Figure 1.
Map of Chile (left) with the district of San Pedro de Atacama indicated in black-fil.
Enlarged on the right. The village of San Pedro de Atacama; blue arrow. The archeological sites (digs) are enlarged at the bottom. Cojo Oriental indicated by broken red arrow.
Figure 2.
Four female skulls from ancient graves, from Cojo Oriental cemetery, San Pedro de Atcama Northern Chile.
They show extensive, destructive lesions (outlined by broken lines) caused by chronic Leishmania infection. 1. Skull # 4156 (12204), age 45–49 years showing facial boney erosions on the left side, with evidence of healing. The grave contained baskets and bags filled with quinoa, wool and human hair. The lesions were extensive involving the orbit, the nasal bones, the maxillary, the ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses, the maxilla and the frontal bone. The inferior orbital rim was destroyed. In the remaining maxilla 2 suppuration tracks were visible. Evidence for periostitis was found in the frontal bone. The hard palate was not involved. The mandible was not examined. 2. Skull # 3984 (9791) aged 30–40 years. Left sided, lesions involving the nose and orbit with evidence of partial healing. The grave contained 3 additioal adults, and also pottery, baskets and 1 pumpkin. Extensive lesions involving the orbit, the nasal bones, the maxillary, the ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses, the maxilla and the frontal bone. There was thinning of the entire orbital circumference. Suppuration tracks were visible in the ethmoid and in the frontal bone. A vertical fracture with depression and displacement towards the left was found between the glabella and the frontal bone. The mandible was normal. 3. Skull # 5377 (9858), age 35–39. Right-sided boney erosions with evidence of healing. The maxilla and nasal bones were missing. The hard palate on the left was also involved. The grave contained 3 additional adults and a large number of ceramics, baskets, a malachite necklace and 1 bag filled with red earth and snail shells, 1 spoon and 3 pumpkins. Deformed porous bone was evident in the region of the right pyramidal process. The zygomatic arch was also deformed by porous boney outgrowth and largely remodeled. Partial destruction of the left hard palate was present. The malar and frontal portions of the orbital rim were thinned but still discernable. The mandible was not involved. 4. Skull # 3938 (14673), age 40–44 years. The grave contained also a man a woman and 2 fetuses. There were a malachite necklace, a basket and ceramic objects. The right sided facial bones were destroyed by the infection. The mandible was not affected.
Figure 3.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of samples 1 to 3 using primer sets LD1F/LD1R and LD3F/LD3R.
Lane 1 contains a 100 bp molecular marker; lanes 2 to 6 and 9 to 13 contain two extracts of samples 1 and 2, and one extract of sample 3 respectively; lanes 7 and 14 contain an extract negative and lanes 8 and 15 contain a PCR negative. Red arrows arrows to indicate the position of the amplified DNA on the gel images.
Figure 4.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of samples 1 to 4 using primer sets LD1F/LD1R (a), LD2F/LD2R (b) and LD4F/LD4R (c).
Lane 1 contains 100 bp molecular marker; lane 2 is blank; lanes 3 to 6 represents samples 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively; lanes 8, 9, 10 contain the extract negative, purification negative and PCR negative respectively.