For long time readers who remember Kevin Drum’s fascination with lead in the environment and how it correlates with crime, he’s popped up with some more:
Got it? Good. The upshot is that the researchers could determine lead concentration levels in Europe down to the individual year. Here they are:
Source: AGU Publications
It turns out that lead has been poisoning Europe for at least 2,000 years, with one notable exception: the few years during and after the Black Death. Apparently the plague killed off all the lead miners, and for a period of a decade or two ambient lead levels plummeted to low levels. …
Here’s my theory: Lead levels plummeted from about 1350-1370, and children born during those years entered adulthood around 1370-1390. I propose that they were smarter and more focused than your average medieval scholar, and this extra IQ boost from the plague is the real origin of the Renaissance. Generation P gave it enough of a kickstart that it then kept going of its own accord even after lead concentrations returned to their previous levels.
Fun! We have a Renaissance because all the lead miners died!
