PrehistoryLast few thousand years · Durham University, County Durham, United Kingdom
Insects in ancient human waste show people ate bugs for thousands of years
A Durham University study in World Archaeology gathers evidence of insect eating from sites worldwide, including moths cooked and ground into food in Australia around 2,000 years ago.
In brief 3 key points
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- Insect remains in ancient human waste and traces on cooking tools show people ate insects.
- The study suggests insects are overlooked in accounts of ancient diets.
- It reviews existing finds from many sites rather than one new dig.
People have eaten insects for thousands of years. Archaeologists can trace the habit in ancient human waste, on cooking tools and in signs of harvesting and storage. That is the case made by Professor Lisa-Marie Shillito of Durham University's Department of Archaeology. Her paper is published in the journal World Archaeology.
The study draws together evidence from archaeological sites around the world rather than reporting one new excavation. In the United States, finds show that people ate grasshoppers, beetles and other insects thousands of years ago. In Australia, moths were cooked and ground into food around 2,000 years ago.
Three kinds of evidence
According to the university, researchers have identified insect eating in three kinds of evidence. The first is insect remains inside ancient preserved human waste. Archaeologists call preserved faeces coprolites. They can keep traces of what a person ate.
The second is traces left on cooking equipment and tools. The third is evidence that people harvested insects and stored them.
Insects are easy to miss in the record. The study suggests they have been overlooked in some accounts of ancient diets. Part of the reason is preservation. Insect remains do not always survive as well as animal bones and pottery.
The university's announcement does not list every site covered by the paper. It also gives no figures for how common insect eating was in any period or region.
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Disgust is shaped by culture, the study argues
Cultural attitudes have influenced which foods people consider acceptable. In Western societies, insects are often met with disgust, despite their long history as food. Elsewhere they remain on the menu. Insects are still part of traditional diets in many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, such as grasshoppers in Uganda and Mexico.
Shillito argues that understanding these changing attitudes could help people reconsider insects. In her view, they are foods with cultural and historical significance. She argues they should not be seen simply as an unfamiliar alternative.
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Insects and sustainable diets
The work presents archaeology as a source for discussions about sustainable diets, because it shows the range of foods people have relied on in the past. By recognising insects as part of humanity's food heritage, the researchers hope to encourage a broader understanding of alternative proteins. They see a possible role for these proteins in building more resilient food systems.
Insect farming can need less land than many conventional livestock systems. It can also produce lower greenhouse gas emissions per unit of edible protein. The university notes that these benefits depend on how the insects are raised.
Sources (1)
Peer-reviewed paperfrom Durham University
- Ancient insect-eating diets offer new insights into sustainable food systems - Durham University (Bluesky buzz)
Paper: Lisa-Marie Shillito (Durham University), paper on ancient insect eating, World Archaeology
Edited by Guiseppe Weijermars
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