Tentative indicators of malaria in archaeological skeletal samples, a pilot study testing different methods

Developing an archaeology of malaria. A critical review of current approaches and a discussion on ways forward

OBJECTIVE

This paper presents the current state of the art in the investigation of past malaria by providing an extensive review of previous studies and identifying research possibilities for the future.

MATERIALS

All previous research on the detection of malaria in human skeletal material using macroscopic and biomolecular approaches is considered.

METHODS

The approaches and methods used by scholars and the results they obtained are evaluated and the limitations discussed.

RESULTS

There is a link between malaria and porous lesions with significantly higher prevalence in malaria-endemic areas, however, they are not pathognomonic or specific for malaria. Malaria can be identified using biomolecular techniques, yet, to date there is no completely satisfactory method that is able to consistently diagnose the disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Using macroscopic and biomolecular techniques, malaria can be investigated in past populations and the impact of the disease studied. Yet, this is not a straightforward process and the use of multiple lines of evidence is necessary to obtain the best results.

SIGNIFICANCE

The extensive discussion on ways malaria can and cannot be identified in past populations and the suggestions for new approaches provide a steppingstone for future research into this debilitating, global disease.

LIMITATIONS

Malaria is a difficult disease to study archaeologically and successful identification depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

More large-scale spatial analyses of porous lesions as well as targeting different tissues or molecules for biomolecular identification may improve the archaeological understanding of malaria.