Ras Al Khaimah archaeologists and U.S. university team partner to study biological effects of climate change in Bronze Age Arabia

Ras Al Khaimah archaeologists and U.S. university team partner to study biological effects of climate change in Bronze Age Arabia

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE: Archaeologists in Ras Al Khaimah have partnered with two United States universities to analyze 4,000-year-old human remains to see if a dramatic climate event at that time can help inform how humans’ biology would be affected by a similar event in the future.

A professor and student team of bio-anthropologists from Quinnipiac University, Connecticut, U.S., led by Professor Jaime Ullinger, recently visited archaeologists at Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities & Museums to study human skeletons from the 2nd millennium BC to analyze their potential in bio-archaeological studies, with the goal being to research the effects of climate change on human biology between the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods in Ras Al Khaimah. The human remains are from a time of severe climate change characterized by drought.

The visit is part of an ongoing collaboration, named The Bio-Archaeology of Bronze Age Social Systems, between Ras Al Khaimah Department of Antiquities & Museums, Quinnipiac and the University of South Alabama, with professors and students from both universities expected to return to Ras Al Khaimah before the end of the year.

During a previous visit to Ras Al Khaimah in 2017, university teams worked on human remains to study