New research is reigniting debate over ancient syphilis, after scientists recovered bacterial DNA from 5,500-year-old human remains in Colombia, potentially rewriting the known timeline of the disease. The findings, announced in a Jan. 22 press release and published in Science, suggest syphilis-related bacteria circulated in the Americas millennia before European contact.
Researchers analyzed remains from Sabana de Bogotá and reconstructed a genome of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium responsible for syphilis and related diseases. Rather than relying on teeth, scientists sampled a shinbone—an unconventional approach that proved effective. “The approach paid off, suggesting that even bones without visible signs of disease could be valuable sources of pathogen DNA,” the release stated.
The ancient syphilis discovery challenges long-held assumptions. While syphilis was first documented in Europe during the 15th century, the new genetic evidence indicates a much older presence in the Western Hemisphere. “The discovery pushes the genetic record of this pathogenic species back by more than 3,000 years,” researchers said, adding that it “strengthen[s] evidence that these infections have circulated in the Americas far longer than previously known.”
Still, scientists caution against drawing sweeping conclusions. The American Association for the Advancement of Science noted the study relies on a single ancient genome and emphasized that “there are no equally old genomes from Europe or other regions for direct comparison.” As a result, “this work does not settle the syphilis debate, but it does show how much of the story is still missing.”
The finding emerged unexpectedly. Researchers “originally sequenced the individual’s DNA to study human population history,” generating massive amounts of data before detecting the pathogen. Geneticist Lars Fehren-Schmitz said, “Our findings show the unique potential of paleogenomics to contribute to our understanding of the evolution of species, and potential health risks for past and present communities.”
