Scientists at the Max Planck Institute (Germany) found that the Aztec Empire, which existed in the XIV-XVI centuries in Central America, could have been destroyed by an epidemic of salmonellosis caused by bacteria introduced by Europeans. The disease killed 7-17 million Native Americans who lacked immunity to microorganisms. The Daily Mail writes about this.
In 1519, at the time of the arrival of the conquistadors led by Hernan Cortez, the Aztec population was 25 million. The capital of the empire was Tenochtitlan, which is believed to be the largest city on Earth at that time with a population of up to 500 thousand people. A century after the capture of Tenochtitlan, the number of Aztecs had dropped to one million. One of the reasons for the death of the ancient civilization was the epidemic, which affected a significant part of Mexico and Guatemala.
The researchers took samples of dental pulp from ten skeletons belonging to the Aztecs, who died after the conquest of the Aztec Empire by the conquistadors. Traces of salmonella were found, not typical of the remains of people buried before the arrival of the Europeans. Infection with this bacterium leads to severe fever, dehydration, and gastrointestinal problems.