The horse pinworm (Oxyuris equi) in archaeology during the Holocene: Review of past records and new data.
This paper focuses on the horse pinworm, Oxyuris equi, in archaeology during the Holocene period, and presents an overview of past published occurrences, early mentions in texts, and new data from our paleoparasitology research. This original compilation shows that the most ancient record of the horse pinworm dates to ca. 2500 years before present (ybp) in Central Asia and to ca. 2020 ybp in Western Europe. It also shows that the parasite is not detected on the American continent until contemporary periods. The role of European migrations from 1492 (Christopher Columbus) is discussed to explain the transfer of the horse pinworm from the Old World to the Americas. The absence of any record of this parasite before ca. 2500 ybp in Eurasia could be explained by parasite ecology, unfavorable sampling and scarcity of horse archeological remains. For the Americas, the absence of horse for long periods can be an additional explanation for the absence of the parasite.
University of Franche-Comte, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, 16, Route de Gray, 25030 Besancon cedex, France. Electronic address: benjamin.dufour@univ-fcomte.fr.
Benjamin
B
Dufour
CNRS, UMR 7205, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.
Jean-Pierre
JP
Hugot
CNRS, UMR 7209, Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.
Sébastien
S
Lepetz
University of Franche-Comte, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, 16, Route de Gray, 25030 Besancon cedex, France. Electronic address: matthieu.lebailly@univ-fcomte.fr.
Matthieu
M
Le Bailly
D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology; D017229:Enterobiasis / Q000662:veterinary*; D004757:Enterobius; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D006736:Horses
Equids; Holocene; Horse pinworm; Horses; Oxyuris equi; Paleoparasitology