Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900. By Alfred W. Crosby. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. xiv + 368 pp. $22.95.)

Grain-associated insect species are economically important and archaeologically significant. Their dispersal around the globe and eventually across the North Atlantic region surely occurred through human transport rather than naturally. Most beetle cereal pests are now nearly cosmopolitan in their distribution, but their prehistoric ranges appear to have been more restricted. What is known or surmised of the early dispersal of these insect species is summarized, and the role of archaeobiogeographical data in investigating past human contact evaluated. Analysis of fossil and historic records of grain-associated beetles suggests that their dispersal corresponded with assumptions concerning human movement and interaction in the past. There is a significant fossil record for some grain beetles, but it is incomplete and predominantly from northwest Europe. More fossils are needed from across the Palaearctic and North Africa. The examination of pre-agricultural natural deposits in the Middle East, Nort...

Six-legged hitchhikers : an archaeobiogeographical account of the early dispersal of grain beetles

At Nunalleq, a pre-contact Yup'ik Eskimo village site in Alaska (14th–17th century AD), abundant insect remains from highly organic substrates preserved within permafrost offer a unique opportunity to investigate past ecological and living conditions. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the analysis of two samples collected from floor layers in sod houses. The numerous and diverse insect remains highlight the exciting potential of archaeoentomology for reconstructing past ecological conditions, resource exploitation and the use of space at northern hunter–gatherer sites and have permitted the development of a strategy for the future collection of archaeoentomological data at permafrost-preserved sites in Alaska and elsewhere.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/1749631414Y.0000000037

Preliminary archaeoentomological analyses of permafrost-preserved cultural layers from the pre-contact Yup'ik Eskimo site of Nunalleq, Alaska: Implications, potential and methodological considerations

Since 1982, Stephen J. Gould and Elisabeth Vrba's concept of exaptation has been adopted, to varying degrees, by a number of biological and social science disciplines. However, it remains a missing term in the study of archaeologically recovered insect remains and entomologically related artefacts. Exaptation refers to the process by which a characteristic acquires a function for which it was not originally adapted. The application of Gould and Vrba's concept to the field of archaeoentomology could enhance our perception of past social, environmental, and climatic conditions as well as interactions. Herein, biological and technological examples of the enduring relationship between synanthropic insects and humans are explored using the concept of exaptation.

Exaptation and synanthropic insects: A diachronic interplay between biology and culture

Species established outside their native ranges are termed alien. Biological invasions of beetles are poorly studied. Distinguishing between alien and native species is necessary for conservation as well as for taxonomic, zoogeographic, and evolutionary studies. It constitutes a difficult problem, but the experience of botany and some branches of zoology gives reasons to believe that it is not unsolvable. The following criteria for distinguishing alien beetle species from native ones are proposed based on the criteria developed for plants, algae, mammals, and marine invertebrates: (1) detection of an established population of the species which has not been recorded earlier in the region; (2) disjunction of the range which cannot be explained by disjunction of suitable landscapes or host plant ranges; (3) expansion of a part of the range isolated from its main part; (4) highly localized distribution in an area adjacent to a known invasion pathway; (5) establishment in other regions; (6) dependency on another non-native species (feeding on an alien host plant or animal); (7) absence of specific parasites in the given region and their presence in some other region; (8) association with anthropogenic biotopes; (9) sharp fluctuations of abundance; (10) lack of taxonomically close species in the given region and their presence in other regions; (11) detection in the region of two or more taxonomically and/or ecologically close species typical of another region; (12) presence of known vectors of invasion; (13) low genetic diversity; (14) reproduction by parthenogenesis or inbreeding. These criteria are mere indirect evidences of the alien status of a species in the given territory, because numerous exceptions exist. Usually it is impossible to recognize an alien species by a single criterion, but matching several criteria characterizes the species as an alien one with high probability.

Is it possible to distinguish alien species of beetles (Coleoptera) from native ones

The arrival of Europeans along the northeastern seaboard of North America heralded the introduction of Old World flora and fauna to the region. The analysis of archaeologically recovered beetle remains suggests that many species may have journeyed across the Atlantic in ships' ballast, food stores, and other provisions. The creation of artificial habitats which occurred as a result of the fisheries and the construction of settlements provided an ecological corridor that facilitated the successful invasion of the European biota. Many of these adventive or accidentally introduced beetle species are associated with synanthropic and disturbed-land habitats which would have been mimicked in the coastal colonies. The arrival of this fauna ultimately contributed to the creation of Europeanized spaces upon the North American landscape.

Asylum for Wayward Immigrants: Historic Ports and Colonial Settlements in Northeast North America

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Asylum for Wayward Immigrants: Historic Ports and Colonial Settlements in Northeast North America