Epidemic mortality crises of the past : bioarchaeological approach

International audienceSome funerary sites contain structures where a great number of individuals have been inhumed simultaneously. These deaths are not compatible with natural mortality and must be related to a particular event which may be understood by the use of different analytical tools. It must first be shown that the deposits are truly simultaneous. Afterwards, the biological characteristics of those inhumed must be taken into account. Are there any specific lesions on the bones which indicate the nature of the mortality crisis? What are the age and sex distributions of the individuals concerned? How much does this tell us about the crisis affecting a population? Several sites, from various chronological periods, have now benefitted from analyses which authorise some extent of interpretation, particularly where the crises are due to an epidemic (Castex and Cartron 2007