Human intestinal parasites from a Mamluk Period cesspool in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem: Potential indicators of long distance travel in the 15th century AD

Yeh, Hui‐Yuan; Prag, Kay; Clamer, Christa; Humbert, Jean-Baptiste; Mitchell, Piers D.

doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2015.02.003

Cited by 27 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…It remained unknown whether transmission was along the Silk Road itself, or to the north via Mongolia and Russia, or to the south via India. Past research using parasites as markers of migration to and from Asia include movement between Europe and the Middle East in the 15th century AD, and between China and America in the 19th century [37,38]. A study of the latrine at Xuanquanzhi relay station has for the first time allowed an investigation of an archaeological site on the Silk Road that was built for travellers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Yeh

Mitchell

2016

Korean J Parasitol

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Whilst archaeological evidence for many aspects of life in ancient China is well studied, there has been much less interest in ancient infectious diseases, such as intestinal parasites in past Chinese populations. Here, we bring together evidence from mummies, ancient latrines, and pelvic soil from burials, dating from the Neolithic Period to the Qing Dynasty, in order to better understand the health of the past inhabitants of China and the diseases endemic in the region. Seven species of intestinal parasite have been identified, namely roundworm, whipworm, Chinese liver fluke, oriental schistosome, pinworm, Taenia sp. tapeworm, and the intestinal fluke Fasciolopsis buski. It was found that in the past, roundworm, whipworm, and Chinese liver fluke appear to have been much more common than the other species. While roundworm and whipworm remained common into the late 20th century, Chinese liver fluke seems to have undergone a marked decline in its prevalence over time. The iconic transport route known as the Silk Road has been shown to have acted as a vector for the transmission of ancient diseases, highlighted by the discovery of Chinese liver fluke in a 2,000 year-old relay station in northwest China, 1,500 km outside its endemic range.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Yeh

Mitchell

2016

Korean J Parasitol

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“…Potential evidence for long distance travel can be found following the analysis of a Mamluk period cesspool from the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem (Yeh et al, 2015). Radiocarbon dating and pottery fragments show the cesspool was in use during the late 1400s and early 1500s.…”

Section: Detecting Migrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another option to consider is that E. histolytica may have become endemic in the region after its spread there by crusaders in the thirteenth century, but the same would be unlikely for fish tapeworm as fish was typically eaten cooked in the Middle East and this would prevent parasite transmission. A further possibility is that this was a hostel providing accommodation for European traders or pilgrims travelling to the Christian quarter of the holy city (Yeh et al, 2015).…”

Section: Detecting Migrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Parasites in Medieval Europe

Mitchell

2015

Advances in Parasitology

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“…Much of the existing work has focused on the recovery of protozoan parasite antigens from latrine sediments [4,9–11,13,14]. In addition to sediments, Gonçalves et al [4] examined 22 coprolites from Brazil, Chile, and Sudan using an ELISA kit for detecting Entamoeba histolytica coproantigens and did not find any positive samples.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Archaeoparasitological Potential of Quids As a Source Material for Immunodiagnostic Analyses

Morrow

Reinhard

2016

Korean J Parasitol

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In the present study, quids from La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos (CMC) were subjected to ELISA tests for 2 protozoan parasites, Toxoplasma gondii (n=45) and Trypanosoma cruzi (n=43). The people who occupied CMC, the Loma San Gabriel, lived throughout much of present-day Durango and Zacatecas in Mexico. The known pathoecology of these people puts them into at-risk categories for the transmission of T. gondii and T. cruzi. Human antibodies created in response to these 2 parasites can be detected in modern saliva using ELISA kits intended for use with human serum. For these reasons, quids were reconstituted and subjected to ELISA testing. All test wells yielded negative results. These results could be a factor of improper methods because there is no precedence for this work in the existing literature. The results could equally be a simple matter of parasite absence among those people who occupied CMC. A final consideration is the taphonomy of human antibodies and whether or not ELISA is a sufficient method for recovering antibodies from archaeological contexts. An additional ELISA test targeting secretory IgA (sIgA) was conducted to further examine the failure to detect parasite-induced antibodies from quids. Herein, the methods used for quid preparation and ELISA procedures are described so that they can be further developed by future researchers. The results are discussed in light of the potential future of quid analysis.

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Human intestinal parasites from a Mamluk Period cesspool in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem: Potential indicators of long distance travel in the 15th century AD

Cited by 27 publications

References 19 publications

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Ancient Human Parasites in Ethnic Chinese Populations

Human Parasites in Medieval Europe

Assessing the Archaeoparasitological Potential of Quids As a Source Material for Immunodiagnostic Analyses

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