Long Before The Plague Claimed The Lives Of People In The Middle Ages, It Ravaged Stone Age Farmers
Everyone knows about how the bubonic plague claimed the lives of nearly a third of the population of Europe during the Middle Ages.
It was the most devastating disease epidemic in the history of the world. However, long before the plague broke out in the 14th century, it ravaged Scandinavian populations during the Neolithic period.
Researchers from the Globe Institute, the University of Copenhagen, and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden analyzed DNA from the ancient bones and teeth of 108 individuals who died 5,000 years ago.
They found that the plague at that time may have caused the decline of the population toward the end of the Neolithic.
“The analyses show that 18 of these individuals, 17 percent, were infected with the plague when they died,” said Frederik Seersholm, the lead author of the study from the University of Copenhagen.
“Furthermore, our results suggest that the youngest plague strain we identify might have had epidemic potential.”
During the Neolithic, farming was developed. The agricultural revolution caused large groups of people to live in closer quarters, making it much easier for infectious diseases to spread.
As a result, the vast majority of the farming population in northwestern Europe and Scandinavia disappeared within a few centuries.
Most of the archaeological material that was analyzed came from graves in Sweden, but one was from a stone cist in Denmark.
Kerry Hargrove – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The researchers used a technique called “deep shotgun sequencing,” which allowed them to extract detailed information, even from ancient remains with extensive damage.
The discovery that 17 percent of the analyzed individuals were infected with the plague suggests that the plague was common in Scandinavia during the late Stone Age.
One family was traced over six generations, and the researchers observed at least three plague outbreaks in that time from different strains of plague.
The ancient waves of plague followed a familiar pattern. After the Black Death of 1347 to 1353, smaller periodic outbreaks occurred until the 17th century.
It is unclear how the disease spread during the Neolithic period, but experts do know that it was not through fleas like in the Middle Ages.
The ancient strains did not contain the mutation that allowed the disease to survive in the insect’s digestive tract.
Throughout the years, there have been many theories and much speculation over what triggered the decline of the Neolithic farming population. The new data has helped debunk some ideas that were heavily debated, such as war and climate change.
“In connection with the population decline at the end of the Neolithic, both war and outbreaks of infectious diseases, including plague, have been suggested,” Seersholm said.
“There have been several theories involving the plague, and one of them suggested that the plague could not cause an epidemic—but that assumption no longer holds.”
A lack of evidence of war and major climate change makes plague the leading cause.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:News
