The Jomon people cohabitated with cockroaches—The prehistoric pottery impressions reveal the existence of sanitary pests

Abstract

It is unclear when cockroaches, a worldwide representative sanitary pest, began to cohabit with humans. Some cockroach oothecae were incorporated into pottery material during the Jomon period in Japan, and archaeologists have successfully identified them using a new investigation method. Identification of cockroach ootheca impressions in Jomon pottery in this study suggests the possibility that the Smokybrown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa, which is currently recognised as an exotic species, is a synanthropic species native to Japan. In addition, it reveals that the modern geographical distribution of the two major native cockroach species was already established during the Jomon period. This study presents new evidence for the establishment of domiciliary cockroaches and demonstrates that the pottery impression method is highly effective for detecting insects (house pests) that are difficult to find in archaeological soil owing to their physical weakness and ecological niches.