In ancient times, there were many causes of unnatural human deaths, which can be mainly divided into natural factors and sociocultural factors.
The causes of unnatural death are complex
Natural factors generally refer to those injuries caused by violent and irresistible natural movements, such as earthquakes, floods, mudslides, hurricanes and other violent geological and weather changes, which can cause rapid and large-scale unnatural deaths of human beings, which is also common in archaeological discoveries. The most famous are the ruins of The Roman City of Pompeii and the ruins of the Qinghai People and the Lajia Family in China.
There are also many types of unnatural human deaths caused by socio-cultural factors, the most common of which are deaths caused by social violence, such as the Changping Ancient Battlefield Site, the Ruins of Xiaxia, etc. A large number of human remains of unnatural deaths can be found. There are also deaths caused by social and cultural practices, such as human martyrdom and human sacrifice, which are common in the Anyang Yin Ruins site. These unnatural deaths generally leave observable marks on human remains, such as fractures, trauma, and abnormal missing bones. Some sites can even judge the specific details of the conflict by the part of the burial on the bone, such as the location of the arrow and the traces caused by the weapon.
In addition, there is an unnatural death phenomenon, which may be related to natural and sociocultural factors, and is also common in archaeology, but it is difficult to confirm through the study of remains, which is the plague. Plague is an infectious disease caused by some strongly pathogenic substances such as bacteria and viruses, which has the characteristics of suddenness, short incubation period and onset period, fast transmission speed and high mortality. From ancient times to the present, human beings have encountered countless plagues, some of which are particularly serious, and have a huge impact on human descendants, including plague, smallpox, influenza, cholera, malaria and so on.
Archaeological clues to the plague are difficult to spot
There are many types of plagues, and the causes are different. Some are caused by weather reasons, some are aggravated by environmental damage to the epidemic of plague, some are caused by unqualified medical care, and some are caused by unhealthy lifestyles, with the dual attributes of social and natural factors. There are also some epidemics of plague associated with close contact animals, which can be divided into passive contact and active contact. Passive contact includes close contact between the living environment and certain animals, and is caused by passive contact with animals carrying viruses around the living environment. Active sexual contact involves infection caused by eating, enslaving, and petting an animal that carries the virus.
The plague has long been recorded in Chinese historical materials, and the earliest text in China, the oracle bone, has a record of the plague and its treatment. The Zhou Li Tianguan Tsukasa records: "The sick doctor is in charge of the diseases of all the people, and there are boils at all four o'clock." The "Lü's Spring and Autumn And Season Spring Chronicle" records: "When the spring of the season is summer, the people are sick and sick. This shows that the understanding of the plague at that time had reached a certain level, believing that the plague could occur all year round, and one of the reasons was due to the abnormality of the seasonal atmosphere, which was caused by the "non-seasonal atmosphere".
In addition to causing an unnatural mass death of the population, the plague may also cause great social and cultural upheavals and changes. Behind the great migration of people and cultural alternation in history, there may be the shadow of plague. Many dynastic changes and outbreaks of war have had the effects of the plague behind them. Although the outbreak of the plague has been documented with extremely serious consequences, few have been found or reported in archaeological finds. The reason is that in addition to the contingency of archaeological excavations themselves, the lack of accurate interpretation of archaeological findings is also an important reason.
Some prehistoric sites and archaeological sites in the frontier area lack documentary materials and cannot be corroborated with documentary records. In archaeology in the historical period, which is relatively rich in literature, less attention is paid to and collects ancient human bone data. A small number of archaeological findings that may be related to the documented plague are also rarely studied in multidisciplinary control. The research of ancient medical archaeology is generally based on tradition and excavated documents, and a small number of excavated relics, such as needles, Chinese medicinal materials, medical instruments or human idols, etc., but less attention is paid to the ancient diseases and even plague phenomena reflected in ancient human remains.
Although some disaster sites and sites containing the remains of unnatural deaths have been found in archaeological excavations, archaeologists have had difficulty finding clues to the plague and have faced difficulties in the study of ancient human remains. Fortunately, in recent years, with the development of archaeology itself and the improvement of scientific and technological archaeological techniques, people have paid more and more attention to the study of ancient human remains, and skeletal pathology is in the ascendant. Archaeologists hope to study ancient human remains to further understand the health of ancient populations, the history of the development of some diseases, and the relationship with human development.
Changes in bone morphology are not easy to observe
The study of skeletal pathology focuses on the variation of bones, that is, the difference between bones caused by a certain disease and normal bones. Through this variation, the causes and consequences of diseases are studied, the relationship between human health and social and cultural changes and changes in life and employment patterns is explored, and the problems of history, archaeology and health history are finally solved. However, in general, only violent social conflicts and geological and climatic phenomena can lead to rapid changes in bones, and diseases that cause changes in bones is a relatively long pathogenesis process. Lesions first appear in soft tissues, organs, or bone marrow, and long-term growth spreads to the bones. The diseases that can be found on the bones are not rapidly fatal, but are carried by patients for a long time, such as syphilis, anemia, enamel hypoplasia, degenerative arthropathy, etc.
Plague is an acute infectious disease characterized by a short cycle, high fatality and high contagiousness. Due to the large-scale death of humans in a short period of time, pathogens generally do not have enough time to deposit on human bones or change the shape of bones. Even though some plagues or diseases may cause bone changes, such changes may be small, local, and difficult to observe, and it is still difficult to achieve effective observation for skeletal morphology research.
Therefore, at present, the few archaeological studies on the plague are generally based on indirect clues such as archaeological background, burial objects, burial customs, and burial science, and judge the possibility of the formation of the site through the way of evidence chain, and even this may have a unique explanation
The site of Hamin BusyHa, a left-wing banner in Horqin, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is currently recognized by most archaeologists as possibly related to the plague. From 2010 to 2013, the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Frontier Archaeology Research Center of Jilin University jointly excavated the site, and unearthed more than 1,000 pieces of pottery, stone tools, jade, bones, horns, mussel products and other relics. Carbon 14 dating results show that the site is about 5500-5000 years old, equivalent to the late Hongshan culture.
The sites excavated at the site are semi-crypt buildings, with rectangular or square plans, and some sites preserve traces of the collapse of wooden structures. Human bone specimens were piled up in several housing sites, representing at least 181 individuals. Among them, F40 in the only 18.5 square meters of indoors, layer by layer dumped at least 97 cases of human bones, especially near the doorway of less than 4 square meters, human bones up and down the upper and lower layers of up to three layers. The skull, trunk and limb bones of each human bone are preserved in the original anatomical position, and no disturbance is seen, but the posture is different, there is no obvious law, and some bones have traces of fire. Excluding factors such as natural disasters and social violence, combined with the background of burial science and archaeology, excavators believe that the deaths of these people may be related to the plague. Some scholars have further proposed that it may be related to the plague virus carried by local voles.
Technological means help solve puzzles
As a result, archaeologists have begun to think about some archaeological phenomena that were difficult to explain in the past. Some prehistoric sites lack corresponding written evidence and documentary material, but archaeological excavations have shown a large number of unnatural deaths, and the plague factor can be properly considered after other causes have been ruled out.
For example, at the Miaozigou prehistoric site in Wulanchabu City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 41 of the 42 tombs are irregular burials, and the bones of the tombs are buried using the inner and outer cellars of the house or the living side of the house, and the bones have different postures, genders and ages, and there are no obvious traces of violent conflict on the bones. Excavators believe that the burial process is relatively simple and sloppy, lacking due procedures and normal burial items. Some scholars believe that the Miaozigou site is similar in age to the Hamin Busy Ha site, the environment is also similar, and the same plague may have been encountered.
Since the 21st century, the continuous improvement of scientific and technological archaeology technology, especially after the introduction of molecular biology technology into archaeological research, has greatly improved our ability to understand ancient people and society. In 2015, the journal Cell reported on research by bioarchaeologists who found direct evidence of plague in human bone material at several sites in Eurasia 5,000 years ago. This is the most direct and conclusive study of the plague on ancient human remains. It is believed that this technique will be applied more to Chinese archaeology and promote the archaeological research of the plague in ancient China.
These large numbers of unnatural deaths and burials at archaeological sites may be a way of isolating people who have died before they die, or they may be measures taken to avoid the further spread of the plague. From this, we can speculate that when the prehistoric population was threatened by the plague, it was not excluded that the patient population or area was isolated. Through quarantine, incineration, migration and other measures, the plague may have been effectively controlled, and archaeological remains that may have been related to the plague have been left for us.
According to research, the occurrence of plague requires a variety of conditions. Pathogens, hosts, environments, the health status of susceptible populations, life patterns, population density, medical and health conditions, etc., are all key factors in the occurrence, development and demise of plagues. The eradication of the plague requires comprehensive consideration in many aspects, first of all, it is necessary to strengthen environmental protection from the source and reduce the production and spread of pathogens. The second is to reduce the link between the pathogen and the population, avoiding host infection and transmission. The third is to improve medical and health conditions and enhance the ability to fight the epidemic. Finally, and most importantly, to reduce the density of populations and the likelihood of transmission between populations, and to strengthen quarantine measures.
Entering modern society, mankind is facing increasing pressure on epidemics, mainly because the population is increasing and the density is getting higher and higher. The study found that the larger the city, the greater the risk and harm of the spread of the plague.
At present, the epidemic prevention and control situation in China continues to improve. We fully believe that we will eventually defeat the epidemic and return to normal and stable work and life. China's anti-epidemic experience is worth learning and learning from countries plagued by the epidemic.
(Author: Wang Minghui)
(Source: China Social Science Network)