Ancient Feces from Mexico’s “Cave of the Dead Children” Reveals Intestinal Parasites, Including Work by UNC Chapel Hill’s Joe Brown
A new study co-authored by UNC Chapel Hill's Joe Brown uses advanced DNA analysis on 1,000-year-old fecal samples from a Mexican cave site to reveal the intestinal parasites and pathogens that affected ancient populations.
DNA recovered from 1,000-year-old dried feces found at La Cueva de Los Muertos Chiquitos, or the “Cave of the Dead Children,” in Durango, Mexico, has revealed a range of intestinal parasites and pathogens that plagued people living in the Rio Zape Valley roughly 1,100 to 1,300 years ago. The ancient samples contained evidence of pinworm, E. coli, Blastocystis, and Shigella, offering a rare window into the gut health of the Loma San Gabriel people. The study, published in PLOS One, used highly specific molecular methods previously applied only to modern samples. Co-author Joe Brown, an environmental engineer at UNC Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, said the work brings new analytical approaches to ancient fecal samples to better understand how human gut health has changed over time.
Read more here: https://www.popsci.com/health/ancient-poop-parasites-mexico/