Intestinal parasites in the Neolithic population who built Stonehenge (Durrington Walls, 2500 BCE).

Durrington Walls was a large Neolithic settlement in Britain dating around 2500 BCE, located very close to Stonehenge and likely to be the campsite where its builders lived during its main stage of construction. Nineteen coprolites recovered from a midden and associated pits at Durrington Walls were analysed for intestinal parasite eggs using digital light microscopy. Five (26%) contained helminth eggs, 1 with those of fish tapeworm (likely Dibothriocephalus dendriticus) and 4 with those of capillariid nematodes. Analyses of bile acid and sterol from these 5 coprolites show 1 to be of likely human origin and the other 4 to likely derive from dogs. The presence of fish tapeworm reveals that the Neolithic people who gathered to feast at Durrington Walls were at risk of infection from eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish. When the eggs of capillariids are found in the feces of humans or dogs it normally indicates that the internal organs (liver, lung or intestines) of animals with capillariasis have been eaten, and eggs passed through the gut without causing disease. Their presence in multiple coprolites provides new evidence that internal organs of animals were consumed. These novel findings improve our understanding of both parasitic infection and dietary habits associated with this key Neolithic ceremonial site.

Evolutionary anthropology and genes: investigating the genetics of human evolution from excavated skeletal remains.

The development of molecular tools for the extraction, analysis and interpretation of DNA from the remains of ancient organisms (paleogenetics) has revolutionised a range of disciplines as diverse as the fields of human evolution, bioarchaeology, epidemiology, microbiology, taxonomy and population genetics. The paper draws attention to some of the challenges associated with the extraction and interpretation of ancient DNA from archaeological material, and then reviews the influence of paleogenetics on the field of human evolution. It discusses the main contributions of molecular studies to reconstructing the evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships between extinct hominins (human ancestors) and anatomically modern humans. It also explores the evidence for evolutionary changes in the genetic structure of anatomically modern humans in recent millennia. This breadth of research has led to discoveries that would never have been possible using traditional approaches to human evolution.

Palaeopathology and genes: investigating the genetics of infectious diseases in excavated human skeletal remains and mummies from past populations.

The aim of this paper is to review the use of genetics in palaeomicrobiology, and to highlight the importance of understanding past diseases. Palaeomicrobiology is the study of disease pathogens in skeletal and mummified remains from archaeological contexts. It has revolutionarised our understanding of health in the past by enabling a deeper knowledge of the origins and evolution of many diseases that have shaped us as a species. Bacterial diseases explored include tuberculosis, leprosy, bubonic plague, typhoid, syphilis, endemic and epidemic typhus, trench fever, and Helicobacter pylori. Viral diseases discussed include influenza, hepatitis B, human papilloma virus (HPV), human T-cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV-1) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Parasitic diseases investigated include malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas' disease, roundworm, whipworm, pinworm, Chinese liver fluke, fleas and lice. Through a better understanding of disease origins and their evolution, we can place into context how many infectious diseases are changing over time, and so help us estimate how they may change in the future.

The sexual dimorphism of the sacro-iliac joint: an investigation using geometric morphometric techniques.

The ability to correctly estimate the sex of skeletal remains is vital in forensic sciences. This article investigates the sexual dimorphism of the human sacro-iliac joint, using geometric morphometric techniques that assess morphological characters better than the traditional approaches for recording outline shapes, which are subject to quantification and inter-observer problems. Eight two-dimensional landmarks were recorded from digital images of 29 female and 35 male auricular surfaces of the ilium and sacrum. The specimens were analyzed using geometric morphometric methods (Generalized Procrustes analysis, relative warp analysis, Goodall's F) and multivariate statistics (ANOVA, MANCOVA, principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis [DFA]). Both the size and shape of the analyzed structures were found to be sexually dimorphic. The DFA illustrated that when the form of both the iliac and sacral articular surface is taken as a predictor variable, 94.5% of the individuals are assigned to the correct sex. The successful sex determination obtained by the DFA makes the further study of the sacro-iliac joint's sexual dimorphism promising.

Simplifying the process of extracting intestinal parasite eggs from archaeological sediment samples: A comparative study of the efficacy of widely-used disaggregation techniques.

Some scientific techniques are widely used because they work satisfactorily, but they may not be the cheapest, fastest or most efficient method possible. Here we assess the widely used methods for disaggregating archaeological latrine sediments, where solid soils are converted to aqueous suspension prior to microscopic analysis for ancient parasite eggs. It has been noted that there is great variability in protocols described in the published literature. We have used samples from a medieval latrine in Cyprus and a cesspool from Israel containing roundworm eggs to evaluate in a pilot study whether there appears to be distinct advantages to any of the standard protocols. The results suggest that there is very little difference in the efficacy whether disaggregation is performed using traditional 0.5% trisodium phosphate or simple distilled water, whether the process lasts 72h or just 1h, or whether sonication is added to the process. While a larger sample size would allow a more robust statistical analysis, this pilot study provides no evidence to suggest the long disaggregation periods, expensive chemicals, or sonication steps leads to any better disaggregation in latrine sediments than using distilled water for just 1h.

Human intestinal parasites from a latrine in the 12th century Frankish castle of Saranda Kolones in Cyprus.

Saranda Kolones (Forty Columns) at Paphos in Cyprus was a mediaeval concentric castle built after King Richard I of England captured the island in 1191AD, during the Third Crusade. The aim of this research is to determine whether the garrison of the castle was infected by intestinal parasitic helminths (endoparasites). The analysis was undertaken on soil sediments recovered from a latrine inside the castle. The microscopic examination demonstrated the eggs of two species of parasites, the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). Control samples were negative, confirming the parasite eggs seen were not due to contamination from later time periods. Both roundworms and whipworms are transmitted faecal-orally and thus their presence in Saranda Kolones reflects the poor hygiene conditions that prevailed in mediaeval castles. Past research suggests that 15-20% of crusaders in long expeditions died from malnutrition and infectious diseases. The discovery of these parasites highlights how mediaeval crusaders may have been at risk of malnutrition at times of siege and famine as these worms competed with them for nutrients. This research allows comparison with crusader period latrines from the mainland Levant and helps us reconstruct the health environment of a mediaeval castle.

Human intestinal parasites in crusader Acre: Evidence for migration with disease in the medieval period.

The aim of this research is to highlight the role of ancient parasites as evidence for human migration in past populations. The material analysed was soil sediment from the excavation of a medieval cesspool in the city of Acre, in Israel. Archaeological stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating of a fragment of animal bone from the cesspool confirm its use in the 13th century CE, during the crusader period. At that time Acre was located in the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem. Soil samples from the cesspool were analysed and eggs of the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum) were identified. The fish tapeworm has only been found in the mainland Near East once before, in a latrine of the crusader Order of St. John (Knights Hospitaller). It has been absent in all earlier cesspools, latrines and coprolites so far studied in the region. In contrast to its rarity in the Levant, the fish tapeworm was common in northern Europe during the medieval period. The presence of fish tapeworm eggs in a crusader period cesspool in Acre suggests its use by crusaders or pilgrims from northern Europe who travelled to the Levant carrying these parasites in their intestines.