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By combining historical demography and epidemiology, we can (sort of) determine how people throughout history have died.
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Comorbidity: the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
- Schistosomiasis: a disease caused by liver flukes that has affected humans for more than 100,000 years.
- Meta-analysis: an examination of data from a number of independent studies of the same subject, in order to determine overall trends.
- Prehistory: the period between when modern humans first appeared and the dawn of agriculture.
- Columbian exchange: the process by which plants, animals, diseases, people, and ideas were introduced from Europe, Asia, and Africa to North and South America and vice versa.
- Zoonosis: a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals.
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CREDITS
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David Goldenberg | Script Writer & Narrator
Lizah van der Aart | Illustration
Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Illustration
Ever Salazar | Video Editor & Director
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
OUR STAFF
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Lizah van der Aart • Sarah Berman • Cameron Duke
Arcadi Garcia i Rius • David Goldenberg • Melissa Hayes
Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich
Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida
OUR LINKS
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REFERENCES
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Boyle, P. (2021). How are COVID-19 deaths counted? It’s complicated. AAMC News.
Webb J., Jr (2020). Historical epidemiology and global health history. Historia, ciencias, saude--Manguinhos, 27(suppl 1), 13–28.
Webb, J. (2022). On Writing the History of Human Infectious Disease. Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 53(2): 319-327.
Webb, J. (2022). Personal Communication. Department of History, Colby College:
Stearns, P. (2021). The Routledge History of Death Since 1800.
Roser, M. (2022). Longtermism: The future is vast – what does this mean for our own life?. Our World in Data.
Kandea, T. and Haub, C. (2022) How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth? Population Reference Bureau.
Wolfe ND, Dunavan CP, Diamond J. Origins of major human infectious diseases. Nature. 2007 May 17;447(7142):279-83. Retrieved from:
Historical Violence Database. Part of the OSU Criminal Justice Research Center:
Roser, M. (2013). Ethnographic and archaeological evidence on violent deaths. Our World in Data. Retrieved from:
Roser, M. and Ritchie, H. (2013). “Maternal Mortality“. Our World in Data. Retrieved from:
Institute of Medicine (2004). Saving Lives, Buying Time: Economics of Malaria Drugs in an Age of Resistance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Carter, R. & Mendis, K. (2002). Evolutionary and Historical Aspects of The Burden of Malaria. Clinical microbiology reviews. 15. 564-94.
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