Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity
Lead pollution in Arctic ice reflects midlatitude emissions from ancient lead–silver mining and smelting. The few reported measurements have been extrapolated to infer the performance of ancient economies, including comparisons of economic productivity and growth during the Roman Republican and Impe...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/lead-pollution-recorded-in-greenland-ice-indicates-european-emissions-tracked-plagues-wars-and-imperial-expansion-during-antiquity(c1401e80-c8a9-4ea5-82ab-f0293474a8c3).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047983364&partnerID=8YFLogxK https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5984509/pdf/pnas.201721818.pdf |
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ftcopenhagenunip:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/c1401e80-c8a9-4ea5-82ab-f0293474a8c3 2024-05-12T08:00:11+00:00 Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity McConnell, Joseph R. Wilson, Andrew I. Stohl, Andreas Arienzo, Monica M. Chellman, Nathan J. Eckhardt, Sabine Thompson, Elisabeth M. Pollard, A. Mark Steffensen, Jørgen Peder 2018-05-29 https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/lead-pollution-recorded-in-greenland-ice-indicates-european-emissions-tracked-plagues-wars-and-imperial-expansion-during-antiquity(c1401e80-c8a9-4ea5-82ab-f0293474a8c3).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047983364&partnerID=8YFLogxK https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5984509/pdf/pnas.201721818.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess McConnell , J R , Wilson , A I , Stohl , A , Arienzo , M M , Chellman , N J , Eckhardt , S , Thompson , E M , Pollard , A M & Steffensen , J P 2018 , ' Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity ' , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) , vol. 115 , no. 22 , pp. 5726-5731 . https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 Antiquity Ice core lead pollution Plague War article 2018 ftcopenhagenunip https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 2024-04-18T00:28:16Z Lead pollution in Arctic ice reflects midlatitude emissions from ancient lead–silver mining and smelting. The few reported measurements have been extrapolated to infer the performance of ancient economies, including comparisons of economic productivity and growth during the Roman Republican and Imperial periods. These studies were based on sparse sampling and inaccurate dating, limiting understanding of trends and specific linkages. Here we show, using a precisely dated record of estimated lead emissions between 1100 BCE and 800 CE derived from subannually resolved measurements in Greenland ice and detailed atmospheric transport modeling, that annual European lead emissions closely varied with historical events, including imperial expansion, wars, and major plagues. Emissions rose coeval with Phoenician expansion, accelerated during expanded Carthaginian and Roman mining primarily in the Iberian Peninsula, and reached a maximum under the Roman Empire. Emissions fluctuated synchronously with wars and political instability particularly during the Roman Republic, and plunged coincident with two major plagues in the second and third centuries, remaining low for >500 years. Bullion in silver coinage declined in parallel, reflecting the importance of lead–silver mining in ancient economies. Our results indicate sustained economic growth during the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, terminated by the second-century Antonine plague. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greenland ice core University of Copenhagen: Research Arctic Greenland Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 22 5726 5731 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Copenhagen: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftcopenhagenunip |
language |
English |
topic |
Antiquity Ice core lead pollution Plague War |
spellingShingle |
Antiquity Ice core lead pollution Plague War McConnell, Joseph R. Wilson, Andrew I. Stohl, Andreas Arienzo, Monica M. Chellman, Nathan J. Eckhardt, Sabine Thompson, Elisabeth M. Pollard, A. Mark Steffensen, Jørgen Peder Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
topic_facet |
Antiquity Ice core lead pollution Plague War |
description |
Lead pollution in Arctic ice reflects midlatitude emissions from ancient lead–silver mining and smelting. The few reported measurements have been extrapolated to infer the performance of ancient economies, including comparisons of economic productivity and growth during the Roman Republican and Imperial periods. These studies were based on sparse sampling and inaccurate dating, limiting understanding of trends and specific linkages. Here we show, using a precisely dated record of estimated lead emissions between 1100 BCE and 800 CE derived from subannually resolved measurements in Greenland ice and detailed atmospheric transport modeling, that annual European lead emissions closely varied with historical events, including imperial expansion, wars, and major plagues. Emissions rose coeval with Phoenician expansion, accelerated during expanded Carthaginian and Roman mining primarily in the Iberian Peninsula, and reached a maximum under the Roman Empire. Emissions fluctuated synchronously with wars and political instability particularly during the Roman Republic, and plunged coincident with two major plagues in the second and third centuries, remaining low for >500 years. Bullion in silver coinage declined in parallel, reflecting the importance of lead–silver mining in ancient economies. Our results indicate sustained economic growth during the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, terminated by the second-century Antonine plague. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McConnell, Joseph R. Wilson, Andrew I. Stohl, Andreas Arienzo, Monica M. Chellman, Nathan J. Eckhardt, Sabine Thompson, Elisabeth M. Pollard, A. Mark Steffensen, Jørgen Peder |
author_facet |
McConnell, Joseph R. Wilson, Andrew I. Stohl, Andreas Arienzo, Monica M. Chellman, Nathan J. Eckhardt, Sabine Thompson, Elisabeth M. Pollard, A. Mark Steffensen, Jørgen Peder |
author_sort |
McConnell, Joseph R. |
title |
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
title_short |
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
title_full |
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
title_fullStr |
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
title_sort |
lead pollution recorded in greenland ice indicates european emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/lead-pollution-recorded-in-greenland-ice-indicates-european-emissions-tracked-plagues-wars-and-imperial-expansion-during-antiquity(c1401e80-c8a9-4ea5-82ab-f0293474a8c3).html https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047983364&partnerID=8YFLogxK https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5984509/pdf/pnas.201721818.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland ice core |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland ice core |
op_source |
McConnell , J R , Wilson , A I , Stohl , A , Arienzo , M M , Chellman , N J , Eckhardt , S , Thompson , E M , Pollard , A M & Steffensen , J P 2018 , ' Lead pollution recorded in Greenland ice indicates European emissions tracked plagues, wars, and imperial expansion during antiquity ' , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) , vol. 115 , no. 22 , pp. 5726-5731 . https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721818115 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
container_volume |
115 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
5726 |
op_container_end_page |
5731 |
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1798841946993590272 |