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Environmental manipulation for edible insect procurement: a historical perspective.

Joost Van Itterbeeck1, Arnold van Huis

  • 1Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands. joost.vanitterbeeck@wur.nl

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Ancient humans likely managed environments to enhance edible insect availability, similar to how they managed plants and animals. This research highlights the understudied role of insects in prehistoric diets and human environmental manipulation.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleoanthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Ethnoentomology

Background:

  • Human history involves environmental manipulation for resource management.
  • Prehistoric dietary research often overlooks edible insects, despite their potential significance.
  • Understanding past human-insect interactions requires examining procurement strategies.

Observation:

  • Edible insects, such as aquatic Hemiptera eggs, palm weevil larvae, and arboreal caterpillars, were likely procured through environmental manipulation.
  • Examples include water management for insect eggs, host tree manipulation for larvae, and habitat management for caterpillars.
  • These practices suggest intentional, albeit potentially ancient, forms of semi-cultivation.

Findings:

  • Evidence suggests ancient humans actively managed ecosystems to increase the predictability and availability of edible insects.
  • Specific techniques involved water management, altering host plant distribution, and habitat modification.
  • These manipulations facilitated more reliable insect harvesting for consumption.

Implications:

  • Recognizing insect exploitation expands our understanding of prehistoric subsistence strategies.
  • Environmental manipulation for insects may be an ancient practice, predating or co-evolving with agriculture.
  • This research underscores the need to include entomophagy in future paleoenvironmental and dietary reconstructions.