Irish hunter-gatherers may have become ill from undercooked fish [View all]

Work on Mesolithic site shows ‘unprecedented’ insights into early Irish diet
about 21 hours ago
Elaine Edwards

Evidence that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Ireland may have harmed their health by under-cooking their fish has been uncovered by researchers examining samples from a 7,500-year-old lakeside site in Co Longford.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, including Waterford man Robert Power, analysed parasites from the ancient site at Derragh, near Lough Kinale. They found new evidence that the humans of the time were likely heavily infected with a parasite from undercooked fish that causes tapeworm.

A science known as archaeoparasitology explores human infections due to contact with animals in an archaeological context. It is increasingly used as a tool in archeological research to investigate relationships between past humans, environments, diets and disease and can be particularly useful where there are no human or animal remains to examine, but where parasite eggs are preserved.

The Derragh site was first excavated 13 years ago and the only human remains found there consisted of a single tooth.

More:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/irish-hunter-gatherers-may-have-become-ill-from-undercooked-fish-1.3587338