ISOTOPIC TRACING OF MORTALITY CAUSED DUE TO INFECTIOUS DISEASE

ACHARYA BALKRISHNA; SNEHA UNNIKRISHNAN; PANUSHA NAGARAJAN; RASHMI MITTAL

ACHARYA BALKRISHNA PhD, Vice-Chancellor Division of History & Archaeological Research, Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), Uttarakhand, India. Department of History, University of Patanjali, Uttarakhand, India http://orcid.org/0009-0009-1978-9885
SNEHA UNNIKRISHNAN M.Phil, Assistant Scientist Division of History & Archaeological Research, Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), Uttarakhand, India http://orcid.org/0009-0001-8468-3624
PANUSHA NAGARAJAN M.A, Assistant Scientist Division of History & Archaeological Research, Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), Uttarakhand, India http://orcid.org/0009-0002-6730-1169
RASHMI MITTAL PhD, Head of the Department Division of History & Archaeological Research, Patanjali Research Foundation (Trust), Uttarakhand, India http://orcid.org/0009-0000-7649-1510

Abstract

Epidemics have affected human history since its emergence. The transition to sedentary agriculture, human migration, and animal domestication led to a rise in the occurrence of infectious diseases. As mortality rates continued to increase within various societies, there developed a crucial need to examine the root causes contributing to the development and progression of these diseases. Isotope analysis using strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), oxygen (δ¹⁸O), carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) were conducted on samples from archaeological sites in Winchester, Hull, Chile, and Saint-Doulchard to investigate the potential causes and contributing factors of these diseases. Studies have revealed that these sites were infected by lepromatous, treponematosis, tuberculosis, and the Justinian plague. The data further revealed information regarding the provenance, ecological setting, and mobility patterns of population afflicted by these diseases. This review article highlights isotopic studies as a significant marker for depicting the mortality associated with infectious diseases in ancient societies.

Keywords: δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O, Justinian Plague, Lepromatous, Treponematosis, Tuberculosis