BLOOMINGTON, Indiana—Modern analysis of 1,300-year-old human phalanges recovered from the Dead Children’s Cave in northwestern Mexico has identified several intestinal diseases. Direct science Report The cave was named for the bones of children left by people of the Loma San Gabriel culture that were discovered in the cave in the 1950s. Evidence of hookworm, whipworm and pinworm infestations had previously been identified in studies of Pileface specimens. In the new study, Drew Capone of Indiana University, Joe Brown of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and their colleagues extracted DNA from 10 paleface samples. They were then able to identify traces of at least one pathogen, or gut microbe, from each sample of paleface. The most common disease-causing microorganisms were parasites Blastocysts; Multiple strains of E. coli germs; Shigella germs; Single cell Giardia parasites; And pinworms. Scientists suggest that the people of the Loma San Gabriel culture likely practiced poor sanitation between ad 600 and 800, resulting in exposure to faecal waste in drinking water, soil or food. Read the original scholarly article about this research Plus one. To read about a previous study of a human coprolite from a cave, go to “Life (according to gut microbes)”.
Post-Molecular Analysis Identifies Pathogens in Palaeofacies from Mexico was previously published in Archeology Magazine.
