PALEOEPIDEMIOLOGY OF DIPHYLLOBOTHRIOSIS: CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING ADENOCEPHALUS INTENSITY AND PREVALENCE.

Peruvian and Chilean mummies and coprolites provide a source of population-based parasitological information. This is especially true of the fish tapeworm, Adenocephalus pacificus. Our analysis of Chinchorro and Chiribaya mummies and diversified coprolite samples from Chile and Peru show variation in infection. There is a statistically significant difference in prevalence between Chinchorro hunter-gatherer and Chiribaya mixed-subsistence contexts. Furthermore, the most pronounced differences occur between populations within these groups. Chinchorro differences in cemeteries at the same location can be related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation variations. Pronounced prevalence variations between 3 Chiribaya villages within 7 km of each other relate to fish distribution and preparation variation. As with other recent archaeoparasitology studies, eggs-per-gram data exhibit overdispersion.

The Skiles Mummy: Care of a debilitated hunter-gatherer evidenced by coprolite studies and stable isotopic analysis of hair.

The Skiles Mummy (SMM), a naturally mummified adult male from the late archaic period of Lower Pecos Canyonlands of South Texas, represents a unique case of care. SMM is an exceptional mummy within this region due to both the retention of a full head of hair, and having a diagnosed case of megacolon, a complication commonly associated with Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Stable isotopic analysis of his hair is consistent with a diet incorporating of C4/CAM plants with some C3 plants, freshwater resources, and higher trophic level animals. However, the segments of hair most proximal to the scalp exhibited elevated δ15N values. Data from previous research indicate starvation and malnutrition can cause δ15N values to rise. The presence of large fecal boluses in the digestive tract suggest peristalsis ceased in the last four to five months of life, and this, together with results from coprolite analysis, indicate he would not have been able to adequately absorb protein and nutrients during this time. His condition would have rendered him immobile. Following Tilley's index of care, someone would have had to bring him food resources, as well as attending to his daily needs.

Eating lizards: a millenary habit evidenced by Paleoparasitology.

BACKGROUND: Analyses of coprolites have contributed to the knowledge of diet as well as infectious diseases in ancient populations. Results of paleoparasitological studies showed that prehistoric groups were exposed to spurious and zoonotic parasites, especially food-related. Here we report the findings of a paleoparasitological study carried out in remote regions of Brazil's Northeast. FINDINGS: Eggs of Pharyngodonidae (Nematoda, Oxyuroidea), a family of parasites of lizards and amphibians, were found in four human coprolites collected from three archaeological sites. In one of these, lizard scales were also found. CONCLUSIONS: Through the finding of eggs of Pharyngodonidae in human coprolites and reptilescales in one of these, we have provided evidence that humans have consumed reptiles at least 10,000 years ago. This food habit persists to modern times in remote regions of Brazil's Northeast. Although Pharyngodonidae species are not known to infect humans, the consumption of raw or undercooked meat from lizards and other reptiles may have led to transmission of a wide range of zoonotic agents to humans in the past.

Impact of empire expansion on household diet: the Inka in Northern Chile's Atacama Desert.

The impact of expanding civilization on the health of American indigenous societies has long been studied. Most studies have focused on infections and malnutrition that occurred when less complex societies were incorporated into more complex civilizations. The details of dietary change, however, have rarely been explored. Using the analysis of starch residues recovered from coprolites, here we evaluate the dietary adaptations of indigenous farmers in northern Chile's Atacama Desert during the time that the Inka Empire incorporated these communities into their economic system. This system has been described as "complementarity" because it involves interaction and trade in goods produced at different Andean elevations. We find that as local farming societies adapted to this new asymmetric system, a portion of their labor had to be given up to the Inka elite through a corvée tax system for maize production. In return, the Inka system of complementarity introduced previously rare foods from the Andean highlands into local economies. These changes caused a disruption of traditional communities as they instituted a state-level economic system on local farmers. Combined with previously published infection information for the same populations under Inka rule, the data suggest that there may have been a dual health impact from disruption of nutrition and introduction of crowd disease.

Resíduos alimentares, infecções parasitárias e evidência do uso de plantas medicinais em grupos pré-históricos das Américas / Food waste, parasitic infections and evidence of the use of medicinal plants in groups of prehistoric Americas

A paleoparasitologia utiliza como principal instrumento de estudo a análise de coprólitos e sedimentos retirados do solo de sítios arqueológicos, latrinas e da área pélvica de esqueletos. Associando-se dados da arqueologia, antropologia e paleoparasitologia, entre outras ciências, é possível obter resultados consistentes sobre modo de vida e saúde das populações no passado. Neste trabalho foram analisadas amostras de três regiões diferentes das Américas. Um total de 59 amostras de coprólitos e sedimentos provenientes de sítios arqueológicos localizados na área arqueológica de São Raimundo Nonato, que engloba o Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara (PNSC), Piauí, Brasil, foram analisadas. Esta região apresenta sítios com datações bastante antigas obtidas na área do Parque, com evidência de atividades humanas datadas aproximadamente de 50.000 anos; 12 amostras provenientes do sítio arqueológico Antelope Cave, localizado no Arizona, EUA. Assim como o PNSC, este sítio possui a presença de cerâmica e a iniciação da agricultura pelos grupos pré-históricos naquela região; e 15 amostras retiradas diretamente da região pélvica de sepultamentos provenientes do sambaqui Cubatão I, localizado em Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brasil. Este sítio arqueológico é, na verdade, um desafio metodológico devido ao clima e a atividade biótica do solo da região que não permitem boas condições de preservação do material arqueológico. A análise de resíduos alimentares destas diferentes regiões arqueológicas forneceu dados a respeito da dieta de populações antigas e a relação entre a presença de parasitos e o encontro de plantas com propriedades anti-helmínticas, e ainda foi possível a determinação de casos de falso parasitismo.

Paleoparasitology uses, as the main tool to study, the analysis of coprolites andsediments removed from the land of archaeological sites, latrines and the pelvic area of skeletons. Joining data from archeology, anthropology and paleoparasitology, among other sciences, it is possible to obtain solid results on livelihoods and health of people in the past. On this study were analyzed samples from three different regions of the Americas. A total of 59 samples of coprolites and sediments from archaeological sites located in thearchaeological area of São Raimundo Nonato, which includes the National Park Serra da Capivara (PNSC), located in Pernambuco, Brazil, were analyzed. This region has sites with the oldest dating obtained in the Park, with human activities recorded from 50.000 years BP; 12 samples from the archaeological site of Antelope Cave, located in Arizona, USA. This site, just like PNSC, has features such as the presence of pottery and the initiation of agriculture by prehistoric groups in the region, and 15 samples taken directly from the pelvic region of burials from the sambaqui Cubatão I, located in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. This archaeological site is actually a methodological challenge due to the climate and soil biotic activity in the region that don't allow good conditions of preservation of the archeological material. The analysis of alimentary residues of these different archaeological areas supplied dataregarding the diet of old populations and the relationship between the presence ofparasites and the encounter of plants with anthelminthic properties, and it was still possible the determination of cases of false parasitism.