Supplementary Information from Molecular archaeoparasitology identifies cultural changes in the Medieval Hanseatic trading centre of Lübeck
Patrik G. Flammer
Simon Dellicour
Stephen G. Preston
Dirk Rieger
Sylvia Warren
Cedric K. W. Tan
Rebecca Nicholson
Renáta Přichystalová
Niels Bleicher
Joachim Wahl
Nuno R. Faria
Oliver G. Pybus
Mark Pollard
Adrian L. Smith
10.6084/m9.figshare.7115822.v1
https://rs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Supplementary_Information_from_Molecular_archaeoparasitology_identifies_cultural_changes_in_the_Medieval_Hanseatic_trading_centre_of_L_beck/7115822
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 (<i>Ascaris lumbricoides</i> and <i>Trichuris trichiura</i>) were ubiquitous across time and space. By contrast, high numbers of food-associated cestodes (<i>Diphyllobothrium latum</i> and <i>Taenia saginata</i>) were restricted to medieval Lübeck. The presence of these cestodes and changes in their prevalence at approximately 1300CE indicate substantial alterations in diet or parasite availability. <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> ITS-1 sequences grouped into two clades; one ubiquitous and one restricted to medieval Lübeck and Bristol. The high sequence diversity of <i>T.t</i>.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.
2018-09-21 02:56:49
ancient DNA
helminths
genetics
parasitology
archaeology
nematode
cestode
diet
trade