Title
Camelid Gastrointestinal Parasites from the Archaeological Site of Huanchaquito (Peru): First Results
Date Issued
02 July 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Le Bailly M.
Goepfert N.
Verano J.
Dufour B.
Tulane University
Publisher(s)
Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Abstract
Palaeoparasitological investigation was conducted on a first set of samples from 13 sacrificed domestic camelids recovered from the pre-Hispanic Chimú culture site of Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, Peru. The aim was to establish the animals’ gastrointestinal parasite diversity and enlighten on their health status at the time of their death. To this end, 20 samples of coprolites and intestinal contents were analysed to check for the presence of parasite markers, i.e. preserved eggs and oocysts. Microscopic examinations revealed the presence of five taxa of helminths and protozoans in a majority of the tested animals (61%). Our analysis revealed the presence in some animals of protozoan oocysts belonging to the species Eimeria macusaniensis (phylum Apicomplexa). Our study is the first report of the possible presence of a parasite egg attributed to the order Plagiorchiida (family Fasciolidae) in ancient camelids. This preliminary study shows that there is interesting potential for conducting palaeoparasitological analysis at the site and that such analysis is promising for answering questions about the health status of the Huanchaquito-Las Llamas camelids.
Start page
325
End page
332
Volume
25
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Parasitología Gastroenterología, Hepatología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85059613153
Source
Environmental Archaeology
ISSN of the container
14614103
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the ANR CAMELANDES under Grant ANR-15-CE27-0002-01, the PEPS ECOCAM (CNRS). The excavations at Huanchaquito-Las Llamas were supported by the Municipalidad Distrital de Huanchaco, Yale University, Tulane University, the National Geographic Society, Beca de Repatriación de Investigadores Peruanos, INNOVATE PERU, and Universidad Nacional de Trujillo. We thank all the students and colleagues who helped us during the zooarchaeological study, and we thank Belkys Gutiérrez Léon (BGL Arqueologia, Peru) for her administrative help. We also thank Suzanne Needs-Howarth, who greatly improved the quality of the English writing.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus