Recovery of parasite remains form coprolites and latrines: aspects of paleoparasitological technique

Standard techniques for the analysis of prehistoric soils have not been devised. It is unlikely thata any single technique is applicable to all types of fecal remains. This is due to various envirnmental conditions which effect the preservation of helminth ova. In general, gravitational sedimentation is a useful technique for isolating helminth eggs and larvae from corpolites. Latrine soils pose greater problems for helminthological examination. Although various clincial techniques have been sucessfully utilized in soil study, it is important to remember that some latrine soils have not yelded helminth eggs to any clinical technique. Consequently the paleoparasitologist must be ready to inovate new tecniques rather than depend on clinical tecniques. Beyond the problems of technique, what research done with identification of parasites is very encouraging. At his point it appears that the measurement and morphological characteristics used to identify modrrn parasites can also be applied to paleoparasites. The trends of paleoparasistological research today emphasize experimentation and quantification as well as precise identification. In the future, these trends will lead to a more rigorous study of parasites in prehistory