From the field to the microscope: funerary archaeoentomology workflow
Main Article Content
Keywords
insects, entomology, specimen preparation, funerary archaeology, protocol
Abstract
Funerary archaeoentomology is a recent bioarchaeological discipline. It shares the same bulk of knowledge of forensic entomology, which is the science of analysing entomological evidence (insects and other arthropods) as an aid to legal investigations. In archaeo-funerary contexts insects can provide informa- tion to describe the funerary practices but also to understand the taphonomic processes involving human and other animal bodies. The discipline was founded by Jean-Bernard Huchet in 1996. In this paper a workflow in seven main steps - documentation, collection on site, insect-sediment separation, specimens cleaning, mount- ing, labelling and identification - is suggested in order to maximize the information that can be derived from insect samples collected from archaeo-funerary sites.
References
Banning, E. (2000). Quantification: Abundance and Other Measures in Archaeology, in: Jochim, M.A., Dickens, R.S. (Eds.), The Archaeologist’s Laboratory: The Analysis of Archaeological Data, Springer, Boston, pp. 93-115.
Casteel, R. W. (1977). Characterization of faunal assemblages and the minimum number of individuals determined from paired elements: Continuing problem in archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Science 4, 125-134.
Casteel, R.W. (1978). Faunal Assemblages and the “Wiegemethode” or Weight Method. Journal of Field Archaeology 5, 71-77.
Cecchi, R., Cusack, D., Ludes, B., Madea, B., Vieira, D. N., Keller, E., Payne-James, J., Sajantila, A., Vali, M., Zoia, R., Cucurachi, N., Schirripa, M. L., Marezza, F., Anzillotti, L., Donato, L., Cattaneo, C., Favretto, D., Pelotti, S., Pinchi, V., Vanin, S., & Gherardi, M. (2022). European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) on-site inspection forms for forensic pathology, anthropology, odontology, genetics, entomology and toxicology for forensic and medico-legal scene and corpse investigation: the Parma form. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 136(4):1037-1049. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-021-02734-5. The Italian version of this form is available at the link https://www. simlaweb.it/procedure-sopralluogo/
Chase, P. G., & Hagaman, R. (1987). Minimum number of individuals and its alternatives: a probability theory perspective. Ossa 13, 75-86.
Chiappini, E., Liotta, G., Reguzzi, M. C., & Battisti, A. (2001). Insetti e restauro: legno, carta, tessuti, pellame e altri materiali. Calderini Edagricole Ed., Bologna.
Coope, G. R., & Osborne, P. J. (1968). Report on the Coleopterous Fauna of the Roman Well at Barnsley Park, Gloucestershire. Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 86: 84-87.
Forbes, V., Britton, K., & Knecht, R. (2015). Preliminary archaeoentomological analyses of permafrost-preserved cultural layers from the pre-contact Yup'ik Eskimo site of Nunalleq, Alaska: Implications, potential and methodological considerations. Environmental Archaeology 20, 158-167.
Gifawesen, C., Funke, B., & Proshold, F. (1975). Control of antifungal-resistant strains of Aspergillus niger mold contaminants in insect rearing media. Journal of Economic Entomology 68, 441–444.
Giordani, G., Erauw, C., Eeckhout, P. A., Owens, L. S., & Vanin, S. (2020). Patterns of camelid sacrifice at the site of Pachacamac, Peruvian Central Coast, during the Late Intermediate Period (AD1000–1470): Perspectives from funerary archaeoentomology Journal of Archaeological Science 114, 105065. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.105065
Giordani, G., Tuccia, F., Floris, I., & Vanin, S. (2018). First record of Phormia regina (Meigen, 1826) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from mummies at the Sant’Antonio Abate Cathedral of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy. PeerJ, 6, e4176; https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4176
Gurney, A. B., Kramer, J. P., & Steyskal, G. C. (1964). Some techniques for the preparation, study, and storage in microvials of insect genitalia. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 57, 240–242.
Henríquez-Valido, P., Morales, J., Vidal-Matutano, P., Moreno-Benítez, M., Marchante-Ortega, Á., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, A., & Huchet, J. B. (2020). Archaeoentomological indicators of long-term food plant storage at the Prehispanic granary of La Fortaleza (Gran Canaria, Spain). Journal of Archaeological Science, 120, 105179.
Huchet, J. B. (1996). L'Archéoentomologie funéraire: une approche originale dans l'interprétation des sépultures. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 3-4, 299-311
Huchet, J. B. (2014). Insect remains and their traces: relevant fossil witnesses in the reconstruction of past funerary practices. Anthropologie LII/3 pp. 329–346
Kenward, H. K. (1978). The Analysis of Archaeological Insect Assemblages: A New Approach. Archaeology of York 19/1. York: Council for British Archaeology for York Archaeological Trust
King, G. A. (2014). Exaptation and synanthropic insects: A diachronic interplay between biology and culture. Environmental Archaeology 19, 12-22
Magni, P. A., Harvey, A. D., & Guareschi, E. E. (2023). Insects Associated with Ancient Human Remains: How Archaeoentomology Can Provide Additional Information in Archaeological Studies. Heritage, 6, 435-465. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage6010023
Panagiotakopulu, E. (2004). Dipterous remains and archaeological interpretation. Journal of Archaeological Science, 31, 1675-1684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2004.04.008
Pradelli, J., Tuccia, F., Giordani, G., & Vanin, S. (2021). Puparia cleaning techniques for forensic and archaeo-funerary studies. Insects, 12:104. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12020104
Ronderos, M. M., Spinelli, G. R., & Sarmiento, P. (2000). Preparation and mounting of biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to be observed with a scanning electron microscope. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 126, 125–132.
Smith, D. (2018). Archaeoentomology, in: Varela, S.L.L. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences (pp. 1-4). Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken.
Stueben, M., & Linsenmair, K. E. (2008). Advances in insect preparation: Bleaching, clearing and relaxing ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 12, 15–21.
Sukontason, K. vL., Ngern-Klun, R., Sripakdee, D., & Sukontason, K. (2007). Identifying fly puparia by clearing technique: Application to forensic entomology. Parasitological Research, 101, 1407–1416.
Tuccia, F., Giordani, G., & Vanin, S. (2022). State of the art of the funerary archaeoentomological investigations in Italy. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 14, 70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01524-3
Vanin, S., & Huchet, J. B. (2017). Forensic Entomology and Funerary Archaeoentomology. In Schotsmans E.M.J., Marquez-Grant N., Forbes S. (Eds) Taphonomy of Human remains: Analysis of the death and the depositional environments (pp 176-186). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Vanin, S., Azzoni, M., Giordani, G., & Belcastro, M. G. (2021). Bias and potential misinterpretations in the analysis of insects collected from human remains of archaeological interest. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 13(11), 201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01458-2
Vanin, S. (2023). When Entomological studies meet Archaeology: archaeo-entomology an old, new discipline for investigation of the Past. Journal of Bioarchaeological Research, 1: e2023007
Viero, A., Montisci, M., Pelletti, G., & Vanin, S. (2019). Crime scene and body alterations caused by arthropods: implications in death investigation. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 133(1), 307-316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1883-8.
Zangheri, P. (1981). Il Naturalista Esploratore, Raccoglitore, Preparatore, Imbalsamatore; Hoepli Editore, Milano.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
How to Cite
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transfer of Copyright and Permission to Reproduce Parts of Published Papers.
Authors retain the copyright for their published work. No formal permission will be required to reproduce parts (tables or illustrations) of published papers, provided the source is quoted appropriately and reproduction has no commercial intent. Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.