Living cheek by jowl: The pathoecology of medieval York

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Why is it important?

This paper uses a combination of sources to study the impact of living in a fast expanding mediaeval urban city on human health. Local pollution was considered a health hazard at the time and the authorities attempted to legislate against it and there is evidence that this may have had a positive effect on the local environment. However, palaeoparasitology showed evidence of faecal-borne parasties in pits, but there is a lack of evidence from graves to determine whether such parasites directly affected humans. Direct osteological evidence for the pollution and diseases known to be present could not be found, but advances in bioarchaeology will hopefully shed light on this in the future.