Case 8 · Founder Lifetime · Health & society
The Black Death: What caused the Black Death, and what can we really know about it?
In the app: “The Great Mortality”
East Smithfield, London, England · 1346–1353
Why this question matters
The Black Death swept across Europe, Asia and North Africa in the mid-1300s. People at the time explained it with the ideas they had. Today scientists can read the disease's DNA from the teeth of people buried in plague cemeteries. The case asks what each kind of evidence can, and cannot, tell us.
The case briefing
People at the time blamed bad air. Modern scientists read DNA from teeth. Weigh a medieval account against a laboratory result.
The evidence
The exhibits in this case. Their full details open in the app.
- Made at the timec. 1348
Gabriele de' Mussi's account
- Made at the timeOpened 1348–49
The East Smithfield burial ground
- Scientific findingPublished 2011
Ancient DNA from teeth
- Written laterModern scholarship
Death-toll estimates
How the investigation works
After the briefing and exhibits, you complete three steps. Every answer is explained, and the verdict lists the sources.
- 1
Chronology
Put the events back in order, oldest first. BC and AD are handled correctly, and there is no year zero.
- 2
Source comparison
Two sources, several statements. Decide which source supports each one, or whether neither does.
- 3
Supported conclusions
Sort claims into supported, going beyond the evidence, or contradicted. Every answer explains why.
What is still unknown
Death-toll estimates and the main way it spread from person to person remain debated.
Sources
Case content last checked 2026-10-13. Not reviewed by an independent historian. Found an error? Tell us.
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