the mortuary, socioeconomic, and occupational landscapes of this colonial space. Our findings suggest that pyramid tombs, once thought to be the final resting place of the most elite, may have also included low-status high-labor staff. We support this argument with comparative data from Egypt and Nubia. Other cemetery areas seem to include individuals whose activity levels were more moderate. Nubian-style burials have relatively low entheseal scores, suggesting that they may have had low-labor occupations during the Egyptian colonial period, despite possibly identifying as Nubian. Lastly, locals and non-locals appear to have similar levels of physical activity, suggesting that migration status was also neither an advantage nor disadvantage in such a multicultural community. This study speaks to the importance of reanalyzing data; with continued excavations, dating, and biomolecular analysis, interpretations of lived experience in the past can be completely altered.

  PublisherDOI

• Pre-Adult Burials at Tombos: An Investigation of Social Age and Health Over the Life Course in the Ancient Nile Valley

  African Archaeological Review · 2025-09-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract In many archaeological sites in the Nile Valley of Northeast Africa, pre-adult burials are severely underrepresented due to differential burial practices, variable preservation, differential excavation, and curation practices. This study examines pre-adult burials from the New Kingdom–Early Napatan (1400–750 BCE) site of Tombos in Sudan. Historical and artistic documentation of social age categories from Egypt is presented in order to provide a better understanding of social factors for each age group. Skeletal and mortuary data from pre-adult individuals at Tombos are analyzed and compared with data from other sites in the Nile Valley as well as adult burials from Tombos. The analysis of mortuary patterns indicates greater variability in treatment of pre-adults compared to adults and shows consistency with documented Egyptological ideas that the youngest members of the community were treated as fully human in death with proper burial and offerings for the afterlife. Pathological condition frequencies by age group reveal that individuals in the late childhood social age category (8–14 years) experienced higher levels of non-specific stress indicators as they headed toward social adulthood. Examination of mortuary practices and health conditions by social age category sheds light on differing experiences across the life course.

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• Quantitative methods in funerary archaeoentomology: a systematic literature review protocol v1

  2025-07-18 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  This protocol details a systematic literature review search using a three-faceted Boolean search line and a Population - Concept - Context (PCC) model. Step-by-step directions are given for performing the search, auditing the search and extracting data specific to funerary archaeoentomology research. Archaeoentomology specifically applied to mortuary contexts is referred to as funerary archaeoentomology and heavily draws from the principles of forensic entomology (Huchet 2014). Nevertheless, while modern forensic entomology is used to aid legal investigators in determining likely post-mortem intervals or a time of colonization, providing these high-resolution details is beyond the limits of funerary archaeoentomology. Rather, funerary archaeoentomology can be used to estimate the season of burial, identify possible challenges to food security, hindcast past environmental conditions, and compare these historical data with the site’s contemporaneous conditions. A notable contribution here is also a deeper understanding of the mortuary practices of the population being studied (Vanin and Huchet 2017). Blow fly and other calyptrate fly puparia have been used as seasonal indicators of death or interment (Gilbert and Bass 1967, Teskey and Turnbull 1979, Tuccia et al. 2022). Importantly, even well-preserved contexts represent a snapshot of the total entomofauna contemporaneous to the deposit. Further, the volume of insect remains contained within a given site is highly variable. This variability is a challenge for standardizing analysis methods, especially for contexts that yield a relatively low volume of insect data. The objective of this review is to explore the quantitative tools currently used in funerary archaeoentomology and identify areas where traditional statistical approaches used by contemporary entomologists could be employed. As of July 2025, we have not found a systematic or scoping literature review that seeks to answer this question using a search protocol similar to the one detailed below.

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• Isotopic and skeletal approaches to diet and mobility in ancient Nubia

  Contributions to the archaeology of Egypt, Nubia and the Levant · 2024-01-01 · 2 citations

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A Healed Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture, Shoulder, and Rib Fractures in an Ancient Nubian Female: An Osteoarchaeological Perspective

  The Scientific World JOURNAL · 2024-02-12

  articleOpen access

  This report is a case of a healed proximal intertrochanteric femur fracture nonunion in an ancient Nubian adult female, approximately 58 years old at the time of death, from the Tombos archaeological site in present day northern Sudan. Tombos was founded as an Egyptian colonial town during the New Kingdom Period (14001070 BC). The individual was radiocarbon dated to 1114-910 BC and also exhibited healed fractures of the left proximal humerus and ribs. There was shortening and mild atrophy of the right femur compared to the left; radiographs demonstrated a varus deformity of the proximal femur with associated retroversion. Bone density analysis revealed that the tissue mineral density z-score for this individual was -0.798, with the z-score for Tombos females 15-24 years old being 0.396, or a total difference of 1.194. This indicates that the individual was osteopenic but not osteoporotic prior to demise. This is an important case as it occurred approximately 3000 years ago and is the oldest known reported case of a healed intertrochanteric hip fracture in the archaeological literature. Archaeological cases of intertrochanteric hip fractures are rare, with none previously reported from the BC era. The timing of these multiple fractures is unknown, but all healed before the demise of the individual. Thus, there must have been considerable care afforded to such an individual to minimize the morbidities associated with nonoperative care of such a fracture. If all these fractures occurred at the same time due to a traumatic, accidental injury, the Modified Injury Severity Score (MISS) would be 25. Modern day trauma resuscitation and orthopaedic care gives an estimated mortality for such a MISS score of 28% for those <50 years old. It is likely that this individual's high socioeconomic status allowed for intensive nursing care which likely decreased the morality risk.

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• Corrigendum to “The role of post-mortem alteration in tooth enamel revisited: A combined strontium isotope and geochemical evaluation” [J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. 53 (2024) 104323]

  Journal of Archaeological Science Reports · 2024-07-22

  erratum
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: A Bioarchaeological Investigation of Identity Development During Napatan State Formation

  NSF · $74k · 2009–2012

• Collaborative Research: Impact And Accommodation Through Cultural Contact

  NSF · $135k · 2014–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Antonio Simonetti

  University of Notre Dame

  34 shared

• Robert A. Creaser

  University of Alberta

  21 shared

• Valerie A. Andrushko

  Southern Connecticut State University

  18 shared

• Luis Jaime Castillo

  16 shared

• Kari A. Zobler

  16 shared

• José Guerra

  16 shared

• Zerifeh Eiley

  16 shared

• Melissa Badillo

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  16 shared

Awards & honors

• Franklin Research Grant, American Philosophical Society ($5,…
• Committee for Research and Exploration Grant, National Geogr…
• Senior Research Grant, BCS-0917815, National Science Foundat…
• Dissertation Improvement Grant, BCS-1128950, National Scienc…
• Senior Research Grant, BCS-1359210, National Science Foundat…