Paleoparasitological investigations were carried out on 124 sediment samples from the Swiss Neolithic lakeside settlement of Zürich-Parkhaus-Opéra (layer 13, 3176–3153 years BCE). Analyses revealed ...the presence of several taxa of human and/or animal gastrointestinal parasites, including whipworm (genus Trichuris), capillariids, tapeworms (Taenia/Echinococcus and Diphyllobothrium genera) and flukes (Fasciola and Paramphistomum genera). Owing to excavation conditions and the sampling strategy, an original spatial analysis of the results was applied. This approach contributes to defining concentrations of parasite remains and proposes hypotheses concerning waste management or the functions of some archaeological areas and structures at the site.
Paleoparasitological analyses were conducted on samples from the Neolithic lakeside settlement of La Draga in Spain (5320–4980 BC). Conventional microscopic analysis revealed the presence of ...tapeworms (genus Taenia/Echinoccocus and Diphyllobothrium), roundworms (genus Trichuris, Capillaria, and Ascaris), rumen fluke (genus Paramphistomum), and Acanthocephalan (genus Macracanthorhynchus). In addition, genetic analysis demonstrated the presence of the lancet liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum) and the human pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis) at the site. These results represent the first parasitological data from a Neolithic lakeside settlement related to the Cardial Pottery Culture. Some parasites are comparable with those retrieved from Neolithic lakeside sites studied in France, Germany, and Switzerland, which stem from and are posterior to the Linear Band Keramic Culture. However, some taxa were identified here for the first time during the Neolithic period, or represent the oldest mention of these parasites. This new paleoparasitological contribution reinforces our knowledge of intestinal parasites in Neolithic populations and provides new data on their history.
La paléoparasitologie Bailly, Matthieu Le; Maicher, Céline; Dufour, Benjamin
Nouvelles de l'archéologie/Les Nouvelles de l'archéologie,
12/2017, Volume:
148
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Introduction La paléoparasitologie étudie les parasites anciens dont les marqueurs préservés sont retrouvés dans les sites archéologiques et paléontologiques. Située à l’interface entre l’archéologie ...et la parasitologie, cette discipline fait aussi appel à des notions issues de l’anthropologie, de l’écologie et des sciences de la santé. De par cette pluridisciplinarité, la paléoparasitologie intéresse naturellement les sciences de l’homme mais elle permet aussi d’élaborer des scenarii sur l’h...
Paleoparasitology is a discipline of bioarchaeology that studies human and animal parasites and their evolution through time. It is at the frontier between biological sciences and the humanities, and ...aims to provide valuable clues about the lifestyles of former populations. Through examples chosen among recent case studies, we show in this review how paleoparasitology contributes to issues related to food, health, hygiene, organic waste management, and site occupation by ancient populations, but also, in the longer term, to questions of the evolution of the human/animal relationship and the history of diseases. This article provides an overview of this research field, its history, its concepts, and in particular, its applications in archaeology and the history of diseases.
The Neolithic period in Europe was subject to marked climatic variations during the fourth millennium BCE in the Alpine arc, marking the transition between the recent Atlantic and the Subboreal. This ...phase is characterized by falling temperatures and rising humidity in the Northern Hemisphere. Within this phase, between 3700 and 3250 BCE, a more intense phase takes place, known as Rootmoos 2 or Piora 2. This phase is characterized by a significant drop in lake water levels. This climatic change had repercussions on lakeside dwellers, notably through the modification and adaptation of their diet and subsistence modes. Intestinal parasites (helminths), found by human and animals via parasitic markers, seem to respond over time to these climatic variations. At first sight, low lake level phases are characterized by significant proportions of Trichuris at the expense of Diphyllobothrium, as well as an increase in Fasciola. These phases therefore seem to favour parasites indicative of agropastoral activities. During periods of high lake levels, Diphyllobothrium increase in number, pointing to a higher frequency of fishing practices. In sum, during periods of cooler/wetter climate, Neolithic lakeside populations seem to focus more on fishing produce, which may be a response to a destabilization of previously established agropastoral systems, marking a return to more opportunistic behaviour with the exploitation of products from the direct environment. This pilot study tends to evaluate if the evolution of parasitic communities in the 4th millennium BCE could therefore be used to complete our understanding of the effects of climatic variations on societies, both as a direct consequence of environmental destabilization (effect on the hosts) and the result of the behavioural adaptation of the inhabitants, even if it is still difficult to determine the importance of the influence of each factor on these variations. Despite some remaining challenges in the current study, the integration of paleoparasitic data into broader paleoenvironmental models appears promising. Future research can continue to develop along this path.
•Compilation of all the available data for lacustrine sites dated for the 4th millennium BCE and from Central Europe lake-dwelling area.•Application of the seriograph method and a novel index to analyse intestinal parasitic spectrum diversity.•Evaluation of the intestinal parasitic spectrum response to climate variations and human opportunistic behaviour.
Understanding parasite history and the evolution of host/parasite relationships is one of the most important aspects of paleoparasitology. Within the framework of this research topic, this paper ...focuses on the human pathogenic amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica. The compilation of all the available archaeological data concerning this parasite leads to a first glimpse of the history of this parasite of current medical importance. Paleoparasitological investigation into this parasite uses immunological techniques and shows that the modern strain of E. histolytica has been present in Western Europe since at least the Neolithic period (3700yearsBCE), and could have originated in the Old World. The appearance of the modern amoeba strain in the pre-Columbian Americas and the Middle East around the 12th century CE gives rise to hypotheses as to how human migrations (Atlantic or Pacific routes) contributed to the diffusion of this pathogen, resulting in its current distribution. This compilation proves that parasites are valuable proxies for studying past human and animal migrations, and should be given more consideration in the future.
•This article reviews past occurrences of the human pathogenic amoeba.•The parasite has been present in Western Europe since the Neolithic period.•The amoeba is recovered prior to the 15th c. CE colonization of the Americas.•Human migrations contribute to diffusing the parasites during the Holocene.
Paleoparasitological analysis was performed on a set of ten coprolites recovered during excavations of the Neolithic site Serteya II (NW Russia). Eggs of four gastrointestinal parasite taxa were ...identified, namely the fish tapeworm genus Diphyllobothrium, the giant kidney worm Dioctophyma renale, and two trematode taxa, including the liver lancet fluke genus Dicrocoelium. The diversity of parasites enables us to discuss the biological origin of the studied material, which can be attributed to carnivores, probably to canids. This is only the second record of ancient parasites in this part of the world for the Neolithic period and our results are consistent with those from the first study. They contribute to highlighting relationships between humans and animals, and show how environments and human activities can induce parasite transmission.
La paléoparasitologie Le Bailly, Matthieu; Maicher, Céline; Dufour, Benjamin
Nouvelles de l'archéologie,
06/2017, Volume:
148
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
La paléoparasitologie étudie les parasites anciens dont les marqueurs préservés sont retrouvés dans les sites archéologiques et paléontologiques. Située à l’interface entre l’archéologie et la ...parasitologie, cette discipline fait aussi appel à des notions issues de l’anthropologie, de l’écologie et des sciences de la santé. De par cette pluridisciplinarité, la paléoparasitologie intéresse naturellement les sciences de l’homme mais elle permet aussi d’élaborer des scenarii sur l’histoire des maladies parasitaires et l’évolution de la relation hôte/parasite dans le temps.
•Paleoparasitological analyses were performed on Neolithic coprolites from Russia.•Four taxa of gastrointestinal parasites were detected in coprolites.•The parasitic assemblage allows to define a ...canine origin of the material.•This is the second record of parasites from coprolites in this region.•The results allow discussing the human/animal relationship during the Neolithic.
Paleoparasitological analysis was performed on a set of ten coprolites recovered during excavations of the Neolithic site Serteya II (NW Russia). Eggs of four gastrointestinal parasite taxa were identified, namely the fish tapeworm genus Diphyllobothrium, the giant kidney worm Dioctophyma renale, and two trematode taxa, including the liver lancet fluke genus Dicrocoelium. The diversity of parasites enables us to discuss the biological origin of the studied material, which can be attributed to carnivores, probably to canids. This is only the second record of ancient parasites in this part of the world for the Neolithic period and our results are consistent with those from the first study. They contribute to highlighting relationships between humans and animals, and show how environments and human activities can induce parasite transmission.
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