3,500-year-old skeletons challenge what scientists thought they knew about syphilis
Ancient remains from Vietnam suggest diseases like yaws may have been passed from mother to child thousands of years ago, a form of transmission often assumed to indicate syphilis. The discovery could overturn how scientists interpret ancient infections and complicate the long-running mystery of syphilis’s origins.
A new study has challenged the traditional understanding of how scientists identify ancient disease, particularly treponemal diseases. Researchers from Charles Sturt University and Vietnam analyzed skeletal remains from prehistoric children in Vietnam, dating back 4,000 to 3,200 years. The study, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, discovered three children with clear signs of congenital treponematosis.
While congenital infection has historically been viewed as a strong indicator of venereal syphilis, this research suggests that other forms of treponemal disease, such as yaws, may also be transmitted from mother to child. The findings challenge a long-held assumption in the field and could have implications for the origin of syphilis.
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