Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Presentation and Appraisal

With the publication of this volume, archaeological parasitology has established the legitimacy of its role in the reconstruction of the past. Though formerly often relegated to the appendix of a site description report, the manuscripts herein represent a dramatic presentation of the potential for the expansion of the database generated by integrating paleoparasitological findings with other archaeological data. And how appropriate that this book should be the product of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz in Rio de Janeiro whose professional staff has contributed so much to bring this specialty to its present distinguished status

Observations on Ice Regions of the Arctic Ocean

Reports 7 Mar - 20 Apr observations made by a physician and a high school geography teacher, members of a six-man nonscientific field party of the Plaisted Polar Expedition 1968, which traversed the pack ice from Ward Hunt Island to the geographic North Pole to be evacuated by air. Logistics, using four Bombardier Skidoo snowmobiles to tow 8-ft sleds, weather, and positioning are briefly described. The west wind was so constant that a northerly heading was maintained on overcast days by crossing tightly packed snow drifts or sastrugi at right angles. Surface features of three zones are described, a so-called shatter zone extending out about 25 mi where pack ice meets shelf ice; another with a highly variable surface, broad, old floes being the basic feature, separated by areas of extensive fragmentation; the third zone has an enormous lead at its southern limit and contains large-sized and old floes. These log-book notes give many details on pressure ridges, leads, floe sizes, orientation of upended ice fragments, etc

Aspects of ingestion transmission of changas disease identified in mummies and their coprolites

Molecular study of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) anciant DNA (aDNA) in the soft (nonskeletal) tissues of 283 naturally (spontaneously) mummified bodies from coastal sites located in southern Peru and northern Chile demonstrated a Chagas disease prevalence rate of about 41% over the past 9,000 years. This rate is similar to that of several endemic areas within this region prior to initiation of public health control programs. This report focuses on the presence of T. cruzi aDNA in the coprolites of some of these mummies. Review of the possible mechanisms that may explain the presence of this parasite in the coprolites indicates numerous antemortem and postmortem circumstances that conceivably could have been responsible. In given conditions, all of these may need to be considered. These considerations indicate that the presence of T. cruzi aDNA in mummy coprolites cannot categorically be considered as evidence of ingestion of the parasiteEl estudio molecular del tejido blando de 283 de cuerpos momificados en forma natural proveniente de la costa del sur de Perú y norte de Chile revela la presencia de Tripanosoma cruzi a partir de 9.000 años atrás con una prevalencia de un 41%. Este valor es parecido a áreas de estas regiones donde la enfermedad era endémica, antes que se iniciaran los programas de control de la salud. Este ensayo discute la presencia de ADNa de T. cruzi en los coprolitos de momias y revisa los posibles mecanismos de estos parásitos en los coprolitos. La presencia de T. cruzi en los coprolitos de momia no necesariamente indica que hubo una ingesta de este parásit