Arkeonews
  • News
  • Anatolian Archeology
  • Classical Archeology
  • Egypt
  • Mesopotamia
  • Culture
  • Interesting
  • Mythology
  • Travel
No Result
View All Result
Arkeonews
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Ancient Herpes DNA Points to Oral Herpes’ Beginnings: First kisses may have helped spread cold sore virus

by oguz kayra
28 July 2022
in News
0
Ancient Herpes DNA Points to Oral Herpes’ Beginnings: First kisses may have helped spread cold sore virus

The ancient genomes of the herpes virus, which commonly causes lip sores and currently infects about 3.7 billion people worldwide, have been uncovered and sequenced for the first time by Cambridge University researchers.

You might also like

Delikkemer Aqueduct: A Roman Engineering Wonder Along the Lycian Way

Archaeologists in the Tangier Peninsula Discovered Three Ancient Cemeteries, Including a Stone Burial Dating to Around 4,000 Years Ago

2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam

However, despite its prevalence, little is known about the origins of this virus or how it spread over the globe. As a result, an international team of experts screened the DNA of teeth from hundreds of people found at ancient archaeological sites.

According to recent research, the HSV-1  virus strain that causes face herpes as we know it today first appeared some 5,000 years ago, following massive Bronze Age migrations into Europe from the Steppe grasslands of Eurasia and the ensuing population booms that accelerated transmission rates.

Herpes has been around for millions of years, and different strains of the virus infect everything from bats to coral. Despite its current prevalence in humans, experts say that ancient examples of HSV-1 were unexpectedly difficult to discover.

According to the study’s authors, the emergence of a new cultural activity brought from the east—romantic and sexual kissing—may have corresponded with the Neolithic flourishing of facial herpes observed in the ancient DNA.

Researchers found four people who had the virus when they died. They extracted viral DNA from the roots of the teeth of the infected individuals. Herpes often flares during mouth infections and these ancient cadavers included two people with gum disease and one who smoked tobacco.

Photo: Dr Barbara Veselka

The individuals lived at various times over a thousand-year period. They included an adult male excavated in Russia’s Ural Mountain region. He lived during the Iron Age, about 1,500 years ago.

Another two samples were found near Cambridge. They were a female from an early Anglo-Saxon cemetery a few miles south of the city, dating from the 6th to the 7th centuries. The other was a young adult male from the late 14th century. He was buried in the grounds of medieval Cambridge’s charitable hospital and had suffered what researchers called “appalling” dental abscesses.

The fourth sample was from a young adult male excavated in Holland. They were able to surmise he had been a fervent clay pipe smoker, most likely massacred by a French attack on his village by the banks of the Rhine in 1672.

“By comparing ancient DNA with herpes samples from the 20th century, we were able to analyze the differences and estimate a mutation rate and, consequently, a timeline for virus evolution,” said co-lead study author Dr. Lucy van Dorp, from University College London’s Genetics Institute.

According to co-senior study author Dr. Christiana Scheib, “Every primate species has a form of herpes, so we assume it has been with us since our own species left Africa.” Scheib is a research fellow at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, and head of the Ancient DNA lab at the University of Tartu.

“However, something happened around 5,000 years ago that allowed one strain of herpes to overtake all others, possibly an increase in transmissions, which could have been linked to kissing,” Scheib noted.

“Only genetic samples that are hundreds or even thousands of years old will allow us to understand how DNA viruses such as herpes and monkeypox, as well as our own immune systems, are adapting in response to each other,” said co-senior study author Dr. Charlotte Houldcroft, from the department of genetics at the University of Cambridge, in England.

The team would like to trace this hardy primordial disease even deeper through time, to investigate its infection of early hominins. “Neanderthal herpes is my next mountain to climb,” added Scheib.

The findings were published July 27 in the journal Science Advances.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo4435

Cover Photo: Dr Barbara Veselka

Tags: Ancient Herpes DNABronze Age migrationsCambridge Universitycold sore virusDr Barbara VeselkaDr. Charlotte HouldcroftDr. Christiana ScheibDr. Lucy van DorpFeaturedHSV-1  virusOral HerpesUniversity of Tartu

Recommended For You

Delikkemer Aqueduct: A Roman Engineering Wonder Along the Lycian Way
Anatolian Archeology

Delikkemer Aqueduct: A Roman Engineering Wonder Along the Lycian Way

17 May 2025
One of the standing stones the team found, which might have been used to mark territory. Credit: Hamza Benattia
News

Archaeologists in the Tangier Peninsula Discovered Three Ancient Cemeteries, Including a Stone Burial Dating to Around 4,000 Years Ago

17 May 2025
2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam
News

2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam

17 May 2025
The Great Baddow Hoard. Image credit: Fountains Media/Museum of Chelmsford
News

Britain’s Largest Iron Age Gold Coin Hoard: A Possible Tribute to Julius Caesar?

16 May 2025
The 6th-Century “Türk-Kagan” Coin Discovery in Uzbekistan Could Rewrite History as the Oldest Known Record of the Name “Türk”
News

The 6th-Century “Türk-Kagan” Coin Discovery in Uzbekistan Could Rewrite History as the Oldest Known Record of the Name “Türk”

15 May 2025
Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh
Mesopotamia

Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh

15 May 2025
Next Post
The excavations in Selinunte, Italy, which has the largest Agora in the Ancient World, “The results have gone well beyond expectations”

The excavations in Selinunte, Italy, which has the largest Agora in the Ancient World, "The results have gone well beyond expectations"

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy
  • About
  • Cookie Policies

©Copyright 2020 - 2025 Arkeonews | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Anatolian Archeology
  • Classical Archeology
  • Egypt
  • Mesopotamia
  • Culture
  • Interesting
  • Mythology
  • Travel

©Copyright 2020 - 2025 Arkeonews | All rights reserved.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy