Misconceptions About the Bioarchaeology of Plague

Abstract

Bioarchaeological research is yielding important new information about past epidemics that has generated considerable public interest. Reports that health improved following the fourteenth-century Black Death provide an example of how our work has been misinterpreted. These findings have led to sensationalized accounts arguing that the Black Death was ultimately good for affected populations because it preferentially killed frail individuals and/or produced a better balance between population size and resources. However, from an anthropological and public health perspective, the importance of these findings lies in the observation that poor health conditions, influenced by the stark socioeconomic disparities preceding the Black Death, may have favored high epidemic mortality and led to the dramatic differences observed in pre- and post-epidemic populations. Media emphasis on the perceived “benefits” of the Black Death diverts attention from the insight that decreased social inequities in access to food or other resources could have lowered mortality rates during the epidemic. This important observation should motivate efforts to reduce social inequities today. Bioarchaeologists have a responsibility to correct such misconceptions, which hold profound implications for future epidemics and humankind’s future.