A sharper picture of a pandemic: Uncovering the complex history of the plague after the Black Death
The Black Death is often remembered as a single catastrophic event that swept across Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing millions.
The Black Death is often remembered as a single catastrophic event that swept across Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing millions.
The short version
- Yet the disease did not disappear after that first devastating outbreak.
- For more than four centuries, plague continued to return in recurring waves, reshaping communities, economies and societies across Europe and beyond.
- A new study led by researchers at the University of Tartu sheds fresh light on this long and complex history by analyzing the DNA of the plague bacterium preserved in archaeological human remains.
What happened
The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies .
Why it matters
The samples span a period from the 14th to the 18th centuries, covering much of the so-called Second Plague Pandemic.
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