What killed these children 5,500 years ago? It was literally the plague

What killed these children 5,500 years ago was the plague, a finding that reframes the origin of a deadly pathogen. A Nature study by an international team, including Canadians, shows Yersinia pestis circulating among hunter-gatherers near Lake Baikal in Russia. Published on Wednesday, the report documents outbreaks in forager communities long before the rise of crowded settlements. Lead author Ruaridh MacLeod of Oxford calls the result a surprise that broadens our view of plague spread. At one site, about two-thirds of burials were children under 12. The team linked the illness to marmots, large rodents hunted by the foragers, suggesting a plausible transmission path. The finding shows that plague could spread through mobile communities, not only in settled towns. Although Yersinia pestis is now endemic in the region, the ancient evidence reveals a much deeper history. The Lake Baikal site offers new context for the pathogen’s evolution and its impact on prehistoric life. The Nature paper, published on Wednesday, adds to growing evidence of ancient epidemics shaping human history.