Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2003 ; 98 Suppl 1(): 207-11.

Paleopharmacology and pollen: theory, method, and application.

de Miranda Chaves SA, Reinhard KJ.

LaboratÃ³rio de Ecologia, Escola Nacional de SaÃºde PÃºblica-Fiocruz, Rua Leopoldo BulhÃµes 1480, 21041-210 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. smiranda@ensp.fiocruz.br

Parasitism was a universal human condition. Because of this, people developed herbal medicines to treat parasites as part of their pharmacopoeias. We propose that it is possible to recover evidence of medicinal plants from archaeological sites and link their use to specific health conditions. This is a multidisciplinary approach that must involve at least paleoethnobotanists, archaeoparasitologists, paleopathologists, and pharmacologists.