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

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Authors

FLAMMER Patrik G. DELLICOUR Simon PRESTON Stephen G. RIEGER Dirk WARREN Sylvia TAN Cedric K. W. NICHOLSON Rebecca PŘICHYSTALOVÁ Renáta BLEICHER Niels WAHL Joachim FARIA Nuno R. PYBUS Oliver G. POLLARD Mark SMITH Adrian L.

Year of publication 2018
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Web http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1888/20180991
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.0991
Keywords parasite; molecular biology; aDNA; archeology
Description 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.
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