Ramón López-Gijón , Edgard Camarós , Ángel Rubio-Salvador , Salvatore Duras , Miguel C. Botella-López , Inmaculada Alemán-Aguilera , Ángel Rodríguez-Aguilera , Macarena Bustamante-Álvarez , Lydia P. Sánchez-Barba , Benjamin Dufour , Matthieu Le Bailly
{"title":"Implications of the prevalence of Ascaris sp. in the funerary context of a Late Antique population (5th-7th c.) in Granada (Spain)","authors":"Ramón López-Gijón , Edgard Camarós , Ángel Rubio-Salvador , Salvatore Duras , Miguel C. Botella-López , Inmaculada Alemán-Aguilera , Ángel Rodríguez-Aguilera , Macarena Bustamante-Álvarez , Lydia P. Sánchez-Barba , Benjamin Dufour , Matthieu Le Bailly","doi":"10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.09.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To evaluate the prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites in human remains from Late Antiquity (5th – 7th c.) Granada (Spain).</p></div><div><h3>Materials</h3><p>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).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>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.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><em>Ascaris</em> sp. eggs were detected in pelvic samples from seven individuals.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>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.</p></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><p>The prevalence of <em>Ascaris</em> sp. associated with skeletal remains has implications for assessing the lifestyle and health of populations in southern Spain during the Late Antique period.</p></div><div><h3>Limitations</h3><p>The number of individuals is small and taphonomic processes could have limited paleoparasitological findings</p></div><div><h3>Suggestions for further research</h3><p>Future interdisciplinary studies of this type are warranted in larger osteological series to improve knowledge of parasitosis in the past.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48817,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Paleopathology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Paleopathology","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1879981723000505","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
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.
期刊介绍:
Paleopathology is the study and application of methods and techniques for investigating diseases and related conditions from skeletal and soft tissue remains. The International Journal of Paleopathology (IJPP) will publish original and significant articles on human and animal (including hominids) disease, based upon the study of physical remains, including osseous, dental, and preserved soft tissues at a range of methodological levels, from direct observation to molecular, chemical, histological and radiographic analysis. Discussion of ways in which these methods can be applied to the reconstruction of health, disease and life histories in the past is central to the discipline, so the journal would also encourage papers covering interpretive and theoretical issues, and those that place the study of disease at the centre of a bioarchaeological or biocultural approach. Papers dealing with historical evidence relating to disease in the past (rather than history of medicine) will also be published. The journal will also accept significant studies that applied previously developed techniques to new materials, setting the research in the context of current debates on past human and animal health.