Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T09:03:59.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - The Prehistoric Peoples of Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2023

Piers D. Mitchell
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Get access

Summary

The earliest evidence of parasite infection in the prehistoric peoples of Europe show roundworm and whipworm infection in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic France, Sweden, and Britain. In the Neolithic period and Bronze Age those farming crops and herding animals on dry land were mainly infected by roundworm and whipworm. The protozoan Entamoeba histolytica, which causes dysentery, was also found at a number of Neolithic sites. In contrast, those living in lakeside villages built on stilts were commonly infected by fish tapeworm, Echinostoma fluke, and giant kidney worm, which are all contracted by eating raw freshwater foods. This shows how the lifestyle led by ancient peoples affected the types of parasite to which they were at risk. Environments that preserved clothes well, such as the Iron Age salt mines in Austria, resulted in the recovery of large numbers of body lice, which suggests that ectoparasites were also common.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×