Izdebski, A., Guzowski, P., Poniat, R., Masci, L., Palli, J., Vignola, C., Bauch, M., Cocozza, C., Fernandes, R., Ljungqvist, F. C., Newfield, T., Seim, A., Abel-Schaad, D., Alba-Sanchez, F., Bjoerkman, L., Brauer, A., Brown, A., Czerwinski, S., Ejarque, A., Filoc, M., Florenzano, A., Fredh, E. D., Fyfe, R., Jasiunas, N., Kolaczek, P., Kouli, K., Kozakova, R., Kupryjanowicz, M., Lageras, P., Lamentowicz, M., Lindbladh, M., Lopez-Saez, J. A., Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, R., Marcisz, K., Mazier, F., Mensing, S., Mercuri, A. M., Milecka, K., Miras, Y., Noryskiewicz, A. M., Novenko, E., Obremska, M., Panajiotidis, S., Papadopoulou, M. L., Pedziszewska, A., Perez-Diaz, S., Piovesan, G., Pluskowski, A., Pokorny, P., Poska, A., Reitalu, T., Roesch, M., Sadori, L., Ferreira, C. Sa, Sebag, D., Slowinski, M., Stancikaite, M., Stivrins, N., Tunno, I, Veski, S., Wacnik, A. and Masi, A. (2022). Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic. Nat. Ecol. Evol., 6 (3). S. 297 - 314. BERLIN: NATURE PORTFOLIO. ISSN 2397-334X

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Abstract

Historical accounts of the mortality outcomes of the Black Death plague pandemic are variable across Europe, with much higher death tolls suggested in some areas than others. Here the authors use a 'big data palaeoecology' approach to show that land use change following the pandemic was spatially variable across Europe, confirming heterogeneous responses with empirical data. The Black Death (1347-1352 ce) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe's population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic's causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, 'big data palaeoecology', which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death's mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death's mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics.

Item Type: Journal Article
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCIDORCID Put Code
Izdebski, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Guzowski, P.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Poniat, R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Masci, L.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Palli, J.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Vignola, C.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bauch, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Cocozza, C.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fernandes, R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ljungqvist, F. C.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Newfield, T.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Seim, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Abel-Schaad, D.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Alba-Sanchez, F.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bjoerkman, L.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Brauer, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Brown, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Czerwinski, S.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ejarque, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Filoc, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Florenzano, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fredh, E. D.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fyfe, R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Jasiunas, N.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kolaczek, P.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kouli, K.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kozakova, R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kupryjanowicz, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lageras, P.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lamentowicz, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lindbladh, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lopez-Saez, J. A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, R.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Marcisz, K.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mazier, F.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mensing, S.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mercuri, A. M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Milecka, K.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Miras, Y.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Noryskiewicz, A. M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Novenko, E.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Obremska, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Panajiotidis, S.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Papadopoulou, M. L.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Pedziszewska, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Perez-Diaz, S.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Piovesan, G.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Pluskowski, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Pokorny, P.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Poska, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Reitalu, T.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Roesch, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Sadori, L.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ferreira, C. SaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Sebag, D.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Slowinski, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Stancikaite, M.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Stivrins, N.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Tunno, IUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Veski, S.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Wacnik, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Masi, A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
URN: urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-699214
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01652-4
Journal or Publication Title: Nat. Ecol. Evol.
Volume: 6
Number: 3
Page Range: S. 297 - 314
Date: 2022
Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO
Place of Publication: BERLIN
ISSN: 2397-334X
Language: English
Faculty: Unspecified
Divisions: Unspecified
Subjects: no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:
KeywordsLanguage
ECOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR; PLAGUE; VALUES; SHIFTS; GRADIENT; ANCIENT; FORESTS; CLIMATE; LIGHTMultiple languages
Ecology; Evolutionary BiologyMultiple languages
URI: http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/69921

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