Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Plague Outbreaks Hit Siberian Hunter-Gatherers 5,500 Years Ago
Scientists studied ancient bones from places near Lake Baikal in Siberia.
They found plague bacteria in the DNA of 18 people.
Many children and teenagers at one burial site seemed to have died around the same time.
The researchers say plague may have caused two outbreaks, with the earliest about 5,500 years ago.
They think people may first have caught it from Tarbagan marmots, but they cannot be sure.
The disease may then have spread between people.
The discovery suggests that hunter-gatherer communities could also be badly affected by infectious diseases.
Studying ancient outbreaks may help scientists understand how diseases pass from animals to people today.
Researchers found Yersinia pestis DNA in 18 of 46 people studied from four sites near Lake Baikal.
The remains included many children and adolescents who appeared to have died within a short period.
The findings are consistent with plague causing two outbreaks, the earliest about 5,500 years ago.
Researchers say Tarbagan marmots may have been the source of the ancient infections, though this is a hypothesis.
The study challenges the idea that plague could not cause devastating outbreaks among mobile hunter-gatherer communities.
- Who
- Prehistoric hunter-gatherers whose remains were studied, and the researchers who analyzed their ancient DNA.
- What
- A study found Yersinia pestis in ancient remains, with results consistent with two plague outbreaks.
- When
- The earliest outbreak was about 5,500 years ago.
- Where
- Four archaeological sites near Lake Baikal in Siberia.
- Why
- Researchers investigated an unusual pattern of deaths and how early humans may have caught plague.
Earlier view
Study findings
Plague among hunter-gatherers
Earlier view
Because hunter-gatherers lived in small, mobile groups, it was thought that infectious disease would struggle to take hold and devastate communities.
Study findings
The researchers say the DNA findings are consistent with plague causing deadly outbreaks in Siberian hunter-gatherer communities.
How people may have been infected
Earlier view
The article describes the familiar medieval association between plague and rats, but that does not establish the source of these prehistoric cases.
Study findings
Researchers suggest Tarbagan marmots may have been the animal source, with infection possibly spreading from animals to people and then between people.
- Study published in
- Nature
- People whose DNA was analyzed
- 46 across four sites
- People with detected plague DNA
- 18
- Earliest outbreak
- About 5,500 years ago
- Bacterium identified
- Yersinia pestis
- Possible animal source
- Tarbagan marmot