Conceptualizing histories of multispecies entanglements: Ancient pathogen genomics and the case of Borrelia recurrentis

IF 1.6 2区 历史学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY
Venla Oikkonen
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article explores the conceptual and cultural implications of using pathogen ancient DNA (aDNA) collected in archaeological contexts to understand the past. More specifically, it examines ancient pathogen genomics as a way of conceptualizing multispecies entanglements. The analysis focuses on the 2018 sequencing of Borrelia recurrentis bacteria retrieved from a medieval graveyard in Oslo, Norway. B. recurrentis is associated with louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF), known to have killed several million people in Europe during the past millennium, and it is still encountered in parts of East Africa. The article demonstrates that while aDNA research often foregrounds multispecies entanglements, its epistemic tools cannot easily address the ontological blurriness of pathogens and their embeddedness in vibrant material processes. The article draws on feminist posthumanities work on microbes and materiality to highlight conceptual openings that a theorization of ancient pathogens could engender.
多物种纠缠史的概念化:古代病原体基因组学和复发性疏螺旋体病例
本文探讨了利用在考古背景下收集的病原体古代DNA (aDNA)来理解过去的概念和文化含义。更具体地说,它检查古代病原体基因组学作为概念化多物种纠缠的一种方式。该分析的重点是2018年从挪威奥斯陆的一个中世纪墓地中提取的复发性疏螺旋体细菌的测序。乙型复发热与虱子传播的回归热(LBRF)有关,在过去一千年中,已知在欧洲造成数百万人死亡,并且在东非部分地区仍然存在。文章表明,虽然aDNA研究经常强调多物种纠缠,但其认知工具无法轻松解决病原体的本体论模糊性及其在充满活力的物质过程中的嵌入性。这篇文章借鉴了女权主义后人类研究微生物和物质性的工作,以强调古代病原体理论化可能产生的概念上的开放。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.10
自引率
8.30%
发文量
9
期刊介绍: The Journal of Social Archaeology is a fully peer reviewed international journal that promotes interdisciplinary research focused on social approaches in archaeology, opening up new debates and areas of exploration. It engages with and contributes to theoretical developments from other related disciplines such as feminism, queer theory, postcolonialism, social geography, literary theory, politics, anthropology, cognitive studies and behavioural science. It is explicitly global in outlook with temporal parameters from prehistory to recent periods. As well as promoting innovative social interpretations of the past, it also encourages an exploration of contemporary politics and heritage issues.
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