Archaeological Parasites as Indicators of Environmental Change in Urbanizing Landscapes: Implications for Health and Social Status

Trigg, Heather; Jacobucci, Susan; Mrozowski, S.; Steinberg, John M.

doi:10.1017/aaq.2017.6

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…In an area of concern to global epidemiology, some human parasites can be identified archaeologically. Trigg and colleagues () show that parasitic worm populations that have a life‐cycle phase occurring in soil are intimately related to changing and varied urban microenvironments. Parasite infestations and changing species prevalence relate to the interaction of a complex array of social and biological factors, including food production practices, sanitation and waste practices, crowding, and even variations in temperature and humidity patterns.…”

Section: Addressing Current Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a time when a greater percentage of the global population can be found in urban environments, the dangers of human‐parasite ecologies remain a serious current concern (Trigg et al. ). Archaeological parasitology has intriguing potential for both the study of health in the past as well as the future, but Reinhard () warns that a recent tendency for severing of paleoparasitology as a specialization from archaeologists and archaeological contexts can limit its veracity and value.…”

Section: Addressing Current Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Finding Archaeology in 2017: What Is Archaeology and Why Are We Doing It? Why Should We Be Doing It?

Lewis

2018

American Anthropologist

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These annual review essays focus on what we as archaeologists are doing year by year. Many themes continue on from review to review, waxing and waning, not unlike the bell curves of a traditional pottery seriation.Each year, themes are highlighted and presented in varied ways according to the orientation and aims of the reviewer. All do a masterful job of curating the vast range of what archaeologists were, in each annual period, currently producing. My review follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, summarizing an array of new and exciting research, and describing how agendas presented in 2017 cluster around sets of related questions and aims. It will also look at the growing literature that asks, in one way or another, fundamental questions about what archaeology really is and why we pursue it. In this time when the value of academic pursuits and scientific perspectives are being highly scrutinized in politics and popular culture, archaeologists are faced with the uncomfortable question of "What is it, really, that we should be doing?" [archaeology, current issues, public archaeology, digital archaeology] RESUMEN Estos ensayos de revisión anual se enfocan en lo que como arqueólogos estamos haciendo año tras año. Muchos temas continúan de revisión en revisión, creciendo o menguando, no muy diferente de las curvas en forma de campana de la seriación de la cerámica tradicional. Cada año, temas son enfatizados y presentados de varias maneras de acuerdo a la orientación y metas del crítico. Todos hacen un trabajo magistral de organizar un rango vasto de lo que los arqueólogos estaban, en cada período anual, realmente produciendo. Mi revisión sigue los pasos de sus predecesores, resumiendo una colección de nueva y emocionante investigación, y describiendo cómo las agendas presentadas en el 2017 se agrupan alrededor de juegos de cuestiones y metas relacionadas.También examina la creciente literatura que pregunta, de una manera u otra, cuestiones fundamentales acerca de lo que la arqueología realmente es y por qué nos dedicamos a ella. En este tiempo cuando el valor de los empeños académicos y las perspectivas científicas están siendo altamente escrutados en política y cultura popular, los arqueólogos se enfrentan a la pregunta incomoda de "¿Qué es lo que realmente deberíamos estar haciendo?"[arqueología, cuestiones actuales, arqueología pública, arqueología digital] ARCHAEOLOGICAL FRAGMENTATION?While the theme of what such a diverse discipline should be subtly undergirds much of the literature, a number of 2017 articles, each in a very different way, directly address the very nature of what archaeology is and why we practice it. In the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Assaf Nativ (2017, 55) asks us to reconsider our notions of the

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Section: Addressing Current Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Addressing Current Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding Archaeology in 2017: What Is Archaeology and Why Are We Doing It? Why Should We Be Doing It?

Lewis

2018

American Anthropologist

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“…Five new references were added (numbers [14][15][16][17][18], including the three kindly recommended by Dr. Reinhard, to my previous version 1.…”

Section: Amendments From Versionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, a parasitic occurrence can also be related to open water contamination, for instance from livestock grazing in upland areas causing outbreaks downstreams. This has nothing to do with any sanitation structure, as these parasites are by far common and overdispersed [14][15][16] : hot spots examples of faecal contamination, as shown by highly aggregated Ascaris or Trichuris eggs, are in fact well-known in archaeology and palaeoecology 11,17,18 .…”

Section: Revisedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogenic helminths in the past: Much ado about nothing

Mulder

2017

F1000Res

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Despite a long tradition on the extent to which Romanisation has improved human health, some recent studies suggest that Romanisation in general, and Roman sanitation in particular, may not have made people any healthier, given that in Roman times gastrointestinal parasites were apparently widespread, whilst in the present day such parasites rarely cause diseases. Unfortunately, this novel claim neglects the empirical evidence that worldwide infections in over 1.5 billion people are caused by ubiquitous foodborne nematodes. Therefore, many may wonder if fossil remains of soil-transmitted helminths have been reported in ancient sanitation infrastructures. Beneficial access to improved sanitation should always be prioritized, hence how can historical sanitation efforts have ever been harmful? In this short article, a strong plea for caution is given, asking for an augmented nematological record and showing that there is not any evidence against Roman sanitation, neither in the past nor in the present.Christian Mulder ( )

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“…In her Nature feature, Chelsea Wald 1 reviewed some of the conclusions by Piers D. Mitchell 2 and describes the fascinating rise of latrines in Mesopotamia, Greece and the Roman Empire. Both authors tried to point out that most of these sanitation facilities were not doing much for the residents' health, despite the idea that sophisticated plumbing systems, like those of ancient Rome, may have acted as a kind of control that could benefit even the poor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%