A team of French, Swedish and Danish researchers identified a new strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague. The evolution of the plague was mapped through genetic data from ancient humans, and sequencing modern plague strains. Previous researchers suggested the invaders brought the plague with them, wiping out the large settlements of Stone Age farmers when they arrived. Professor Rasmussen explained: 'These mega-settlements were the largest settlements in Europe at that time, ten times bigger than anything else. Experts point out that rats were not that common in northern Europe, which was hit equally hard by plague as the rest of Europe, and that the plague spread faster than humans might have been exposed to their fleas.

Source: Daily Mail December 06, 2018 16:03 UTC