The Finding of Echinostoma (Trematoda: Digenea) and Hookworm Eggs in Coprolites Collected From a Brazilian Mummified Body Dated 600â•fi1,200 Years Before Present

The identification of parasites from ancient cultures expands our list of parasites infective to extant humans. A partially mummified human body from the archeological site of Lapa do Boquete, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, was recently discovered. It was interred between 600 and 1,200 yr ago. Dietary analysis showed that the mummified body was from a society that had a mixed subsistence of agriculture and gathering of wild foods. Coprolites from the body contained numerous helminth eggs. The eggs were identified as those of Echinostoma sp. and hookworm. Hookworm infection in pre-Columbian populations is already established, but this is the first evidence of Echinostoma sp. eggs found in human coprolites. The diagnosis of a true infection, as opposed to false parasitism, is discussed. The possibility of Echinostoma ilocanum infection is discussed, as this is a common species found in humans in the Asiatic region, which could have been introduced in South America in the pre-Columbian period. Alternative possibilities are also considered, including indigenous Brazilian Echinostoma species. One of the most significant contributions of archeology to parasitology is the documentation of parasite species infective to ancient humans that are not known from the present clinical literature. In some cases, false parasitism is implicated, such as the find of Cryptocotyle lingua eggs in an Alaskan Yupik mummy (Zimmerman, 1998). False parasitism occurs when parasite eggs are passed in the feces of a subject who is not infected with the parasite. In other cases, real infection is implicated, such as the discovery of acanthocephalan eggs in archeological sites of the Great Basin of North America (Fry, 1970). Diagnosing infection from the archeological record is only possible when the physical remains analyzed are of human origin and when the dietary practices of the human population are known (Reinhard et al., 1987; Reinhard, 1988). If these 2 criteria are met, then the possibility of confusing false parasitism with true infection can be reduced. Archeologists recently excavated the cave, Lapa do Boquete. This site is situated in the Peruaçu River Valley of northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The region is characterized by cerrado vegetation com-