The discovery of Yersinia pestis DNA in a 3,290-year-old Egyptian mummy at Italy’s Museo Egizio has provided the first molecular evidence of bubonic plague in Ancient Egypt. This discovery represents the oldest confirmed case of the plague outside Eurasia. Scientific Analysis Reveals Advanced Disease State Researchers identified Y. pestis DNA in the bone tissue and intestinal contents of the adult male mummy, indicating an advanced stage of infection at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating places the mummy at the end of the Second Intermediate Period or the beginning of the New Kingdom, though its exact provenance within Egypt remains … Continue reading Ancient Egyptian Mummy’s DNA Reveals Earliest Bubonic Plague Case Outside Eurasia