Bones from hunter-gatherers from 7,000-year-old show signs of thalassemia
In milder form, the genetic blood disorder can actually protect against malaria
The disorder is thought to have become prevalent as an adaptive response to the disease
Scientists believed malaria became an issue when humans adapted to farming
The research resets the clock on when humanity first faced the deadly disease
Malaria may have plagued mankind much earlier than believed msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Research provides a new cornerstone of malaria s evolution with humans
New bioarchaeological research shows malaria has threatened human communities for more than 7000 years, earlier than when the onset of farming was thought to have sparked its devastating arrival.
Lead author Dr Melandri Vlok from the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, says this ground-breaking research, published today in
Scientific Reports, changes the entire understanding of the relationship humans have had with malaria, still one of the deadliest diseases in the world.
Until now we ve believed malaria became a global threat to humans when we turned to farming, but our research shows in at least Southeast Asia this disease was a threat to human groups well before that.