Amr Khalaf Shahat
Education
Interdepartmental Ph.D. in Archaeology, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California Los Angeles (September 2021)
M.A., Egyptology Program, History Department, University of Memphis, USA, 2013.
B.A., Egyptology, Helwan University. Cairo, Egypt. 2008
Graduate Certificates:
- Leadership in Environmental Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles 2021
- Food Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate, UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability & Fielding School of Public Health 2020
- Stable isotope in Biogeochemistry and ecology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Graduation June 2018
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, University of Memphis, Graduation August 2015
Areas of Interest
Paleoethnobotany; ancient agriculture, and foodways; stable isotope applications in archaeology; climate change, and plant ecology; food and water sustainability; cultural interaction between Egypt, East Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Profile
Visiting Scholar
- Stable isotope in archaeology, Prof. Michael Richards Lab, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, September 2019.
- Advanced lab research in Archaeobotany, Biology-Archaeology Institute, University of Groningen. Prof. René Cappers’ lab summer of 2017 and 2019.
- Stable Isotope Facility, Prof. Todd Dawson Lab, Department of the Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2018 and Spring 2019.
- Paleoethnobotany research in McCown Archaeobotany laboratory. Prof. Christine Hastorf lab, Fall 2018-Spring 2019, University of California, Berkeley.
Fieldwork
- Paleoethnobotany specialist, Deir el Ballas excavation Project, winter 2019, winter 2020, summer 2021, 2023.
- Field excavation and teaching stable isotope applications in bioarchaeology for dietary reconstruction, St. Lucia Roman Villa site, in Aguilafuente, Segovia, Spain July 7-21, 2019.
- Paleoethnobotany and paleodietary reconstruction of the population buried in the T.T. 16, Theban tomb of Panehsy. (Seasons 2016; 2017-2018; Winter 2019).
- Paleoethnobotanical analysis of the plant-food remains collection from the Tomb of Kha and Merit, Muzio Egizio, Turino, Italy. August 2019.
- UCLA Fayum excavation project, University of California field seasons (2012; 2017, summer 2018).
- Member of the American-Canadian archaeological mission, the University of Memphis & Université de Montreal à Quebec at the Karnak Hypostyle Hall project in Luxor, Egypt during Summer 2013 & Winter 2014 &2015.
- Italian Archaeological Mission at the Tomb of Harwa at Assasif, Luxor, Egypt Fall 2012.
Publications
Shahat, Amr and P. Podzorski, forthcoming. An Analysis of Offerings in Predynastic Upper Egypt: A Case Study from the Northern Cemetery at Ballâs, in Current Research in Egyptology, Montpellier: France
Shahat, A. and V. Jensen, 2023. Social Archaeology of Food at Deir el Ballas: An Archaeobotanical Study of the Non-Elite Cemetery Food Offerings. In: M. El Dorry, ed. Feeding a Civilisation" Food and Drink in Egypt and Sudan. Cairo: Bibliothèque d’Étude. Cairo
Shahat, Amr, 2023. New Methods to Reconstruct the Social History of Food in Ancient Egypt: Case Studies from Nag ed Deir and Deir el Ballas, in Candelora, Danielle, Nadia Ben Marzouk and Kathlyn Cooney eds, Ancient Egyptian Society: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Approaches. London: Routledge
Shahat, Amr, 2021. Climate Change and the Social History of Food in Ancient Egypt: Between Humanities and Life Sciences, Dissertation, University of California Los Angeles
Shahat, Amr, and Victoria Jensen, 2021, Biomolecular Stable Isotope and 14C Dates of Ancient Egyptian food offerings: A Case Study from a Provincial Cemetery of Deir elBallas Ikram, S., J. Kaiser & S. Porcier (eds), The ancient Egyptians & the natural world. Flora, fauna & science. - Leiden, Sidestone Press
Shahat, Amr, 2019. An Archaeobotanical Study of the Food in the Tomb of Kha and Merit, Backdirt, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology features, and field Reports, pp. 68-71
Chloe Berghausen, Elizabeth Dresser-Kluchman, Natasha Fernandez-Perez, Amr Shahat, Alec Apodaca and Venicia Slotten, 2019. Starch Extraction from Metates and Manos in the Field: Experiment and Protocol Recommendations
Awards
National Science Foundation (NSF) participant Grant, summer 2021 for stable Isotope research at the University of Utah.
Best Paper Award, 3rd place, at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt “Social History of Food in Ancient Egypt: Between Humanities and Life Sciences."
Dissertation Year Fellowship, presented by Graduate Division, University of California Los Angeles.
Award by the UCLA Center for the Study of Women received on June 2, 2019, for the project "Archaeologies of diversity and interactions in Ancient Egypt", reconstructing the life history of non-elite women and children in ancient Egypt, stable isotope and archaeobotanical analysis.
Award presented by members of the Spanish Academy of Science. Award title “Ahmad Fahmy in African Archaeobotany” for my research paper presentation entitled "Archaeologies of Interactions in Egypt, East Africa, and Eastern Mediterranean," received during the 9th Workshop of African Archaeobotany (Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, June 25‒29, 2018).
1st place, Best Poster Award for poster presentation entitled “Social Archaeology of Food in Ancient Egypt: Paleoethnobotanical and nano-archaeological methods," Presented at the 69th annual meeting of the American Research Center in Egypt (Tucson, AZ, April 20‒22, 2018.
Eugene Cruz-Uribe Memorial fellowship, from the American Research Center in Egypt, North California Chapter supporting my stable isotope study in Archaeology, Fall 2018, University of California, Berkeley.
Research funded by UCLA International Institute, University of California, Los Angeles Travel Grant for using interdisciplinary scientific and humanities methods to bridge cultural interactions with different countries or cultures 2018.
University of California Humanities Research Institute Metadata 2 grants for my project “Digitizing the botanical treasures of Ancient Egypt”. January 29, 2018. - Silsbee Chair of African Cultural Archaeology Grant, Winter 2018.
National Endowment for Humanities grant for Photogrammetry training for Cultural Heritage protection purposes. Cultural Heritage Imaging and hosted by the Saint Francisco Museum of Art, SF, California. Fall of 2017