Gastrointestinal parasite burden in 4th-5th c. CE Florence highlighted by microscopy and paleogenetics.

The study of ancient parasites, named paleoparasitology, traditionally focused on microscopic eggs disseminated in past environments and archaeological structures by humans and other animals infested by gastrointestinal parasites. Since the development of paleogenetics in the early 1980s, few paleoparasitological studies have been based on the ancient DNA (aDNA) of parasites, although such studies have clearly proven their utility and reliability. In this paper, we describe our integrative approach for the paleoparasitological study of an ancient population from Florence in Italy, dated to the 4th-5th c.

Poggetti Vecchi (Tuscany, Italy): A late Middle Pleistocene case of human-elephant interaction.

A paleosurface with a concentration of wooden-, bone-, and stone-tools interspersed among an accumulation of fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, was found at the bottom of a pool, fed by hot springs, that was excavated at Poggetti Vecchi, near Grosseto (Tuscany, Italy). The site is radiometrically dated to the late Middle Pleistocene, around 171,000 years BP. Notable is the association of the artifacts with the elephant bones, and in particular the presence of digging sticks made from boxwood (Buxus sp.

Deterioration of an Etruscan tomb by bacteria from the order Rhizobiales.

The Etruscan civilisation originated in the Villanovan Iron Age in the ninth century BC and was absorbed by Rome in the first century BC. Etruscan tombs, many of which are subterranean, are one of the best representations of this culture. The principal importance of these tombs, however, lies in the wall paintings and in the tradition of rich burial, which was unique in the Mediterranean Basin, with the exception of Egypt.

The actinobacterial colonization of Etruscan paintings.

The paintings from Tomba della Scimmia, in Tuscany, are representative of the heavy bacterial colonization experienced in most Etruscan necropolises. The tomb remained open until the late 70's when it was closed because of severe deterioration of the walls, ceiling and paintings after decades of visits. The deterioration is the result of environmental changes and impacts suffered since its discovery in 1846.

Ingredients of a 2,000-y-old medicine revealed by chemical, mineralogical, and botanical investigations.

In archaeology, the discovery of ancient medicines is very rare, as is knowledge of their chemical composition. In this paper we present results combining chemical, mineralogical, and botanical investigations on the well-preserved contents of a tin pyxis discovered onboard the Pozzino shipwreck (second century B.C.