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SUMMARY:A Glimpse into the lives of 'Leprosy' and Hansens disease sufferer
 s through time - Alette Blom\, University of Cambridge
DTSTART:20220513T123500Z
DTEND:20220513T130000Z
UID:TALK174338@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ruairidh Macleod
DESCRIPTION:Hansen’s Disease (HD) - colloquially known as leprosy - is o
 ne of the most culturally-laden diseases in human history\, largely attrib
 utable to dramatic and debilitating physical lesions. Although we now know
  that the change and severity of infection depend upon immune system profi
 ciency\, ‘leprosy’\, and those inflicted with it\, have frequently bee
 n the subject of negative generalizations resulting from the conflation of
  HD with ‘Biblical leprosy’. Recent historic research has however show
 n this odium towards ‘lepers’ may be more severe today than it was in 
 the past\, and has demonstrated that the lives of ‘lepers’ were much m
 ore varied than initially thought. The lives of those diagnosed with the c
 ondition may have unravelled differently after diagnosis based on status\,
  gender\, age\, location at the time of diagnosis\, severity of lesions\, 
 and more significantly\, personal choice.\nIn order to explore this variat
 ion in the lived-experience of those with HD/leprosy\, my project chronolo
 gically sequences the information gleaned from the analysis of the archaeo
 logical human remains themselves\, combined with a study of their burial a
 nd environmental context\, historic records\, skeletal palaeopathology\, d
 ietary isotopes of early versus late life (to reconstruct dietary change)\
 , and human and pathogen DNA. This talk provides a glimpse into the data t
 hus far gathered for my project.
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research\, D
 owning Site
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