Eating lizards: a millenary habit evidenced by Paleoparasitology

Eggs of Pharyngodonidae (Nematoda, Oxyuroidea), a family of parasites of lizards and amphibians, were found in four human coprolites collected from three archaeological sites. In one of these, lizard scales were also found.Through the finding of eggs of Pharyngodonidae in human coprolites and reptilescales in one of these, we have provided evidence that humans have consumed reptiles at least 10,000 years ago. This food habit persists to modern times in remote regions of Brazil’s Northeast. Although Pharyngodonidae species are not known to infect humans, the consumption of raw or undercooked meat from lizards and other reptiles may have led to transmission of a wide range of zoonotic agents to humans in the past.As in modern times, diet varied among prehistoric human groups and small animals, including lizards and other reptiles, were important food sources for prehistoric people [1,2]. Analyses of human coprolites demonstrate this dietary diversity. Coprolites also contain intestinal parasites transmitted by contaminated food or water, including zoonotic helminths [3]. Moreover, spurious parasites can also be found in human coprolites and continue to occur, especially in current groups with traditional food habits [4]. By spurious, we mean parasite eggs that are not infective to humans and pass harmlessly through the human intestinal tract. Parapharyngodon sceleratus Chatterji, 1933 (Oxyuroidea: Pharyngodonidae) eggs were recorded in lizard coprolites (Tropidurus torquatus, Squamata, Tropiduridae) dating from 9,000 to 11,000 years [5]. The diagnosis was based on egg morphology and metric parameters in comparison with published checklists. The parasite is known to commonly occur in several lizard and amphibian species of the American continent [6-10].Herein we describe the finding of Pharyngodonidae eggs in four coprolites, morphologically identified as specimens of human origin (Figure 1) according to Chame [11]. These coprolites were collected during excavations in