In the world of archaeology, there is some exciting news! Recently, researchers discovered the first-known plague victim. The oldest strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacteria behind the Plague that caused the Black Death, was found in the remains of a 5,000 year old hunter gatherer.
As reported by the BBC, a man in his twenties who died over 5,000 years ago in Latvia was infected with the earliest-known strain of the disease. The man had been buried with three others at a Neolithic burial site in Latvia by the side of the River Salac. “He most likely was bitten by a rodent, got the primary infection of Yersinia pestis and died a couple of days [later] – maybe a week later – from the septic shock,” said Dr. Krause-Kyora.
In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Plague is a disease that affects humans and other mammals. The bacterium, Yersinia pestis, causes it. Humans typically contract the plague after being bitten by a rodent flea carrying the plague bacteria or handling an animal that has been infected.
The website further explains that Plague is infamous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Infections with the plague continue to occur in rural United States, but Africa and Asia have significantly more cases than the west.
In other related news, a 2000-year-old mummy with a golden tongue was discovered by archaeologists at an ancient Egyptian site called Taposiris Magna. It’s a city established by Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus between 280 and 270 BCE. The name refers to the “great tomb of Osiris”, which Plutarch identifies with an Egyptian temple in the city.