A historical discovery has been made about the Black Death epidemic, the deadliest epidemic in human history and known to have killed between 75 and 200 million people in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The origin of the epidemic, which has been on the radar of the scientific world for a long time, was discovered after a long struggle.
In a new study published in the journal Nature, scientists announced that the deadly epidemic, which reached its peak in Europe between 1347 and 1351, occurred in the region within the borders of present-day Kyrgyzstan. The discovery was made by re-examining tombs discovered in the area much earlier.
The DNA sample taken from the remains revealed the truth:
The stones in the tombs, which were first excavated in the 1880s, were re-examined in 2017 by scientists. In the research led by Phil Slavin from the University of Scotland, it was seen that the exact dates were written on 467 graves. These dates focused on only two years: 1338 and 1339.
It was learned that the remains of 30 people excavated from the said graves were taken to Russia before. The team was able to obtain special permission to sample DNA from the remains. DNA samples were taken from the teeth of 7 of the 30 residues, and the bacteria that caused the epidemic were found in three DNA samples. It was written on the tombstone of all three of these people that they died in 1338.
The epidemic, also known as the Black Plague, first descended from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean region in 1347 by commercial ships. The epidemic then spread to parts of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Scientists have been in a great debate about the source of the epidemic until now. While some researchers argue that the epidemic originated in China, some in India; while others saw the Caspian Sea as a source.
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