Implications of the prevalence of Ascaris sp. in the funerary context of a Late Antique population (5th-7th c.) in Granada (Spain).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites in human remains from Late Antiquity (5th - 7th c.) Granada (Spain). MATERIALS: The study included pelvic and cranial control samples from 17 skeletons from the archaeological sites of Los Mondragones (n = 13) and Rafael Guillén (n = 4). METHODS: In the paleoparasitological study, soil samples from pelvic area and cranium were analyzed using the rehydration, homogenization, and micro-sieving method and visualization under brightfield microscopy. RESULTS: Ascaris sp. eggs were detected in pelvic samples from seven individuals. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may indicate that this parasite was endemic. Its detection frequency is one of the highest reported at group level in an osteological series from Late Antiquity. SIGNIFICANCE: The prevalence of Ascaris sp. associated with skeletal remains has implications for assessing the lifestyle and health of populations in southern Spain during the Late Antique period. LIMITATIONS: The number of individuals is small and taphonomic processes could have limited paleoparasitological findings SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Future interdisciplinary studies of this type are warranted in larger osteological series to improve knowledge of parasitosis in the past.

Zoonotic parasite infection from a funerary context: A Late Antique child case from Cantabrian Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the presence of Dicrocoelium sp. in a child from a Late Antique funerary context from Cantabrian Spain and discuss whether the infection is true infection or pseudoparasitosis. MATERIALS: Four skeletons, including one from a 5-7 year old child, have been analysed from the archaeological site of El Conventón, dated between the sixth and seventh centuries AD. METHODS: The paleoparasitological study was conducted through the analysis of soil samples from different parts of the skeleton and funerary context using the rehydration, homogenization, and micro-sieving method, and visualized through brightfield microscopy. RESULTS: A soil sample from the pelvic region tested positive for Dicrocoelium sp. (possibly D. dendriticum). CONCLUSIONS: The child was infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum, which based on archaeological and historical contexts may be related to hygiene or dietary behaviour. SIGNIFICANCE: We present one of the few cases of the identification of a Dicrocoelidae parasite directly associated with a human skeleton that provides historical knowledge of a zoonotic disease. LIMITATIONS: The diagnosis of a zoonosis through the identification of ancient parasites is complex. In addition, Dicrocoelium sp. in association with skeletal human remains is rare due to the potential low prevalence of this parasite. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Highlight the importance of paleoparasitological analysis to link parasitic infection diseases with socioeconomic issues by using funerary contexts with skeletal remains.

Remarks on the cut marks: The Gravettian child from El Castillo (Cantabrian Spain) and the absence of anthropic modifications inferred through taphonomic analysis.

The Gravettian mandible from El Castillo Cave in Spain.

Author Correction: The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The spread of steppe and Iranian-related ancestry in the islands of the western Mediterranean.

Steppe-pastoralist-related ancestry reached Central Europe by at least 2500 BC, whereas Iranian farmer-related ancestry was present in Aegean Europe by at least 1900 BC. However, the spread of these ancestries into the western Mediterranean, where they have contributed to many populations that live today, remains poorly understood. Here, we generated genome-wide ancient-DNA data from the Balearic Islands, Sicily and Sardinia, increasing the number of individuals with reported data from 5 to 66. The oldest individual from the Balearic Islands (~2400 BC) carried ancestry from steppe pastoralists that probably derived from west-to-east migration from Iberia, although two later Balearic individuals had less ancestry from steppe pastoralists. In Sicily, steppe pastoralist ancestry arrived by ~2200 BC, in part from Iberia; Iranian-related ancestry arrived by the mid-second millennium BC, contemporary to its previously documented spread to the Aegean; and there was large-scale population replacement after the Bronze Age. In Sardinia, nearly all ancestry derived from the island's early farmers until the first millennium BC, with the exception of an outlier from the third millennium BC, who had primarily North African ancestry and who-along with an approximately contemporary Iberian-documents widespread Africa-to-Europe gene flow in the Chalcolithic. Major immigration into Sardinia began in the first millennium BC and, at present, no more than 56-62% of Sardinian ancestry is from its first farmers. This value is lower than previous estimates, highlighting that Sardinia, similar to every other region in Europe, has been a stage for major movement and mixtures of people.

Under the Skin of a Lion: Unique Evidence of Upper Paleolithic Exploitation and Use of Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Spain).

Pleistocene skinning and exploitation of carnivore furs have been previously inferred from archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the evidence of skinning and fur processing tends to be weak and the interpretations are not strongly sustained by the archaeological record. In the present paper, we analyze unique evidence of patterned anthropic modification and skeletal representation of fossil remains of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain). This site is one of the few that provides Pleistocene examples of lion exploitation by humans. Our archaeozoological study suggests that lion-specialized pelt exploitation and use might have been related to ritual activities during the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 14800 cal BC). Moreover, the specimens also represent the southernmost European and the latest evidence of cave lion exploitation in Iberia. Therefore, the study seeks to provide alternative explanations for lion extinction in Eurasia and argues for a role of hunting as a factor to take into account.

Make it clear: molds, transparent casts and lightning techniques for stereomicroscopic analysis of taphonomic modifications on bone surfaces.

This paper provides detailed description of a non-destructive, low-cost, and low-time consuming technique for producing high-resolution casts for the observation of taphonomic modifications on bone surfaces. The aim of the whole process is to obtain molds that accurately replicate the original bone surface at both the macro- and microscopic levels. The high quality transparent epoxy casts produced are analyzed by light microscopy and used to produce detailed microphotographs of bone surfaces. After describing each step of the process, we present some examples of its application in the case of anthropic activity, carnivores, or other post-depositional modifications.