ABSTRACT
Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidrón cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidrón Neanderthal with a dental abscess and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal Methanobrevibacter oralis (10.2× depth of coverage)-the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.
Subject(s)
DNA, Ancient/analysis , Dental Calculus/chemistry , Diet/history , Food Preferences , Health/history , Neanderthals/microbiology , Neanderthals/psychology , Animals , Belgium , Carnivory , Caves , Enterocytozoon/genetics , Enterocytozoon/isolation & purification , Genome, Bacterial/genetics , History, Ancient , Humans , Intestines/microbiology , Meat/history , Methanobrevibacter/genetics , Methanobrevibacter/isolation & purification , Mouth/microbiology , Pan troglodytes/microbiology , Penicillium/chemistry , Perissodactyla , Sheep , Spain , Stomach/microbiology , Symbiosis , Time Factors , Vegetarians/historyABSTRACT
Very recently, we discovered a vast new microbial self: the human microbiome. Our native microbiota interface with our biology and culture to influence our health, behavior, and quality of life, and yet we know very little about their origin, evolution, or ecology. With the advent of industrialization, globalization, and modern sanitation, it is intuitive that we have changed our relationship with microbes, but we have little information about the ancestral state of our microbiome, and we therefore lack a foundation for characterizing this change. High-throughput sequencing has opened up new opportunities in the field of paleomicrobiology, allowing us to investigate the evolution of the complex microbial ecologies that inhabit our bodies. By focusing on recent coprolite and dental calculus research, we explore how emerging research on ancient human microbiomes is changing the way we think about ancient disease and how archaeological studies can contribute to a medical understanding of health and nutrition today.
Subject(s)
Microbiota , Paleontology , Dental Calculus/microbiology , Diet , Feces/microbiology , Health/history , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , History, Ancient , Humans , MetagenomicsABSTRACT
Tendo como pressuposto que as atuais formas de vida social, as instituições e os costumes têm origem no passado, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a mortalidade infantil em Salvador no período de 1857 a 1870. Para tanto, este estudo foi elaborado, dentro de uma perspectiva histórica, descritiva e exploratória, utilizando-se como método a pesquisa documental. A fonte de coleta de dados foram os relatórios de 24 Presidentes de Provincia da Bahia catalogados no Arquivo público da Bahia e Teses doutorais da Faculdade Bahiana de Medicina no século XIX. Resultados: Os relatórios analisados no período de 1857 a 1870, apresentam os números absolutos de óbitos por idade, tendo como base aos sepultamentos ocorridos nos cemitérios da cidade. Dos sepultamentos relatados no período, 33,66% foram de crianças menores de 10 anos, sendo que destes, 38% ocorreram entre crianças na faixa etária de 1 mês a 1ano de idade. As causas de morte infantil estão relacionadas ao tétano neonatal (mal de sete dias), seguido dos males da dentição, tosse convulsa e vermes. Apenas três dos 24 presidentes, demonstraram através de seus relatórios, alguma preocupação com a alta mortalidade infantil, sem no entanto proporem qualquer medida para o seu combate.A mortalidade infantil era visto como um obstáculo ao crescimento populacional, ou seja era percebido mais como um problema de ordem econômico do que um problema de saúde pública