Contribution of Ectoparasites Studies in Archaeology with Two Example from the North Atlantic Region

Veronique Forbes* (Corresponding Author), Frédéric Dussault, Allison Bain

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Human and animal ectoparasites are often recovered from archaeological contexts being examined forpreserved insect remains. Records of human lice, fleas and bedbugs are used to reconstruct past sanitaryconditions and practices, as well as their geographic distribution and that of the pathogens for which theymay be vectors. Ectoparasites of domesticated and wild animals may be considered proxy indicatorsfor the presence of those animals whilst also inferring activities such as wool processing. This papersummarizes the contribution of ectoparasite studies in archaeology and presents two original case studiesfrom Iceland and Greenland.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)158-164
Number of pages7
JournalInternational Journal of Paleopathology
Volume3
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2013

Keywords

  • Ectoparasites
  • Archaeoentomology
  • Hygiene
  • Eiderdown
  • Biogeography
  • Disease vectors

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