Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2020 Nov 23;375(1812):20190570. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0570. Epub 2020 Oct 5.
Enteric helminths are common parasites in many parts of the world and in the past were much more widespread both geographically and socially. Many enteric helminths are relatively long-lived in the human host, often benign or of low pathogenicity while producing large numbers of environmentally resistant eggs voided in the faeces or found associated with individual remains (skeletons and mummies). The combination of helminth characters offers opportunities to the field of historical pathogen research that are quite different to that of some of the more intensively studied high impact pathogens. Historically, a wealth of studies has employed microscopic techniques to diagnose infection using the morphology of the helminth eggs. More recently, various ancient DNA (aDNA) approaches have been applied in the archaeoparasitological context and these are revolutionizing the field, allowing much more specific diagnosis as well as interrogating the epidemiology of helminths. These advances have enhanced the potential for the field to provide unique information on past populations including using diseases to consider many aspects of life (e.g. sanitation, hygiene, diet, culinary practices and other aspects of society). Here, we consider the impact of helminth archaeoparasitology and more specifically the impact and potential for application of aDNA technologies as a part of the archaeologists' toolkit. This article is part of the theme issue 'Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'.
肠道寄生虫是世界上许多地区的常见寄生虫，过去在地理和社会上的分布范围更广。许多肠道寄生虫在人类宿主中寿命相对较长，通常是良性的或低致病性的，同时产生大量环境抗性的卵，这些卵在粪便中排出或与个体遗骸（骨骼和木乃伊）一起发现。寄生虫特征的结合为历史病原体研究领域提供了与一些更深入研究的高影响力病原体完全不同的机会。历史上，大量的研究使用显微镜技术来诊断感染，使用寄生虫卵的形态。最近，各种古代 DNA（aDNA）方法已应用于考古寄生虫学领域，这些方法正在彻底改变这一领域，不仅可以进行更具体的诊断，还可以研究寄生虫的流行病学。这些进展增强了该领域提供有关过去人群的独特信息的潜力，包括利用疾病来考虑生活的许多方面（例如卫生、卫生、饮食、烹饪实践和社会的其他方面）。在这里，我们考虑了寄生虫考古学的影响，更具体地说，考虑了 aDNA 技术的应用的影响和潜力，作为考古学家工具包的一部分。本文是主题为“从古代生物分子中洞察健康与疾病”的一部分。
