Chapter Two

“They Are Monsters Not Men”

What are the limitations of Y. pestis or the Black Plague? Why do people think it may have

protected people during the plague? Page 36

Answer: The plague was not able to survive on the surfaces of things such

as tables and chairs. It was picky with its temperatures too, the plague could only be kept alive in a temperature of 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Certain animals such as Bears, Skunks and Coyotes.

What are the limitations of Y. pestis or the Black Plague? Who was resistant to the plague? Page

36

What made the Tarabagan such a unique spreader of the plague? And how did the Tarabagan spread

the plauge? Page 33-34.

Answer:Unlike the other animals and insects that spread the bubonic

plague, the Tarabagan spread the pneumonic plague, which was much deadlier than the bubonic plague. The pneumonic was spread from humans to humans, such as when a person infected with the plague coughs on one without the plague. people hunted the Tarabagan for its fur which usually carried a few fleas, some of them carrying the plague. When the furs were shipped the buyer would receive the plague, as long as the fur still carried it.

What made the Tarabagan such a unique spreader of the plague? And how did the Tarabagan spread

the plauge? Page 33-34.

What specific allele allowed some people to have a certain amount of immunity toward the plague? Why do some people

think this?

Answer:The allele CCR5-∆32 may have given people a certain amount of

immunity towards the plague. People think this because it provides some immunity towards HIV. But some people think that after being around the plague for a while also helped you resist the plague.

What specific allele allowed some people to have a certain amount of immunity toward the plague? Why do some people

think this?

How did y. pestis get its name?

Answer:Yersina Pestis got its name from a young Swiss scientist. The

scientists mane was Alexandre Yersin. Yersin was the very first person to describe the plagues pathogen accurately.

How did y. pestis get its name?

“The Day Before the Day of the Dead”

Chapter Three

What did the hard rains of the early 1300’s bring?

Answer:The rains of the early 1300’s brought many things. One of them

was the decrease in crops. After the rain the land was practically torn apart. Cheap grains rose to the price of half a years salary. Beggars and rich both died of hunger, and many houses were abandoned.

What did the hard rains of the early 1300’s bring?

What three factors helped the Black Death along?

Answer:The three factors that helped the Black Death were war, bad

sanitation and famine. War uprooted the populations and left many helpless. Famines left many in unhealthy positions. And the awful sanitation made the people more liable to catch the plague.

What three factors helped the Black Death along?

What made the black rat such a adequate spreader of plague?

Answer:The black rat quite a well suited animal to spread the plague. It

could jump almost ten times its height, fall from 50 feet and land with no injuries, and yet is half the size of the Norwegian brown rat. They also have amazing reproduction powers and can go from two rats then to 300,000,000 rats in three years. They can fit thought small spaces, climb flat walls and chew through concrete. They also make good hosts for tiny plague bearing fleas.

What made the black rat such a adequate spreader of plague?

What environments increased rat population?

Answer: Certain situations in medieval life increased the rat population.

One of them was if the family had pets. If the family had pets there was usually at least one more rat in the house. In granaries the rat numbers were also increased.

What environments increased rat population?