Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208.
Am J Hum Biol. 2018 Jan;30(1). doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23073. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Previous research revealed declines in survivorship in London before the Black Death (c. 1346-1353), and improvements in survivorship following the epidemic. These trends indicate that there were declines in general levels of health before the Black Death and improvements thereof afterwards. This study expands on previous research by examining whether changes in survivorship were consistent between the sexes, and how patterns of developmental stress markers changed before and after the Black Death.
This study uses samples from London cemeteries dated to one of three periods: Early Pre-Black Death (1000-1200 AD, n = 255), Late Pre-Black Death (1200-1250 AD, n = 247), or Post-Black Death (1350-1540 AD n = 329). Temporal trends in survivorship are assessed via Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and trends in tibial length (as a proxy for stature) and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) are assessed using t-tests and Chi-square tests, respectively.
Survivorship for both sexes decreased before the Black Death and increased afterwards. For males, LEH frequencies increased and stature decreased before the epidemic, and LEH declined and stature increased after the Black Death. For females, the only significant change with respect to developmental stress markers was a decrease in stature after the Black Death.
These results might reflect variation between the sexes in sensitivity to stressors, the effects of nutrition on pubertal timing, disproportionate access to dietary resources for males in the aftermath of the Black Death, the disproportionate deaths of frail individuals during the epidemic, or some combination of these factors.
先前的研究表明，在黑死病（约 1346-1353 年）之前，伦敦的存活率有所下降，而在疫情之后，存活率有所提高。这些趋势表明，在黑死病之前，健康水平普遍下降，之后有所改善。本研究通过考察存活率的变化在性别之间是否一致，以及黑死病前后发育应激标志物的模式如何变化，扩展了先前的研究。
本研究使用了来自伦敦墓地的样本，这些样本可以追溯到三个时期之一：黑死病前早期（公元 1000-1200 年，n=255）、黑死病前晚期（公元 1200-1250 年，n=247）或黑死病后时期（公元 1350-1540 年，n=329）。通过 Kaplan-Meier 生存分析评估生存率的时间趋势，使用 t 检验和卡方检验分别评估胫骨长度（作为身高的代理）和线性牙釉质发育不全（LEH）的趋势。
两性的存活率在黑死病前下降，在黑死病后增加。对于男性，LEH 频率在疫情前增加，身高下降，而在黑死病后，LEH 下降，身高增加。对于女性，发育应激标志物唯一显著的变化是黑死病后身高下降。
这些结果可能反映了两性对压力源的敏感性差异、营养对青春期时机的影响、黑死病后男性对饮食资源的不成比例的获取、疫情期间脆弱个体的不成比例死亡，或者这些因素的某种组合。
