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Review
. 2011:146 Suppl 53:99-133.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21613.

The origin and antiquity of syphilis revisited: an appraisal of Old World pre-Columbian evidence for treponemal infection

Kristin N Harper  1 , Molly K Zuckerman, Megan L Harper, John D Kingston, George J Armelagos
Affiliations
Review

The origin and antiquity of syphilis revisited: an appraisal of Old World pre-Columbian evidence for treponemal infection

Kristin N Harper et al. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2011.

Abstract

For nearly 500 years, scholars have argued about the origin and antiquity of syphilis. Did Columbus bring the disease from the New World to the Old World? Or did syphilis exist in the Old World before 1493? Here, we evaluate all 54 published reports of pre-Columbian, Old World treponemal disease using a standardized, systematic approach. The certainty of diagnosis and dating of each case is considered, and novel information pertinent to the dating of these cases, including radiocarbon dates, is presented. Among the reports, we did not find a single case of Old World treponemal disease that has both a certain diagnosis and a secure pre-Columbian date. We also demonstrate that many of the reports use nonspecific indicators to diagnose treponemal disease, do not provide adequate information about the methods used to date specimens, and do not include high-quality photographs of the lesions of interest. Thus, despite an increasing number of published reports of pre-Columbian treponemal infection, it appears that solid evidence supporting an Old World origin for the disease remains absent.

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Comment in

  • Syphilis revisited.
    Cole G, Waldron HA. Cole G, et al. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2012 Sep;149(1):149-50; author reply 151-3. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22084. Epub 2012 Jul 11. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2012. PMID: 22786668 No abstract available.

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