Jump to content

DNA analysis reveals source of Black Death


Coss
 Share

Recommended Posts

Tombstones in what's now Kyrgyzstan have revealed tantalizing details about the origins of the Black Death, the world's most devastating plague outbreak that is estimated to have killed half of Europe's population in the space of seven years during the Middle Ages. 

The source of that pandemic has been debated by historians for centuries, but the inscribed tombstones -- some of which referred to a mysterious pestilence -- and genetic material from bodies exhumed from two grave sites that date back to the 13th century have provided some concrete answers to this long-standing question. 

Researchers first excavated the burial sites in the 1880s. The tombstone inscriptions, written in the Syriac language, were painstakingly reexamined in 2017 by historian Phil Slavin, an associate professor at the University of Stirling in Scotland. He noticed that of the 467 burials that were precisely dated, a disproportionate number -- 118 -- were from just two years: 1338 and 1339. It's a revelation he described as "astonishing." ........

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/15/health/black-death-plague-source-identified-scn/index.html

 

I'm intrigued by a stone that bears a likeness of a Maltese Cross, from the 1300s

 

220615082151-02-black-death-plague-origi

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But the article does not reveal the source, only the date

Source. … a place, person, or thing from which something comes or can be obtained

This is akin to stating the source of Covid, which has many proposed sources such as wet markets or Lab produced, as 2019

Americans just don’t get English.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...