Recovery of Helminths from Prehistoric Feces: The Cultural Ecology of Ancient Parasitism

Authors

Karl J. Reinhard, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Manuscript

Date of this Version

8-1985

Citation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biology

Under the supervision of Professor Richard H. Hevly

Northern Arizona University, August 1985

Includes contributions by Magdelene McGuffie, Richard H. Hevly, Scott Clay-Poole, and Carl H. Halbirt

Comments

Copyright 1985, Karl J. Reinhard and contributing authors of respective sections. Used by permission

Abstract

Several helminth parasites have been recovered from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau. These include Ascaris, Trichuris, Enterobius, Moniliformis, and tapeworms in the families Hymenolepidae and Taeniidae. The recovery of these animals demonstrates that cross-temporal: comparison of parasitism between different prehistoric lifestyles is possible. Such comparison might elucidate the effects of changing lifestyle and subsistance pattern on human parasitism.

Desiccated feces recovered from archaelogical deposits were studied. Hunter-gatherer feces were selected from Dust Devil Cave in southeastern Utah. Agriculturalist feces were studied from Antelope House, a cave site in northeastern Arizona, and Salmon Ruins, a Pueblo village in northwestern New Mexico. The parasitic remains, and dietary data, were compared in an effort to determine the effects of these two lifestyles on human parasitism.

Hypotheses were established and tested by the study. These hypotheses predicted that hunter-gatherers would face reduced parasitism because of smaller group size, mobility, and a diet that might contain anthelminthic compounds. Because of dependence on mesic areas for crop production, increased group size, crowding, and replacement of anthelminthic foods with agricultural crops, it was predicted that agriculturalists would face increased parasitism.

The results of the study support the predictions. Among the hunter-gatherers, the consumption of Chenopodiwn seed limited parasitism. Conversely, agriculturalists were heavily infected with pinworm at both Salmon Ruin and Antelope House. The inhabitants of Antelope House were also infected with the nematodes Strongyloides(?) and Trichostrongylus, and probably the cestode Hymenolepis. Nematode infection probably resulted from exposure to mesic soils. The tapeworm infection was probably an result of infestation of stored foods with grain beetles and rodents.

The research has stimulated further interest in paleo-parasitism of the New World. The origins of subtropical parasites such as Trichuris is a problem for further consideration. The possibility that nematode parasitism contributed to high infant mortality in prehistoric agricultural groups is also a topic worthy of continued research.

An offshoot of the study included intensive reconsideration and refinement of previous techniques of parasite extraction from prehistoric feces. The final project presents a description of techniques applied for the recovery of helminth remains.