Parasite Assemblages from Feline Coprolites through the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition in Patagonia: Cueva Huenul 1 Archaeological Site (Argentina)

Abstract

The aims of the present study were: (1) to examine the parasite fauna found in carnivore coprolites from Cueva Huenul 1 archaeological site, located in northern Patagonia (Neuquén Province, Argentina), (2) to evaluate the role of this carnivores in the cycle of zoonotic parasites in the past, (3) to discuss the possible effect of the infections in humans that inhabit the cave during the Quaternary, and (4) to evaluate possible differences in egg measurements among layers. Several coprolites were obtained from layers dated since the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. Faeces were whole processed, rehydrated, homogenised, and examined via light microscopy. Eggs of parasites were measured and photographed. Coprolites were assigned to a small feline. A total of 11 parasite species were found (8 nematode, 2 trematode, and 1 coccidian species). The paleoparasitological findings of this study display a great richness of parasitic species present in felines from CH1 through the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, some of them zoonotic. Early human societies that discontinuously occupied the site during the time scale studied could have been exposed to these infections.