Updates on parasite infection prevalence in the Joseon period based on parasitological studies of human coprolites isolated from archaeological sites in the cities of Euijeongbu, Gumi, and Wonju.

Parasite infection rates estimated by examining ancient coprolites can provide insights into parasitism in Joseon society. Using newly discovered Joseon period cases is essential to regularly update the parasite infection rates and reinforce the reliability of our previous estimations. In the present study, we investigated parasite infections in Joseon coprolites newly isolated from the cities of Euijeongbu, Gumi, and Wonju. We then updated the overall parasite infection rates of Joseon period samples (n= 30) as follows: 86.7% (26/30) for Trichuris trichiura, 56.7% (17/30) for Ascaris lumbricoides, 30.0% (9/30) for Clonorchis sinensis, and 30.0% (9/30) for Paragonimus westermani. The parasite infection rates in the Joseon society, estimated through coprolite examination, were very similar to those determined previously despite the addition of new cases to the existing data pool.

Revealing Joseon period People's single nucleotide polymorphism associated with lactase gene by ancient DNA analysis of human remains from archaeological sites in Korea.

Lactase non-persistence (LNP), one of the causes of lactose intolerance, is related to lactase gene associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Since the frequency of LNP varies by ethnic group and country, the research to reveal the presence or absence of LNP for specific people has been conducted worldwide. However, in East Asia, the study of lactase gene associated SNPs have not been sufficiently examined so far using ancient human specimens from archaeological sites. In our study of Joseon period human remains (n=14), we successfully revealed genetic information of lactase gene associated SNPs (rs1679771596, rs41525747, rs4988236, rs4988235, rs41380347, rs869051967, rs145946881 and rs182549), further confirming that as for eight SNPs, the pre-modern Korean people had a lactase non-persistent genotype. Our report contributes to the establishment of LNP associated SNP analysis technique that can be useful in forthcoming studies on human bones and mummy samples from East Asian archaeological sites.