Scientists Found an Ancient Disease That Claimed the Lives of Over 50 Million People — in the DNA of an Egyptian Mummy

One of the worst catastrophes recorded in our history is the ancient disease that claimed the lives of over 50 million people, the bubonic plague, an event known as the black death. Recently, scientists have found traces of this plague in an Egyptian mummy’s DNA, whose age precedes the existence of the black death by over a millennium.

A Shocking Discovery in Turin

In the remains of a 3,290-year-old Egyptian mummy housed at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, scientists have found traces of the Yersinia pestis bacterium. It is the pathogen responsible for the bubonic plague that took the lives of over 50 million people in Eurasia, nearly 700 years ago.

This was the earliest finding of the plague outside of Eurasia, and since the Mummy was a lot older than when the black death happened, this discovery has changed previous beliefs about the beginnings of the plague.

The mummy dates back to the rise of the New Kingdom in Egypt or the Second Intermediate Period. The confirmed case of the bubonic plague in the mummy’s body was most likely the reason for its death. It was also observed that the DNA evidence of the disease was in the bone tissue and intestinal organs, which means that the stage of the spread of the disease in the body at the time of mummification was already advanced.

Read more: IFL Science

Rewriting the History of the Black Death

Bubonic Plague DNA Found in Ancient Egyptian Mummies

Traditionally, it was believed that the black death occurred in the 14th century, as the pandemic that decimated Europe’s population. However, the discovery of the pathogen responsible for this disease in a 3,290-year-old mummy is changing that belief.

It also highlights that the ancient disease was not just in Europe, but also present in North Africa over 3,000 years ago, which challenges the long-held beliefs of its origins. It is logical to assume that if it was first observed in that location, longer than when the pandemic happened, then there is a big chance that it could be the geological origin.

There are also some historical texts from 3,500 years ago that describe some symptoms associated with the bubonic plague, however, this was the first confirmed case, and DNA evidence in ancient Egypt.

The Role of Rats and Fleas

Scientists and historians think that the spread of the plague is attributed to rats and fleas. They attributed the disease to be carried by rodents, and then the fleas are the ones who transmit it to human beings. With this discovery, it is hypothesized that the Nile rats were also carriers of the pathogen.

The trade routes from North Africa to Europe are most likely how the disease travelled. Its exact origin is unknown, but the logic states that it could have happened in this way. The rats carried the pathogens, and in the trade routes, the fleas infected the humans, and as they carried out their trades as usual, the ancient disease traveled with them. This would explain how it took thousands of years before the disease arrived to decimate Europe.

Implications for Modern Science and History

The identification of the Y. pestis pathogen in a remnant of a person far away from where the black death happened, both in time and location, supports the theories that our ancient civilization, even back then, was interconnected.

The disease most likely could not travel just by rats and fleas going from one continent to another. Which means that it most likely happened due to international trade and migration of people.

This discovery not only highlights the importance of continuing to understand our past, but also in the field of paleogenomics, which is about the study of ancient DNA, combining science and history.

Read more: The Sun

Mummy Forensics: Investigating The Truth Behind Ancient Egypt's Undocumented Mummies

Author's Final Thoughts

The detection of the Black Death bacterium in a 3,290-year-old Egyptian mummy challenges existing narratives and hypotheses, but it does not mean that the discovery tells us the actual origins. There might have been some other clues out there that can tell us more about this disease. So, we should not stop looking, not only to visit the past, but to prevent it from happening in the present and the future.

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