Search

Osteoderms are dermal ossifications present in several vertebrates and assemble a carapace on armadillos. Here we describe ichnotaxonomically two types of bioerosion traces as well as paleopathologically ulcerative lesions on osteoderms of three specimens of Late Pleistocene Holmesina cryptae armadillos (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Pampatheriidae) found in Lapinha Cave, Iramaia municipality, Bahia State, Brazil. The traces are always on the external surface of the osteoderms, none on endoskeleton elements, which are also different from bites and taphonomic process marks. This is evidence of the biological and syn vivo origin of the traces, making them remarkable and useful to access animal health. Karethraichnus minimum isp. nov. are individual holes interpreted as produced by sand flea sessile females, probably from the Tunga genus, based on already described lesions in living armadillos. This trace reveals a paleoparasitism behavior useful for tracking this relation deep in time in armoured animals. Violinichnus punctatus igen. et isp. nov. is formed by consecutive tiny holes, forming an overall elliptical/violin-like shape. This is attributed to lesions produced by the action of fungi over osteoderms, similar to mycose-like dermatophytosis (ringworm) in modern mammal skin. In contrast, the ulcerative lesions are recorded as necrosis of bone material, producing a corrosive-like disruption on the external surface of the osteoderms formed by irregular pits and exposition of spongy bone. These are ulcerative lesions probably produced by secondary infections by microorganisms such as fungi or bacteria, or even a destructive immunological response. This would begin as a more restricted lesion with several potential agents for this: abrasion from the soil, plants; lesions from intraspecific fights or predation; dermatitis; ectoparasites (e.g., mites, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes) or initial mycosis or bacterial infection. Since a bioerosive process cannot be demonstrated and is rather unlikely for the ulcerative lesions, these structures are not considered trace fossils. It is reasonable to assume that the flea lesion Karethraichnus minimum isp. nov. and fungal lesion Violinichnus punctatus igen. et isp. nov. could lead to an ulcerative lesion. As syn vivo traces, all these are tools to access the health of the animals to which the osteoderm belongs. Further support on ectoparasite and infection studies on living armoured animals would even allow inferences regarding extinct populations and interpretations of ancient ecosystems.

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.

Archaeological parasitology originated in the mid-twentieth century with interdisciplinary teams of specialists directed by archaeologists. The goals of such studies were detailed analyses of dietary, medicinal, and environmental factors that shaped the patterns of infection. By the 1970s, a cadre of unique coprolite analysts was trained to analyze macroscopic and microscopic remains for integrated reconstructions of the cultural determinants of parasitism. During these first phases of research, diagnostic rigor was maintained by direct training of specialists in parasitology and archaeology sub-disciplines including archaeobotany and archaeopalynology. Near the end of the twentieth century, however, "paleoparasitology" was defined as a separate field focusing on defining parasite distribution through time and space. Ironically, this focus resulted in an increase in misdiagnosis, especially prominent after 2000. Paleoparasitology does not explicitly include other specialized studies in it research design. Thus, dietary, environmental and medicinal inferences have been neglected or lost as samples were destroyed solely for the purpose of parasitological analysis. Without ancillary archaeological studies, paleoparasitology runs the risk of separation from archaeological context, thereby reducing its value to the archaeologists who recover samples for analysis.

Bones of human and ground sloth remains were analyzed for presence of Trypanosoma cruzi by conventional PCR using primers TC, TC1 and TC2. Sequence results amplified a fragment with the same product size as the primers (300 and 350pb). Amplified PCR product was sequenced and analyzed on GenBank, using Blast. Although these sequences did not match with these parasites they showed high amplification with species of bacteria. This article presents the methodology used and the alignment of the sequences. The display of this dataset will allow further analysis of our results and discussion presented in the manuscript “Finding the unexpected: a critical view on molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases in archaeological samples” (Pucu et al. 2017) [1]. Keywords: Paleoparasitology, Paleomicrobiology, ancient DNA, Taphonomy

SUMMARY Paleoparasitological examination provides information of parasite-host associations in the past, shedding light on the geographical origin of some parasites, on the possible dispersal routes and on some of the processes that modelled the parasitic communities. The aim of the present study was to examine parasite remains present in camelid coprolites collected from the archaeological site Alero Destacamento Guardaparque, Patagonia and to discuss the paleoparasitological findings in a biogeographical and paleoecological context. Coprolites were collected from different stratified layers dating from middle to late Holocene, a period covering approximately 7000 years. Paleoparasitological examination revealed the presence of eggs attributed to Lamanema chavezi or Nematodirus lamae, Nematodirus spathiger, Dictyocaulus sp., eggs of two unidentified capillariids, Strongylus-Type eggs and oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis. Enteric parasites of camelids had not changed significantly during the Holocene up to the entry of introduced livestock, although environmental conditions fluctuated greatly throughout this period, indicating the stability of these associations over time. This is the first finding of N. spathiger and Dictyocaulus sp. in paleoparasitological record and their presence are associated with the interaction of camelids with introduced livestock, which likely allowed parasite host switching. In the present study, the zoonotic importance of parasites of camelids is also discussed. Fil: Taglioretti, Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Fugassa, Martín Horacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Rindel, Diego Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Sardella, Norma Haydee. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

During civil engineering construction near Sejong-ro, Jongro-ku, Seoul, cultural sites were found that are thought to have been built in the 15th century. This area was home to many different people as well as the leaders of the Yi dynasty. To gain further insight into the life styles of the inhabitants of the old capital, soil samples were collected from various areas such as toilets, water foundations, and drainage ways. Parasite eggs were examined by microscopy after 5 g soil samples were rehydrated in 0.5% trisodium phosphate solution. A total of 662 parasite eggs from 7 species were found. Species with the highest number of eggs found were Ascaris lumbricoides (n=483), followed by Trichuris trichiura (138), Trichuris vulpis (21), Fasciola hepatica (8), Clonorchis sinensis (6), Paragonimus westermani (4), and Metagonimus yokogawai (2). These findings indirectly indicate the food habits of the people in Yi dynasty.

As we learn more about parasites in ancient civilizations, data becomes available that can be used to see how infection may change over time. The aim of this study is to assess how common certain intestinal parasites were in China and Korea in the past 2000 years, and make comparisons with prevalence data from the 20th century. This allows us to go on to investigate how and why changes in parasite prevalence may have occurred at different times. Here we show that Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) dropped markedly in prevalence in both Korea and China earlier than did roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). We use historical evidence to determine why this was the case, exploring the role of developing sanitation infrastructure, changing use of human feces as crop fertilizer, development of chemical fertilizers, snail control programs, changing dietary preferences, and governmental public health campaigns during the 20th century.

It is generally assumed that the digenean human liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, gained entry to South America during the 15th century upon arrival of Europeans and their livestock. Nonetheless in Patagonia, Argentina, digenean eggs similar to F. hepatica have been observed in deer coprolites dating back to 2300 years B.P. The main objective of our present study was to identify and characterize these eggs using an ancient DNA (aDNA) study. Eggs were isolated and used for aDNA extraction, amplification and sequencing of partial regions from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 1 mitochondrial genes. Also, phylogenetic trees were constructed using Bayesian and maximum likelihood. Our results confirm the presence of F. hepatica in South America from at least 2300 years B.P. This is the first report and the first aDNA study of this trematode in South America prior to the arrival of the European cattle in the 15th century. The present work contributes to the study of phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographical aspects of F. hepatica and its settlement across America., Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias

Excavation (2008-2014) carried out under the Uffizi Gallery (Florence, Italy) led to the discovery of 75 individuals, mostly buried in multiple graves. Based on Roman minted coins, the graves were preliminarily dated between the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries CE. Taphonomy showed that this was an emergency burial site associated with a catastrophic event, possibly an epidemic of unknown etiology with high mortality rates. In this perspective, paleoparasitological investigations were performed on 18 individuals exhumed from 9 multiple graves to assess the burden of gastrointestinal parasitism. Five out of eighteen individuals (27.7%) tested positive for ascarid-type remains; these are considered as “decorticated” Ascaris eggs, which have lost their outer mammillated coat. Roundworms (genus Ascaris) commonly infest human populations under dire sanitary conditions. Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that Florentia suffered a period of economic crisis between the end of 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries CE, and that the aqueduct was severely damaged at the beginning of the 4th century CE, possibly during the siege of the Goths (406 CE). It is more than plausible that the epidemic, possibly coupled with the disruption of the aqueduct, deeply affected the living conditions of these individuals. A 27.7% frequency suggests that ascariasis was widespread in this population. This investigation exemplifies how paleoparasitological information can be retrieved from the analysis of sediments sampled in cemeteries, thus allowing a better assessment of the varying frequency of parasitic infections among ancient populations.

Paleoparasitological analysis was carried on 4 Merovingian skeletons, dated from the late-5th to the late-9th centuries, and recovered in the church of Saint-Martin-au-Val in Chartres (Center region, France). The corpses were buried in stone sarcophagi, which were still sealed at the time of excavation. Parasite marker extraction was conducted on sediment samples taken from the abdominal and pelvic regions, but also on samples taken from under the head and the feet as control samples. Microscopic observation revealed the presence of 3 gastrointestinal parasites, namely the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and the fish tapeworm (genus Diphyllobothrium). This analysis contributes to a better knowledge of the health status and the lifestyle of ancient medieval populations during the Merovingian period, for which very few paleoparasitological data were available, up until now. It demonstrates the presence of the fish tapeworm for the first time during this period.

Paleoparasitology is the study of parasitic remains in archaeological context. The neolithization process with all that it implies in terms of socio-economic changes has helped to modify our relations to parasitic diseases. The first humanity epidemiological transition was induced by the establishment and intensification of agro-pastoral systems. The populations clustering, the sedentarisation, the presence in the same space of different species (animal and vegetable, especially allochthonous), the deforestation, the irrigation, the use of fertilizer, the parking or the storage are as many behaviors that impacted host / parasite systems. The deposits in our corpus focused on southwestern France and northeastern Spain.Through the analysis of helminth eggs, the way in which parasitic/host/environmental systems have adapted to the socio-economic transformations of human populations, as well as the health consequences on human populations of this anthropisation, have been understood. In addition, thanks to a dual approach (chronological and geographical) to European deposits with different biotopes, from our corpus integrated with those available in the bibliography, it has been possible to specify and compare the extent of human influence on parasitic/host systems. The deposits sampled in this study came from very different contexts, including chronology, geology, taphonomy and type of use. The most suitable facies for the conservation of helminth eggs were therefore identified., La paléoparasitologie est l’étude des restes parasites en contexte archéologique. Le processus de néolithisation avec tout ce qu’il implique en termes de mutations socio-économiques a contribué à modifier nos relations vis-à-vis des parasitoses. La première transition épidémiologique de l’Homme aurait été induite par la mise en place et l’intensification des systèmes agro-pastoraux. Le regroupement des populations, la sédentarisation, la mise en présence sur le même espace de différentes espèces (animales et végétales, notamment allochtones), la déforestation, le parcage ou encore le stockage sont autant de comportements qui ont impacté les systèmes hôtes/parasites. Les gisements de notre corpus se sont focalisés sur le sud-ouest de la France et le nord-est de l’Espagne. Via l'analyse des œufs d’helminthes, la façon dont les systèmes parasites/hôtes/milieux se sont adaptés aux transformations socio-économiques des populations humaines, ainsi que les conséquences sanitaires sur les populations humaines de cette anthropisation ont pu être appréhendées. L’analyse chronologique et géographique des gisements européens ayant des biotopes différents provenant de ce corpus intégré a ceux disponibles dans la bibliographie a permis de préciser et de confronter l’ampleur et l’influence des populations humaines sur le système parasites/hôtes. Les gisements échantillonnés dans le cadre de cette étude provenaient de contextes très différents, concernant aussi bien la chronologie, la géologie, la taphonomie que le type d’utilisation. Les faciès les plus propices à la conservation des œufs d’helminthes ont donc pu être précisés.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T11:01:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-01-01. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2021-07-15T14:35:59Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S0001-37652021000401205.pdf: 5311061 bytes, checksum: 06ed2fd3ad73c02f667cd32b22587292 (MD5) A paleoparasitological analysis was carried out on a large coprolite assigned to a carnivoran mammal, recovered from the Municipality of Uruguaiana, in the western region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the Upper Pleistocene Touro Passo Formation crops out. For this, an individual sample was extracted from the specimen using an electric drill, dissociated with 10% hydrochloric acid solution, washed with distilled water, and sifted through a 500 mesh Tyler sieve. After laboratory processing, the sediment retained on the sieve was mixed with glycerin and examined by optical microscopy, which revealed the presence of 14 protozoan oocysts and three nematode eggs. The morphological characteristics of the oocysts (i.e., spherical shape, thick-walled, internal zygote apparently at the beginning of sporulation, as well as their size) and of the eggs (i.e., ovoidal shape, rounded ends, smooth surface, thin-shelled, embryo in their interior, along with their morphometry) suggest that these specimens belong respectively to the orders Eucoccidiorida and Strongylida (Family Ancylostomatidae) represented by several parasitic species of the alimentary tract of modern carnivore. This is the first record of paleoparasites discovered in a vertebrate host from the Touro Passo Formation. UNESP Núcleo de Evolução e Paleobiologia de Vertebrados Departamento de Geologia Aplicada Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Campus Rio Claro, Av. 24 A, 1515 Instituto Adolfo Lutz Núcleo de Ciências Biomédicas CLR II, R. Rubens Arruda, Q6 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências Instituto de Geociências UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG) Laboratório de Geologia e Paleontologia Instituto de Oceanografia, Av. Itália, Km 8 UNESP Núcleo de Evolução e Paleobiologia de Vertebrados Departamento de Geologia Aplicada Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Campus Rio Claro, Av. 24 A, 1515

Coprolites are trace fossils. One of the ways to determine the presence of coprolites is to determine the presence of parasites in them. The four coprolites analysed here were collected in situ from the fossil-bearing layer PB-8. The paleoparasitological analyses were performed in two steps, the first is to confirm the classification of the sampled material as coprolites, and in the second place, to develop new analyses to add new parasite taxa. We used the diagnostic parasitological sedimentation–flotation technique to carry out the microscopic analyses. The same protocol was used in some sediment samples tacked in adjacent levels to the coprolites. Only the studied fossils and not the sediments contain parasitic eggs, which indicate faecal or intestinal origin and can be therefore considered as coprolites. The occurrence of eggs from Anoplocephala sp. indicate that the host was a horse, whereas Moniezia sp. can be correlated with deer and camelids.

Nowadays, wildlife is one of the most important sources of zoonoses, and it is a major concern for the public health. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of wildlife as a reservoir and source of infectious diseases in the past. South America presents a wide diversity of wildlife. In the south of the continent, Argentina shelters a large diversity of neotropical carnivores. Although the paleoparasitological studies on carnivores have been increasing in southern Argentina, most of the efforts have been focused in a handful of sites located in western Patagonia. In this paper, two coprolites of felid found in Cueva Galpón, an initial late Holocene mortuary site from northeast Patagonia (Argentina), were studied for paleoparasitological purposes. Samples were processed by rehydration, homogenization, filtered and processed by spontaneous sedimentation. The samples were assigned to Puma concolor (puma) or Panthera onca (jaguar). Microscopic observations revealed that both coprolites were positive for parasite remains. High parasite richness was observed. Six nematodes, one cestode and one coccidian morphotypes were reported. This is the first time that Gnathostoma sp. and Spirocerca sp. were recovered from holocenic times from Patagonia. This finding implies that some diseases such as taeniasis, spirocercosis, gnathostomosis, ascariasis and coccidiosis could be present in holocenic wildlife from Patagonia prior to the Spanish colonization and domestic animal introduction. The overall results suggest that felids could have played a role as reservoirs and source of some parasitic species, some of which are zoonotic. Therefore, this animal could have entailed a risk agent for human health in the site., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-06T16:49:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-01-01. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2019-10-09T18:35:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S0001-37652019000400508.pdf: 2788820 bytes, checksum: 62cf24a2ab93abbe5b24a0dc6073b2e3 (MD5) This study presents the oldest record of Acanthocephala parasite eggs in coprolites preliminary assigned to Crocodyliformes, recovered in the region of Santo Anastácio Municipality, Southwestern São Paulo State. For this, a paleoparasitological investigation was carried out on 53 mineralized coprolites ( complete or fragmented), with round shape or cylindrical shape of rounded or pointed ends, 0.2 - 3.9 cm in length x 0.1 - 2.4 cm in diameter, 3.7 grams in weight, and absence of food remains. Individual samples of the surface and internal portions of each coprolite were extracted by electric drill, dissociated with Cloridic Acid 10% solution, washed with Distilled Water, and filtered in granulometric screen Mesh / Tyler 325. After laboratory processing, the sediments retained on the granulometric screen was studied with Glycerin under optical microscopy, and the presence of four Acanthocephala eggs could be observed in sample of only one of these ichnofossils. All specimens were well preserved and showed 72.5 - 85 µm in length x 27.5 - 50 µm in width, elliptical shape, three concentric and thick shells, and embryos in their interior. This study inaugurates investigations and knowledge about Paleoparasitology in Crocodyliformes coprolites from the Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous from the Paraná Basin. Núcleo de Evolução e Paleobiologia de Vertebrados, Departamento de Geologia Aplicada, Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, UNESP, Campus Rio Claro. Av. 24 A, 1515, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil

IntroductionPaleoparasitology, the study of parasites in the past, brings the knowledge of where and when they occurred in preterit populations. Some groups of parasites, as capillariids, have a complex and controversial systematic, hindering the paleoparasitological diagnosis. In this article, we synthesized the occurrence of capillariids in both the New and the Old World in ancient times, and discussed the difficulty of the diagnosis of species and the strategies for identification. The present review also shows the current status of the phylogeny in capillariids and indicates the necessity to try new approaches for a better understanding of capillariid paleodistribution.MethodsFor the systematic review, a predefined guideline defined by PRISMA was used. The articles collected were identified, screened, and included in the review following criteria for eligibility. The current status of the phylogeny of capillariids was accessed using MUSCLE, Bioedit v.7.0.5 and MEGA v. 7.0.21 programs.ResultsThe review discussed 38 articles that presented information about capillariids in past populations. Most of capillariid eggs found in the New and Old World were not identified. However, Calodium hepaticum eggs were the most identified, as some from Eucoleus genus. It was observed that sites from the New World had a better chance for capillariid egg identification, due to previous knowledge of its host, when compared to the Old World. In the 18S rDNA phylogenetic analyses, two datasets were constructed, one including sequences from 7 Moravec's genera, where 3 genus-specific clusters, with high bootstrap values, could be observed for Capillaria (ML = 99%, NJ = 96%), Eucoleus (ML / NJ = 100%) and Paratrichosoma (ML / NJ = 100%). A fourth cluster of 18S rDNA dataset I revealed lack of definition of Pearsonema and Aonchotheca genera. The 18S rDNA dataset II comprised 8 Moravec's genera and defined 3 clusters, 2 genus-specific for Eucoleus (ML = 99%, NJ = 100%) and Capillaria (ML / NJ = 98%). The third 18S rDNA dataset II cluster included 6 genera and exhibited, once again, Pearsonema and Aonchotheca poor discrimination. The cox1 gene data consist of 4 Moravec's genera, and in spite of grouping some species-specific clusters, did not show genera-specific definition.ConclusionsDespite the numerous archaeological findings, both in the New and the Old Worlds, the identification of capillariid species based on the morphology and morphometry of eggs remains imprecise, often resulting in a generic diagnosis of a group or morphotype of capillariid. Capillariid is one of the most diverse group of helminths recovered in archaeological sites. The phylogenetic trees produced in this study showed limited genetic information available, unresolved genera and incongruence with the classical taxonomy. The elucidation of the paleodistribution of capillariids can give insights of the ancient host-parasite associations but also in modern sceneries.

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.

Objective To investigate the types of intestinal parasites that infected people living in Islamic period southern Iberia (al-Andalus), and compare with other regions of Europe. Materials Four cesspits from 10th–11th century CE Cordoba (Spain), and two from 12th–13th century Mertola (Portugal). Methods Sediment from each cesspit was analyzed using digital light microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Analysis revealed eggs of roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) in every cesspit analyzed, but no evidence of other species of helminth or protozoal parasites. Conclusion Differences were noted between parasite species found in Mediterranean Europe and northern Europe, where a range of zoonotic parasites were endemic alongside sanitation-related parasites. We suggest that the scarcity of zoonotic parasites in southern Europe in the medieval period may reflect contrasts in climate between northern and southern Europe. Significance The repeated identification of roundworm eggs suggests that al-Andalus was less hygienic than historically depicted. We did not note a difference between parasites found in Muslim and Christian regions of Iberia, and the predominance of parasites spread by fecal contamination of food is consistent with past research. Limitations The eggs of some species of parasite are fragile, so may theoretically have been present in the population but did not survive for us to identify them. Suggestions for further research To further investigate the role of climate upon the parasites that affected past human populations.