1. Parasitism of prehistoric humans and companion animals from Antelope Cave, Mojave County, northwest Arizona.
- Author
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Fugassa MH, Reinhard KJ, Johnson KL, Gardner SL, Vieira M, and Araújo A
- Subjects
- Animals, Archaeology, Arizona, Dog Diseases parasitology, Dogs, Enterobiasis history, Enterobius isolation & purification, Feces parasitology, History, Medieval, Humans, Indians, North American history, Tick Infestations history, Ticks, Trichuriasis history, Trichuriasis veterinary, Trichuris isolation & purification, Zoonoses history, Acanthocephala isolation & purification, Dog Diseases history, Helminthiasis history
- Abstract
Previously, we reported a tick recovered from Antelope Cave in extreme northwest Arizona. Further analyses of coprolites from Antelope Cave revealed additional parasitological data from coprolites of both human and canid origin. A second tick was found. This site is the only archaeological locality where ticks have been recovered. We also discovered an acanthocephalan in association with Enterobius vermicularis eggs in the same coprolite. This association shows that the coprolite was deposited by a human. This discovery expands our knowledge of the range of prehistoric acanthocephalan infection. In addition, findings from canid coprolites of Trichuris vulpis are reported. This is the first published discovery of T. vulpis from a North American archaeological context. The close association of dogs with humans at Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) sites raises the potential that zoonotic parasites were transferred to the human population. The archaeological occupation is associated with the Ancestral Pueblo culture 1,100 yr ago.
- Published
- 2011
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