Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ancient Pathogens Provide A Window Into Health And Well-Being, Cecil M. Lewis Jr., Mercy Y. Akinyi, Sharon Dewitte, Anne C. Stone

Faculty Publications

This perspective draws on the record of ancient pathogen genomes and microbiomes illuminating patterns of infectious disease over the course of the Holocene in order to address the following question. How did major changes in living circumstances involving the transition to and intensification of farming alter pathogens and their distributions? Answers to this question via ancient DNA research provide a rapidly expanding picture of pathogen evolution and in concert with archaeological and historical data, give a temporal and behavioral context for heath in the past that is relevant for challenges facing the world today, including the rise of novel pathogens.

Sexual Stature Difference Fluctuations In Pre- And Post-Black Death London As An Indicator Of Living Standards, Emily J. Brennan, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

Objectives: The degree of sexual stature difference (SSD), the ratio of male to female height, is argued to be an indicator of living standards based on evidence that physical growth for males is more sensitive to environmental fluctuations. In a resource-poor environment, the degree of SSD is expected to be relatively low. The aim of this study is to comparatively assess SSD in medieval London in the context of repeated famine events and other environmental stressors before the Black Death (BD) and the improved living conditions that characterized the post-Black Death period.

Methods: To test the hypothesis that a poor …

Covid-19 And The Black Death: Nutrition, Frailty, Inequity, And Mortality, Katherine D. Van Schaik, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

Introduction: COVID-19 has challenged governments, healthcare systems, and individuals, drawing attention to the limits of modern technology and the extent of social inequity. Such challenges have directed attention to historical epidemics as repositories of data that could contribute to effective public health strategies and prognostic modeling. In light of the well-established correlation between frailty and mortality from COVID-19, this paper investigates the relationship between frailty, inequity, and mortality in the setting of the Black Death of 1346 – 1353, in order to identify trends over time in populations at the greatest risk of mortality during pandemics.

Methods: A comparative review …

Black Death Bodies, Sharon Dewitte, Maryanne Kowaleski

Faculty Publications

The fourteenth-century Black Death was one of the most important and devastating epidemics in human history. It caused or accelerated important demographic, economic, political, and social changes throughout the Old World and has therefore been the subject of scholarly research in a variety of fields, including history, anthropology, demography, and molecular biology. In this paper, we examine the Black Death (specifically, the first and second outbreaks of fourteenth-century plague, c. 1347–1351 and 1361–1362) from bioarchaeological and historical perspectives, focusing on attempts to reconstruct mortality patterns and addressing the questions: Who died in England during the Black Death? How did they …

Preserving Fields Of Conflict: Papers From The 2014 Fields Of Conflict Conference And Preservation Workshop, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

From 12 through 15 March 2014 conflict archaeologists and preservationists met in Columbia, South Carolina, to present 54 papers and 14 posters at the 8^th Biennial Fields of Conflict Conference. In conjunction with the conference, a workshop was held on the preservation of battlefields across the globe entitled “Call to Action: National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program Battlefield Preservation Workshop.” The 33 papers in this volume are extended abstracts of those papers presented in a popular format. The goal of this volume is to make conflict archaeology assessable to the public and raise the awareness of the critical …

Mortality Risk And Survival In The Aftermath Of The Medieval Black Death, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

The medieval Black Death (c. 1347-1351) was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history. It killed tens of millions of Europeans, and recent analyses have shown that the disease targeted elderly adults and individuals who had been previously exposed to physiological stressors. Following the epidemic, there were improvements in standards of living, particularly in dietary quality for all socioeconomic strata. This study investigates whether the combination of the selective mortality of the Black Death and post-epidemic improvements in standards of living had detectable effects on survival and mortality in London. Samples are drawn from several pre- and post-Black …

Ancient Pathogen Dna In Archaeological Samples Detected With A Microbial Detection Array, Alison M. Devault, Kevin Mcloughlin, Crystal Jaing, Shea Gardner, Teresita M. Porter, Jacob M. Enk, James Thissen, Jonathan Allen, Monica Borucki, Sharon Dewitte, Anna N. Dhody, Hendrik N. Poinar

Faculty Publications

Ancient human remains of paleopathological interest typically contain highly degraded DNA in which pathogenic taxa are often minority components, making sequence-based metagenomic characterization costly. Microarrays may hold a potential solution to these challenges, offering a rapid, affordable and highly informative snapshot of microbial diversity in complex samples without the lengthy analysis and/or high cost associated with high-throughput sequencing. Their versatility is well established for modern clinical specimens, but they have yet to be applied to ancient remains. Here we report bacterial profiles of archaeological and historical human remains using the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA). The array successfully identified …

The Anthropology Of Plague: Insights From Bioarcheological Analyses Of Epidemic Cemeteries, Sharon Dewitte

Faculty Publications

Most research on historic plague has relied on documentary evidence, but recently researchers have examined the remains of plague victims to produce a deeper understanding of the disease. Bioarcheological analysis allows the skeletal remains of epidemic victims to bear witness to the contexts of their deaths. This is important for our understanding of the experiences of the vast majority of people who lived in the past, who are not typically included in the historical record. This paper summarizes bioarcheological research on plague, primarily investigations of the Black Death in London (1349–50), emphasizing what anthropology uniquely contributes to plague studies.

Imagining The Swamp Fox: William Gilmore Simms And The National Memory Of Francis Marion, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

William Gilmore Simms's Unfinished Civil War measures the effects of the Civil War and its aftermath on one of the Old South's foremost intellectuals. Simms's mid-nineteenth-century poems, novels, and essays and the personal and societal trauma and destruction Simms experienced are all portrayed here. This collection of essays by historians and literary scholars first explores William Gilmore Simms's antebellum treatment of the role of warfare in America's past and the South's future. The contributors then consider the impact of the secession crisis, the Civil War, and the Confederate defeat on Simms's and other white and black Southerners' perceptions of their …

A Draft Genome Of Yersinia Pestis From Victims Of The Black Death, Kirsten I. Bos, Verena J. Schuenemann, G. Brian Golding, Hernán A. Burbano, Nicholas Waglechner, Brian K. Coombes, Joseph B. Mcphee, Sharon Dewitte, Matthias Meyer, Sarah Schmedes, James Wood, David J. D. Earn, D. Ann Herring, Peter Bauer, Hendrik N. Poinar, Johannes Krause

Faculty Publications

Technological advances in DNA recovery and sequencing have drastically expanded the scope of genetic analyses of ancient specimens to the extent that full genomic investigations are now feasible and are quickly becoming standard1. This trend has important implications for infectious disease research because genomic data from ancient microbes may help to elucidate mechanisms of pathogen evolution and adaptation for emerging and re-emerging infections. Here we report a reconstructed ancient genome of Yersinia pestis at 30-fold average coverage from Black Death victims securely dated to episodes of pestilence-associated mortality in London, England, 1348–1350. Genetic architecture and phylogenetic analysis indicate …

Targeted Enrichment Of Ancient Pathogens Yielding The Ppcp1 Plasmid Of Yersinia Pestis From Victims Of The Black Death, Verena J. Schuenemann, Kristen Bos, Sharon Dewitte, Hendrik N. Poinar, Sarah Schmedes, Joslyn Jamieson, Alissa Mittnik, Stephen Forrest, Brian K. Coombes, James W. Wood, David J.D. Earn, William White, Johannes Krause, Hendrik N. Poinar

Faculty Publications

Although investigations of medieval plague victims have identified Yersinia pestis as the putative etiologic agent of the pandemic, methodological limitations have prevented large-scale genomic investigations to evaluate changes in the pathogen's virulence over time. We screened over 100 skeletal remains from Black Death victims of the East Smithfield mass burial site (1348–1350, London, England). Recent methods of DNA enrichment coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing subsequently permitted reconstruction of ten full human mitochondrial genomes (16 kb each) and the full pPCP1 (9.6 kb) virulence-associated plasmid at high coverage. Comparisons of molecular damage profiles between endogenous human and Y. pestis DNA confirmed …

Defining The Williamson's Plantation: Huck's Defeat Battlefield, Michael C. Scoggins, Steven D. Smith, Tamara S. Wilson

Faculty Publications

This report presents the results of historical and archaeological research to define the Revolutionary War battle of Williamson’s Plantation (Huck’s Defeat), located in York County, South Carolina. Analysis of historic documents, metal detector survey, and archaeological excavations at Historic Brattonsville revealed the location of the battlefield (site 38YK564) although there appears to be very little archaeological remains associated with the Williamson plantation house. Survey surrounding the site indicates that site 38YK564 is the only remaining remnant of the battlefield.

A Thank You Note To The Archaeological Research Trust On Francis Marion Research, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Military Site Program Returns To Williamson's Plantation Battlefield, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

War Paths, Peace Paths: An Archaeology Of Cooperation And Conflict In Native Eastern North America, By David H. Dye, Charles R. Cobb

Faculty Publications

A review of War Paths, Peace Paths: an Archaeology of Cooperation and Conflict in Native Eastern North America, by David H. Dye.

A History Of American Settlement At Camp Atterbury, Steven D. Smith, Chris J. Cochran, Engineer Research And Development Center Champaign Il Construction Engineering Research Lab

Faculty Publications

This report details the history of 19th and 20th century farm and community settlement within the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, IN. It also provides a historic context for the identification, evaluation, and preservation of significant historic properties within installation boundaries. This historic context defines property types, poses research questions, and provides evaluation criteria based on the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center's settlement history, in an effort to develop a comprehensive program of multiple site evaluation.

Military Sites Program Finishes Projects, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of “Sustaining Linguistic Diversity: Endangered And Minority Languages And Language Varieties”, Kara Brown

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Re-Writing Culture In Taiwan, Edited By Fang-Long Shih, Stuart Thompson And Paul-François Tremlett, Marc L. Moskowitz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Archaeology Of The Camden Battlefield: History, Private Collections, And Field Investigations, Steven D. Smith, James B. Legg, Tamara S. Wilson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Message In A Bottle: Lyrical Laments And Emotional Expression In Mandopop, Marc L. Moskowitz

Faculty Publications

This article explores the ubiquitous themes of loneliness, isolation and anomie in Mandopop (Mandarin Chinese language pop music). This is not to imply that people in the PRC and Taiwan are lonelier than people from other countries but, rather, that being human they experience these emotions. What is distinctive here is that Mandopop becomes a primary conduit to express feelings that are sanctioned in daily speech. The article addresses these concerns and uses in-depth interviews in Shanghai and Taipei to find out why Mandopop's themes of loneliness and isolation are so resonant to its fans.

The Colour Of Time: Head Pots And Temporal Convergences, Charles R. Cobb, Eric Drake

Faculty Publications

Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied to the cosmos where the earth was viewed as a quadrilateral disk and each of the four cardinal directions was linked with a colour array such as red, white, black, and blue. We suggest that the recurring use of certain colours and colour contrasts comprised a suite of long-term historical practices that were essential for reproducing certain views about the world and about being in the world. Further, the rendering of colour had a plasticity that allowed it to enter a discourse about daily life that …

Rethinking Individuals And Agents In Archaeology, By A.B. Knapp And P. Van Dommelen, Charles R. Cobb

Faculty Publications

A comment on Rethinking Individuals and Agents in Archaeology, by A.B. Knapp and P. van Dommelen.

Archaeology Of The Lower Muskogee Creek Indians, 1715-1836, By H. Thomas Foster Ii, Charles R. Cobb

Faculty Publications

A review of Archaeology of the Lower Muskogee Creek Indians, 1715-1836, by H. Thomas Foster II.

Archaeological Investigations On Little Folly Island, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Down & Dirty: Archaeology Of The South Carolina Lowcountry, By M. Patrick Hendrix, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

A review of Down & Dirty: Archaeology of the South Carolina Lowcountry, by M. Patrick Hendrix

Sciaa’S Military Site Program Assists Historic Brattonsville In Locating Williamson’S Plantation Battlefield, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Behind The Silence: Chinese Voices On Abortion By Nie Jing-Bao, Marc L. Moskowitz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims And The Redstick War Of 1813-1814, By Gregory A. Waselkov, Charles R. Cobb

Faculty Publications

A review of A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814, by Gregory A. Waselkov.

The Antiquities Act: A Century Of American Archaeology, Historic Preservation, And Nature Conservation, Edited By David Harmon, Francis P. Mcmanamon, And Dwight T. Pitcaithley, Steven D. Smith

Faculty Publications

A review of The Antiquities Act: A Century of American Archaeology, Historic Preservation, and Nature Conservation, edited by David Harmon, Francis P. McManamon, and Dwight T. Pitcaithley.