On the possible case of treponematosis from the Bronze Age in China

Abstract

Ancient human skeletal remains, dating from the Bronze Age (1000 BC–500 AD) of China, were investigated from the paleopathological point of view. The remains were excavated from three archeological sites in the northern part of Qinghai Province, and included 294 skulls and 255 long bones. Macroscopic observations revealed marked hypertrophic and sclerotic changes in the long bones of the lower extremity in two individuals indicative of treponematosis. No evidence of cranial involvement was found in any individual. According to the nonunitarian theory, from 3000 BC to the first century BC, an uninterrupted block of endemic syphilis extended from Africa through western into central Asia, comprising deserts and semi-deserts, often with nomadic populations. The possible cases of treponematosis, reported here, from the Bronze Age of inland China supports the nonunitarian theory, and indicates that endemic syphilis was transmitted to China by Bronze Age times, most likely from the Middle East via the ‘Silk Road’ which came into being about 1000 BC.