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Parasitic infections and resource economy of Danish Iron Age settlement through ancient DNA sequencing.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Tams, Katrine Wegener  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8154-6122
Jensen Søe, Martin  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0386-6294
Merkyte, Inga 
Valeur Seersholm, Frederik 
Henriksen, Peter Steen  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0728-4029

Abstract

In this study, we screen archaeological soil samples by microscopy and analyse the samples by next generation sequencing to obtain results with parasites at species level and untargeted findings of plant and animal DNA. Three separate sediment layers of an ancient man-made pond in Hoby, Denmark, ranging from 100 BC to 200 AD, were analysed by microscopy for presence of intestinal worm eggs and DNA analysis were performed to identify intestinal worms and dietary components. Ancient DNA of parasites, domestic animals and edible plants revealed a change in use of the pond over time reflecting the household practice in the adjacent Iron Age settlement. The most abundant parasite found belonged to the Ascaris genus, which was not possible to type at species level. For all sediment layers the presence of eggs of the human whipworm Trichuris trichiura and the beef tapeworm Taenia saginata suggests continuous disposal of human faeces in the pond. Moreover, the continuous findings of T. saginata further imply beef consumption and may suggest that cattle were living in the immediate surrounding of the site throughout the period. Findings of additional host-specific parasites suggest fluctuating presence of other domestic animals over time: Trichuris suis (pig), Parascaris univalens (horse), Taenia hydatigena (dog and sheep). Likewise, alternating occurrence of aDNA of edible plants may suggest changes in agricultural practices. Moreover, the composition of aDNA of parasites, plants and vertebrates suggests a significant change in the use of the ancient pond over a period of three centuries.

Description

Keywords

Animals, Archaeology, Cattle, DNA, Ancient, Denmark, Feces, Horses, Humans, Parasites, Plants, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Sheep, Swine, Trichuris

Journal Title

PLoS One

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1932-6203
1932-6203

Volume Title

13

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)