Death in a Time of Transition: A Spatial Analysis of Mortality in Fenner, NY from 1850-1880

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Historical and anthropological demography has long focused on the spread of infectious disease in urban spaces across time. However, few studies have examined disease in rural contexts over time. Using census records, township maps, and archaeological data to map locations and causes of death in GIS, this project examines mortality from chronic and infectious disease in Fenner, New York from 1850-1880. This project aims to address the following questions: What is the epidemiological landscape of rural New York during the mid to late 1800s? Is it consistent or does it change over time? Is there spatial patterning of disease across time or during specific census years? We find differential mortality patterning in this rural farm community when compared to nearby urban sites from the same period. Rather than widespread mortality crises from infectious disease, small localized mortality clusters are present within one or two households. We also find no temporal patterning in disease prevalence in any given census year, with the exception of tuberculosis, which decreased in prevalence over time. This project provides new insights into the mortality landscapes of rural spaces during the Second Epidemiological Transition.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39489.0