bioVIstories - Living and dying in a time of transition - biomolecular histories of the long 6th century

The 3rd to the 8th centuries are generally considered as a period of major transformation in Europe, characterized by the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the consolidation of the Byzantine Empire and the "barbarian migrations". In recent years, two particular crises of the 6th century CE - the Late Antique Little Ice Age, a period of climate cooling due to volcanic eruptions starting in 536 CE; and the Justinianic Plague in 541-544, the onset of the First Plague Pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis - became a focal point of interdisciplinary research. While some historians now tend to attribute 'lead agency' of the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages to such environmental factors, others have raised serious doubts, even calling the First Pandemic 'inconsequential'. Although both phenomena are now documented through climate proxies and ancient DNA, bioarchaeological research into the impact of those crises remains a central desideratum.The project will address this topic with a multi-methodological, interdisciplinary approach by combining ancient pathogen genomics and stable isotope analyses with anthropological and archaeological data to investigate diachronic trends regarding the living conditions and health of three selected populations over the long 6th century (450-650 CE). With a radically local and comparative approach studying three archaeological sites in depth, the project will break with previous attempts of global master narratives and will instead address differential patterns of exposition, vulnerability, and resilience of past populations to threats such as famines and epidemics. Investigating three Early Medieval burial sites, around 100 individuals per site will undergo metagenomic screening for detection of bacterial, viral and protozoan pathogens. If possible, full genomes of pathogens will be reconstructed and further investigated to elucidate the evolutionary history of the respective organisms. This will be complemented by d15N, d13C and d34S isotopic analyses and human DNA analyses, partly performed within the project, partly performed by collaboration partners, and combined with palaeopathological and demographic data of the respective populations. Archaeological data as well as radiocarbon dating will be used to establish or verify fine-scale intra-site chronologies. This comprehensive set of (bio)archaeological methods with offer unprecedented insights into Early Medieval populations. As research output, we will reconstruct biomolecular histories on multiple scales with a focus on the life and death of around six generations living through the 6th century CE, but also of individuals through molecular osteobiographies and of pathogens by reconstructing their microevolution.Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the project, we plan for publications both in scientific journals as well as specialized archaeological and historical journals, complemented by talks and posters on international conferences of the respective disciplines. This will allow us the reach broad audiences engaged in the research topic, including evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians. We will organize two workshops over the course of the project to facilitate exchange with experts in the field of early medieval bioarchaeology. Considering the parallels to the crises of our time - climate change and emerging infectious diseases - we will also seek engagement with the general public to publicize our research through a variety of formats, such as magazine/newspaper articles, public lectures or small exhibitions.