Oona Y-C Lee, Houdini H T Wu, Gurdyal S Besra, David E Minnikin, Heidi Y Jaeger, Frank Maixner, Albert Zink, Mihály Gasparik, Ildikó Pap, Zsolt Bereczki, György Pálfi
Skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a 25-35 year-old woman and a 3-4 year-old child, were discovered in a Subalyuk Cave in North-Eastern Hungary. Radiocarbon dating of the female and child remains revealed an age of 39,732-39,076 and 36,117-35,387 cal BP, respectively. Paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains revealed probable evidence of skeletal mycobacterial infection, including in the sacrum of the adult specimen and the endocranial surface of the child's skull. Application of PCR amplification to the juvenile cranium and a vertebra gave a positive result (IS6110) for tuberculosis, backed up by spoligotyping...
December 2023: Tuberculosis