FIRST PALEOPARASITOLOGICAL RESULTS FROM LATE HOLOCENE IN PATAGONIA (ARGENTINA)

BELTRAME M. ORNELA; FUGASSA MARTÍN H.; SARDELLA NORMA H.; CIVALERO M. TERESA; ASCHERO CARLOS

Necochea, Bs. As., Argentina

Congreso; Paleopathology in South America (PAMinSA); 2009

Paleoparasitological studies on sediments from archaeological sites with human occupation provide evidences of possible parasitosis to which men and animals could be exposed in the past. In Patagonia there are numerous rock caves and eaves that have been occupied alternatively both by humans and animals. In this study, 4 samples of coprolites collected from the archaeological sites Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 (CCP7) and Cerro Casa de Piedra 5 (CCP5), located in Parque Nacional Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, previously attributed to human, were examined. Samples correspond to layer 1 from CCP7, and to layer 2 from CCP5, dated at 3480 and 2740 years BP, respectively. They were rehydrated with a trissodium phosphate solution and 10% acetic formalin, homogenized and allowed to spontaneously sediment, from both the surface and the interior of each coprolite. Microscopic observations were made and the eggs of parasites were measured and photographed. Results obtained showed the presence of eggs of Calodium sp. and probably of trichostrongilids (Nematoda), oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis (Coccidia), eggs of taenids (Cestoda) and Acanthocephala. Although it could not be given the generic filiation of some parasites, the presence of eggs of tapeworms represents the first record for Late Holocene in Patagonia, and shows that parasitism by cestodes existed in the region in pre-Columbian times. The presence of E. macusaniensis suggests the human consumption of camelids. The results indicate that in the Late Holocene zoonoses between humans and other vertebrates may have been a characteristic of the inhabitants of Patagonia.