Session #132 - Disease, Disaster & Death: Exploring responses to health and mortality crises in the past.
Abstract
Abstract Session #132 Mortality crises are episodes in which a population experiences an acute increase in the number of deaths–they may have many causes, including natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, economic crisis, armed conflict, and (frequently) combinations of the above. Such crises have always caused behavioral changes at different levels, namely in the way death is viewed from a material or physical point of view, as well as in the spiritual field. Social responses to such events are varied across cultural and spatiotemporal contexts, and they connect and intersect in complex ways. Changes may include, but are not limited to: disruptions and innovations in burial customs and mortuary practices, public and individual health measures, legal and policy responses, as well as personal and artistic expressions. Such responses not only exhibited a great deal of variation but were also often socially contentious and did not affect all members of a community/population in the same manner, thus leaving contradictory and hard to interpret traces in the material and written records. We invite submissions that engage with the multivocality of responses to health and mortality crises in the past, as reflected in the archaeological and historical records. We are particularly interested in multi- and interdisciplinary submissions, which combine a variety of methodological approaches and sources–including archaeology, history, (bio)anthropology, archaeothanatology, and geobiochemical approaches. This work was presented at the 31st European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting (Belgrade, Virtual). It was developed as part of the research project "BeFRAIL Porto in Times of Cholera and War: A Bioarchaeological Approach to Human Frailty" (www.befrail.org), and PhD Research project "Mortuary Practices in the Face of Mortality Crisis — A Story of Human Frailty and Resilience" (ref: 2024.02630.BDANA).
Full text
Anne Malcherek, Alexandra Lopes Esteves, Nicholas Marquez-Grant, Francisca Alves Cardoso Disease, Disaster & Death: Exploring responses to health and mortality crises in the past.
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Session #132 Disease, Disaster & Death: Exploring responses to health and mortality crises in the past. Theme: 5. Finding the way! Archaeological sciences and opening new research perspectives Main Organiser: Malcherek, Anne (Portugal) - Laboratory of Biological Anthropology and Human Osteology–LABOH, CRIA, FCSH, NOVA University Lisbon - In2PAST–Associate Laboratory for Research & Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability & Territory Co-Organiser(s): Alves Cardoso, Francisca (Portugal) - Laboratory of Biological Anthropology and Human Osteology–LABOH, CRIA, FCSH, NOVA University Lisbon - In2PAST–Associate Laboratory for Research & Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability & Territory Lopes Esteves, Alexandra (Portugal) - Lab2PT–Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory, University of Minho - In2PAST–Associate Laboratory for Research & Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability & Territory Marquez-Grant, Nicholas (United Kingdom) - Cranfield Defense & Security, Cranfield University Keywords: mortality crisis, health practices, mortuary practices Abstract Mortality crises are episodes in which a population experiences an acute increase in the number of deaths– they may have many causes, including natural disasters, infectious disease outbreaks, economic crisis, armed conflict, and (frequently) combinations of the above. Such crises have always caused behavioral changes at different levels, namely in the way death is viewed from a material or physical point of view, as well as in the spiritual field. Social responses to such events are varied across cultural and spatiotemporal contexts, and they connect and intersect in complex ways. Changes may include, but are not limited to: disruptions and innovations in burial customs and mortuary practices, public and individual health measures, legal and policy responses, as well as personal and artistic expressions. Such responses not only exhibited a great deal of variation but were also often socially contentious and did not affect all members of a community/population in the same manner, thus leaving contradictory and hard to interpret traces in the material and written records. We invite submissions that engage with the multivocality of responses to health and mortality crises in the past, as reflected in the archaeological and historical records. We are particularly interested in multiand interdisciplinary submissions, which combine a variety of methodological approaches and sources–including archaeology, history, (bio)anthropology, archaeothanatology, and geobiochemical approaches. This work was presented at the 31st European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting (Belgrade, Virtual). It was developed as part of the research project "BeFRAIL Porto in Times of Cholera and War: A Bioarchaeological Approach to Human Frailty" (ref: 2022.02398.PTDC; DOI: 10.54499/2022.02398.PTDC; www.befrail.org), and the PhD research project "Mortuary Practices in the Face of Mortality Crisis — A Story of Human Frailty and Resilience" (ref: 2024.02630.BDANA)