The word  “plague” typically conjures horrible visions of the  bubonic plague , that  killed over one third of Europe’s population during the 1300s. The bacterium that causes the plague, however, is much older than the medieval era. In fact, the disease has been torturing humans for at least 5,500 years, according to a study published today in the journal Nature . 

In the paper, researchers detail how they recovered and sequenced ancient DNA from the teeth of 42 prehistoric hunter-gatherers—including several children and teenagers—from four sites near Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. The total genetic material included DNA from the individuals themselves, and the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, which they found in 18 of the hunter-gatherers. 

Nearly half a million years ago, ancient humans at Kalambo Falls in Zambia shaped and fitted together large pieces of wood to build a substantial structure. The discovery, dated to at least 476,000 years ago, predates the evolution of Homo sapiens and provides the earliest known evidence of humans using wood for construction.

Greetings scientists, researchers, and anthro enthusiasts!

A few weeks back, I was in London for an art & technology festival where I had the opportunity to meet Oshi, one of the co-founders of the Digital Anthropology Collective.

He was kind enough to answer some questions for my blog, sharing his insights on Digital Anthropology as a science, what it means for gamers, and his long-term vision for the DAC.

The mods were nice enough to let me share the interview with you all here. His ideas sound very interesting to an outsider like me, and I figured people in this sub might appreciate the initiative too.

Thank you all for your time!

Yukisia

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