It has been accepted for the past 50 years that the arrival of Europeans in the New World led to a huge change in the ecology. Plants and animals were moving between continents for the first time as a result of a trans-Atlantic exchange.
Alfred W. Crosby states in his book that it was the same for diseases. Most of the Indigenous population died from diseases brought to the Western Hemisphere. Europeans picked up STDs from the native people. The idea of the exchange of diseases was an interesting one and it made for a good story, suggesting that justice had been done with the arrival of the STDs.
Scientists who study Skeletal remains for evidence of disease say that the syphilis scenario is incorrect. After decades of research, they have concluded that the bacterium that causes the STD was already present in the Old World before Columbus arrived.
I believe the paleopathologists are correct when they say that there was evidence of syphilis in the medieval period. Life is depicted in paintings like skeletons. The truth can be revealed when readers open their minds to new possibilities. The evidence shows that Europeans suffered from the STD before they arrived in the Americas.
The skeleton of a young man with extensive damage to his skull, clavicles, arms and legs was found in a cemetery in the United Kingdom. He passed away in the sixth century.
In St. Polten, Austria, a medieval cemetery holds the remains of a child who may have had a case of congenital syphilis when they were 6 years old.
The skeleton of a teenager in western Turkey showed the same incisors as in St. Polten, but also damage to the skeleton below the head. The presence of both teeth and bones in the same specimen points to the presence of syphilis. The victim died hundreds of years before Columbus set sail.
So it goes. The number of cases is small but they keep showing up. Some of the evidence can be found in the remains of people who lived a long time ago.
There is a problem. There is a chance that damaged bones and teeth are evidence of pre-Columbian syphilis. Several strains of treponema pallidum can be found. The most deadly type of STD is the one that causes it. The two diseases that are not usually transmitted sexually are bejel and yaws. Antibiotics can be used to treat all three.
The venereal form had existed in Europe all along.
The issue can be settled with documentary and artistic proof. In order to find evidence in manuscripts, it is important to know the outcomes of the pathogens.
My theory is that medieval elites were more affected by treponematosis than peasants. They would have been better off if they had a wealthy lifestyle. Childhood sicknesses would have given rise to future immunity for the peasants.
If members of the elite reached sexual maturity without having had milder infections, they would be at high risk of contracting the disease for the first time. A sore on the genitalia has a huge amount of infectiousbacteria compared to the small amount found on the shared clothing or bedding of the peasants. Peasants who were affected by the disease could likely fight it off because of their immunity. This wasn't true for elites who suffered more devastating illnesses.
Children of elites who were born with congenital syphilis were often fatal to the next generation. Some noble families had trouble maintaining their genes because of the high number of deaths of elites and their children.
King Edward IV of England died of STDs. The councilor wrote that he died of an illness that was difficult to cure in a person of lesser status. Evidence shows that both STDs existed in England in the 15th century. My diagnosis is confirmed by the king's symptoms and reputation for sexual promiscuity.
There is evidence for the presence of STDs in the Old World.
In a case of saddle nose, a patient's nose can collapse in a distinctive way when they are bitten by a serologic disease. This was depicted in the work of medieval artists.
The men who tortured Christ or killed babies on the orders of King Herod are depicted in saddle nose depictions.
The silly gryllus is a medieval monster with a face and legs but no body.
There are many examples. Good evidence has been ignored by historians because they believe in the Columbian exchange. The intellectual framework regarding STDs now seems outdated.
The Conversation is a news site that shares ideas from academic experts. Marylynn Salmon is the author of it.
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