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Cultural ecology of prehistoric parasitism on the Colorado Plateau as evidenced by coprology
Author(s) -
Reinhard Karl J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330770308
Subject(s) - prehistory , parasitism , ecology , subsistence agriculture , plateau (mathematics) , foraging , geography , cave , archaeology , canyon , biology , agriculture , host (biology) , mathematical analysis , mathematics , cartography
The study of coprolites (desiccated feces) is recognized as a viable method for analyzing parasitism of prehistoric peoples. Eight species of helminth parasites, including nematodes, cestodes, and acanthocephalans, have been recovered from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau. The comparative analysis of parasitological findings illustrates the effects of changing subsistence strategies and varying life‐style on prehistoric human parasitism. This comparative study is based on the analysis of coprolites recovered from one Archaic hunter‐gatherer site and two Anasazi agricultural villages. Hunter‐gatherers are represented by coprolites from Dust Devil Cave in southeastern Utah. Coprolites of prehistoric agriculturalists from Antelope House in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, and from Salmon Ruin in northwestern New Mexico were studied. The results demonstrate that helminth parasitism increased with the advent of agriculture. Between the agricultural sites, differences in patterns of excreta disposal, foraging behavior, and local ecology resulted in pronounced variations in both percentage of coprolites containing parasite remains and the number of parasite species represented.