Irritating Intimates: The Archaeoentomology of Lice, Fleas, and Bedbugs

Ectoparasites, in the form of lice, fleas, and bedbugs, are often found in archaeological samples as indicated by archaeoentomological investigations in Europe, the Near East, Greenland, Iceland, and more recently in North America. Many historical texts, some dating as far back as the Classical Period, discuss ectoparasites, providing a lively repository of folk remedies. While archaeoentomological finds of ectoparasites are relatively new to the Northeast, these irritating intimates are found when care is taken to look for them