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Researchers who study ancient human diets tend to focus on meat
eating, since the practice of butchery is very apparent in the
archaeological record. In this volume, Julie Lesnik brings a
different food source into view, tracing evidence that humans and
their hominin ancestors also consumed insects throughout the entire
course of human evolution. Lesnik investigates the role of insects
in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins
in order to deduce what insect consumption looked like in the past.
She approaches the question from the perspectives of primatology,
sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and
paleoanthropology. Lesnik posits that women would likely spend more
time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this
pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in
reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance
of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a
reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over
the past five million years. Although they are consumed worldwide
to this day, insects are not usually considered to be food in
Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern
lives, Lesnik points out that insects are a highly nutritious and
very sustainable food. Lesnik believes that if we accept that
edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new
conversations about what is good to eat-both in past diets and for
the future of food.
Researchers who study ancient human diets tend to focus on meat
eating because the practice of butchery is very apparent in the
archaeological record. In this volume, Julie Lesnik highlights a
different food source, tracing evidence that humans and their
hominin ancestors also consumed insects throughout the entire
course of human evolution. Lesnik combines primatology,
sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and
paleoanthropology to examine the role of insects in the diets of
hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins. She posits that
women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects
than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because
women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human
behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of
acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers
used to feed their families over the past five million years.
Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not
usually considered food in Western societies. Tying together
ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that
insects are highly nutritious and a very sustainable protein
alternative. She believes that if we accept that edible insects are
a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about
what is good to eat-both in past diets and for the future of food.
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