Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)

Research on historical plague epidemics has undergone a major revival in recent decades, thanks in particular to the growing number of archaeo-anthropological studies on material evidence. However, while much has been published on burial sites associated with the second plague pandemic (14th-18th ce...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marion Holleville, Dominique Castex, Marie-France Deguilloux, Sacha Kacki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société d'Anthropologie de Paris 2024-09-01
Series:Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14262
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832579943461027840
author Marion Holleville
Dominique Castex
Marie-France Deguilloux
Sacha Kacki
author_facet Marion Holleville
Dominique Castex
Marie-France Deguilloux
Sacha Kacki
author_sort Marion Holleville
collection DOAJ
description Research on historical plague epidemics has undergone a major revival in recent decades, thanks in particular to the growing number of archaeo-anthropological studies on material evidence. However, while much has been published on burial sites associated with the second plague pandemic (14th-18th centuries AD), those dealing with the first plague pandemic (6th-8th centuries AD) remain rare. In this respect, the "Clos des Cordeliers" burial site in Sens (Yonne) offers a rare opportunity. The 1989 excavation revealed the presence of four large Late Antiquity mass graves, which were subsequently shown to be linked to a plague epidemic through palaeogenetic analysis. Despite the exceptional nature of this burial site and the time elapsed since its discovery, up until now it had only been partially studied. This led us to conduct a detailed anthropological re-examination of the 78 individuals making up the sample. Our aim was to characterise this osteological assemblage from a biological perspective and to assess the pre-existing health status of the plague victims through the study of non-specific stress indicators. Comparison of the results with data from burial assemblages associated with the second plague pandemic reveals some differences with the latter (differences in sex ratio, lower mortality in adolescents), raising questions about possible variations in the epidemiology of the plague between these two pandemics.
format Article
id doaj-art-ff70eff6f2e945888311eac708aa809a
institution Kabale University
issn 1777-5469
language English
publishDate 2024-09-01
publisher Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
record_format Article
series Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris
spelling doaj-art-ff70eff6f2e945888311eac708aa809a2025-01-30T11:27:48ZengSociété d'Anthropologie de ParisBulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris1777-54692024-09-013610.4000/12btjNouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)Marion HollevilleDominique CastexMarie-France DeguillouxSacha KackiResearch on historical plague epidemics has undergone a major revival in recent decades, thanks in particular to the growing number of archaeo-anthropological studies on material evidence. However, while much has been published on burial sites associated with the second plague pandemic (14th-18th centuries AD), those dealing with the first plague pandemic (6th-8th centuries AD) remain rare. In this respect, the "Clos des Cordeliers" burial site in Sens (Yonne) offers a rare opportunity. The 1989 excavation revealed the presence of four large Late Antiquity mass graves, which were subsequently shown to be linked to a plague epidemic through palaeogenetic analysis. Despite the exceptional nature of this burial site and the time elapsed since its discovery, up until now it had only been partially studied. This led us to conduct a detailed anthropological re-examination of the 78 individuals making up the sample. Our aim was to characterise this osteological assemblage from a biological perspective and to assess the pre-existing health status of the plague victims through the study of non-specific stress indicators. Comparison of the results with data from burial assemblages associated with the second plague pandemic reveals some differences with the latter (differences in sex ratio, lower mortality in adolescents), raising questions about possible variations in the epidemiology of the plague between these two pandemics.https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14262first plague pandemicLate Antiquitymass gravesdemographyskeletal stress markersselectivity
spellingShingle Marion Holleville
Dominique Castex
Marie-France Deguilloux
Sacha Kacki
Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris
first plague pandemic
Late Antiquity
mass graves
demography
skeletal stress markers
selectivity
title Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
title_full Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
title_fullStr Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
title_full_unstemmed Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
title_short Nouvelles données sur un assemblage ostéoarchéologique en lien avec la première pandémie de peste historique : la nécropole tardo-antique du "Clos des Cordeliers" à Sens (Yonne, France)
title_sort nouvelles donnees sur un assemblage osteoarcheologique en lien avec la premiere pandemie de peste historique la necropole tardo antique du clos des cordeliers a sens yonne france
topic first plague pandemic
Late Antiquity
mass graves
demography
skeletal stress markers
selectivity
url https://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14262
work_keys_str_mv AT marionholleville nouvellesdonneessurunassemblageosteoarcheologiqueenlienaveclapremierepandemiedepestehistoriquelanecropoletardoantiqueduclosdescordeliersasensyonnefrance
AT dominiquecastex nouvellesdonneessurunassemblageosteoarcheologiqueenlienaveclapremierepandemiedepestehistoriquelanecropoletardoantiqueduclosdescordeliersasensyonnefrance
AT mariefrancedeguilloux nouvellesdonneessurunassemblageosteoarcheologiqueenlienaveclapremierepandemiedepestehistoriquelanecropoletardoantiqueduclosdescordeliersasensyonnefrance
AT sachakacki nouvellesdonneessurunassemblageosteoarcheologiqueenlienaveclapremierepandemiedepestehistoriquelanecropoletardoantiqueduclosdescordeliersasensyonnefrance