INSECT ANALYSIS

Abstract

The study of fossil insect remains from archaeological sites is adding vital new information on human lifestyles and living conditions, as well as providing evidence on the environmental setting of these sites. The principal types of deposits that yield insect remains are waterlogged sediments that are rich in organic detritus. Such deposits have typically been studied in ancient human habitation sites ranging from Bronze Age to Medieval times, especially in Europe. Insects directly associated with human-created environments include stored product pests, human and livestock parasites, and warm-adapted detritus feeders that would not have been able to survive out of doors in northern latitudes. These warm-adapted species were transported as far north as Iceland and Greenland, along with cargo on ships originating in Mediterranean ports. The sedentary lifestyles of Europeans from the Bronze Age onwards led to the accumulation of insect-rich organic deposits. In contrast to this, the hunter-gatherer populations of most of the Americas led a migratory lifestyle. Accordingly, the fossil insect faunal assemblages associated with most New World archaeological sites represent natural, ‘outdoor’ habitats, rather than man-made, ‘indoor’ habitats.