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Image Credit: Angélica Triana
Ancient Skeleton in Colombia Reveals Earliest Evidence of Syphilis in the Americas
Archaeologists and genetic researchers have identified the oldest known evidence of Treponema pallidum—the bacterium responsible for syphilis and related diseases—in a 5,500-year-old human skeleton discovered in Colombia. The finding pushes back the presence of treponemal bacteria in the Americas by at least 3,000 years earlier than previously documented.
The individual, a middle-aged hunter-gatherer buried in a rock shelter, carried a previously unknown strain of T. pallidum. Ancient DNA analysis shows that this lineage diverged from known strains around 13,700 years ago, indicating a long and complex evolutionary history of treponemal pathogens in the Americas.
Notably, the skeleton did not display the typical bone lesions often associated with late-stage treponemal disease, highlighting the challenges of identifying such infections through skeletal evidence alone. Other individuals buried nearby did show skeletal changes, suggesting varied disease expression within ancient populations.
The discovery contributes important new data to the long-standing debate over the geographic origins of syphilis and related diseases. While it does not definitively resolve questions about when or how sexually transmitted syphilis emerged, it confirms that treponemal bacteria were circulating among human populations in the Americas thousands of years before European contact.
Researchers emphasize that the study demonstrates the growing potential of paleogenomics to illuminate the deep history of infectious diseases and their long-term relationships with human communities.
Published on: 22-01-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Live Science