Techniques and Methods
Parasite remains in archaeological samples are identified by a variety of techniques. Very durable remains, such as eggs and cysts, may remain intact for many thousands of years. In some cases, relatively intact soft-bodied adult helminths and ectoparasitic arthropods have been found. All of these forms can be identified to the family, genus or species level by compound or electron microscopy.
In cases where the intact bodies of parasites are not found, protein or DNA from the parasite may still be present. Antigenic and immunological assays (including enzyme-linked immunoassay - ELISA,), and DNA sequencing are used to identify the source of these chemical remains, often to the species level.
Read more about this topic: Archaeoparasitology
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