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The Archaeology of Syphilis
Manage episode 503363756 series 3675901
In this episode, we talk about how an archaeological dig in Hull, England unearthed skeletons with textbook signs of syphilis, including skeleton 1216, whose bones were radiocarbon dated to the 14th century — at least 70 years before Columbus sailed to the Americas. We examine the breakdown of the Columbus theory, long believed to explain the introduction of syphilis to Europe, and follow how paleopathologists, carbon dating labs, and dental analysis from sites like Metaponto and Pompeii helped dismantle the myth. We explain how urban life, not Indigenous Americans, transformed a mild childhood skin disease into the sexually transmitted epidemic that swept through Europe after 1492. We also explore how trade routes, port cities, and shifting social conditions allowed syphilis to mutate, and how the loss of natural immunity among Native populations turned the disease back on them with devastating effect.
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