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Abstract

Human mobility and connectivity have been recognized as key factors in the success of the Byzantine empire. Indeed, human mobility in a wide range of forms, such as pilgrimage, forced expatriation, trade, and slave movements, has played a key role in the formation of this multi-ethic state and had a profound impact on the social structure of the host societies as well as the incoming people since on the one hand it promoted the connectivity of the Byzantine Empire but on the other it facilitated the emergence of distinct regional identities. Despite the prominent role of human mobility in Byzantine times and extensive academic discussions about it among historians, epigraphists, archaeologists and other specialists, the contribution of osteoarchaeological studies in relevant discussions has been minimal.

'People in Motion' is a project funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation of Cyprus under the Excellence Hubs programme and aims at exploring human mobility across the Mediterranean in Byzantine times based on the most direct evidence of the people in motion, that is, human skeletal remains. This presentation will share key findings of this project and will highlight various challenges encountered during its implementation and how these were addressed.

About the Speaker

Dr. Efthymia Nikita is Assistant Professor in Bioarchaeology at the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) of The Cyprus Institute. She studies human skeletal remains across the Mediterranean from prehistoric to post-Medieval contexts, shedding light on health and disease, diet, activity, demography and other important aspects of life in the past.

She earned a BA in Archaeology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Prior to her appointment at STARC, she held post-doctoral posts at the British School at Athens and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, as well as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship at the University of Sheffield. Her research has resulted in over 70 articles and book chapters, including the textbook ‘Osteoarchaeology: A Guide to the Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Remains’ (Elsevier 2017).

She is currently co-Editor-in-Chief for the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (Elsevier), as well as Associate Editor for the Journal of Archaeological Science and Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. She was recently awarded a Dan David prize for her contribution to the study of the past.

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