Ancient DNA confirms Black Death was plague and challenges assumptions about urban spread
By
The Economist
Summary
The article discusses how ancient DNA analysis of Yersinia pestis from medieval plague victims is rewriting the history of plague outbreaks. It highlights that genetic evidence from a London cemetery confirmed the Black Death was indeed caused by plague, and that new research suggests dense cities were not necessary for plague outbreaks, challenging long-held assumptions about the disease's spread.
Source
Twitter / XAncient DNA confirms Black Death was plague and challenges assumptions about urban spreadeconomist.comKey quotes
· 2 pulledThis let them confirm what historians had long suspected but had never quite been able to prove: that the Black Death, which killed perhaps half of Europe's population between 1346 and 1353, was indeed an outbreak of plague.
Dense cities do not seem to have been necessary for outbreaks of the disease
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