Ancient human bones reveal the oldest known strain of the plague
DNA analysis shows it emerged 7,100 years ago and was less virulent than the Black Death strain
![fossil of human jawbone](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/062921_jc_plague-bacteria_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
DNA from the jawbone of a 20- to 30-year-old hunter-gatherer, who lived thousands of years ago in what’s now Latvia, revealed a newly identified strain of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis that originated about 7,100 years ago — the oldest ever found.
Dominik Göldner/BGAEU