Paleo-parasitological study on the soils collected from archaeological sites in old district of Seoul City

A paleo-parasitological study was performed on soil samples from archaeological sites in the old district of Seoul Metropolitan City (Old Seoul City) where the capital of the Joseon Kingdom was constructed about 600 years ago. The sampling sites were the original locations of the Royal Palace Wall,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of archaeological science 2011-12, Vol.38 (12), p.3555-3559
Main Authors: Shin, Dong Hoon, Oh, Chang Seok, Lee, Sang Jun, Chai, Jong Yil, Kim, Jaehyup, Lee, Soong Deok, Park, Jun Bum, Choi, In-hwa, Lee, Hye Jung, Seo, Min
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ascaris sp
Biology
Diseases
History of science and technology
Korea
Life sciences
Medicine
surgery
pharmacy
Medieval
Old Seoul City
Parasite egg
Parasitic diseases
Pathology
Trichuris sp
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A paleo-parasitological study was performed on soil samples from archaeological sites in the old district of Seoul Metropolitan City (Old Seoul City) where the capital of the Joseon Kingdom was constructed about 600 years ago. The sampling sites were the original locations of the Royal Palace Wall, Yukjo Street and the Royal Arsenal. Microscopic examinations showed that parasite eggs of Clonorchis sinensis, Diphyllobothrium latum, Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. remained in the soil strata, which were estimated to represent the 14th-19th centuries. We suspect that the medieval citizens of Old Seoul City, numbering around 200,000, might have been made vulnerable to parasite infection by a combination of bad hygiene, inadequate sewer system and seasonal flooding. ► A paleo-parasitological study was done in 14 th–19 th centuries’ soil samples. ► The sampling sites are the old district of Seoul Metropolitan city. ► We found the parasite eggs of C. sinensis, D. latum, Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp. ► The medieval Seoul citizens might have been made vulnerable to parasite infection.
ISSN:0305-4403
1095-9238
DOI:10.1016/j.jas.2011.08.024