Oldest known plague outbreak killed hunter-gatherer children

New findings from DNA evidence reveal that a plague outbreak over 5000 years ago in Siberia wiped out a group of hunter-gatherer children, upending the long-held belief that significant disease outbreaks only occurred after the rise of farming and larger settlements. This discovery suggests that even small, isolated communities faced major health crises much earlier than previously thought, shedding light on the ancient origins of infectious diseases and their impact on human societies. The implications challenge our understanding of prehistoric health and disease dynamics.