Parasitological examination of samples from tombs of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) could be helpful to researchers in understanding parasitic infection prevalence in pre-industrial Korean society. Whereas most of our previous parasitological studies revealed the presence of ancient parasite eggs in coprolites of Korean mummies, a sample from a man living in late 17th century Korea proved to be relatively unique in possessing what appeared to be several species of parasite larvae. The larvae identified included Strongyloides stercoralis and Trichostrongylus spp., along with eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and Paragonimus westermani. Since ancient parasite larvae retain enough morphology to make proper species identification possible, even after long burial times, the examination of parasite larvae within ancient samples will be conducted more carefully in our future work.

We report a possible rheumatoid arthritis (RA) case found in a Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392Dynasty ( -1910 tomb encapsulated by a lime-soil mixture barrier (LSMB). The tomb is thought to have been constructed during the 1700s AD (1760 AD by carbon dating). In our anthropological examination, joint destruction, erosion or fusion (signs of polyarthritis) were identified mainly in the peripheral skeleton. Especially in both sides of the wrist bones, severe destruction/joint fusion possibly caused by polyarthritis was observed. A similar polyarthritis pattern also was seen in the right foot bones, even though we failed to confirm this symmetry due to the missing left foot bones. Despite these findings, signs suggestive of polyarthritis are very rarely seen in axial bones, even though bony fusions are found in the atlanto-occipital joint or thoracic vertebrae (TV) 9-10. By the osteological signs observed in this case, the individual, a female, might have been suffering from a very late stage of RA and died in her 40s, even though other forms of chronic arthritis could not be ruled out completely. Though the current case could not provide evidence to decisively settle the debates on the antiquity of RA, our report could be a stepping stone for forthcoming studies on RA cases found in East Asian countries.