Ancient DNA reveals farming led to more human diseases
"Humans' close cohabitation with domesticated animals—and large-scale migrations of pastoralists from the Pontic Steppe—played a decisive role in the spread of these diseases...We've long suspected that the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease—now DNA shows us that it happened at least 6,500 years ago. These infections didn't just cause illness—they may have contributed to population collapse, migration, and genetic adaptation."
>>
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-large-scale-dna-years-disease.html
"Today, zoonoses account for more than 60% of newly emerging infectious diseases."
Martin Sikora, The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia, Nature (2025).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09192-8
#pastoralism #farming #diseases #zoonosis #pathogens #livestock #cattle #domestication #civilisation #animal #husbandry #SettlerSociety #meat #pandemics #IndigenousPeoples