Abstract
Paleopathological and paleoparasitological studies seek evidences to understand health and disease in past populations. These two approaches are often used independently despite the obvious importance of its complementary. This paper aims to explore the possible relation between a common indicator of childhood stress and infection by intestinal parasites. Thirty adult individuals from the Islamic necropolis of Santarém (9th-12th cent. AD) were macroscopically examined for linear enamel hypoplasia. Sediment from the pelvis and skull of each skeleton were observed under the optical microscope in search of helminth eggs. Hypoplasic defects were identified in 46.67% of the individuals, mostly on canines and incisors. Eggs from Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura were identified respectively in 4 and 2 individuals. The Fisher’s exact test was performed to analyze whether the individuals with evidences of stress in early childhood were more prone to helminth infections or death at younger ages. Although these variables were shown to be independent, this exploratory study highlights the contribution of combining paleopathological and paleoparasitological methods to address the long-term impact of the physiological stress exposure in early life on the immune system. Furthermore, variety of factors that could have influenced these results are discussed and interpreted in a biocultural perspective.
Highlights
Paleopathology and paleoparasitology emerged as “sister disciplines”, both initiated by the pioneering studies of Ruffer in ancient Egyptian mummies (Dutour, 2013: 147)
The hypoplasias and in 3 of the 16 (18.75%) analysis of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) allows the examination of individuals without this marker
A holistic approach to disease ecology can benefit from interdependencies between the host, parasite, and environment
Summary
Paleopathology and paleoparasitology emerged as “sister disciplines”, both initiated by the pioneering studies of Ruffer in ancient Egyptian mummies (Dutour, 2013: 147) Despite their complementarity, these scientific fields have mostly grown apart (Dutour, 2013). We propose a novel approach to understand the possible consequence of non-specific indicators of disease, by analyzing the osteological and only present in adjacent teeth (Wong, parasitological remains, as well as other 2014). Those lesions due to sources of documentary and archeologi- systemic ‘stress’ are seen in teeth that are cal evidence. LEH the study of the human host with possible are initiated by episodic events, generinfectious agents and environment condi- ally the result of deficient nutrition and/or tions where both coexisted
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