A comparison of ancient parasites as seen from archeological contexts and early medical texts in China

This paper integrates our knowledge from traditional Chinese medical texts and archeological findings to discuss parasitic loads in early China. Many studies have documented that several different species of eukaryotic endoparasites were present in early human populations throughout China. Nevertheless, comprehensive paleoparasitological records from China are patchy, largely due to taphonomic and environmental factors. An examination of early Chinese medical texts allows us to fill in some of the gaps and counteract apparent biases in the current archeoparasitological records. By integrating the findings of paleoparasitology with historic textual sources, we show that parasites have been affecting the lives of humans in China since ancient times. We discuss the presence and prevalence of three groups of parasites in ancient China: roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), Asian schistosoma (Schistosoma japonicum), and tapeworm (Taenia sp.). We also examine possible factors that favored the spread of these endoparasites among early humans. Therefore, this paper not only aims to reveal how humans have been affected by endoparasites, but also addresses how early medical knowledge developed to cope with the parasitic diseases. 随着考古遗存中古代寄生虫样本发现的增多，古代寄生虫研究成为了学术界的一大关注点。与此同时，中国考古遗存中发现的古代寄生虫样本也证实了古代先民曾受到寄生虫病的侵扰。但是由于保存环境、虫卵的生理特征等方面因素的限制，古代寄生虫在考古遗存中的发现仍然较为少见。因此，除过考古学报道及古代寄生虫学的相关研究，古代医学及历史文献成为了我们了解过去寄生虫及寄生虫病的重要参考材料。本文通过对相关文献的梳理，重点关注并讨论蛔虫、绦虫以及日本血吸虫这三种肠道寄生虫在中国古代的分布及感染状况。除此之外，本文将重点讨论感染这些肠道寄生虫的途径以及其背后的深层原因。本文旨在通过整理古代居民感染寄生虫的途径，结合考古学发现及医学文献的记载，进一步了解古代居民关于寄生虫及寄生虫病的认知与了解的发展进程。