Scientific Studies of Our Past

The news on Archaeoparasitological Meetings in South Korea: Sessions “A global perspective on ancient parasites: Current research projects” at the 14th International Congress of Parasitology, and “Current Trends in Paleoparasitology” at the Seoul International Symposium of Paleoparasitology were reported in recent issue of PPA NEWSLETTER (No. 184, December 2018).

Thank you, my friends, colleagues. I owe you a lot-.
Peer Reviewed Papers
E2018-1. Shin DH, Oh CS, Hong JH, Lee H, Lee SD, Lee E. Helicobacter pylori DNA obtained from the stomach specimens of two 17th century Korean mummies. Anthropol Anz. 2018 Feb 1;75(1):75-87. E2018-2. Oh CS, Kang IU, Hong JH, Park JB and Shin DH. An Experiment Assessment of the Cause of Mummification in Joseon Period Burials, Republic of Korea. Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia. 2018. 46(1) 117-122. E2018-3. Seo M, Oh CS, Hong JH, Chai JY, Ju JO, Shin DH. Ancient Soil-Transmitted Parasite Eggs Detected from the Sixth Century Three Kingdom Period Silla Tomb. J Korean Med Sci. 2018 Feb 5;33(6):e53. E2018-4. Ki HC, Shin E-K, Woo EJ, Lee E, Shin DH. Horse-riding accidents and injuries in historical records of Joseon Dynasty, Korea. International Journal of Paleopathology Volume 20, March 2018, Pages 20–25. E2018-5. Hong JH, Oh CS, Cho CW, Shin YM, Cho T, Shin DH. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of Bos t…

I Wish You a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Jong Ha Hong and Dong Hoon Shin

Our abstract is accepted for annual meeting of AAPA 2019:  Cleveland, March 27-30  at the Huntington Convention Center Cleveland (Hilton Cleveland Downtown).

Urbanization and Ancient Parasitism

DONG HOON SHIN1, SANG-YUCK SHIM2, HWA YOUNG LEE2, YONGJUN KIM1, JONG HA HONG1 and MIN SEO3

1Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 2Department of Archaeology, The Baekje Culture Foundation, 3Department of Parasitology, Dankook University College of Medicine

The impact of urbanization on human civilization, especially on the health status and disease states of ancient populations, is very large, because different kinds of infectious diseases newly emerged, became endemic or sometimes disappeared as urbanization progressed in human history. Archaeoparasitologists presumed that a similar phenomenon has been occurring in parasitism during urbanization, as the infection rates of soil transmitted helminths doubtless increased when large numbers of people came to congre…

Our paper, "A HISTORICAL APPROACH TO SYPHILIS INFECTION IN KOREA" is published in Acta medico-historica Adriatica : AMHA

From the end of the 15th century, syphilis spread worldwide, posing a serious threat to public health. Venereal syphilis has been a major research topic, not only in clinical medicine but also in paleopathology, especially because it is a disease of questionable origin and of high prevalence until the discovery of antibiotics. Syphilis in history has been studied extensively in Europe and the Americas, though less so in Asia. In this review, based on extant historical documents  and  available  paleopathological  data,  we  pinpoint  the  introduction  and  trace  the spread of venereal syphilis in Korea to the end of the 19th century. This review provides fundamental  information  that  will  be  of  great  help  to  future  research  on  pre-20th  century  syphilis in Korea.