Intestinal parasite analysis in organic sediments collected from a 16th-century

Abstract Parasite eggs found in organic remains collectedfrom medieval structures in Raversijde (me-dieval name: Walraversijde), a village on thenorthern coast of Belgium, are discussed. Theeggs were identified as Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura , both human parasites. Speciesidentification allowed elucidating the origin ofthe organic sediments and the structures, in thiscase latrines used by humans. Capillaria sp. andfree-living nematode larvae were also found inthe latrine. Although neither parasite burdennor prevalence rates could be measured, theabundance of human intestinal parasite eggsindicated a high infection rate in the village res-idents, reflecting very poor sanitation.Parasitology; Parasites; Helminthiasis Introduction Parasite studies performed on organic materialcollected from archeological sites are essentialto understand an ancient population’s healthconditions. Organic sediments and coprolites –desiccated or mineralized feces – are mainlyused to search for parasite remains. The goal ofpaleoparasitology as a science is to find and in-terpret parasites in archeological material byusing proper methodological methods and re-producing experiments