Science Daily
Plague was killing entire families thousands of years before the Black Death
2026-09-15
Ancient DNA analysis shows that Yersinia pestis infected hunter-gatherers in Siberia around 5,500 years ago, with strains carrying a genetic factor that could trigger severe immune responses. The discovery predates urban centers and flea-borne epidemics by millennia.
Why It Matters
It demonstrates that infectious disease was already shaping prehistoric human populations and possibly their movements long before the rise of agriculture or cities.
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