Le rat noir (Rattus rattus) en Europe antique et médiévale : les voies du commerce et l'expansion de la peste

This paper is based on a large and critical census of black rat bone discoveries in Europe (Audoin-Rouzeau et Vigne, 1994 ). The analysis of these data shows that the species was confined to the great commercial roads during the first millennium AD and that the population density strongly increased from the 11^th-13^th centuries AD, probably in response to urban growth. This gradual expansion contributes to an explanation of the different geographical impacts of the plague waves of the Early and of the Late Medieval periods.