Scientists have found the oldest known evidence of plague-causing bacteria in the teeth of 18 ancient hunter-gatherers buried near Siberia’s Lake Baikal, according to a new study published Wednesday by the Associated Press.
The DNA traces date to about 5,500 years ago, approximately 200 years earlier than any previously documented plague evidence. Researchers examined remains from four cemeteries in the region, looking for remnants of the bacteria that causes the disease.
“To understand our own history, we believe that understanding the history of plague is extremely important,” said study co-author Eske Willerslev, an evolutionary geneticist with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
The plague has sickened humans for thousands of years. It wiped out a significant portion of Europe’s population during the 14th-century Black Death, one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. Although rare today, the disease can be treated with antibiotics.