O parasitismo é composto por três subsistemas: o parasito, o hospedeiro e meio ambiente. Não existe organismo que não possa ser parasitado. A relação entre um parasito e suas espécies de hospedeiro não resulta, na maior parte das vezes, em dano ou doença ao hospedeiro. Entretanto, numa doença parasitária, a presença de um determinado parasito é sempre necessária, pelo menos em um determinado momento da infecção. Algumas espécies de parasitos que infectam humanos foram herdados dos pré-hominídeos, e foram compartilhados com outras espécies de hospedeiro filogeneticamente próximas, mas outras espécies foram adquiridas pelo meio ambiente à medida que os humanos se desenvolveram. As migrações humanas espalharam os parasitos adquiridos por todo o mundo. Para recuperar e traçar a origem e evolução das doenças infecciosas foi criada a paleoparasitologia. Paleoparasitologia é o estudo dos parasitos em materiais antigos, que trouxe novas informações na evolução, paleoepidemiologia, ecologia e filogenética das doenças infecciosas.

Parasitism is composed by three subsystems: the parasite, the host, and the environment. There are no organisms that cannot be parasitized. The relationship between a parasite and its host species most of the time do not result in damage or disease to the host. However, in a parasitic disease the presence of a given parasite is always necessary, at least in a given moment of the infection. Some parasite species that infect humans were inherited from pre-hominids, and were shared with other phylogenetically close host species, but other parasite species were acquired from the environment as humans evolved. Human migration spread inherited parasites throughout the globe. To recover and trace the origin and evolution of infectious diseases, paleoparasitology was created. Paleoparasitology is the study of parasites in ancient material, which provided new information on the evolution, paleoepidemiology, ecology and phylogenetics of infectious diseases.

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.

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 análisis de material arqueológico, son una fuente valiosa para recuperar información de infecciones parasitarias emergentes y desaparecidas. Los parásitos pueden ser usados como marcadores biológicos de migraciones humanas prehistóricas. Además de esto, son indicadores de dieta, debido a que los ciclos de vida parasitarios están relacionados con ciertos alimentos que fueron consumidos por grupos humanos en los diferentes hábitats ocupados. El objetivo de esta revisión bibliográfica es reunir los hallazgos paleoparasitológicos en Sudamérica y comparar la relación huésped humano y parásitos intestinales con condiciones de vida y relaciones ambientales a través del tiempo.

Current clinical data show a clear relationship between the zoonosis rates of Diphyllobothrium pacificum and Anisakis caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillations (ENSO) phenomenon along the Chilean coast. These parasites are endemic to the region and have a specific habitat distribution. D. pacificum prefers the warmer waters in the northern coast, while Anisakis prefers the colder waters of Southern Chile. The ENSO phenomenon causes a drastic inversion in the seawater temperatures in this region, modifying both the cool nutrient-rich seawater and the local ecology. This causes a latitudinal shift in marine parasite distribution and prevalence, as well as drastic environmental changes. The abundance of human mummies and archaeological coastal sites in the Atacama Desert provides an excellent model to test the ENSO impact on antiquity. We review the clinical and archaeological literature debating to what extent these parasites affected the health of the Chinchorros, the earliest settlers of this region. We hypothesise the Chinchorro and their descendants were affected by this natural and cyclical ENSO phenomenon and should therefore present fluctuating rates of D. pacificum and Anisakis infestations.

One hundred years since the discovery of Chagas disease associated with Trypanosoma cruzi infection, growing attention has focused on understanding the evolution in parasite-human host interaction. This interest has featured studies and results from paleoparasitology, not only the description of lesions in mummified bodies, but also the recovery of genetic material from the parasite and the possibility of analyzing such material over time. The present study reviews the evidence of Chagas disease in organic remains excavated from archeological sites and discusses two findings in greater detail, both with lesions suggestive of chagasic megacolon and confirmed by molecular biology techniques. One of these sites is located in the United States, on the border between Texas and Mexico and the other in state of Minas Gerais, in the Brazilian cerrado (savannah). Dated prior to contact with Europeans, these results confirm that Chagas disease affected prehistoric human groups in other regions outside the Andean altiplanos and other transmission areas on the Pacific Coast, previously considered the origin of T. cruzi infection in the human host.

São revistos os registros de ocorrência de helmintos intestinais parasitos de animais em vestígios arqueológicos humanos, relatados desde o surgimento dos estudos paleopatológicos. Busca-se relacionar os achados em paleoparasitologia com fatores geográficos, bióticos e abióticos do ambiente em que as populações pré-históricas viviam, e com aspectos do processo de dispersão e evolução biológica e cultural humana. A modificação de hábitos alimentares e a incorporação de novas práticas culturais são analisadas sob o ponto de vista das zoonoses desde a pré-história até a atualidade, em especial em populações indígenas brasileiras. Três tabelas identificando os helmintos, seus hospedeiros naturais, datações e local dos achados arqueológicos complementam esta revisão. Conclui-se que várias zoonoses conhecidas hoje ocorrem desde a antiguidade e que estes dados, combinados a estudos de emergência e reemergência de doenças, podem auxiliar a compor cenários para o futuro.

The 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.

Two small mummy bundles, found in a tomb at the Chillon River Valley, Lima Plains, Peru exist in the collections of the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were donated to the collections at the beginning of the 20th century. A multidisciplinary team is now curating and studying them. CT scans confirmed both skeletons were of individuals less than one year old at death. One of the bundles is intact and will be preserved and displayed. The other one was partly decomposed and the authors received permission to unwrap it to analyze the bones in details. Mites and pollen analysis were performed and the bones and artifacts were described. The cranium of a four to six month-old child, had a perforated necrotic occipital bone that possibly related to cause of death. Endosteal new bone reaction, a flattened area at the occipital squamae and a parietal sulcus associated with a zone of frontparietal resorption were also found. A pathognomonic periosteal reaction at the occipital and parietals, along the lambdoid suture, pointed to the compression of the skull that could explain the trauma, ischemic necrosis and subsequent infection. The cultural context suggests that the bundle could belong to a late Inca burial.

Dos fardos de infantes hallados en una tumba en el valle del Río Chillón (Lima, Perú) fueron incorporados a la colección del Museo Nacional de Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, a comienzos del siglo XX. Actualmente, un equipo multidisciplinario está encargado de la curaduría y del estudio de los fardos. El análisis realizado por tomografía computadorizada confirmó que ambos esqueletos tienen menos de un año de edad. Uno de los fardos está intacto y será preservado y exhibido. El otro estaba parcialmente deteriorado y se obtuvo permiso para desenfardarlo y hacer el análisis de los huesos. Se realizó análisis de ácaros y de polen, además de la descripción de los huesos y de los artefactos. El cráneo presentó una perforación necrosada en el occipital, interpretada como la posible causa de muerte. Se observó también una reacción endosteal de hueso nuevo, un área allanada en la escama occipital y un surco en el parietal asociado a una zona de reabsorción frontoparietal. Una reacción patognomónica del periostio en el occipital y en los parietales a lo largo de la sutura lambdoide apuntan a una compresión del cráneo, lo que podría explicar el trauma, la necrosis isquémica y la subsiguiente infección. El contexto cultural sugiere que el fardo pertenecería a un enterratorio de época incaica.

Parasitism was a universal human condition. Because of this, people developed herbal medicines to treat parasites as part of their pharmacopoeias. We propose that it is possible to recover evidence of medicinal plants from archaeological sites and link their use to specific health conditions. This is a multidisciplinary approach that must involve at least paleoethnobotanists, archaeoparasitologists, paleopathologists, and pharmacologists.

We have been searching for evidence of Chagas disease in mummified human remains. Specifically, we have looked for evidence of alteration of intestinal or fecal morphology consistent with megacolon, a condition associated with Chagas disease. One prehistoric individual recovered from the Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande exhibits such pathology. We present documentation of this case. We are certain that this individual presents a profoundly altered large intestinal tract and we suggest that further research should focus on confirmation of a diagnosis of Chagas disease. We propose that the prehistoric activity and dietary patterns in Chihuahua Desert hunter/gatherers promoted the pathoecology of Chagas disease.

A molecular paleoparasitological diagnostic approach was developed for Enterobius vermicularis. Ancient DNA was extracted from 27 coprolites from archaeological sites in Chile and USA. Enzymatic amplification of human mtDNA sequences confirmed the human origin. We designed primers specific to the E. vermicularis 5S ribosomal RNA spacer region and they allowed reproducible polymerase chain reaction identification of ancient material. We suggested that the paleoparasitological microscopic identification could accompany molecular diagnosis, which also opens the possibility of sequence analysis to understand parasite-host evolution.

The excavations of Chiribaya culture sites in the Osmore drainage of southern Peru focused on the recovery of information about prehistoric disease, including parasitism. The archaeologists excavated human, dog, guinea pig, and llama mummies. These mummies were analyzed for internal and external parasites. The results of the analysis and reconstruction of prehistoric life from the excavations allows us to interpret the pathoecology of the Chiribaya culture.

The parasite-host-environment system is dynamic, with several points of equilibrium. This makes it difficult to trace the thresholds between benefit and damage, and therefore, the definitions of commensalism, mutualism, and symbiosis become worthless. Therefore, the same concept of parasitism may encompass commensalism, mutualism, and symbiosis. Parasitism is essential for life. Life emerged as a consequence of parasitism at the molecular level, and intracellular parasitism created evolutive events that allowed species to diversify. An ecological and evolutive approach to the study of parasitism is presented here. Studies of the origin and evolution of parasitism have new perspectives with the development of molecular paleoparasitology, by which ancient parasite and host genomes can be recovered from disappeared populations. Molecular paleoparasitology points to host-parasite co-evolutive mechanisms of evolution traceable through genome retrospective studies.

Diphyllobothrium pacificum has been reported as a human parasite from coprolites and skeletons in Peru and Chile. Our analysis of Chinchorro mummies from Chile provides the oldest evidence of D. pacificum directly associated with human mummies. These mummies date between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. The basis for our diagnosis is presented. We find that the size of the eggs in the mummies is smaller than other discoveries of D. pacificum. We suggest that this is due to the peculiar circumstances of preservation of parasite eggs within mummies and the release of immature eggs into the intestinal tract as the tapeworms decompose after the death of the host. This information is important to consider when making diagnoses from mummies.

Assessing the impact of cultural change on parasitism has been a central goal in archaeoparasitology. The influence of civilization and the development of empires on parasitism has not been evaluated. Presented here is a preliminary analysis of the change in human parasitism associated with the Inca conquest of the Lluta Valley in Northern Chile. Changes in parasite prevalence are described. It can be seen that the change in life imposed on the inhabitants of the Lluta Valley by the Incas caused an increase in parasitism.

Organic remains can be found in many different environments. They are the most significant source for paleoparasitological studies as well as for other paleoecological reconstruction. Preserved paleoparasitological remains are found from the driest to the moistest conditions. They help us to understand past and present diseases and therefore contribute to understanding the evolution of present human sociality, biology, and behavior. In this paper, the scope of the surviving evidence will be briefly surveyed, and the great variety of ways it has been preserved in different environments will be discussed. This is done to develop to the most appropriated techniques to recover remaining parasites. Different techniques applied to the study of paleoparasitological remains, preserved in different environments, are presented. The most common materials used to analyze prehistoric human groups are reviewed, and their potential for reconstructing ancient environment and disease are emphasized. This paper also urges increased cooperation among archaeologists, paleontologists, and paleoparasitologists.

Repatriation has compromised the opportunity to directly examine skeletons and to apply new diagnostic criteria and techniques. Pre-repatriation approaches to non-metric data acquisition, must make a number of assumptions: (1) Phenomena must be correctly identified and segregated; (2) Criteria for severity must be specific to the phenomena studied; and (3) As criteria for disease recognition may change with time, it is valuable only as long as the raw data is also recorded. As part of data preservation, x-rays and CD-ROM images were recorded for skeletons from Nebraska sites undergoing repatriation. This report concentrates on four of them: 25DK13 and slightly more recent 25DK2B, 25DK10, and 25KX1. 28% of individuals from 25DK13 manifest polyostotic periosteal reaction, and sabre shin reaction was invariably associated with visible surface periosteal reaction. 8-14% of individuals from the other sites also had periosteal reaction. Sabre shin reaction, when present in skeletons from those sites, was associated with such complete remodeling that surface periosteal reaction was no longer visible. The patterns of periosteal reaction in the examined sites were in-distinguishable from those observed on direct examination of skeletons with yaws and syphilis. The Nebraska transition from yaws to syphilis apparently took place approximately 800 years ago

La repatriación ha interferido en la oportunidad de examinar directamente esqueletos y aplicar nuevos criterios y técnicas diagnósticas. Los métodos de pre-repatriación para la colección de datos no métricos deben hacer varias presunciones: (1) Los fenómenos deben ser correctamente identificados y segregados; (2) Los criterios para severidad deben ser específicos en relación a los fenómenos estudiados; y (3) Como los criterios para el reconocimiento de enfermedades cambian a través del tiempo, esto sólo es válido mientras los datos crudos son registrados. Como parte de la preservación de la data, se tomaron imágenes de CD-ROM y rayos x de los esqueletos de los sitios bajo repatriación de Nebraska. Este trabajo se concentra en cuatro de ellos: 25DK13 y los ligeramente más recientes 25DK2B, 25DK10, y 25KX1. El 28% de los individuos de 25DK13 manifiestan una reacción periosteal poliostótica, y "tibias en sable" estaba invariablemente asociado con una visible reacción periostea en la superficie. El 8-14% de los individuos de otros sitios también tenían una reacción periostal. La reacción de "tibias en sable", cuando se hallaba presente en esqueletos de esos sitios, estaba asociada con una reconstrucción tan completa que la reacción periostal de superficie no era visible. Los patrones de la reacción periostal en los sitios examinados no se podían distinguir de los observados por examinación directa en esqueletos con pian y sífilis. La transición de pian a sífilis en Nebraska, aparentemente tuvo lugar aproximadamente 800 años atrás