Despite interest in the origins of syphilis, paleopathological analysis has not provided answers, and paleogenetic diagnosis remains a challenge. Even venereal syphilis has low infectivity which means there are few circulating bacteria for most of the individual's life. Human remains recovered from the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Church (17th to 19th centuries) and the Praça XV Cemetery (18th to 19th centuries), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were subjected to Treponema paleogenetic analysis. Historical data point to endemic treponemal infections in the city, including venereal syphilis. Based on the physiopathology of Treponema pallidum infection, 25 samples, mostly from skull remains of young adults, with no visible paleopathological evidence of treponematoses, were analyzed. PCR with three molecular targets, tpp47, polA, and tpp15, were applied. Ancient DNA tpp15 sequences were recovered from two young adults from each archaeological site and revealed the polymorphism that characterizes T. p. subsp. pallidum in a female up to 18 years old, suggesting a probable case of syphilis infection. The results indicated that the epidemiological context and the physiopathology of the disease should be considered in syphilis paleogenetic detection. The findings of Treponema sp. aDNA are consistent with historical documents that describe venereal syphilis and yaws as endemic diseases in Rio de Janeiro. Data on the epidemiological characteristics of the disease and its pathophysiology offer new perspectives in paleopathology.

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Tuberculosis (TB) has been described in Native American populations prior to the arrival of European explorers, and in Brazilian populations dating from the Colonial Period. There are no studies demonstrating TB infection in native Brazilians, and the history and epidemiological scenario of TB in Brazil is still unknown. The aim of this study was to verify the presence of TB infection among the native Tenetehara-Guajajara population from Maranhão State, Brazil, 210 ± 40 years ago. A Tenetehara-Guajajara skeleton collection was submitted to paleopathological analysis, and rib bone samples (n = 17) were used for paleogenetic analysis based on Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) targets. Porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia were found in 10 and 13 individuals, respectively. Maternal ancestry analysis revealed Native American mtDNA haplogroups A and C1 in three individuals. Three samples showed osteological evidence suggestive of TB. katG and mtp40 sequences were detected in three individuals, indicating probable TB infection by two MTC lineages. Tuberculosis infection in the Tenetehara-Guajajara population since the 18th century points to a panorama of the disease resulting, most probably, from European contact. However, the important contribution of African slaves in the population of Maranhão State, could be also considered as a source of the disease. This study provides new data on TB during the Brazilian Colonial Period. This is the first report integrating paleopathological and paleogenetic data for the study of TB in Brazil.

Sambaquis or shellmounds are archeological sites constructed by hunter-fisher-gatherers that inhabited the Brazilian coast about 10,000–2000 yrs BP. Jabuticabeira II (JABII: 2890 ± 55 to 1805 ± 65 BP) is one of dozens of contemporaneous sambaquis of the Santa Catarina state, South Brazil, and contains hundreds of neatly organized burials, indicating great population density. In order to gather information about the health, diet and way of life of people in JABII, a paleoparasitological, paleogenetic, and micro-human remains investigation was carried out. Pelvic region and environmental control samples from six individuals exhumed from JABII were submitted to microscopic and ancient DNA (aDNA) investigation. Paleoparasitological analyses based on light microscopy were negative. However, a variety of informative microremains were found. Diatoms, fish scales, and algae characterize the marine and estuarine environment. Ipomoea batatas and Zea mays starch grains suggested cultivated items as part of their diet in agreement with the literature. The finding of Podocarpus sp. pollen grain, characteristic of highlander vegetation, suggests human mobility of JABII individuals which were settlement in the coast. Paleogenetic analyses showed Ascaris sp. helminth infection based on nad1 gene fragment detected from an individual excavated at L3 FS7 burial (1826 ± 40 BP). This aDNA result places the antiquity of Ascaris sp. infection, and haplotypes that are circulating in humans and other animals nowadays, in Pre-Columbian South American times.