Epidemics, viruses and parasites
As noted, our research has only just started with
(1) Fonseca, Olympio da
‘Parasitismo e Migrações Humanas Pré-historicas’ in Estudos da Pre-historia Geral e Brasiliera – University of São Paulo, 1970.
This tour de force summarises the evidence relating to parasites shared between South American and Southeast Asia. It makes an unanswerable case that man brought the parasites from S E Asia and Oceania to S America.
We are now researching
(2) Biocca, Ettore
‘Les Ancylostomes de l’origine des Indiens d’Amerique’ in l’Anthropologie 55/5-6 481.
This explains that a species of hookworm which favours dogs and cats (man’s pets) occurs only in the Far East and America.
(3) Aráujo, Adauto José Gonçalves de
Contribuição ao estudo de helmintos encontrados em material arqueologico do Brasil, 1980
He establishes the existence of ancylostomids among the prehistoric population of Brasil. These originated in Asia and do not survive in cold climates – they would have been killed in crossing the Bering Straits ice bridge. They must have been brought by sea from Asia – across the S. Atlantic.
(4) Darling, Samuel T
‘Observations on the Geographical and Ethnological Distribution of Hookworms’ in Parasitology 12/3 (1920) 217-233.
Surveys distribution of Ancylostoma species and Necator Americanus hookworms introduced to America in pre-Columbian times from Asia, Polynesia or Indonesia. Cold in the Bering Straits route would have killed these hookworms. Again, they must have been brought by sea.
(5) Soper, F L
‘Ancylostoma duodenale’ in American Journal of Hygiene 7 (1927) 174-84
This parasite which cannot survive in cold climates was introduced to S America from Indonesia or Polynesia.
(6) Marr, John S
is kindly helping by researching the spread of Hepatitis B in the Americas.
(7) Leibowitz, Alan I
is kindly helping by researching the Hanta Virus. It is carried by rats and found amongst Indian peoples of the Rio Grande (West Texas and Mexico). The Zuni and Navajo peoples in the upper reaches of the Rio Grande have “recent” Chinese DNA (Professor Novick and colleagues).
