Taphonomic considerations for the analysis of parasites in archaeological materials

Archaeoparasitological analyses of human remains can present interpretative challenges arising from diverse preservation environments. Three archaeoparasitological studies are used to demonstrate the impacts of five major types of taphonomic factors on parasite egg preservation. In the first case, an analysis of a historic Lithuanian mummy revealed infections with Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides and illustrates taphonomic issues unique to mummies. The second case involved the analysis of coprolites collected from medieval burials in Nivelles, Belgium. One burial demonstrated a high concentration of T. trichiura eggs (approximately 1,577,679 total eggs) and A. lumbricoides eggs (approximately 202,350 total eggs). Preservation was affected mostly by water percolation with differential preservation of eggs based on morphological characteristics. The third case is based on material from embalming jars of the Medici family. No parasite eggs were recovered; however, an abundance of mites and dipteran puparia were encountered, suggesting that arthropods may play a larger role in parasite egg preservation than previously supposed. Differential parasite egg preservation is discussed in light of variances in five major types of taphonomic factors: abiotic, contextual, anthropogenic, organismal, and ecological. Accounting for these factors is a vital component in the interpretation of archaeoparasitological data and should be included in future archaeoparasitological reports.