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SuMMaRYThe authors present a review of records of intestinal parasitic helminths from animals in human archaeological remains, reported since the emergence of paleopathological studies. The objective was to relate paleoparasitological findings to geographic, biotic, and abiotic factors from the environment in which the prehistoric populations lived, and understand some aspects related to the process of human dispersion and biological and cultural evolution. Modification of eating habits and the incorporation of new cultural practices are analyzed from the perspective of zoonoses from prehistory to the present day, especially in Brazilian indigenous populations. Three tables identifying the helminths, their natural hosts, dates, and sites of archaeological findings complete this review. In conclusion, various zoonoses known today have occurred since antiquity, and these data, combined with studies on the emergence and reemergence of diseases, could make possible to compose scenarios for the future.

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Parasite eggs found in organic remains collected from medieval structures in Raversijde (medieval name: Walraversijde), a village on the northern coast of Belgium, are discussed. The eggs were identified as Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, both human parasites. Species identification allowed elucidating the origin of the organic sediments and the structures, in this case latrines used by humans. Capillaria sp. and free-living nematode larvae were also found in the latrine. Although neither parasite burden nor prevalence rates could be measured, the abundance of human intestinal parasite eggs indicated a high infection rate in the village residents, reflecting very poor sanitation.

Some human parasites originated in prehominid ancestors in Africa. Nematode species, such as Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm), hookworms and Trichuris trichiura are shared by humans and other close phylogenetic primates (Pan and Gorilla), showing that they infected a common ancestor to this group. When humans migrated from Africa to other continents they carried these parasites wherever climate conditions allowed parasite transmission from host to host. Other parasites, however, were acquired throughout human biological and social evolutive history when new territories were occupied. Paleoparasitology data is a valuable source to recover emergence and disappearance of parasite infections through analysis of archaeological remains. Parasites can be used as biological markers of prehistoric human migrations. They are also indicators of diet, as parasite life cycles are related to specific kinds of food consumed by human groups in the different habitats they occupied. We review paleoparasitological findings in South America, comparing human-host and intestinal parasites with life conditions and environmental relationships through time.Key words: Paleoparasitology, coprolites, mummies, infectious diseases, ancient diseases, parasite-human evolution. Algunos parásitos humanos se originaron en ancestrales prehomínidos de Africa. Especies de nemátodos tales como Enterobius vermicularis y Trichuris trichiura son compartidos por los humanos y otros primates filogenéticamente emparentados (Pan and Gorilla), lo cual indica que tales parásitos antiguamente infectaron a un ancestro común de estos grupos. Cuando los humanos migraron desde Africa a otros continentes, llevaron consigo parásitos a lugares donde las condiciones climáticas permitieran su transmisión de huésped a huésped. Sin embargo, otros parásitos fueron adquiridos a través de la historia evolutiva humana biológica y social, durante la ocupación de nuevos territorios. Las evidencias paleoparasitológicas, encontradas a través del

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