Towards an Interdisciplinary Archaeology of Pathogens: The Malaria Pigment, Archaeomagnetism, and Vector-Borne Disease Ecology in Classic Period Maya Art

Date of Award

Spring 1-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Anthropology

First Advisor

Burger, Richard

Abstract

Anthropological archaeologists study ancient records to understand how past peoples interacted with their environments and each other. Paleomicrobiologists use modern diagnostic techniques from the medical field to identify pathogenic microorganisms in archaeological remains. Since the emergence of the paleopathology subfield in the 1980s, Plasmodium spp. (malaria) has often eluded the trained eye of archaeologists due to a lack of pathognomonic skeletal lesions. Hemozoin (Hz), an iron-bearing crystalline pigment that accumulates in the bone marrow of infected individuals, serves as a reliable biomarker for diagnosing malaria in modern populations and holds promise for identifying ancient malaria in skeletal remains. In 2017, while serving as the Director of the Yale University Archaeology Laboratory Malaria Project (YUALMP), Dr. Jamie Inwood developed a novel method to identify Hz in the skeletal remains of a malaria-infected child from the 3rd century CE in Italy, employing Matrix-Assisted Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS), X-Ray Diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). For my MA thesis (2018), I adopted Inwood’s methodology to identify Hz in a female from 1000 CE in Puerto Rico, using MALDI TOF MS and SEM. Assuming Inwood’s role in YUALMP, my dissertation research aimed to broaden the toolkit available to paleomicrobiologists studying ancient malaria by developing an innovative method to identify Hz through archaeomagnetism. Here, I introduce a new approach: applying Alternating Gradient Magnetometry to identify magnetic coercivity as a reliable measurement proxy for distinguishing Fe in Plasmodium-derived Hz from Fe that is naturally present in the skeleton and burial matrix soil. Towards an interdisciplinary archaeology of pathogens, this dissertation also offers a fresh interpretation of a recurring theme in Maya iconography, specifically the Water Lily Complex, which includes the Water Lily Monster and Serpent; I synthesize decades of literature from Maya specialists interpreting the narratives and themes that recur alongside the depiction of the Water Lily Complex, suggesting an advanced understanding of vector-borne disease ecology by the Classic Period (250 CE-900 CE). Future research will enhance the capabilities of magnetic coercivity measurements to distinguish between Hz of various Plasmodium species at different lifecycle stages, based on the size and shape differences of Hz crystals, which can be quantified using magnetic coercivity as a measurement proxy. Ultimately, this method could be used to investigate Mayan skeletal remains to identify Plasmodium-derived Hz as indicative of malaria in the Americas prior to the Colonial Period, effectively revealing one of the vector-borne infectious diseases that appears to be depicted in the themes and narratives surrounding the Water Lily Complex in Maya iconography.

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