Strangers in a Strange Land: Stable Isotope Evidence for Human Migration in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt

This study utilizes a combination of both stable oxygen and nitrogen isotope ratios to determine migration patterns for a large sample of human remains from the Kellis 2 cemetery (c. ad250) in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Stable oxygen isotopic analysis has been used to identify potential migrants in several different populations. In this study, the data resultant from the combination of oxygen isotope ratios from bone apatite and nitrogen isotope ratios from bone collagen indicate that at least two individuals are not native to the Oasis, as shown by their lower nitrogen values and more positive oxygen isotopes, approaching values documented for residents of the Nile Valley and Nubia. The most isotopically distinctive individual is lepromatous, suggesting that he may have been exiled to the oasis from the Nile Valley. Interestingly, all individuals who have different isotope values are male, supporting the idea that males may have been involved in caravan trade between the Oasis and the Nile Valley.