Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations

Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations PDF Author: Piers D. Mitchell
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1472449096
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
Sanitation and intestinal health is something we often take for granted today. However, people living in many regions of the developing world still suffer with debilitating diseases due to the lack of sanitation. Despite its clear impact upon health in modern times, sanitation in past populations is a topic that has received surprisingly little attention. This book brings together key experts from around the world to explore fascinating aspects of life in the past relevant to sanitation, and how that affected our ancestors. By its end readers will realize that toilets were in use in ancient Mesopotamia even before the invention of writing, and that flushing toilets with anatomic seats were a technology of ancient Greece at the time of the minotaur myth. They will see how sanitation compared in ancient Rome and medieval London, and will take a virtual walk around the sanitation of York at the time of the Vikings. Readers will also understand which intestinal parasites infected humans in different regions of the world over different time periods, what these parasites tell us about early human evolution, later population migrations, past diet, lifestyle, and the effects of sanitation technology. There is good evidence that over the millennia people in the past realized that sanitation mattered. They invented toilets, cleaner water supplies, drains, waste disposal and sanitation legislation. While past views on sanitation were very different to those of today, it is clear than many past societies took sanitation much more seriously than was previously thought.

Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations

Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations PDF Author: Piers D. Mitchell
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1472449096
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sanitation and intestinal health is something we often take for granted today. However, people living in many regions of the developing world still suffer with debilitating diseases due to the lack of sanitation. Despite its clear impact upon health in modern times, sanitation in past populations is a topic that has received surprisingly little attention. This book brings together key experts from around the world to explore fascinating aspects of life in the past relevant to sanitation, and how that affected our ancestors. By its end readers will realize that toilets were in use in ancient Mesopotamia even before the invention of writing, and that flushing toilets with anatomic seats were a technology of ancient Greece at the time of the minotaur myth. They will see how sanitation compared in ancient Rome and medieval London, and will take a virtual walk around the sanitation of York at the time of the Vikings. Readers will also understand which intestinal parasites infected humans in different regions of the world over different time periods, what these parasites tell us about early human evolution, later population migrations, past diet, lifestyle, and the effects of sanitation technology. There is good evidence that over the millennia people in the past realized that sanitation mattered. They invented toilets, cleaner water supplies, drains, waste disposal and sanitation legislation. While past views on sanitation were very different to those of today, it is clear than many past societies took sanitation much more seriously than was previously thought.

Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations

Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations PDF Author: Piers D. Mitchell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317059530
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 291

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Book Description
Sanitation and intestinal health is something we often take for granted today. However, people living in many regions of the developing world still suffer with debilitating diseases due to the lack of sanitation. Despite its clear impact upon health in modern times, sanitation in past populations is a topic that has received surprisingly little attention. This book brings together key experts from around the world to explore fascinating aspects of life in the past relevant to sanitation, and how that affected our ancestors. By its end readers will realize that toilets were in use in ancient Mesopotamia even before the invention of writing, and that flushing toilets with anatomic seats were a technology of ancient Greece at the time of the minotaur myth. They will see how sanitation compared in ancient Rome and medieval London, and will take a virtual walk around the sanitation of York at the time of the Vikings. Readers will also understand which intestinal parasites infected humans in different regions of the world over different time periods, what these parasites tell us about early human evolution, later population migrations, past diet, lifestyle, and the effects of sanitation technology. There is good evidence that over the millennia people in the past realized that sanitation mattered. They invented toilets, cleaner water supplies, drains, waste disposal and sanitation legislation. While past views on sanitation were very different to those of today, it is clear than many past societies took sanitation much more seriously than was previously thought.

Parasites in Past Civilizations and Their Impact upon Health

Parasites in Past Civilizations and Their Impact upon Health PDF Author: Piers D. Mitchell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009369687
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Parasites have been infecting humans throughout our evolution. When complex societies developed, the greater population density provided new opportunities for parasites to spread. In this interdisciplinary volume, the author brings his expertise in medicine, archaeology and history to explore the contribution of parasites in causing flourishing past civilizations to falter and decline. By using cutting edge methods, Mitchell presents the evidence for parasites that infected the peoples of key ancient civilizations across the world in order to understand their impact upon those populations. This new understanding of the archaeological and historical evidence for intestinal worms, ectoparasites, and protozoa shows how different cultures were burdened by contrasting types of diseases depending upon their geographical location, endemic insects, food preferences and cultural beliefs.

Paleomicrobiology of Humans

Paleomicrobiology of Humans PDF Author: Michel Drancourt
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1555819176
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Only recently was it determined that two of the world's most devastating plagues, the plague of Justinian and the medieval Black Death, were caused by distinct strains of the same pathogen. Use of paleomicrobiological techniques led to this discovery. This work is just one example of the historical mysteries that this emerging field has helped to clarify. Others, such as when tuberculosis began to afflict humans, the role of lice in plague pandemics, and the history of smallpox, are explored and further illuminated in Paleomicrobiology of Humans. Led by editors Michel Drancourt and Didier Raoult, the book's expert contributors address larger issues using paleomicrobiology. These include the recognition of human remains associated with epidemic outbreaks, identification of the graves of disasters, and the discovery of demographic structures that reveal the presence of an epidemic moment. In addition, the book reviews the technical approaches and controversies associated with recovering and sequencing very old DNA and surveys modern human diseases that have ancient roots. Essentially, paleomicrobiologists aim to identify past epidemics at the crossroads of different specialties, including anthropology, medicine, molecular biology, and microbiology. Thus, this book is of great interest not only to microbiologists but to medical historians and anthropologists as well. Paleomicrobiology of Humans is the first comprehensive book to examine so many aspects of this new, multidisciplinary, scientific field.

Fossil Parasites

Fossil Parasites PDF Author: Tim Littlewood
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128040270
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 462

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Book Description
Fossil Parasites, the latest edition in the Advances in Parasitology series established in 1963, contains comprehensive and up-to-date reviews on all areas of interest in contemporary parasitology, including medical studies of parasites of major influence, such as plasmodium falciparum and trypanosomes. The series also contains reviews of more traditional areas, such as zoology, taxonomy, and life history, which help to shape current thinking and applications. Parasitism is a dominant life history strategy and we know it has existed for millions of years. Detecting parasitism in the fossil record is problematic because we rarely see direct evidence and usually must rely on indirect evidence to infer its existence. This unique volume takes a broad and systematic view of direct and indirect evidence for parasitism in the fossil record. - Expert contributors providing timely reviews of different aspects of palaeoparasitology - Comprehensive treatments of taxonomic groups never before summarized - Comprehensive coverage of important historical and recent advances in the field - New avenues for research are explored and suggested

The Practical Geologist

The Practical Geologist PDF Author: Garret Romaine
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 149306214X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Geology is destiny—understand it and life gets easier. Our ancestors grasped enough about their environment to fashion tools, start fires, erect shelters, and find water. The principles they discovered long ago still apply, and the science behind stronger concrete, usable marble, and more pure metals still stands. The ancients were the first rockhounds out of necessity, and the skills they perfected resonate from medicine to sanitation, from pottery to food preservation. The Practical Geologist traces the impact of geology on the first toolmakers in their trek toward civilization and details how understanding geology allowed for advances in agriculture, construction, weaponry, and the arts. The hacks, shortcuts, and rules described here are still vital for not just homesteaders, campers, hikers, and survivalists—the same geological factors assist us all as we struggle with ever-changing global conditions and reach for the stars. Using full-color pictures, tables, diagrams, and simple language, The Practical Geologist covers the basics of geology and applies them directly to everyday situations, serving as a practical guide to co-existing in the physical world.

The Guts of the Matter

The Guts of the Matter PDF Author: James L. A. Webb, Jr
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108493432
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This engaging interdisciplinary study integrates the deep histories of infectious intestinal disease transmission, the sanitation revolution, and biomedical interventions.

Micro-geographies of the Western City, c.1750–1900

Micro-geographies of the Western City, c.1750–1900 PDF Author: Alida Clemente
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000338428
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
This book examines the overlapping spaces in modern Western cities to explore the small-scale processes that shaped these cities between c.1750 and 1900. It highlights the ways in which time and space matter, framing individual actions and practices and their impact on larger urban processes. It draws on the original and detailed studies of cities in Europe and North America through a micro-geographical approach to unravel urban practices, experiences and representations at three different scales: the dwelling, the street and the neighbourhood. Part I explores the changing spatiality of housing, examining the complex and contingent relationship between public and private, and commercial and domestic, as well as the relationship between representations and lived experiences. Part II delves into the street as a thoroughfare, connecting the city, but also as a site of contestation over the control and character of urban spaces. Part III draws attention to the neighbourhood as a residential grouping and as a series of spaces connecting flows of people integrating the urban space. Drawing on a range of methodologies, from space syntax and axial analysis to detailed descriptions of individual buildings, this book blends spatial theory and ideas of place with micro-history. With its fresh perspectives on the Western city created through the built environment and the everyday actions of city dwellers, the book will interest historical geographers, urban historians and architects involved in planning of cities across Europe and North America.

Healthmaking in Ancient Egypt

Healthmaking in Ancient Egypt PDF Author: Anne Austin
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004700870
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book explores the health of ancient Egyptians living in the New Kingdom village of Deir el-Medina. Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines skeletal analysis with textual evidence, the book examines how social factors, such as social support, healthcare access, and economic stability, played crucial roles in buffering individuals from stress and promoting good health. This is the first, comprehensive book on the bioarchaeology of Deir el-Medina including data from human remains spanning the site’s New Kingdom occupation. This book highlights how the Social Determinants of Health can be used to explain how past people maintained their health.

The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology

The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology PDF Author: Anne L. Grauer
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000820440
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 1013

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Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology provides readers with an overview of the study of ancient disease. The volume begins by exploring current methods and techniques employed by paleopathologists as means to highlight the range of data that can be generated, the types of questions that can be methodologically addressed, our current limitations, and goals for the future. Building on these foundations, the volume introduces a range of diseases and conditions that have been noted in the fossil, archaeological, and historical record, offering readers a foundational understanding of pathological conditions, along with their potential etiologies. Importantly, an evolutionary and highly contextualized assessment of diseases and conditions will be presented in order to demonstrate the need for adopting anthropological, biological, and clinical approaches when exploring the past and interpreting the modern world. The volume concludes with the contextualization of paleopathological research. Chapters highlight ways in which analyses of health and disease in skeletal and mummified remains reflect political and social constructs of the past and present. Health and disease are tackled within evolutionary perspectives across deep time and generationally, and the nuanced interplay between disease and behavior is explored. The volume will be indispensable for archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and historians, and those in medical fields, as it reflects current scholarship within paleopathology and the field’s impact on our understanding of health and disease in the past, the present, and implications for our future.