Biological differentiation at predynastic Naqada, Egypt: an analysis of dental morphological traits

Cemetery T at Naqada has been postulated as being the interment site of a predynastic royal or ruling elite due to its small, localized area and the richness of its burial goods. In order to examine possible biological differentiation between the individuals buried in Cemetery T and those buried in other, possibly lower status cemeteries at Naqada, nonmetric dental morphological data were analyzed using the Mean Measure of Divergence statistic. Results indicate that Cemetery T shows some biological distinction from both Cemetery B and the Great Cemetery. The size of the difference supports the archaeological interpretation that Cemetery T represents a ruling or elite segment (or lineage) of the local population at Naqada, rather than a ruling or elite immigrant population. Given the problem of small samples, however, this interpretation is tentative.