Placeholder while article actions loadBERLIN — Scientists in Europe say they have pinpointed the origins of the Black Death, a bacterial plague that wiped out half of the continent’s population in the 14th century. Sharon DeWitte, a biological anthropologist at the University of South Carolina who was not involved in the study, said it was exciting to have the DNA evidence to back up the previous theory that the disease emerged in Central Asia. Advertisement“This study is important because the very precisely dated burials allow for a direct study of the strain as it existed at the time of the initial emergence of the Black Death,” she said. While the authors acknowledge it is theoretically possible for the bacterium to have originated elsewhere and spread to Central Asia without changing significantly, the evidence suggested this was unlikely, DeWitte said. GiftOutline Gift Article

Source: The North Africa Journal June 15, 2022 23:25 UTC