[Aztlan] New theory: Rats spread fatal illness

[Archaeology Institute]

Jules Siegel <jules at cafecancun.com> on Monday, January 08, 2007 at 1:28 PM -0800 wrote:
>"While the initial big die-offs are still blamed on the Conquistadors 
>who started arriving in 1519, even more virulent epidemics in 1545 and 
>1576 may have been caused by a native blood-hemorrhaging fever spread by 
>rats, Mexican researchers say."
>
>Why would people suddenly die in pandemic numbers from a native virus to 
>which they had been exposed for centuries? This is conveniently 
>explained away by its supposed origin in isolated communities. But did 
>such isolated really communities exist except to save the hypothesis? 
>One answer might be that their immune systems were compromised by lack 
>of food. No mention is made of widespread famine and malnutrition 
>following the collapse of the agricultural system caused by the earlier 
>plagues. Depression also suppresses the immune system. Consider also the 
>emotional effects of generalized cultural and social collapse combined 
>with whole populations being enslaved.

Dear Jules,

	One need not look to far to explore the planet for corralaries to the proposed scenario.  Bear in mind that the AIDS/HIV epidemic may well be the product of encroachment on the forests of Africa.  Europe, in turn, saw pandemics spread by rats and
the pests that prey on them.  Yaws, which is indigenous to both Eurasia and the Americas, had little effect on native peoples on each landmass so identified...but became pandemic in a little less than 50 years with the introduction of new strains of
Yaws to Europe...where it manifested itself in the form of Syphilis.  By the mid-16th century, the disease had spread through Asia, and soon to Japan...where the osteological evidence makes clear the massive toll taken on the peoples and cultures of
Japan.   On the other hand, Josephina Zoraida Vasquez makes clear the propensity for Mexico's elite, and particularly its governing class, to reinvent history to suit the aims of nationalistic fervor...whether conservative or liberal in origin.

Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu
Voice: 831-582-3760; Fax: 831-582-3566
http://archaeology.csumb.edu; http://archaeology.csumb.edu/wireless/


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