The lakeside settlement of Lin, on the shore of Lake Ohrid in eastern Albania, is one of the earliest currently known Neolithic sites in Europe. Excellent preservation by waterlogging has allowed archaeoentomological research which led to the recovery of storage and field pests. Insect remains from parts of the site dated to 5862–5748 cal BC include the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.), the saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), and the bruchid beetles Bruchus pisorum L. and Bruchus rufipes Herbst. The specimens from Lin 3 provide the earliest known records of O. surinamensis, B. pisorum, and B. rufipes, and add to the limited earliest evidence for S. granarius in Europe. These finds demonstrate that field and storage infestations were associated with the initial spread of agriculture into Europe, refining the timeline for the emergence and dispersal of synanthropic pest faunas.

The future of food systems depends upon diversifying crops. Archaeobotany offers insights into the past use of different plant foods, including minor or underutilised crops. Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) is an ancient crop once widespread in parts of southern Europe and southwest Asia, and beyond. Routine consumption of this pulse by prehistoric communities has been questioned due to its mild toxicity and current limited use as fodder or famine food. Processing of bitter vetch, such as seed coat removal (dehulling), can reduce the toxin concentration, enhancing human edibility of the crop. Here, we present rarely preserved evidence for the dehulling of bitter vetch seeds from the mid-5th millennium cal BCE lakeshore settlement of Plo & ccaron;a Mi & ccaron;ov Grad, Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia. We suggest that the community routinely consume bitter vetch following its transformation from a toxic plant to a safe and nourishing crop. Due to its drought tolerance and low soil fertility requirements, this underutilised crop is the focus of renewed interest. The prehistoric value placed on this climate-resilient pulse addresses calls for further scientific research into and public awareness of this underutilised crop for conservation and cultivation in efforts to diversify food systems.

Kinship practices underpin all traditional societies, forming the basis for socially sanctioned reproductive unions, residence patterns and the inheritance of rights and property 1,2 . Although the relationship between biological relatedness and kinship is not always straightforward, ancient DNA studies are increasingly used to examine the extent to which biological relatedness underpinned social constructs of kinship in prehistoric societies 3-6 . Here, we report the analysis of genome-wide data for 534 individuals from the Arras Culture of Middle Iron Age northeast England (including 390 from Wetwang Slack, 100 from Pocklington, and 29 from Melton), finding evidence for communities with kinship systems structured along matrilineal lines. At Wetwang Slack, we reconstruct a 13-generation pedigree comprising 195 individuals structured around female-line connections: matrilineal transmissions greatly outnumbered patrilineal ones and male reproductive partners were largely absent from the cemetery, plausibly because they were buried in their own natal communities. Furthermore, the three main sites with robust sample sizes were characterised by non-overlapping dominant mitochondrial haplogroups, implying a maternal clan-based structure. Reproductive unions at Wetwang Slack suggest a recurrent alliance between two dominant maternal descent groups, with members of each group never reproducing with members of their own maternal lineage. Meanwhile, three individuals from lavishly furnished 'chariot burials' at Wetwang Slack were close maternal relatives belonging to a lineage with consecutive generations of close kin unions, a pattern largely absent among other individuals at the site. These results indicate highly distinctive social practices among an elite group embedded in the wider kinship network of the Arras community.

A palaeoecological multidisciplinary study from a well-preserved bark dominated structure and other organic sediments are presented. The study provides new data about Mesolithic coastal environments and includes a reconstruction of concurrent vegetation units, concluding that thermophilous woodland was established at the outer SW-Norwegian coast as early as 9000-8500 cal. BP. A pine bark dominated, possibly human made, structure was recovered from the former seabed at the Kvits & oslash;y archipelago. The study involves various palaeoecological proxies, and synthesises results from soils, pollen, macro botanical remains, insect and mite analyses. The organic deposits are beach-derived, possibly trampled in sediments and includes abundant well-preserved waterlogged plant remains and arthropods. Species from the tidal zone are well represented, and upland taxa from fen and swamp communities, coastal heath and open woodland including Pinus sylvestris L., Betula pubescens L., and more warm demanding species such as Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill, Crataegus L., Prunus padus L., Quercus L., Betula pendula Roth, Corylus avellana L., Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn and possibly Ulmus glabra Huds. and Tilia cordata Mill. Wild apples and hazelnuts were infested by the moth Cydia pomonella (L.) and the weevil Curculio nucum (L.) respectively. The beetle and mite fauna provides evidence of taxa associated with open coastal woodland and the tidal zone and driftwood. A large variety of edible plants are documented, of which seeds, fruits, roots, a.o., indicate the possibility of their seasonal collection from spring until late autumn. The plant and insect data provide additional evidence which could be associated with human impact. These results highlight the importance of integrated palaeoecological studies for establishing facts about past local environments and detecting slight human impact from this and similar contexts.

Findings of archaeological textiles and fibres in Northern Iberia are extremely rare. The occurrence of a set of textile fragments, dated between the 14th and 16th centuries CE at the Pambre castle (Palas de Rei, Lugo, Spain) is exceptional. The original stone roof of the southeastern tower was intact. The dark, cold and moist conditions inside the tower favoured the preservation of a unique series of waterlogged textile remains. In addition, a set of pseudomorphs preserved by mineral replacement were recovered from the east edge of the north wing in the main hall of the castle. Fibres have been identified using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and they have been chemically characterised using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). We also performed analytical pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC-MS) of the wool fabrics and pseudomorphs to assess their state of degradation and the presence of chemical markers associated to the use of these textile remains. High performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD-MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) analysis were applied on wool fabrics to identify the chemical markers of dyes but without success. To expand the information related to raw material identification and the technical aspects of the fabrics, further evidence such as adherences identified as opal phytoliths, seeds, and insect remains associated to wool fabrics were examined. These findings offer a unique glimpse into the clothing dated to the end of the Medieval period, and its life-cycle. Wool scraps were probably part of at least two different garments, whereas the mineralised textiles probably formed part of at least two brigandines which were made of bast fibres, flax, or hemp.

Of the 24 Greenland interstadials in the Last Glacial-interglacial cycle (LGIC) only five are conventionally recognised in Britain. This paper aims to improve understanding of the LGIC in Britain from a site at Arclid, Cheshire. Sediments were characterised and luminescence used to establish a chronology. This found that the Chelford Sand Formation spans 77-47 ka with sand deposited initially by aeolian but later by fluvial transportation. Coleoptera and Diptera from the basal peat lens provided a reconstruction for a heather-rich heathland environment grazed by large herbivores, with summer temperatures between 13 and 18 degrees C, and winter temperatures between -14 and 1 degrees C. Flies included the earliest records of the blood-sucking horsefly Haematopota pluvialis, and the soldierfly Chloromyia formosa. The overlying Stockport Sand Formation was deposited fluvioglacially between 47-41 ka with the upper Stockport Till formed by the advance of the last British icesheet after-33 ka. Stenothermic beetle analysis from Arclid indicate similarities with results from other British mid LGIC sites, some of which are at or beyond the limit of radiocarbon dating and may be of a similar age to Arclid. Basal organic sediments found at Arclid along with other reassigned sites are proposed as a new Arclid Interstadial. A revised British LGIC chronostratigraphy has the Wretton, Chelford and Brimpton Interstadials and the previously suggested but not widely recognised Cassington Interstadial. The Arclid Interstadial occurred after these, but prior to the Upton Warren Interstadial complex. This closes the previous gap in interstadials between the Brimpton Interstadial and the Upton Warren Interstadial complex within the British chronostratigraphy.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Insect faunas from a Spanish and a Dutch shipwreck, Angra D and Angra C, recovered from a bay on Terceira island, Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores, and dated to c. 1650 CE, provide information about the onboard ecology of seventeenth century shipping vessels and the role of these ships and of contemporary maritime routes in biological invasions. In addition to evidence for foul conditions, there is evidence for similar insect faunas on both these ships. The assemblages include the earliest records of the now cosmopolitan synanthropic scuttle fly Dohrniphora cornuta (Bigot) which was probably introduced through trade from southeast Asia to Europe. The presence of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.) from Angra D, in the context of other sixteenth and seventeenth century records from shipwrecks, gives information about its spread to North America and Europe through transatlantic and transpacific trade, hitching a ride with traded commodities. The insect data point to the importance of introduced taxa on traded commodities and ballast, transported from port to port, and the role of ports of call like Angra in the Azores, as hot spots for biological invasions.

The wooden assemblage recovered from Hoyo de los Herreros cave (Reocín, Cantabria, Spain) in northern Iberia has provided an exceptional opportunity to enlarge our knowledge about perishable material culture from a unique medieval context. This case study enhances the information related to ephemeral material culture associated with the occupation of caves during the Middle Ages in northern Iberia, and the role played by wooden crafts in relation to activities performed within these dark and subterrain areas. All the wooden objects have been systematically studied and dated, combining wood analysis and morpho-technological study with the examination of entomological remains recovered from one of the objects which was in an advanced state of decay. The three bowls and a pointed twig recovered inside the cave were probably related to two different episodes of use, the first dated between 9th to 11th centuries CE, and the second between 11th and 12th centuries CE. It was possible to identify different stages of their chaîne-opératoires and the analysis of different aspects of their lifecycle, in tandem with the study of medieval wood crafting, specifically lathe-turning.

Fossil insect assemblages from post-medieval Skálholt, the oldest episcopal see in Iceland, provide new information about indoor environments and the specific use of a structure which according to historical information was listed as a larder attached to the episcopal school. The assemblages recovered also provide information on the background fauna which comprises of species related to turves, used for building construction and indicating storage of peat. In addition to the introduced Sitophilus granarius, the granary weevil, a new pest, Callosobruchus maculatus which is a pan-tropical and subtropical field and storage pest of legumes, and a rarely introduced species in Iceland even today, were also recovered from the site. In view of the nature of the assemblages, these were probably accidental introductions into the room, perhaps in faeces. The historical record provides information about the life history and events at Skálholt and data about school supplies including imports of stored products to Iceland during this period. In addition, the high numbers of sheep keds, Melophagus ovinus, combined with high numbers of human lice, Pediculus humanus, point to the washing of wool and clothing in urine to get rid of ectoparasites. Intra-site comparisons and a review of all Icelandic archaeological sites suggest a clear correlation between the presence of ectoparasites and wool preparation and cleaning. The results from Skálholt clearly show that rooms and specific spaces in post-medieval buildings could have multiple functions, not only the one assigned to them in the historical record.

Part of the discussion about refugia revolves around theories of survival in the vicinity of hot springs in Iceland, on nunataks or debris-covered glacier surfaces. In his seminal works on North Atlantic faunas, C.H. Lindroth synthetically discussed the distribution of North Atlantic terrestrial, freshwater and littoral marine animals and also considered elements of the flora in an effort to explain biogeographic patterns. Hypotheses on the immigration of flora in the North Atlantic islands include dispersal on driftwood. The earliest evidence for insects associated with human activity on the North Atlantic islands comes from Greenland with the faunas recovered from samples from the archaeological excavations at Qeqertassusuk on Disko bay. The historical biogeography of the North Atlantic insect faunas reveals the effect of climate change on the biota in terms of their immigration to the islands at the beginning of the Holocene.

A novel pathway for understanding exchange is via what might be termed historical autecology, in particular, trying to assess introductions and invasive insect species in the environments under investigation. Invertebrates can provide very detailed information on this front, as they inevitably accompany any trading or raiding activities, in ships, either in ballast, dunnage or goods, and overland in packing or commodity. Grain was widely shipped to the north from southern Baltic and North Sea ports, and archaeoentomological research in northern Norway and Iceland has demonstrated that exotic pests for these parts of the world, which rely on the warmth of the storerooms for their survival, arrived as part of the exchange process of fish or skins for grain; a range of other species were transported in dunnage and ballast. This paper discusses insect results and mechanisms for insect pest introductions from a range of sites relevant to the Hanseatic trade, including North Atlantic ones, to show the potential of this research and to provide a framework for future research.

The optimal preservation of many Egyptian archaeological sites provides unique opportunities in the research into the evolution of synanthropic species, wild animals or plants, which benefit from close association with manmade human habitats. In this study we extracted and analysed ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from three synanthropic insect species, two storage pests, Sitophilus granaries (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (N = 8) and Trogoderma granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) (N = 14), and the housefly Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), (N = 14), from Roman Qasr Ibrim, an Egyptian frontier site located in lower Nubia. The impact of different experimental variables on ancient DNA recovery was also evaluated, confirming that it is possible to extract endogenous ancient DNA from desiccated specimens while preserving the insect exoskeleton. A phylogenetic comparison of the Qasr Ibrim housefly mtDNA-COI (COI) with modern housefly sequences, revealed that they were genetically similar to modern Egyptian, Near Eastern, Indian, Japanese, and US/Canadian populations. As the now cosmopolitan houseflies were transported by human populations alongside domestic animals and crops and may have aided the spread of disease, these findings provide important information for these processes. While limited by the resolution of the comparative databases, our research suggests the existence of biological invasions and links across the Red Sea from Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula, and exchanges between India and Egypt. We demonstrate the great potential of fossil insect aDNA for reconstructing biogeographic and diachronic species distribution and for better understanding past environments.

Dating evidence for MIS 3 sites cited in the text

While there is extensive evidence for the Late Devensian, less is known about Early and Middle Devensian (approx. 110–30 ka) climates and environments in the UK. The Greenland ice-core record suggests the UK should have endured multiple changes, but the terrestrial palaeo-record lacks sufficient detail for confirmation from sites in the British Isles. Data from deposits at Finningley, South Yorkshire, can help redress this. A channel with organic silts, dated 40 314–39 552 cal a BP, contained plant macrofossil and insect remains showing tundra with dwarf-shrub heath and bare ground. Soil moisture conditions varied from free draining to riparian, with ponds and wetter vegetated areas. The climate was probably low arctic with snow cover during the winter. Mutual climatic range (MCR), based on Coleoptera, shows the mean monthly winter temperatures of −22 to −2°C and summer ones of 8–14°C. Periglacial structures within the basal gravel deposits and beyond the glacial limits indicate cold-climate conditions, including permafrost. A compilation of MCR reconstructions for other Middle Devensian English sites shows that marine isotope stage 3—between 59 and 28 ka—experienced substantial variation in climate consistent with the Greenland ice-core record. The exact correlation is hampered by temporal resolution, but the Finningley site stadial at approximately 40 ka may correlate with the one of the Greenland stadials 7–11.

Mutual Climatic Range (MCR) calculation results for MIS 3 beetle based climate reconstrutions shown in figure 16. Data include comparison with modern day termperatures for Finningley.

Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire is often considered a well-preserved ancient landscape, subsequently having survived by way of centuries of management as a hunting preserve. Archaeological evidence suggests otherwise, with an enclosed landscape beginning in the pre-Roman Iron Age and continuing through the Roman period. Due to the nature of the region’s soils, however, there is little empirical, palaeoecological evidence on its environmental history prior to the medieval period. This paper presents an insect fauna from a Roman well in a small enclosure in north Nottinghamshire, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, and its interpretation in terms of contemporary land use. Wells and small pools act as large pitfall traps and may effectively sample aspects of the local and regional insect fauna. The Wild Goose Cottage fauna and its environmental implications are also compared with a number of archaeologically and geographically similar contexts.

The Neolithic and the spread of agriculture saw several introductions of insect species associated with the environments and activities of the first farmers. Fossil insect research from the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilio in Macedonia, northern Greece, provides evidence for the early European introduction of a flightless weevil, the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius, which has since become cosmopolitan and one of the most important pests of stored cereals. The records of the granary weevil from the middle Neolithic in northern Greece illuminate the significance of surplus storage for the spread of agriculture. The granary weevil and the house fly, Musca domestica were also introduced in the Neolithic of central Europe, with the expansion of Linear Band Keramik (LBK) culture groups. This paper reviews Neolithic insect introductions in Europe, including storage pests, discusses their distribution during different periods and the reasons behind the trends observed. Storage farming may be differentiated from pastoral farming on the basis of insect introductions arriving with incoming agricultural groups.

Although there are several well preserved Viking boat burials from Norway, until recently palaeoecological research on their context has often been limited. Research on fossil insect remains in particular can provide valuable forensic information even in the absence of an actual body. Here we present archaeoentomological information from a boat burial at Øksnes in Vesterålen, northeast Norway, an area where Norse and Sami traditions overlap. Excavated in 1934, organic preservation from the burial was limited to parts of the boat and a clump of bird feathers which were preserved in the Tromsø University Museum, and from which fossil insects were recovered. The insect assemblage from Øksnes includes the blowfly, Protophormia terraenovae (Rob.-Des.), which indicates exposure of the body and the probable timing of the burial. The high numbers of the human flea, Pulex irritans L. from among the feathers, suggests that these, probably from a pillow under the corpse, originated from within a domestic context. Deposition of flowers as part of the burial is discussed on the basis of the insect fauna. The absence of a body and any associated post burial decay fauna implies its exhumation and disposal elsewhere and this is discussed in the context of other exhumed medieval burials and Saga and other sources.

Palaeoecological investigations of a rapidly eroding coastal midden and an adjacent peat bog on the island of Kangeq in southwest Greenland have provided new information on environmental change and human impact associated with Thule Inuit occupation. Palynological and palaeoentomological datasets have been produced through the 14th to the 17th centuries AD. The pollen and sedimentary data provide evidence for peat formation, increased frequency of the northern annual herb Koenigia islandica (Iceland purslane) from the end of the 15th century AD, and a decline in shrub pollen over the same period. These changes are interpreted as local responses to Little Ice Age cooling. No clear signal for human impact on the vegetation was revealed in the pollen record, and there was little macroscopic charcoal recovered from either of the sedimentary contexts that were examined; microscopic charcoal evident in the peat column is probably evidence for domestic fires. The insect remains suggest periodic patterns of disposal on the midden and provide information on natural environments in the vicinity. Fossil fly puparia (Diptera) are associated with decaying animal materials and perhaps indicate waste produced from the skinning of marine mammals and birds as opposed to butchering. The faunas contrast with results from the Saqqaq site of Qeqertasussuk and several Norse farms.