Reconstructing the environmental, biological, and societal drivers of plague outbreaks in Eurasia between 1300 and 1900 CE

Introduction

Synergy-Plague is a multi-disciplinary project to bring our knowledge and understanding of plague, past and present, to new heights. Focusing on the environmental, biological, and societal aspects of plague outbreaks in Eurasia between circa 1300 and 1900 CE, it will address four main questions:

Research Questions

1. Why/how did plague re-emerge in 14th century Central Asia?
2. Why/how did plague re-occur and spread in Eurasia after the Black Death?
3. Why/how did clinical and demographic patterns of plague infection differ across space and time?
4. Why/how did plague disappear from Europe and the Middle East in the 18th and 19th centuries?

Hypothesis

Our project is based on the hypothesis that plague waves and clinical differences resulted from unique alignments of multiple events:

• Environmental (climatic and soil-chemical)
• Biological (from individual to ecosystem)
• Societal (demographic, socio-economic, and political)

Collaborative Approach

Four PIs from the natural sciences and humanities, together with their team members, will jointly study how plague re-emerged in 14th century Central Asia and radiated repeatedly from Eurasian wildlife reservoirs in the following centuries, only to disappear in the 18th-19th centuries.

Methodology

We will develop and analyze new dendrochronological and (paleo-)soil data, textual documentary evidence, and epidemiological models. To understand how plague reached and spread in human populations, paleo-environmental and historical data together with relevant experimental work will be combined with statistical and mathematical modeling.

Clinical Variability

To appreciate why clinical signs and mortality rates varied in space and time, historical evidence will be examined together with new entomological data and ancient DNA (aDNA) of historical plague strains (from humans and anthropophilic rodents).

Conclusion

Synergy-Plague will revolutionize our understanding of plague and contribute to our ongoing struggle with epidemic diseases, present and future.