Scientists say they've solved a 700-year-old mystery: Where and when Black Death began

A woodcut from the 15th century depicts a scene from the Black Death plague, which killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe and the Mediterranean between 1346 and 1353. Scientists say they may have found the origin of this deadly disease. (Pictures from History/Universal Images Group /Getty Images)

Where did the Black Death come from? And when did it first appear?

As the deadliest pandemic in recorded history – it killed an estimated 50 million people in Europe and the Mediterranean between 1346 and 1353 — it's a question that has plagued scientists and historians for nearly 700 years.