Stone age farming population decimated by the plague

When we think of the plague, our minds often leap to the ‘Black Death’ that decimated a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. However, emerging insights paint a different story of another plague from the Stone Age.

The plague, it seems, may have been a dark player in an even earlier history, one carved in the stones and DNA of the Neolithic Age.

Historically, it was believed that the plague had its cruel debut in the Middle Ages.

A fresh wave of research, however, suggests that it had already made its horrific entrance in Scandinavia thousands of years before the ‘Black Death.’

Far from being a harmless passerby, it might have unleashed its own silent epidemic.

Plague DNA found in Stone Age skull

In a groundbreaking collaboration between the University of Copenhagen and the University of Gothenburg, researchers honed in on the DNA preserved in the teeth and bones of 108 individuals, having met their end some 5000 years ago.

Fascinatingly, 18 of these individuals, or 17%, were found to carry the plague’s deadly signature at their time of death.

Even more stirring, the evidence suggests that the plague strain they carried had epidemic potential.

This raises a crucial question: could the plague have been an underlying factor in the Neolithic decline, a period of severe population decrease that swept over Scandinavia and Northwestern Europe over several centuries 5000 years ago?

While certainly intriguing, this remains a hypothesis. “We cannot – yet – prove that this was exactly how it happened. But the fact that we can now show that it could have happened this way is significant,” says Frederik Seersholm, the postdoc who led the DNA analysis.

Archaeology meets genetics

The archaeological material serving as a window into the past predominantly originates from passage graves in Sweden, with one individual hailing from a stone cist in Stevns, Denmark.

Cutting-edge deep shotgun sequencing, a technique capable of extracting intricate details from heavily damaged or degraded DNA, acted as the researchers’ time machine stepping back into the Neolithic Age.

Through this, they were able to conduct a comprehensive mapping of plague lineages and gain detailed insights into other microbes in the DNA data.

Simultaneously, they got an up-close look at the human DNA – from a broad perspective, right down to the individual level.

“The analyses provided a picture of the social organization that existed back then,” says Associate Professor Martin Sikora from the Globe Institute, also behind the study.

Truth behind Stone Age plague DNA

The fact that 17% of the individuals whose DNA was analyzed had the plague implies that Scandinavia might have been in the tight grip of this deadly disease during the late Stone Age.

In one family, for instance, they observed at least three plague outbreaks over the six generations they were able to map.

This new DNA data provide a compelling challenge to previous theories suggesting that the population plunge at the end of the Neolithic Age could not have been triggered by the plague.

“There have been several theories involving the plague, and one of them suggested that the plague could not have caused an epidemic – but that assumption no longer holds,” states Frederik Seersholm.

As we decode the past with new scientific tools, it appears that the ruthless specter of the plague may have haunted humanity longer and more pervasively than we previously thought.

Plague’s widespread impact in history

The discovery of plague’s presence in Neolithic Scandinavia opens the door to a broader understanding of its potential impact on other ancient civilizations.

This revelation prompts historians and scientists alike to consider whether plague-induced declines may have occurred in other parts of the world during prehistory.

Evidence suggests that ancient trade routes, which facilitated the movement of goods and people, may have also played a crucial role in the spread of infectious diseases.

By examining skeletal remains and genetic material from various archaeological sites across Europe, Asia, and Africa, researchers can piece together a more comprehensive history of plague outbreaks and their effects.

As we continue to uncover the secrets of our past, it becomes increasingly clear that the story of human civilization is intricately linked with the history of disease.

By investigating these ancient epidemics, we not only honor the lives lost but also equip ourselves with knowledge to combat future pandemics.

The full study was published in the journal Nature.

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