Reconstruction of health profiles of ancient residents in early China via archaeoparasitology perspective

• Main Author: Zhan, Xiaoya
• Other Authors: Ivy Yeh
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Medicine, Health and Life Sciences; Archaeoparasitology; Ancient China; Intestinal parasites; Bioarchaeology; Traditional Chinese medicine; Medical history; Chinese history; Archaeology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/174011
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Healthy profiles of past populations have attracted attention from the academy for years. Parasitic diseases, though not as severe as plagues or endemics, still function as one proxy to indicate and reconstruct the health conditions of the ancient residents. Moreover, parasitic diseases provide valuable insights into dietary behaviors, daily activities, agricultural practices, hygiene, migrations, and human-environmental interactions, which assists in having a better understanding of past societies. This research project attempts to explore the lives of ancient residents of early China through the lens of parasitic diseases. With the temporal focus on early China, sites dating to pre-Han and Han Dynasties were chosen, covering the Shang to the Han Dynasties (17th Century BCE to 3rd Century AD). Sites in three provinces (Hubei, Shaanxi, and Yunnan) were selected due to the rich and long history of human activities. In total, lab analyses were performed on 199 samples from 15 sites. Parasite remains were found in the soil samples of four sites, respectively the Shang-Zhou Dynastic Yunnan Jinning Gucheng Village site, Hubei Warring-States Chu Wangshan Cemetery, Hubei Gaotai Qin-Han Cemetery, and Shaanxi Han-Dynasty Dapuzi site. The findings are roundworm (Jinning Gucheng Village site and Hubei Wangshan Cemetery), Chinese liver fluke (Hubei Gaotai Qin-Han Cemetery), and possible dog roundworm (Shaanxi Dapuzi site). These findings were indicative of the consumption of undercooked and/or raw meat, the usage of nightsoil, pigpens building next to latrines, poor human waste management, and close interactions with domestic and wild animal resources. With the previous research, a distribution pattern of Chinese liver fluke was retrieved in Hubei. Meanwhile, literature reviews on ancient Chinese records were conducted to reveal the knowledge ancient residents had about parasites. It is indicated that the ancient vii residents were clearly aware of parasites and several consequences and thus proposed treatments and preventions. Besides parasitic diseases, this research project performed macroscopic observations of the human skeletal remains unearthed at the Han-Dynastic site, Dapuzi, Shaanxi. In total, 86 individuals were analyzed, and individual inventories, including sex, estimated age at death, height, and pathologies, were recorded. Among the 86 individuals, four individuals displayed pathological changes that are indicative of ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, and DISH (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis). HLA-B27 antigen is argued to be associated with several conditions of spondylarthritis. The follow-up of ancient DNA research is expected. Other than these, one individual was diagnosed with septic arthritis for the infectious manifestations on his left hip joint, with the intrigue of the infection remaining unclear. This provides essential information for us to understand the health conditions of the Dapuzi archaeological population, who seemed to be the tomb keepers of the Han emperors. Overall, this research project broadens the publications of parasites in archaeological contexts in China. With the findings of parasitic infections and cases of joint diseases, this research deepens our understanding of past societies from various perspectives.