Titre du document / Document title

Pharaonic Egypt and the origins of plague

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

PANAGIOTAKOPULU Eva ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, ROYAUME-UNI

Résumé / Abstract

Aim This paper examines the possibility that bubonic plague was a disease endemic in the wild rodent population of Egypt and East Africa. Location The study focuses on Egypt and the Nile Valley during the Pharaonic period. Methods This paper presents a hypothesis based on archaeoentomological, archaeozoological and biogeographical information on the insect and small mammal species involved in the spread of plague, as well as relevant information from early literary sources. Results The primary host for the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis is the Nile rat, Arvicanthis niloticus. Urbanization and the Nile floods brought into contact humans and the Nile rat and its ectoparasite, Xenopsylla cheopis, which was able to move to a newly introduced host the synanthropic Rattus rattus. The existence of large numbers of human fleas and squalid conditions from the Workmens' Village at Amarna, evidence for nile rats and black rats from Pharaonic sites and descriptions of an epidemic disease in the Amarna letters, the Hittitic archives and the Ebers papyrus with references to swelling buboes, present a new scenario for the origins of the disease. Main conclusions Most modern researchers have regarded the origins of bubonic plague as a disease of Central Asiatic rodents. Here, I examine the evidence for plague in Egypt, and suggest that the bacillus Yersinia pestis was primarily a disease of the Nile rat, Arvicanthis niloticus, which only achieved epidemic proportions when its vector, the tropical rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, was able to make the jump to a new host, the black or ship rat, Rattus rattus, introduced from India or indirectly via Mesopotamia during the Pharaonic period. Synanthropy and a high death rate in the new host lead to frequent transfer to human populations and stochastic waves of pandemics.

Revue / Journal Title

Journal of biogeography   ISSN 0305-0270   CODEN JBIODN 

Source / Source

2004, vol. 31, n^o2, pp. 269-275 [7 page(s) (article)] (1 p.1/2)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Blackwell, Oxford, ROYAUME-UNI  (1974) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Invertebrata ; Arthropoda ; Insecta ; Siphonaptera ; Xenopsyllidae ; Vertebrata ; Mammalia ; Rodentia ; Muridae ; Infection ; Bacteriosis ; Yersiniosis ; Africa ; Rattus rattus ; Xenopsylla cheopis ; Transmission from animal to man ; Disease ; Wild animal ; Bubonic plague ; Case history ; Egypt ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Invertebrata ; Arthropoda ; Insecta ; Siphonaptera ; Xenopsyllidae ; Vertebrata ; Mammalia ; Rodentia ; Muridae ; Infection ; Bactériose ; Yersiniose ; Afrique ; Arvicanthis niloticus ; Rattus rattus ; Xenopsylla cheopis ; Transmission animal homme ; Maladie ; Animal sauvage ; Peste bubonique ; Historique ; Egypte ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Invertebrata ; Arthropoda ; Insecta ; Siphonaptera ; Xenopsyllidae ; Vertebrata ; Mammalia ; Rodentia ; Muridae ; Infección ; Bacteriosis ; Yersiniosis ; Africa ; Rattus rattus ; Xenopsylla cheopis ; Transmisión animal hombre ; Enfermedad ; Animal salvaje ; Peste bubónica ; Estudio histórico ; Egipto ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 15698, 35400011696847.0070