Cultural responses and coping with the negative influence of parasites in the Roman Empire: a spatial approach
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The ancient period experienced substantial migration and urbanization, directly impacting the general human condition and elevating the risk of pathogen and parasite transmission. Extensive archaeoparasitological research has indeed revealed the widespread prevalence of intestinal parasites in the Roman Empire throughout its existence. In response to these challenges, Greco-Roman society developed various sophisticated tools and practices, including sanitation, hygiene, waste disposal, and a specialised branch of ancient medicine. A related tool that has played a role in dealing with parasites was the worship of healing deities, particularly the cult of the god Asclepius, as evidenced by votive stelae uncovered at Epidaurus. However, the extent of cultic practices focused on mitigating dangers associated with parasites in the Greco-Roman world has not yet been thoroughly explored in the scholarship. This paper aims to investigate the potential influence and relationship between parasite burden and the prominence of religious healing centres. The quantitative analysis of archaeoparasitological data enables the identification of areas of parasitological importance, considering both species diversity and the severity of infection, which is expressed by the amount of eggs in the examined samples. These data, coupled with the epigraphic records of ancient healing deities, can serve as proxies in a comprehensive spatial analysis, shedding light on the interplay between natural and cultural factors that shaped the daily life of ancient society. While interest in archaeoparasitological findings is gradually increasing, their integration into mathematical GIS models is still in early stages. |
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