AHRC-NSF MOU: Diet, Migration, and Health in the Context of Medieval Mortality Crises

Crisis mortality, a dramatic but temporary increase in mortality rate resulting from a single factor, is an important phenomenon in many populations. This project integrates paleodemographic and isotope analyses to examine temporal changes in diet and migration at the time of the 14th-century Black Death and the interactions among diet, migration, demography, health, sex, and socioeconomic status in the
context of the medieval mortality crises of famine and plague. This project will highlight the cultural and social aspects that affect crisis events and their outcomes. Clarifying how dietary resources were distributed in the medieval period will allow for an examination of the ways in which general resource availability in a population does not necessarily translate into widespread benefits in the face of socially-, economically-, or politically-prescribed patterns of access to those resources (Baro and Deubel, 2006; Wisner et al., 2004). This project will also contribute to an understanding of long-term changes in migration in the context of disaster and particularly the health consequences thereof. The results of this
project can aid predictions about what might happen in future demographic crises.

This research will contribute to public education. The results will be made freely available via the PI's website and the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR), used in public lectures, and reported via the Museum of London blog. Talks that DeWitte has given in the past (e.g., at Cleveland State University and the Wake Forest University Museum of Anthropology) drew large audiences from the general public. This
fall, she began participating in a continuing education course on epidemics through DavidsonLearns (Davidson, NC), and beginning summer 2017, she will co-teach an interdisciplinary extended education course on medieval health through Wake Forest University, NC. Thus she has opportunities to enhance public education about epidemic diseases and about the value of anthropological research in general. In the context of this project, DeWitte will develop a high school outreach program that will include talks in high school classes and "open lab" days at USC that will allow students to visit her labs and get a closer look at how she and her students study life in the past. The PI has contacted local high schools in South Carolina with predominantly non-White student populations, and her plans have been positively received by teachers in history and biology. Her program will increase high school students' knowledge of and interest in anthropology and research in general, and it has the potential to improve public perceptions of social science research and increase scientific competency in South Carolina (an EPSCoR state). This project will further the PI's ability to train students in bioarchaeological and paleodemographic methods, as funding from NSF will support graduate and undergraduate research assistants. Many of the undergraduate students who seek research opportunities with her at USC are members of underrepresented groups or are first generation college students, and she will further encourage participation of such students via presentations in USC Steps to STEM courses. Thus, the PI can actively recruit undergraduate research assistants from historically underrepresented groups and thereby promote diversity in anthropology and STEM. She will continue her current undergraduate mentoring activities, including supervision of data analysis, grant writing, and participation in professional conferences. Further, this project can benefit society by improving our understanding of and generating interest in risks during mortality crises. Clarifying the wider social and economic contexts of mortality crises contributes to the development of policies that can "reduce disasters and mitigate hazards" (Wisner et al., 2004: 4). The Black Death captures public attention, and this can be leveraged to produce positive change. The PI's previous research has generated considerable media interest and has been reported by, among others, the New York Times and NewScientist.com, and further work on the Black Death will likely similarly be broadcast widely to the public. The PI will actively pursue dissemination of this research by working with
science bloggers, posting findings on her website in language accessible to non-experts, and submitting publications to journals read by public health scholars and policy makers (e.g., Science Policy Forums and Journal of Public Health). By providing information about what happened at the time of the Black Death, this project can help motivate action in the face of crises in living populations. Such action might include not only increased spending on disease research, but also efforts to reduce disparities in access to food, medical care, and other resources that affect vulnerability to and mortality during crises.