Title: One millennium (2nd–12th century AD) of the White Plague in the Carpathian Basin – New cases, expanding knowledge

Authors: Krisztián Kiss^1,2, Antónia Marcsik³, Erika Molnár³, György Pálfi³, Mónika Merczi⁴, Ivett Kővári⁵, Orsolya László⁶, Sándor Évinger², Csilla Líbor^1,7, Katalin Éva Gyenesei¹, Csilla Emese Németh⁸, Ágota Madai², Anett Gémes¹, István János⁹, Tamás Hajdu¹, Tamás Szeniczey¹

Affiliations: ¹Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; ²Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary; ³Department of Biological AnthropologyUniversity of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; ⁴Hungarian National Museum, Bálint Balassa Museum, Esztergom, Hungary; ⁵International Committee of the Red Cross, Genf, Switzerland; ⁶Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary; ⁷Szent István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary; ⁸Department of Medical Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Pathobiochemistry, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; ⁹University of Nyíregyháza, Nyíregyháza, Hungary

Abstract: The causative agent of tuberculosis is still a widespread pathogen causing the death of ca. 1.5 million people around the globe (2020). The paleopathological study of human remains revealed the antiquity of the disease and its continuous presence throughout the history of mankind. The Carpathian Basin has always been a bio-cultural melting pot since it has seen several migrations over the centuries and served as a location of admixture and interaction for numerous populations of different cultures. Thus, this geographical territory can be ideal for the examination of co-evolutionary processes of hosts and their pathogens. Our aim was to reveal a spatial and temporal distribution of tuberculosis cases excavated inside the borders of Hungary between the 2nd and 12th centuries. By collecting the cases that has already been published in the literature and those that are being presented as a part of this work, we established a comprehensive database. The involved cases include those that has been confirmed by different molecular methods, as well as possible infections identified on the basis of morphological and paleoradiological alterations. The progress of future molecular and paleopathological studies can be facilitated by our dataset as it presents spatial and temporal information concerning the spread of the disease in the Carpathian Basin, furthermore age-at-death, morphological sex data, detailed paleopathological and radiological description of lesions illustrated by photo- and radiographs.

Funding: This work was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Subsistence strategies in the Hun and Gepidic period Carpathian Basin, ID: NN-128035), European Research Council (HistoGenes) and by Árpád Dynasty program: The anthropological and genetic composition of the Árpád Age Hungarian population (V.1 subproject).