Stress et résilience : état sanitaire des enfants victimes de la peste de 1720 (Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône)

Abstract

Any population’s living conditions are influenced by social rules and difficulties experienced. This being so, our paper assesses the impact of a succession of crises on the living conditions of a sample (n=66) of immature skeletons of victims of the Marseille plague (Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône; 1720-1721), through observations of the presence of physiological stress markers (linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis of the cranial vault). The aim is to verify whether different age categories were similarly affected by the stresses they experienced, and to establish a link between the stresses and crises described in historical documents. The Provence region had experienced several crises before this plague epidemic, including extreme climatic events, famines and other epidemics. We observed that at least one stress marker is present in 69.7% of the individuals, with 59% presenting linear enamel hypoplasia, 50% presenting cribra orbitalia and 29% porotic hyperostosis of the cranial vault. We observed a link between the prevalence of stress markers and historically known crises, particularly in the 10 year-old (±30 months) and 15 year-old (±36 months) age groups. These skeletons reflect the poor living conditions that prevailed in Martigues shortly before the plague.

Keywords

• physiological stress markers
• bioarchaeology
• Marseille plague