{"id":61636,"date":"2026-10-09T10:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archaeology.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=61636"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:05:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:05:01","slug":"pestilence-in-paradise","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/archaeology.org\/issues\/november-december-2026\/digs-discoveries\/pestilence-in-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Pestilence in Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6adcc6d769448&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6adcc6d769448\" class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"725\" height=\"1024\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/archaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ND26-Digs-Siberia-Lake-Baikal-Child-Plague-Burial-Scaled-725x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Child plague burial, Lake Baikal, Siberia\" class=\"wp-image-61611\" data-image-credit=\"Vladimir Bazaliiski\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ND26-Digs-Siberia-Lake-Baikal-Child-Plague-Burial-Scaled-725x1024.jpg 725w, https:\/\/archaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ND26-Digs-Siberia-Lake-Baikal-Child-Plague-Burial-Scaled-213x300.jpg 213w, https:\/\/archaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ND26-Digs-Siberia-Lake-Baikal-Child-Plague-Burial-Scaled-768x1084.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archaeology.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ND26-Digs-Siberia-Lake-Baikal-Child-Plague-Burial-Scaled.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Child plague burial, Lake Baikal, Siberia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It can be easy<\/strong> to idealize the world of hunter-gatherers, and living in small family groups in places rich with natural resources, such as Siberia\u2019s Lake Baikal\u2014the world\u2019s deepest lake\u2014must have indeed had many benefits. Researchers have assumed that among these benefits was the absence of epidemics, the incidence of which is thought to have skyrocketed after the Neolithic Revolution. The growing density of agricultural populations at that time meant that farmers were exposed to animal-borne diseases.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers led by archaeogeneticist Ruairidh Macleod of the University of Oxford studying the DNA of hunter-gatherers buried in cemeteries near Lake Baikal have discovered evidence that, surprisingly, these people were devastated by at least two outbreaks of plague. One outbreak occurred 5,500 years ago, making it the world\u2019s oldest known plague epidemic. The outbreak was caused by <em>Yersinia pestis<\/em>, the same bacterium that caused the Black Death in the fourteenth century. \u201cThis came as a complete surprise,\u201d says Macleod. \u201cWe don\u2019t expect mass mortality due to infectious disease in hunter-gatherers, in part because populations are so sparse. If someone got sick you could leave them behind and not expose an entire community.\u201d The plague may have initially been contracted by people who consumed rodents, likely marmots, which are known to host <em>Y. pestis<\/em>. Genetic data shows that both outbreaks occurred within a single generation, wiping out much of the population. Mortality among children and adolescents was particularly high. Macleod says that one grave holding a trio of young girls\u2014two sisters and their cousin\u2014illustrates the horrible toll the disease took on the community. \u201cThey must have grown up together,\u201d he says, \u201cand died of plague at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It can be easy to idealize the world of hunter-gatherers, and living in small family [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":61838,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"tags":[1499,3610,2691,6674,1500,1341,2215,1592],"placement":[],"department":[17737],"access":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-61636","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-black-death","tag-hunter-gatherer","tag-hunter-gatherers-2","tag-lake-baikal","tag-plague","tag-russia","tag-siberia","tag-yersinia-pestis","department-digs-discoveries"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin 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