Under the modern mortality pattern females die at all ages at a lower rate than males. However, this was not always the case. For much of the nineteenth century in the United States and parts of Europe it appears that females died at a higher rate with respect to at least one disease, pulmonary tuberculosis. The purpose of this research is to investigate this question in four towns of the Connecticut River Valley, Massachusetts. First, it is necessary to establish age- and sex-specific mortality rates in the four rural towns in the Connecticut River Valley during the latter half of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. Secondly, it is necessary to identify those cases in which tuberculosis was the main disease and cause of death. This research seeks to discuss and contribute to the topic of excess female mortality. The four Massachusetts towns of Greenfield, Deerfield, Shelburne, and Montague constitute my research sites. These towns are appropriate for the anthropological pursuit of historical epidemiology due first to the towns’ rural nature at a time when the majority of Americans lived in rural towns, not large urban cities where studies are often focused. Secondly, these towns are of interest because of the extensive data collection that has been conducted previously. Tuberculosis (TB) is an interesting and instructive disease to focus research on. TB has re-emerged in recent decades, and research on the disease may have applied implications and value. TB was the number one killer during the study period, and the nature of the disease is such that it is very sensitive to the social environment. The combination of a rural setting and tuberculosis may give insight into the etiology of a disease that shares a long yet uneven history with humans, and has both biological and cultural significance. Under the traditional mortality pattern females of particular age ranges have greater mortality rates than males. This research discovered that females exceeded males in mortality rates at ages ten to 19 and 30 to 39 and that TB was the root cause of greater female mortality. Interestingly, the sex-specific gap in TB mortality rates was much wider than the gap in overall mortality rates. Thus, while females were dying of one cause, evidence shows that males were dying of another, which may have offset male TB mortality rates.

Utilizando como fuente los libros de defunción del registro civil de Cartagena, se ha extraido una muestra aleatoria de 4040 registros (el 2'5% de todas las defunciones del período). De cada caso se han registrado los datos sociodemográficos (sexo, domicilio, edad, profesión...) que han sido puestos en relación con la causa de defunción. Para alcanzar este objetivo ha sido necesario elaborar un tesauro que permitiera una correcta ordenación y comprensión de las expresiones diagnósticas que informan sobre la causa de muerte. La tasa de mortalidad media fue del 27'5 por mil, con un alto peso de la mortalidad infantil (el 43% de las defunciones se dan en menores de 8 años), infecciosa (33'7%) y respiratoria (22'4%), si bien a lo largo del período se comprueba un desplazamiento hacia edades avanzadas y causas relacionadas con "senilidad" y accidentes vasculares; entre las causas específicas sobresale la tuberculosis (10% de las defunciones), y por su importancia relativa, el paludismo. Con el método de Louis Henry se comprueba una estacionalidad de máximos invernales y mínimos estivales. El método de Dupaquier ha permitido identificar 10 crisis de mortalidad, algunas ya documentadas con anterioridad, como la causada en 1918 y 1919 por la gripe, y en 1885 por el cólera. Esta última se prolonga con dos nuevas crisis en 1887 y 1888 Y viene precedida por una anterior en 1877; otras han sido identificadas y estudiadas en 1897, 1906, 1910 y 1928. / A random sample of 4,040 records (2.5% of all deaths in the period) was obtained from the Death Record at the Register Office in Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). Social and demographic data (sex, address, age, profession, etc) were obtained from each case and related to death cause. In order to reach this objective it was necessary to elaborate a thesaurus that allowed a correct arrangement and understanding of diagnosis terms informing on death cause. Rate of mortality was 27.5 by thousands, with a high percentage of children mortality (43% of deaths occurred below 8 years of age), infectious causes (33.7%) and respiratory diseases (22.4%). A displacement of mortality to middle aged and elderly and to causes related to senility and vascular illnesses was verified throughout the period. Tuberculosis (10% of deaths) and malaria excelled among specific causes of death. Louis Henry's method verifies the maximum rate of mortality in winter and the minimum in summer. The method of Dupaquier allowed us to identify 10 mortality crises, some previously documented -like those in 1918 and 119 by influenza and also in 1885 by cholera. The latter emerged with two new crises in 1887 and 1888, which was preceded by another in 1877. Finally, others have been identified and studied in 1897, 1906, 1910 and 1928.