Human parasites found in medieval cesspit reveal links between Middle East and Europe
Human parasites found in medieval cesspit reveal links between Middle East and Europe
Post on: Mar 19, 2015 heritagedaily
A new analysis of a medieval cesspit in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem has revealed the presence of a number of ancient parasite eggs, providing a window into the nature and spread of infectious diseases in the Middle East during the 15th century.
Researchers found evidence of six species of intestinal parasites in the over 500-year-old latrine. These included large quantities of roundworm and whipworm, both spread by faecal contamination of food and thought to be endemic to the region dating back to human evolution out of Africa.
Two of the parasites detected, Entamoeba dysentery and fish tapeworm, were common in northern Europe in the medieval period, but either very rare or almost completely absent among the populations of the medieval Middle East.
The fish tapeworm was prevalent in northern Europe due to the popularity of fish as a food and the nature of its preparation: often eaten raw, smoked or pickled – which doesn’t kill the parasite. According to Arabic texts of the time, in inland Syrian cities such as Jerusalem fish was not commonly eaten, and when consumed was always cooked thoroughly in accordance with local culinary traditions. This cooking kills the parasite and prevents its spread.
The team also found pieces of Italian pottery in the same cesspit, reinforcing the hypothesis of strong trading or religious links between Europe and Jerusalem during the late 1400s.
More:
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2015/03/human-parasites-found-medieval-cesspit-reveal-links-middle-east-europe/107042
