New Discovery That Hunter-Gatherer Children Died of Plague More Than Five Millennia Ago Sets Back the Date of the Earliest Outbreak

Skeletal remains of nomadic families in Siberia harbor Yersinia pestis bacteria, pushing back the date of the earliest known plague outbreak by thousands of years. This discovery challenges existing theories about the conditions required for the disease to spread and evolve. It fundamentally alters our understanding of the history of pandemics and the resilience of ancient human populations against deadly pathogens.