Calcified Structures as Potential Evidence of Atherosclerosis Associated with Human Skeletal Remains from Amara West, Nubia (1300–800 BCE)

Abstract

The Papyrus Ebers, written in ancient Egypt in c. 1550 BCE, provides the earliest known historic medical description of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), likely attesting to the widespread occurrence of these conditions (Nunn, 1996: 85–7). However, evidence to prove that they were indeed a frequent health problem in antiquity remains scarce and confined to mummified remains despite the multitude of human remains discovered and analysed since the beginning of archaeological exploration of the Nile Valley (Davies & Walker, 1993; Binder 2019).