A parasitic egg was discovered by archeologists in Northern Syria, near the pelvis of a child’s skeleton. They say the skeleton dates back to when the ancient societies started growing crops using irrigation systems. Farming with irrigation means farmers spent most of their time on the farms, wading in warm water. These are ideal conditions for these parasites to get into the human body. They may also have triggered outbreaks of schistosomiasis, a water-borne flatworm disease.
#1. University of Chicago
A Near Eastern Archeology professor at University of Chicago, Gil Stein in an email said that, “the invention of irrigation was a major technological breakthrough (but) it had unintended consequences. A more reliable food supply came at the cost of more disease.”