Gastrointestinal parasites in ancient South American camelid feces from the Atacama Desert (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapacá, northern Chile)

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Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc

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Faunal remains from archeological sites worldwide, especially feces and regurgitated pellets, are usually subjected to paleoparasitological examination, allowing the identification of past animal parasites. In this study, we analyzed 10 samples of South American camelid dung, which played an important role for the ancient human groups in the South-Central Andes, dated between 341 and 1635 calCE, from the Iluga Túmulos site (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapacá region, Atacama Desert, Chile). Microscopy examination revealed parasite remains in seven samples, in which oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis and eggs of Lamanema chavezi/Nematodirus lamae, Trichuris sp., Moniezia sp., capillariids, strongylids, and unidentified nematodes were found. Although some of these species pose a potential health risk to camelids, most are not considered to be of major zoonotic importance, which could explain the absence of these parasites on human coprolites from this site analyzed previously. This first paleoparasitological study on camelid fecal remains from northern Chile sheds light on the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites and its relationship with Andean ancient human populations and the environment.
Fil: Ramirez, Darío Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; Argentina
Fil: Herrera Soto, María José. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; Argentina
Fil: González Andreu, Josefina. No especifíca;
Fil: Santana Sagredo, Francisca. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Chile
Fil: Uribe Rodríguez, Mauricio. Universidad de Chile.; Chile
Fil: Nores, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; Argentina

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ANDEAN SOCIETIES, ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS, ENTEROPARASITES, ILUGA TÚMULOS, PARASITOSIS, ZOOARCHEOLOGY, ZOONOSIS, https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1, https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6

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