title: Evidence of tungiasis in pre-Hispanic America.
abstract: Ancient parasites of the genus Tunga originated in America and, during the first half of the 19th century, were transported to the Eastern Hemisphere on transatlantic voyages. Although they were first documented by Spanish chroniclers after the arrival of Columbus, little is known about their presence in pre-Hispanic America. To evaluate the antiquity of tungiasis in America, we assessed several kinds of early documentation, including written evidence and pre-Incan earthenware reproductions. We identified 17 written documents and 4 anthropomorphic figures, of which 3 originated from the Chimu culture and 1 from the Maranga culture. Tungiasis has been endemic to Peru for at least 14 centuries. We also identified a pottery fragment during this study. This fragment is the fourth representation of tungiasis in pre-Hispanic America identified and provides explicit evidence of disease endemicity in ancient Peru.
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, USA. vicente_maco@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Maco
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tantaleán
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gotuzzo
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000266:history; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D013020:South America; D058285:Tungiasis / Q000266:history*