Korean J Parasitol.  2016 Oct;54(5):617-623. 10.3347/kjp.2016.54.5.617.

Traditional Living Habits of the Taz Tundra Population: A Paleoparasitological Study

• Slepchenko SM
• Ivanov SN
• Nikolaevich BA
• Alekseevich TA
• Sergeyevich SV

• KMID: 2360525
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2016.54.5.617

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.

Keyword

Taenia saginata; Diphyllobothrium latum; Western Siberia; paleoparasitology; health status; dietary habit; Nenets; food pattern; subsistence activity

MeSH Terms

Burial
Cerebrum
Child
Diphyllobothriasis
Diphyllobothrium
Eggs
Food Habits
Helminthiasis
Helminths
Humans
Meat
Ovum
Parasites
Pelvis
Reindeer
Seasons
Soil
Taenia
Taenia saginata
Tundra*
Soil