Maladies infectieuses, changement climatique et environnement

Infectious Disease, Climate Change and the Environment 

Call for papers



Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology

Abstract Submission Deadline 17 November 2023
Manuscript Submission Deadline 17 March 2024
Guidelines


Human health is intimately connected to the environment. Evidence of this connection is reflected in both individual and population health, with climate changes affecting rates of fertility, morbidity, and mortality, subsistence strategies, and even triggering conflict and the abandonment of long-established settlements. Among the most significant impacts of this connection between human health and the environment in the ancient world is the emergence and spread of infectious disease, the burden of which is revealed in the skeletal, material, and written records of past populations throughout the world. The circumstances under which infectious diseases emerge reflect the complex intersection of the environment with human behavior, including the circumstances leading to migration, warfare, human-animal interactions, poverty, and malnutrition. The role that climate—and climate change—intensifies these interactions to set the stage for the spread of disease is becoming increasingly clear.


Cutting-edge paleoclimate science offers insight into past environments to a degree previously unachievable, while advanced molecular analyses can now identify the presence of specific pathogens. Combined with traditional archaeological, osteological, and historical methods for analyzing the past, our ability to understand past human-environment interactions has entered a new sphere. The goal of this special issue is to explore the complex interactions between human health, the environment, and infectious disease, with major emphasis placed on the often catastrophic effects of climate change. We seek diverse examples throughout the ancient and premodern world where environmental events and long-term climatic shifts interacted with human biology (including development) and society within the critical space of built and cultural lifeways by way of infectious diseases such as malaria, cholera, bubonic plague, among others. A goal of the special issue will be to emphasize how past human-environment-disease interactions can inform modern responses to a changing climate and the emergence of infectious disease.

While a central focus of this special issue will be the emergence, spread, and effects of infectious disease in antiquity and its relationship to environmental and climate change, our scope is broad and we desire to hold space for experts outside of the field of archaeology, including epidemiologists, public health scientists, and environmental historians. The scope in terms of timescale is likewise broad; we are interested in research from any period, though an emphasis will be placed on the ancient and premodern world. Importantly, we are looking for authors who have taken an intersectional approach to their research. Specifically, we are looking for manuscripts that address:

Paleosyndemics

Paleoepidemiology

Bioculturalism


We are especially interested in papers that include diverse perspectives and address:

Identity, sex, and gender in the context of health and environment.

Indigenous perspectives on health, land use, and climate change.