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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Anthropology Of Plague: Insights From Bioarcheological Analyses Of Epidemic Cemeteries, Sharon Dewitte
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.
Heterogeneous Immunological Landscapes And Medieval Plague : An Invitation To A New Dialogue Between Historians And Immunologists., Fabian Crespo, Matthew B. Lawrenz
Heterogeneous Immunological Landscapes And Medieval Plague : An Invitation To A New Dialogue Between Historians And Immunologists., Fabian Crespo, Matthew B. Lawrenz
Faculty Scholarship
Efforts to understand the differential mortality caused by plague must account for many factors, including human immune responses. In this essay we are particularly interested in those people who were exposed to the Yersinia pestis pathogen during the Black Death, but who had differing fates—survival or death—that could depend on which individuals (once infected) were able to mount an appropriate immune response as a result of biological, environmental, and social factors. The proposed model suggests that historians of the medieval world could make a significant contribution to the study of human health, and especially the role of human immunology in …