Ancient DNA recovered from human skeletons has begun to reveal the history of how malaria spread around the globe, including how the disease first reached the Americas.
The history of humankind is outlined in stories, songs and artifacts created over tens of thousands of years. However, fewer traces remain of the pathogenic passengers that have accompanied us on this journey. Malaria is particularly mysterious because the parasitic infection causes symptoms common to a wide range of illnesses — and, when it kills, it leaves no physical marks on human bones for archaeologists to find.
