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Posted on 01/21/2026 6:39:59 AM PST by SunkenCiv
An international team of researchers has found the DNA of Y. pestis in a 4,000-year-old domesticated sheep from the fortified Bronze Age settlement of Arkaim, in the southern Ural Mountains in present-day Russia, which marks the first confirmed case of a Bronze Age plague infection in a non-human host. It proves that livestock played a role in prehistoric plague dynamics.
The sheep was associated with the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural complex, which was known for its sophisticated metallurgy, horse riding, and large, mobile herds. Genetic studies indicate that the bacterium found in the sheep belongs to the Late Neolithic–Bronze Age plague lineage that had previously been identified only in ancient humans across Eurasia. This suggests that plague was associated with pastoral economies and that plague transmission did not rely solely on human movement.
Researchers claim that this early lineage of plague may have persisted in some unspecified "natural reservoir," possibly in wild rodents or other animals living in the Eurasian steppe, "spilling over" occasionally into domesticated herds. Sheep and other livestock may have acted as "bridge hosts," bringing the bacteria into closer contact with people through herding, butchering, or food preparation. Modern outbreaks in parts of Asia show similar patterns, where sheep become infected through contact with wild rodents and can pass the disease to humans without spreading it further among themselves.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeologymag.com ...
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Graphical abstract.Credit: Ian Light-Maka et al, Cell (2025)
Baaaaa, sonny!
I think we all know how plague from sheep really transferred to men. /smirk
I shear hoof figured someone wool bring that up.
I’m disappointed that some prehistoric artist didn’t preserve a nice pastoral scene showing sheep and herders, y’know, some sort of baaah relief.
Oh ewe jokers!
Four thousand year old sheep?
Bet that’s some tough mutton.
William McNeill’s “Plagues and Peoples” is still one of the best non-technical books on the subject, even at 50 years old.
😁
Ah, the Muslim dating site, “Only Ewe”.
Red Dwarf Ping!
RIMMER "The Canaries"... You know what they say it's supposed to stand for? "Convicts Army Nearly All Retarded In-bred Evil Sheep Shaggers"!
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