Plague
Ancient sheep DNA offers new clues to how a Bronze Age plague spread across Eurasia
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Researchers analyzing ancient DNA say they have detected the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis in the remains of a domesticated sheep from Arkaim, a Bronze Age settlement in the southern Ural region of present-day Russia. The team reports this is the first known identification of a Bronze Age plague lineage in a nonhuman host from that period, a finding that could help explain how an early, pre-flea-adapted form of plague traveled widely across Eurasia.
A study links a volcanic eruption around 1345 to climate disruptions that prompted Italy to import plague-carrying grain from the Black Sea region in 1347. This emergency measure, aimed at averting famine, likely introduced the bacterium Yersinia pestis to Europe, fueling the Black Death pandemic. Researchers analyzed tree rings, ice cores, and historical records to support this connection.
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Historians have uncovered how a fictional 14th-century Arabic poem by Ibn al-Wardi shaped centuries of myths about the Black Death's rapid spread across Asia. Mistaken for a factual account, the work influenced even modern scientific theories on the plague's path. A new study reveals its literary origins and cultural significance.