All equal in the face of death? Life histories of confirmed victims of the last plague epidemic in Basel (Switzerland)

Bibliographic Data

ID15935785
AuthorsLaura Rindlisbacher (0000-0002-7304-3824, University of Basel, corresponding author), Elias Flatscher (University of Zurich), Claudia Gerling (0000-0003-4619-7032, University of Basel), Ben Krause‐kyora (0000-0001-9435-2872, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), Sandra Pichler (0000-0002-5557-1674, University of Basel)
Year2026
Volume100
Issue410
Pages500-516
Publication date2026-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2026.10297
OpenAlexW7154020519
LanguageEN
References cited32

The Covid-19 pandemic widened public awareness of the close links between socioeconomic status and resilience in the face of infection, yet this interplay was already well established in archaeological discourse. Here, the authors combine osteoarchaeological, stable isotope and pathogenomic analyses with archival research to explore the formation of multiple, or ‘plural’, burials at an early hospital in Basel, Switzerland. Identification of a stamped clay pipe, Yersinia pestis DNA and a high proportion of subadults link the burials to an outbreak of plague in 1665–1670, while physiological stress, dietary and pathological insights contribute to our understanding of prior experiences affecting differential mortality

Dingo · Face (sociological concept · Outbreak · Pandemic · Plague (disease · Psychological resilience · Socioeconomic status · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research