Traditional Living Habits of the Taz Tundra Population: A Paleoparasitological Study.
10.3347/kjp.2016.54.5.617
- Author:
Sergey Mikhailovich SLEPCHENKO
1
;
Sergey Nikolaevich IVANOV
;
Bagashev Anatoly NIKOLAEVICH
;
Tsybankov Alexander ALEKSEEVICH
;
Slavinsky Vyacheslav SERGEYEVICH
Author Information
1. Institute for Problems of the Development of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tyumen 625026 Russian Federation. s_slepchenko@list.ru
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Taenia saginata;
Diphyllobothrium latum;
Western Siberia;
paleoparasitology;
health status;
dietary habit;
Nenets;
food pattern;
subsistence activity
- MeSH:
Burial;
Cerebrum;
Child;
Diphyllobothriasis;
Diphyllobothrium;
Eggs;
Food Habits;
Helminthiasis;
Helminths;
Humans;
Meat;
Ovum;
Parasites;
Pelvis;
Reindeer;
Seasons;
Soil;
Taenia;
Taenia saginata;
Tundra*
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2016;54(5):617-623
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
An excavation of the Vesakoyakha II–IV and Nyamboyto I burial grounds was conducted during the 2014 field season, and soil samples from intact burials dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively, were analyzed to determine interactions between parasites and host/vectors. Considering the discovery of Diphyllobothrium sp. and Taenia sp. eggs in soil samples from the pelvic region, diphyllobothriasis was the most frequent helminthic infection among the Taz Nenets. The Nyamboyto Nenets mainly consumed uncooked fish, while the Vesakoyakha Nenets had a bigger variety in food choices, including reindeer meat. Nenets children were given raw fish from early childhood. The paleoparasitological results corroborate rare ethnographic records about the consumption of uncooked reindeer cerebrum which led to beef tapeworm helminthiases. This is the first parasitological report of helminthic diseases among the Taz Nenets, and, as such, it provides insight into their subsistence activities and food patterns and broadens our understanding of their health condition.
