Ethics statement
This study was conducted in Shuar villages located within Canton Tiwintza, Morona
Santiago, Ecuador. Research for the Shuar Health and Life History project was authorized
in a letter provided by the Federacion Interprovincial de Centros Shuar (FICSH). No ´
human data was gathered as part of this project, and the bacterial data gathered was purged
of human mitochondrial sequences by removing all sequences classified within the Order
Rickettsiales before archiving. Genetic material resulting from this research will never be
used for human DNA research or commercial cell-line patenting