Plague emerged earlier than thought and hit hunter-gatherers hard
Researchers found plague DNA in 18 of 46 ancient remains, pointing to two outbreak phases and the earliest known lethal cases.
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News & Record
Winston-Salem JournalPlague traced to ancient Siberian graves
About 5,500 years ago, bands of hunter-gatherers inhabited the Lake Baikal region in Siberia, sustained by rich resources including prey such as elk, deer, moose, fish, seals and rodents called marmots. These people became victims of the earliest known plague…
Plague emerged earlier than thought and hit hunter-gatherers hard
Ancient DNA from 46 Lake Baikal hunter-gatherers revealed two early plague outbreak phases about 5,500 years ago, with Yersinia pestis detected in 18 individuals. The findings suggest these basal plague strains caused lethal, child-heavy outbreaks long before dense farming societies, cities, or classical flea-borne bubonic plague emerged.
The oldest evidence of the plague to date, dating back 5,500 years, has been discovered in human remains found in Siberian cemeteries around Lake Baikal. The research pushes back the first proven outbreak of the deadly infectious disease by about 200 years compared to previous timelines.
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