HANOVER An archeological excavation in the heart of Dartmouth College’s campus found evidence that a parasitic infection affected a wealthy Hanover household during the early 19th century. Led by Professor of Anthropology Jesse Casana, a team of.
Jesse Casana, professor and chair of the department of anthropology “
Share May 03, 2021 by Amy Olson
An analysis of fecal samples shows New England rural elites had parasitic infections.
In June 2019, the Digging Dartmouth project is set up on the lawn outside Dartmouth Library s Baker-Berry Library and the former site of the Ripley/Choate House. (Photo by Eli Burakian 00)
Jesse Casana, professor and chair of the department of anthropology (on the left); Keira Byno 19; and Elise Laugier, a graduate student student in Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society (standing in the privy); work on excavating the privy once attached to the Ripley/Choate House. (Photo by Eli Burakian 00)
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE According to a statement released by Dartmouth College, evidence of parasitic infection has been found in a privy that belonged to an affluent, nineteenth-century rural household. The layers of waste in the stone-lined privy contained fine imported ceramics, exotic peanut and coffee remains, mineral water bottles, medicine bottles for digestive ailments, and fecal samples. Jesse Casana of Dartmouth College said the ineffective medicine held in the bottles may have been intended to treat symptoms associated with parasitic infections. Located in front of what is now the Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College, the site was previously home to Choate House, which was constructed in 1786 by Sylvanus Ripley, a professor at the college. The house was purchased in 1801 by Mill Olcott, a wealthy businessman and politician, who lived there with his wife and nine children. All of the members of the Olcott family are likely to have been infected with
Before the development of advanced plumbing, internal parasites were no respecters of status. Rich and poor, city and country, everyone was subject to unpleasant digestive infestations, at least if the outcome of one dig is to be relied upon.
All too often history and archaeology focus on the lives of the wealthy few, ignoring conditions for the vast majority of our ancestors. One exception has been the study of previous generations defecation. Fecal samples have told us quite a lot about by-gone eras, but the focus has been on the poop of poorer city dwellers whose dungheaps are easier to find.
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IMAGE: Hazard & Caswell bottles from an apothecary in Newport, R.I., that contained a medicinal concoction marketed as a cure for digestive and other ailments. view more
Credit: Photo by Austin Chad Hill.
In the early 19th century in North America, parasitic infections were quite common in urban areas due in part to population growth and urbanization. Prior research has found that poor sanitation, unsanitary privy (outhouse) conditions, and increased contact with domestic animals, contributed to the prevalence of parasitic disease in urban areas. A new study examining fecal samples from a privy on Dartmouth s campus illustrates how rural wealthy elites in New England also had intestinal parasitic infections. The findings are published in the