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Parasites have been infecting humans throughout our evolution. When complex societies developed, the greater population density provided new opportunities for parasites to spread. In this interdisciplinary volume, the author brings his expertise in medicine, archaeology and history to explore the contribution of parasites in causing flourishing past civilizations to falter and decline. By using cutting-edge methods, Mitchell presents the evidence for parasites that infected the peoples of key ancient civilizations across the world in order to understand their impact upon those populations. This new understanding of the archaeological and historical evidence for intestinal worms, ectoparasites, and protozoa shows how different cultures were burdened by contrasting types of diseases depending upon their geographical location, endemic insects, food preferences and cultural beliefs.
1. Introduction
2. Near Eastern civilizations
3. Ancient Egypt and Nubia
4. The prehistoric peoples of Europe
5. The Roman world
6. Medieval Europe
7. East Asian civilizations
8. North American indigenous peoples
9. South and Central American civilizations
10. Parasites, migrations and epidemics
11. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Piers Mitchell is trained in medicine, archaeology and medical history, and leads the Ancient Parasites Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, UK. Piers has been president of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology, and also president of the Paleopathology Association, the worldwide organisation for the study of ancient diseases.
From the reviews: "This hefty tome is intended to guide students and researchers in techniques and approaches to the study of predators and parasitoids. ! Jervis has done a good job at integrating material from both predators and parasitoids ! . the book will become a lab manual/reference work to be dipped into when the occasion demands. ! The primary readership will be those working on biological control. A second broad readership will be those working on behaviour and ecology of natural enemies for their own sake." (P. Mayhew, Agricultural Science, Vol. 144, 2006)
