Two studies provide new insights into one of the most consequential episodes in human history. Genomic evidence links Y. pestis to the plague of Justinian, marking the begining of the First Pandemic (AD 541-750) in the ancient city of Jerash, Jordan. Genomic evidence also shows Y. pestis was circulating in human populations for millennia even before the Justinian outbreak
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The dawn of animal domestication 6,500 years ago unleashed a hidden epidemic crisis across Eurasia, with zoonotic diseases becoming more widespread about 5,000 years ago. Analysis of DNA from the teeth and bones of 1,313 ancient humans spanning 37,000 years unravelled the first direct genomic evidence that close contact with livestock dramatically increased humanity’s burden of infectious diseases
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The two studies confirm that enamel — a highly mineralised and durable tissue that serves as an extraordinary molecular archive — is capable of preserving endogenous peptides far beyond the temporal limits of ancient DNA, which typically degrades within a million years
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For the first time, researchers have sequenced the whole ancient Egyptian genome from an individual who lived 4,500 to 4,800 years ago — the oldest DNA sample from Egypt to date. The body belongs to an adult male — 157.4-160.5 cm tall, and 44-64 years old — who died during Egypt’s Old Kingdom
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In less than 10 years after the human genome from a living individual was first sequenced, scientists have successfully sequenced
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For the first time ever the genome of an ancient human has been studied. The about 4,000-year-old sample studied was
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