Life in the Stone Age was quite difficult for our ancestors. They had to fend off animals, track food, forge new tools, and adapt to large changes in climate. Stone Age humans, like us today, faced potentially deadly microorganisms floating around us. Several dangerous microorganisms, spread by kissing and eating contaminated food, have been found in the remains of Stone Age people unearthed in what is now Scandinavia. These provide some new clues about major lifestyle changes in human history.Findings described in The study was published March 7 in the journal scientific report.
There is 6 major types of microorganisms– Bacteria, archaea, fungi (yeasts and molds), algae, protozoa, and viruses.Some microorganisms prefer probiotics Some things help keep the human body healthy, while others can make us sick. Bacteria and viruses are the most common microorganisms, and their genetic material consists of DNA. This is why microbial DNA is found in the remains of infected humans, helping scientists detect evidence of diseases caused by bacteria and viruses.
inside studyAn international research team examined different types of microbial DNA present in the teeth of 38 individual human remains excavated at several Neolithic settlements in Norway and Sweden. The material collected from Hummelviksholmen in southern Norway is estimated to be around 9,500 years old. The Bergsgrafen specimen in Linköping, Sweden, is approximately 4,500 years old.
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They identified 660 species of microorganisms from these remains. Yersinia enterocolitica and salmonella enterica Two of the bacteria found were the most prolific. Both are commonly associated with food poisoning from eating undercooked meat or food contaminated with human feces.Even with modern medical and food safety standards, food poisoning still remains a common cause of food poisoning. 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths annually In the US. Living in a time before life-saving treatments may have made an already unpleasant human experience more deadly.
“Especially if: salmonella enterica shows us how difficult it is [food poisoning] It can be. “Two infected people were found in the Battleaxe culture burial site in Bergsgraben, Linköping, and we may have actually witnessed their cause of death,” said study co-author and PhD student at Stockholm University. student Nora Bergfeldt said. stated in a statement. “This and other bacterial diseases we found among our patients are easily treated with antibiotics today, but back then they could have been deadly.”
they again, meningococcus, It is associated with meningococcal disease. It is spread through close contact between infected people.it is spread through droplets Saliva secretion due to sneezing, coughing, kissing, etc.evidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae –The bacteria that causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea was also discovered in the microorganism’s DNA. These community diseases found in microbial DNA date back to the long transition from hunter-gatherer and nomadic to settled agricultural life.This transition is considered as Already started 12,000 years ago.
“We know when people turned to farming in Scandinavia, but we still don’t know how this lifestyle change affected general health,” said study co-author and Swedish author. says Helena Malmström, a biologist at Uppsala University. stated in a statement.
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This change may be reflected in the presence of bacterial diseases, with increased transmission through contaminated food and water, livestock, and interactions between livestock. Today, diseases such as norovirus and meningitis can spread rapidly in schools, dormitories, nursing homes, and other places where large numbers of people gather in small spaces. The study also found evidence that: plague bacterium— Bacteria that causes plague.
“The more people interact, [the] They are now more likely to infect each other,” said study co-author Anders Götelström, a geneticist at Stockholm University. stated in a statement. “But even if we encounter bacteria that can have an impact on society, plague bacteriumIn this study, infections spread through food are the most prominent across lifestyles. ”