New archaeological evidence has been found that suggests that Columbus, made famous for "discovering" America, actually may not have brought syphilis back to Europe after his explorations, according to the Daily Mail.
There are at least three theories as to how Europe became infested with the disease. One is that it was brought by African slaves during Spanish slave trade, another is that it already existed and the last is that Columbus carried the disease back with him from the Americas.
Skeletons were found by scientists at the Medical University of Vienna that go against the latter theory.
The skeletons were found with defects in their teeth - mulberry molars and fang-like appearances - evidence of congenital syphilis, even though they were dated to a time before Columbus left on his journey and before he was even born.
"All the remains examined dated back to pre-Columbian time between AD 1320 and 1390," reports the International Business Times. "The period corresponds to earlier than the birth of Columbus who is believed to have been born between AD 1450 and 1451."
The findings give credibility to the theory that Columbus was not responsible for the lethal outbreak.
The research was published in the Journal of Biological and Clinical Anthropology.
