Hidden information within mummie and other burials: Paleo-entomology of insect-vectors for investigating past epidemics

In recent years there was a new, strong interest for the cemeteries of ancient epidemics and new archaeological and molecular methods of looking at this question were adopted, and many mass and multiple burials were explored. We can mention in England the accurate excavations of the Black Death cemetery (1349), at East Smithfield in London, with 560 individuals, in France the Observance convent (1720-1722), at Marseille, with 179 individuals, the trenches of the Capucins of Ferrières in Martigues, at Bouches-du-Rhône, with 33 individuals of same period, the cemetery of hospital of Fédons (1590), at Lambesc, with 133 individuals, and other important sites. In Italy we have the recent discoveries of the large plague cemetery of Saint Michael at Alghero (1582-1583) in Sardinia, with 198 individuals, and the plague or epidemic fever of Lucca in Tuscany (first half of 17th century), with 80 individuals. At present It is extensively clarified from molecular studies that the plague epidemics were caused by different strains of Yersinia pestis. Regarding the insect-vectors, only the genus Pediculus was intensively studied so far, but a great research work remains still to do about the insects involved not only in the plague pandemics but also in epidemic typhus and in some diffuse endemic infections, as for example malaria and Chagas’ disease. In conclusion, the integration of bioarcheology with paleo-microbiology and paleo-entomology will offer a potent tool for understanding the epidemiology of epidemics, eventual effects of other diseases on the emergence of plague and human-pathogen and insect-vector coevolution, addressing questions of great interest for different researchers, as historians, physical anthropologists and geneticists.