Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2010, Page 93

RECONSTRUCTING ASPECTS OF THE DAILY LIFE IN LATE 19TH AND EARLY
20TH-CENTURY ICELAND: ARCHAEOENTOMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
VATNSFÖRÐUR FARM, NW ICELAND
grouping together the taxa which repre-
sent similar environments or conditions,
or the species that suggest the presence of
particular materials. In order to create
these categories, the range of habitats of
all the identifíed insects was compiled
using several sources (e.g. Böcher 1988;
Buckland & Buckland 2006; Gudleifsson
2005; Hubbard 1968; Larsson & Gígja
1959; Lloyd 2002). By compiling the
habitat ranges of all taxa, as well as the
known preferred habitat of some species,
it was possible to divide the archaeoento-
mological data from Vatnsfjörður into six
different ecological groupings. These
include the ectoparasites, fauna associat-
ed with organic matter, outdoor fauna,
pests of stored products, dung feeders,
and fauna associated with mouldy hay.
Ectoparasites
Ectoparasites are parasites that live on (not
in) the bodies of their hosts. Specimens
from two insect orders were recovered
from the samples from Vatnsijörður;
Phthiraptera (lice) and Siphonaptera
(fleas). Only four individuals of Pediculus
humanus (human louse) were found in the
early modem contexts at Vatnsljörður.
This ectoparasite feeds on human blood,
and lives in hair or clothes. It can be used
as an indicator of past hygienic and health
conditions, as it may be a vector of infec-
tious diseases, such as typhus (Borror and
White 1991, 108-109). Fleas were more
numerous than lice (n=167). All flea
species feed on mammal or bird blood and
the identifícation of fleas is undertaken
using not only characteristics of the head,
but also of the abdomen and bristles
(Borror & White 1991, 308). It is difficult
to identify these in archaeological assem-
blages since these parts are usually disar-
ticulated and/or absent. The fleas from
Vatnsíjörður could not be identifíed to
species, but the species found in Iceland
include the human flea (Pulex irritans),
the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), one
species from the family Hystrichopsyllidae
(rat and mice fleas), and eight species of
the Ceratophyllidae family, which mostly
feeds on the blood of birds and small
rodents (Borror & White 199, 308;
Hubbard 1968). It is important to note that
even if various species of fleas generally
infest specific groups of animals, they are
rarely specific to a single host species
(Hubbard 1968, 61).
Only one species from the order
Diptera (flies) was identified: Melophagus
ovinus, a wingless fly also known as the
sheep ked. It is also an ectoparasite, feed-
ing exclusively on sheep blood, on which
it depends for its whole life cycle. Animals
infested by the sheep ked are susceptible
to contracting secondary infections in the
wounds caused by the bites, which are
both annoying for the infested animals,
and make their skin unsuited for making
good quality hides or leather clothing
(Lloyd 2002, 352-358). This species
seems to have been recently eradicated
from Iceland, as its last known record
dates from 1982 (Erling Olafsson, person-
al communication, 2010).
Fauna associated with organic
matter
Members of the Staphylinidae family
(rove beetles), which made up 1193 indi-
viduals and dominated this fauna, live in
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