The state of the art of paleoparasitological research in the old world

Abstract

Paleoparasitology in the Old World has mainly concerned the study of latrine sediments and coprolites collected from mummified bodies or archaeological strata, mostly preserved by natural conditions. Human parasites recovered include cestodes, trematodes, and nematodes. The well preserved conditions of helminth eggs allowed paleoepidemiological approaches taking into account the number of eggs found by archaeological stratum. Tentatively, sanitation conditions were assessed for each archaeological period.

Keywords

• paleoparasitology
• coprolites
• mummies
• platyhelminthes
• nemathelminthes
• Old World