SECTION ENTOMOLOGY
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SECTION ENTOMOLOGY |
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Entomo-archaeology
by Tom Hakbijl
- Introduction
The Netherlands is very rich in waterlogged situations, which are ideal for the preservation of insect remains. We focus on Coleoptera, insect parasites and sometimes we try to identify puparia. The collection of the Zoological Museum is invaluable, especially for the identification of the Coleoptera fragments.
The information generated by insect analysis is used for the reconstruction of living conditions of man. First, insects play an important role in human life (food pests, parasites), second, insects can be useful indicators for all kinds of conditions.
Recent subjects
- the distribution of insect pests in the past
- methods for insect control
- the medicinal use of insects (cantharides)
- insects as food (the "cossus" of Pliny)
- analysis of wells (formation processes and taphonomy)
- forensic archaeology
One of the projects concerned the traditional, historical and prehistoric use of ashes as an insecticide. The use of ashes can be found throughout cultures and periods. It is particularly useful in stored products protection. The effect of washing, which is locally done by subsistence farmers in Africa, was tested on stored products insects. All experiments showed that washed ash worked faster than unwashed ash. The background of the use of ashes in sacred purification rites is considered and connected with early ectoparasite control. In archaeology, therefore, ashes must not only be regarded as remains of burnt material, but also as an important, intentionally used product that may be recovered from a variety of contexts, such as floor levels, storage structures and devices, remains of stored products, bodily remains, etc.
The results of this study were presented to the annual conference of the Association of Environmental Archaeology at Limerick, Ireland in 1997. The paper, titled "The traditional, historical and prehistoric use of ashes as an insecticide, with an experimental study on the insecticidal efficacy of washed ashes" is submitted for publication.
Publication:
Hakbijl, T. & M. de Groot (1997). Insect remains from Willem Barents' 1596 Arctic exploration preserved in "Het Behouden Huys", Novaya Zemlya - with notes on the medicinal use of Cantharides. In: Quarternary Entomology - An Inordinate Fondness for Insects. Quarternary Proceedings, 5. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, pp. 129-134.
Identification service
Research for clients is handled by IASE: Services in Entomoarchaeology
email: hakbijl@science.uva.nl
