Black Death had mysterious origins in the Middle Ages when it devastated the world, killing millions of people. Scientists have debated the source of the plague, but it was only now that they were able to identify its origins.
Historian Philip Slavin said that the findings of their study ended the 675-year-old mystery of the origins of the Black Death or bubonic plague.
What Happened During the Black Death?
The Black Death ravaged Europe between 1346 to 1353, killing up to 60% of the population on the continent, Middle East and Africa. It took a proportionately greater toll on life than any other epidemic or war during that time, Medical Xpress reported.
According to Britannica Encyclopedia, Black Death was believed to be caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Scientists who conducted modern genetic analysis found that the bacterium introduced during the Black Death is the ancestor of all the Y. pestis strain known to cause disease in humans.
That is why scientists believe that the origin of the modern epidemic comes from the bacterium in the Middle Ages. However, some scientific data shows that the bubonic plague may have been caused by a virus.
The consequences of the Black Death were too many, including the cessation of wars and a sudden slump in trade. Perhaps, the more lasting and serious consequence was the drastic reduction in land for cultivation because of the deaths of so many laborers that proved to be the ruin of many landowners.
Bubonic Plague Originated in Kyrgyzstan
Scientists from the University of Stirling, Max Planck Institute, and the University of Tubingen worked together on the new study. According to a news release, it was a breakthrough discovery that follows the painstaking research that brought archaeology, history, and paleogenetics together.
The combined efforts proved fruitful because they learned that the bubonic plague originally began in North Kyrgyzstan in the late 1330s. They noted that Black Death was one of human history's largest infectious disease catastrophes. However, the intense multidisciplinary studies in the past have not exactly pinpointed the geographic and chronologic origin of the bubonic plague.
They analyzed ancient DNA taken from the teeth of skeletons in burial sites in the Tian Shan region in Central Asia. They found traces of the plague bacterium Y. pestis. Dr. Slavin said that the findings confirmed the beginning of the second plague pandemic.
The team studied historic diaries of the original excavations of the burial sites to match individual skeletons to their headstones and carefully translated inscriptions written in Syriac language.
Study first author Dr. Maria Spyrou added that they successfully sequenced the ancient DNA taken from seven individuals unearthed from two of those cemeteries, Kara-Djigach and Burana in the Chu Valley, despite the risk of environmental contamination and zero guarantees of the bacterium being preserved after hundreds of years.
Professor Johannes Krause also added that Black Death was an emerging disease that started the 500-year pandemic, like COVID-19. He pointed out that it is important to understand the circumstances it emerged for the future.
They described their findings in full in the study titled "The source of the Black Death in 14th-century central Eurasia," published in the journal Nature.
Read also: Black Death Patient Zero Allegedly Found: 5,000-Year-Old Remains May Help Study Bubonic Plague
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