RESUMO
Paleoparasitological studies have demonstrated that changes in environment or culture are reflected in the patterns of parasitic infection diseases in populations worldwide. The advent of agriculture and animal domestication, with its accompanying reduction in human mobility and expanding population involves changes in or emergence of, parasites, the so-called first epidemiological transition. Cultural processes related to territory occupation contribute to both loss and acquisition of parasites. The archaeological site Lluta 57 in the Lluta Valley, Chile, provides a chronology of the transition from the pre-Inca or Late Intermediate Period (LIP), through the Late or Inca Period (LP), to the Hispanic Contact Period (HCP), providing the possibility of evaluating this epidemiological transition. The aim of this study was to conduct a paleoparasitological investigation of to gain insight into the dynamics of parasitism in Lluta people throughout the Inca expansion. Fourteen human coprolites from the three periods were rehydrated, submitted to spontaneous sedimentation, and examined by light microscopy for the presence of intestinal parasite eggs, pollen grains, and micro-remains. Eggs of four parasites: Enterobius vermicularis, Trichostrongylus sp., Trichuris sp., and Eimeria macusaniensis were recovered. Frequency, diversity, and number of parasite eggs per sample increased over the studied time period. Trichostrongylus sp. and E. macusaniensis were recorded in the region for the first time. Enterobius vermicularis eggs, absent in the LIP, were present as a hyper-infection in LP. The presence of E. macusaniensis is likely related to exploitation of llamas, which were used for food and transport and as sacrificial offerings. The paleobotanical analysis revealed ten families of pollen grains, as well as phytoliths and floral remains. In contrast to parasitological results, a diachronic pattern was not detected. Evolution of the settlements, with the advent of larger, more densely populated, villages, could have influenced the emergence and intensification of transmission of parasites in the region. The study showed that the Inca expansion influenced host-parasite-environment relationships in the Lluta Valley.
Assuntos
Fezes/parasitologia , Helmintíase/epidemiologia , Helmintíase/parasitologia , Enteropatias Parasitárias/epidemiologia , Enteropatias Parasitárias/parasitologia , Animais , Chile/epidemiologia , Demografia , Fósseis , Helmintíase/história , História Antiga , História Medieval , Humanos , Enteropatias Parasitárias/históriaRESUMO
Biodiversity studies allow ecosystem assessment and monitoring of environmental changes and impacts. Parasite diversity could reflect the host/ parasite coevolutionary process and the environment changes that permit the loss, gain or maintenance of species. This survey used species/morphotypes of helminths eggs found in feces from seven wild mammal species (the groups Dasypodidae and Large Cats, and Tamandua tetradactyla, Cebus apella, Alouatta caraya, Cerdocyon thous, Pecari tajacu) and from two domestic species (Canis familiaris and Sus scrofa), which occur within the Serra da Capivara National Park (PNSC) and surrounding areas in order to analise the diversity of mammal intestinal helminths. This work used the helminthological fauna findings of wild and domestic mammals, to consider a possible helminth flux between these two host groups using Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) of the hosts based on helminthological fauna composition. The results indicate that the region of the PNSC still maintains environmental conditions that still keep wild mammal helminthological fauna composition different from the one found for domestic mammals.
Assuntos
Animais Domésticos/parasitologia , Animais Selvagens/parasitologia , Biodiversidade , Helmintos/classificação , Helmintos/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Brasil , Fezes/parasitologiaRESUMO
Parasitism was a universal human condition. Because of this, people developed herbal medicines to treat parasites as part of their pharmacopoeias. We propose that it is possible to recover evidence of medicinal plants from archaeological sites and link their use to specific health conditions. This is a multidisciplinary approach that must involve at least paleoethnobotanists, archaeoparasitologists, paleopathologists, and pharmacologists.