Plague and the End of Antiquity Using twelve essays to form a volume, Plague and the End of Antiquity attempts to address the Justinianic Plague that ravaged the entire globe from c. 540-750. History, archaeology, epidemiology, and molecular biology are combined to “produce a comprehensive account of the pandemic’s origins, spread, and mortality, as well as its economic, social, political, and religious effects.” Because of the sheer magnitude and scope of the Justinianic Plauge, the editor of Plague and the End of Antiquity, Lester K. Little, claims that the time has not yet come for a single author to undertake such a colossal narrative of the pandemic that spanned centuries. Instead, The Plague and the End of Antiquity gives readers twelve different essays on the
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For instance, at no other place in the book is work ethic mentioned than in Little’s quote in the preface. As for future research hopes of the Justinianic Plague pandemic, the path is bright. Taken in tandem with the literary sources, archaeology will continue to yield findings and important information. But, however helpful archaeology may be, it cannot tell us other vital facts such as the progress of epidemic disease in any period. The effects on the countryside remain certain but unquantifiable. The archaeological evidence is too imprecise to be interpreted
For instance, at no other place in the book is work ethic mentioned than in Little’s quote in the preface. As for future research hopes of the Justinianic Plague pandemic, the path is bright. Taken in tandem with the literary sources, archaeology will continue to yield findings and important information. But, however helpful archaeology may be, it cannot tell us other vital facts such as the progress of epidemic disease in any period. The effects on the countryside remain certain but unquantifiable. The archaeological evidence is too imprecise to be interpreted