A Tick from a Prehistoric Arizona Coprolite

Authors

Keith L. Johnson, California State University - Chico
Karl J. Reinhard, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Luciana Sianto, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Adauto Araújo, Fundação Oswaldo CruzFollow
Scott Lyell Gardner, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
John J. Janovy Jr., University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2-1-2008

Comments

Published in the Journal of Parasitology, vol. 94, no. 1 (2008): 296-298. Copyright 2008, American Society of Parasitologists. Used by permission.

Abstract

Ticks have never been reported in archaeological analyses. Here, we present the discovery of a tick from a coprolite excavated from Antelope Cave in extreme northwest Arizona. Dietary analysis indicates that the coprolite has a human origin. This archaeological occupation is associated with the Ancestral Pueblo culture (Anasazi). This discovery supports previous hypotheses that ticks were a potential source of disease and that ectoparasites were eaten by ancient people.