{"id":14266,"date":"2022-07-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=14266"},"modified":"2022-09-16T09:04:16","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T07:04:16","slug":"4500-year-old-poo-found-near-stonehenge-shows-neolithic-britons-were-riddled-with-parasites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/07\/04\/4500-year-old-poo-found-near-stonehenge-shows-neolithic-britons-were-riddled-with-parasites\/","title":{"rendered":"4,500-year-old poo found near Stonehenge shows Neolithic Britons were riddled with parasites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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4,500-YEAR-OLD POO FOUND NEAR STONEHENGE SHOWS NEOLITHIC BRITONS WERE RIDDLED WITH PARASITES<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bugs were also present in dog poo found at the site, suggesting that prehistoric humans fed leftovers to their pet pups <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient faeces found at Durrington Walls, a Neolithic settlement close to Stonehenge, contain the eggs of parasitic worms, researchers at the University of Cambridge and UCL have found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The settlement dates back to around 2,500 BC and is believed to have been home to the people who erected the famous monument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeologists analysed 19 pieces of ancient faeces, or coprolites, from the site that have been preserved in a mass dung heap for 4,500 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five samples \u2013 one from humans and four from dogs \u2013 were found to contain eggs of capillariid worms. These parasites live in the lungs or liver of their hosts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The finding suggests that the Neolithic humans were eating undercooked offal and feeding the leftovers to their dogs, the researchers say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Neolithic humans feasted on pork and beef… but maybe could\u2019ve done with cooking it for longer <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the first time intestinal parasites have been recovered from Neolithic Britain, and to find them in the environment of Stonehenge is really something,\u201d said lead author Dr Piers Mitchell from the University of Cambridge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe type of parasites we find are compatible with previous evidence for winter feasting on animals during the building of Stonehenge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When excavating the dung heap, the archaeologists unearthed fragments of pottery, rudimentary stone tools and more than 38,000 animal bones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although 90 per cent of the bones were from pigs, the most likely source of the parasite is cows, as capillariid worms typically infect ruminants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeological evidence suggests that Durrington Walls was occupied during the second stage of the construction of Stonehenge, when the iconic \u2018trilithons\u2019 \u2013 apair of huge vertical stones topped by a third horizontal stone \u2013 were erected. The seasonal residents of Durrington Walls are thought to have carried out the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new evidence tells us something new about the people who came here for winter feasts during the construction of Stonehenge,\u201d said Prof Mike Parker Pearson from UCL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPork and beef were spit-roasted or boiled in clay pots, but it looks as if the offal wasn\u2019t always so well cooked.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

FOOD IN BRITAIN <\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Mesolithic<\/span> 10,000\u20134000 BC <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The people of this period were hunter-gatherers who lived on species native to Britain including wild animals such as birds and fish, and leaves, roots and fruit from plants. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Neolithic<\/span> 4000\u20132200 BC<\/span> <\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Domestic animals such as cattle, pigs and sheep, were introduced from the continent. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Bronze Age<\/span> 2200\u2013800 BC<\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The spread of arable farming led to the cultivation of crops such as beans, peas and spelt wheat. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Iron Age <\/span>800 BC\u2013AD 43 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Britons began keeping and eating chickens. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Roman Period<\/span> AD 43\u2013410 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The Roman invasions vastly increased the variety of food in Britain, adding game meats such as rabbit and pheasant, vegetables such as leeks and onions, and herbs such as garlic, pepper, basil and thyme. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Middle Ages<\/span> 410\u20131485 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Sugar was brought to Britain by western Europeans during the Crusades. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Tudor Period <\/span>1485\u20131603 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Further trading with Europe and exploration of the Americas by the Spanish saw the introduction of potatoes, rice and turkey. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Stuart Period<\/span> 1603\u20131714 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Oranges, coffee and tea were widely available to Britons by the mid-17th Century. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
Modern Era<\/span> 1714\u2013 <\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Food is imported from all over the world for consumption by the British. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bugs were also present in dog poo found at the site, suggesting that prehistoric humans fed leftovers to their pet pups 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