Scientific Studies of Our Past

The presence of sharp-edged weapon related cut mark in Joseon skull discovered at the 16th century market district of Old Seoul City ruins in South Korea

Our new paper, "ASCARIS ANCIENT DNA SEQUENCES OF CYTOCHROME B, CYTOCHROME C OXIDASE SUBUNIT 1, NADH DEHYDROGENASE SUBUNIT 1 AND INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER 1 GENES FROM JOSEON MUMMY FECES OF KOREA" is published in Journal of Parasitology.

Please see below:
http://www.journalofparasitology.org/doi/abs/10.1645/16-102

We analyzed Ascaris ancient DNA (aDNA) of cytochrome b (cyt b), cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (NAD1) and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) genes extracted from the feces or precipitates of 15th to 18th century Korean mummies. After multiple Ascaris genes in ancient samples were successfully amplified by PCR, consensus sequences could be determined by the alignment of the sequences of cloned PCR products. The obtained sequences of each gene were highly similar to those of Ascaris spp. reported thus far, but were genetically distinct from Baylisascaris, Parascaris, and Toxascaris spp. The current report establishes that the g…

Chang Seok Oh, my PhD student, got his PhD degree at last. Congrats-.

Introduction: The purpose of ancient DNA (aDNA) study is to provide scientific clues to the solution of various problems that have not been resolved through analysis of DNA extracted from ancient living organisms. However, since the soil of Korea is constituted such that bodies are likely to decay rapidly, aDNA extracted from bodies long-buried in tombs is usually considered to be in a poor preservation state; thus, it is likely that failure will be the result if the aDNA is used for genetic analysis. In this study, therefore, I tried to establish a method of aDNA analysis on human remains buried during the Joseon Dynasty. Also, I applied the established method to archeological samples for confirmation of whether or not aDNA analyses could be useful in the field of archaeological science.
Methods:  The samples used for this study were ancient skeletal remains, teeth or mummified brains found in lime-soil mixture ba…

Our new paper, "Historical Details about the Meat Consumption and Taeniases in Joseon Period of Korea" is published in Korean Journal of Parasitology.

Previous paleoparasitological studies of Joseon specimens established that the prevalence of Taenia infection was not much different from that of the early 20th century Korean population. As many of taeniases originally diagnosed as Taenia saginata in South Korea were revealed to be actually Taenia asiatica, which share a common intermediate host with T. solium (the pig), Joseon people must have ingested raw pork frequently. However, the current examination of extant Joseon documents revealed that the population ate significant amounts of beef even if the beef ban was enforced; and pork was not consumed as much as we thought. Considering the meat consumption pattern at that time, Joseon people should have been infected by T. saginata more frequently than T. asiatica. This may suggest a low prevalence of T. saginata metacestod…

Our paper, "A Case of Ectopic Paragonimiasis in a 17th Century Korean Mummy" (Dong Hoon Shin, Yi-Suk Kim, Dong Soo Yoo, Myeung Ju Kim, Chang Seok Oh, Jong Ha Hong, Eunju Lee, Jong Yil Chai, Min Seo) is published in Journal of Parasitology.

Archaeoparasitological studies on fossilized feces obtained from Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910 CE) mummies have provided invaluable data on the patterns of parasitic infection in pre-modern Korean societies. In our recent radiological investigation of a 17th century Joseon mummy discovered in Cheongdo (South Korea), we located a liver mass just below the diaphragm. Anatomical dissection confirmed the presence of a mass of unknown etiology. A subsequent parasitological examination of a sample of the mass revealed a large number of ancient Paragonimus sp. eggs, making the current report the first archaeoparasitological case of liver abscess caused by ectopic paragonimiasis.

This publication is highlighted by NEW SCIENTISTS:
"Mummy autopsy re…

Our new paper is published in PloS ONE.

While atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is known to be common among modern people exposed to various risk factors, recent paleopathological studies have shown that it affected ancient populations much more frequently than expected. In 2010, we investigated a 17th century Korean female mummy with presumptive ASCVD signs. Although the resulting report was a rare and invaluable conjecture on the disease status of an ancient East Asian population, the diagnosis had been based only on anatomical and radiological techniques, and so could not confirm the existence of ASCVD in the mummy. In the present study, we thus performed a paleogenetic analysis to supplement the previous conventional diagnosis of ASCVD. In aDNA extracted from the same Korean mummy, we identified the risk alleles of seven different SNPs (rs5351, rs10757274, rs2383206, rs2383207, rs10757278, rs4380028 and rs1333049) that had already been revealed to be the major risk l…

I was invited to "The 2017 Congress of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology" (20-25 August 2017 in Groningen, the Netherlands) as a speaker. 
[S2] The spread and evolution of ancient infectious diseases
http://www.eseb2017.nl/sub/s2-the-spread-and-evolution-of-anci/
The Scientific Studies on Ancient Parasite Infection of East Asia by Microscopic and Genetic Researches
Dong Hoon Shin
Bioanthropology and Paleopathology Lab, Seoul National University College of Medicine, South Korea
Only about 100 years ago, parasite disease was one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide. The recent development of paleo-parasitology using archaeological samples can provide a wealth of information, making a scientific basis for understanding of ancient parasitism in history. Although East Asia is a region with a long history, the academic tradition of the research on the ancient parasitism was very weak. In recent years, however, interdisciplinary studies successfully revealed how the peopl…

Korean Association of Paleopathology and Osteoarchaeology (S Korea) and Japanese Association of Paleopathology will hold the Korea-Japan Paleopathology Forum on October, 2017.

Date: 2017/10/21-22
Venue: Tokyo (University of Tokyo)

Podium Presentations:

Eun Jin Woo, Hyunwoo Jung, Sunyoung Pak (Yonsei University College of Dentstry): A Probable Case of Venereal Syphilis in Korea (19th Century A.D.)

Jong Ha Hong, Chang Seok Oh, Min Seo, Dong Hoon Shin (Seoul National University):DNA Sequences of 18s rRNA and ITS2 genes obtained from ancient Trichuris trichiura eggs remained in Joseon Dynasty mummy coprolites.

Chang Seok Oh, Jong Ha Hong, Hyejin Lee, Soong Deok Lee, Dong Hoon Shin, and Eunju Lee (Seoul National University): First detection of Helicobacter pylori ancient DNA in Korean mummies

Poster Presentations:

Myeung Ju Kim, Jong Ha Hong and Dong Hoon Shin (Dankook University): Anatomical Confirmation of the Joseon Mummy's Hearts Visible on Computed Tomograph Images: The Radiological Basis…

Dr. Kanti Pawar (Assistant Professor, Deccan College, India) visited my lab on Aug 2 to 12, 2017.

He made a lecture for S Korean scholars; and discussed about our future collaboration for common interest.

Below is the AGREEMENT FOR RESEARCH COLLABORATION between Dr. Kanti Pawar and us.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF RESEARCH: Megaliths are world phenomenon existed in the different time period and cultural epoch. They are evidenced in different parts of the world but their architecture, cultural associations and chronology differ. Bewildering types of the megaliths burials have been found in the India and Korea. The Indian Megalithic burials and monuments generally belong to the Iron Age and are largely sepulchral in character. Main concentrations of these megalithic graves and habitation sites have been found in Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra (especially Vidarbha) regions of Central & Peninsular India. There are various theories have been propounded by different sch…

Reverse Order of Dates
The members of Korean research team with Dr. Sergey Slepchenko
The research subject of Dr. Yongjin Kim. He hope to trace the BMAC culture, that might have related with Harappan Civilization
Related articles: http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/ancient-towns-excavated-turkmenistan
http://balkhandshambhala.blogspot.kr/2013/12/raphael-pumpelly-great-oxus.html
Street of Tyumen
Back home-.
Arctic people dish: one of the subjects of our study at this time in Russia
Updates in Siberian Times-. Meet the mummified Polar beauty, her long eyelashes and hair still intact after 900 years
Reported in Russian TV-. http://region-tyumen.ru/articles/society/mumiy_iz_salekharda_nachali_izuchat_v_tyumeni/
Reported in Russian News: 72-RU-.
Reported in Tass, the Russian News Agency
http://tass.com/society/956368 http://tass.com/economy/930262
During the dissection of mummies
The camp
Mosquittos!!
Siberian times reported the mummies newly discovered in Siberia. The cases will be studied by …

2nd Call for Abstracts

We politely ask you to join in our session proposal for upcoming 2018 IPPA congress. We already had our own paleopathology session in previous 2014 IPPA meeting (“Paleopathology in Asia” session). This session is the update of the studies after then on. Please send your abstract to us if you hope to join in our session.

The Indopacipic Prehistory Association Congress will open on Sunday 23 September and sessions will run on Monday 24, Tuesday 25, Thursday 27 and Friday 28 September, 2018. The venue is Hue, the famous medieval capital city of Vietnam.

Organizers: Drs. Hisashi Fujita (Niigata College of Nursing, Japan) and Dong Hoon Shin (Seoul National University, South Korea)

Session Title: Recent Progress in Paleopathology of Asia

Abstract: Recently, paleopathology has been established in Asia as the indispensable research for revealing ancient people’s health and disease status by studies on the tissues remnant in archaeologically obtained biological specimens…

14th International Congress of Parasitology

The official site of the congress....Click Below


CALL FOR PAPERS
We are organizing the "Paleoparasitology session" for upcoming ICOPA 2018 meeting (Aug 19-24, 2018). 
Abstract can be submitted to http://www.icopa2018.org/index.php (The abstract submission will be available in the spring of 2018).
When you will submit the abstract for the paleoparasitology session, please contact one of the people below who are working for the successful organization of this session.
Karl Reinhard: kreinhard1@me.com Min Seo: bbbenji@naver.com Dong Hoon Shin: cuteminjae@gmail.com Alena Iniguez: alenainiguez@gmail.com
We will arrange your invaluable abstract to be presented in our paleoparasitology session. 
*We hope to design the Special Issue of International Journal of Paleopathology with the papers based on the novel abstracts presented in this session. 
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