Paleoparasitology

Saurophthirus, an ectoparasitic Cretaceous insect[1]

Paleoparasitology (or "palaeoparasitology") is the study of parasites from the past,[2] and their interactions with hosts and vectors; it is a subfield of paleontology, the study of living organisms from the past. Some authors define this term more narrowly, as "Paleoparasitology is the study of parasites in archaeological material." (p. 103)[3] K.J. Reinhard suggests that the term "archaeoparasitology" be applied to "... all parasitological remains excavated from archaeological contexts ... derived from human activity" and that "the term 'paleoparasitology' be applied to studies of nonhuman, paleontological material." (p. 233)[4] This article follows Reinhard's suggestion and discusses the protozoan and animal parasites of non-human animals and plants from the past, while those from humans and our hominid ancestors are covered in archaeoparasitology.

  1. ^ Zhang, Yanjie; Shih, Chungkun; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr; Ren, Dong; Gao, Taiping (2020). "A new flea from the Early Cretaceous of China". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi:10.4202/app.00680.2019.
  2. ^ Araújo, A.; Reinhard, K.; Ferreira, L. F. (2015). "Palaeoparasitology - Human Parasites in Ancient Material". Advances in Parasitology. 90: 349–387. doi:10.1016/bs.apar.2015.03.003. ISBN 9780128040010. PMID 26597072.
  3. ^ Gonçalves, M.L.C.; Araújo, A.; Ferreira, L.F. (2003). "Human intestinal parasites in the past: New findings and a review". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 98 (Suppl 1): 103–118. doi:10.1590/s0074-02762003000900016. PMID 12687769.
  4. ^ Reinhard, K.J. (1992). "Parasitology as an interpretive tool in archaeology". American Antiquity. 57 (2): 231–245. doi:10.2307/280729. JSTOR 280729. S2CID 51761552.