Pubblicazione scientifica

Molecular archaeoparasitology identifies cultural changes in the Medieval Hanseatic trading centre of Lübeck

FILONE TECNOLOGICO	TEMA
produzione e cattura

RIASSUNTO

Throughout history, humans have been afflicted by parasitic worms, and eggs are readily detected in archaeological deposits. This study integrated parasitological and ancient DNA methods with a large sample set dating between Neolithic and Early Modern periods to explore the utility of molecular archaeoparasitology as a new approach to study the past. Molecular analyses provided unequivocal species-level parasite identification and revealed location-specific epidemiological signatures. Faecal–oral transmitted nematodes (Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura) were ubiquitous across time and space. By contrast, high numbers of food-associated cestodes (Diphyllobothrium latum and Taenia saginata) were restricted to medieval Lübeck. The presence of these cestodes and changes in their prevalence at approximately 1300 CE indicate substantial alterations in diet or parasite availability. Trichuris trichiura ITS-1 sequences grouped into two clades; one ubiquitous and one restricted to medieval Lübeck and Bristol. The high sequence diversity of T.t.ITS-1 detected in Lübeck is consistent with its importance as a Hanseatic trading centre. Collectively, these results introduce molecular archaeoparasitology as an artefact-independent source of historical evidence.

DATA

Data di pubblicazione: 03/10/2018

AUTORI

FLAMMER PATRIK G
DELLICOUR SIMON
PRESTON STEPHEN G
RIEGER DIRK
WARREN SYLVIA
TAN CEDRIC K W
NICHOLSON REBECCA
PRICHYSTALOVA RENATA
BLEICHER NIELS
WAHL JOACHIM
FARIA NUNO R
PYBUS OLIVER G
POLLARD MARK
SMITH ADRIAN L

ENTE DI AFFERENZA

DEPT ZOOLOGY PETER MEDAWAR BLDG FOR PATHOGEN RSCH UNIV OXFORD OXFORD OX1 3SY UK
RESEARCH LAB FOR ARCHAEOLOGY & HISTORY OF ART UNIV OXFORD OXFORD OX1 3QY UK
REGA INST MEDICAL RSCH CLINICAL & EPIDEMIOLOGICAL VIROLOGY DEPT MICROBIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY KU LEUVEN UNIV LEUVEN 3000 LEUVEN BELGIUM
ARCHAOLOGIE & DENKMALPFLEGE DER HANSESTADT LUBECK 23566 LUBECK GERMANY
OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY LTD
MASARYK UNIV BRNO 60177 BRNO CZECH REPUBLIC
HOCHBAUAMT DER STADT ZURICH ABTEILUNG UNTERWASSERARCHAOLOGIE 8008 ZURICH SWITZERLAND
UNIV TUBINGEN 72070 TUBINGEN GERMANY
REGIERUNGSPRASIDIUM STUTTGART LANDESAMT FUR DENKMALPFLEGE 78467 KONSTANZ GERMANY

RIVISTA

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1888), 20180991

IMPACT FACTOR

4,240

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