Edible Insects and Human Evolution

by Julie J. Lesnik

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Anthropology, Science

208 pages, Hardcover

Published July 17, 2018

Reviews

[Matt Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesnik has written a clear and readable synthesis of the different lines of data available to look at insects as part of the diet of 1/3 of modern humans and of many living primates, and to investigate the role of insects in the diet of the ancient hominin past. While a bit repetitive in spots, the book takes the reader by the hand and walks through material that likely isn't too familiar to most readers; an advanced education is not necessary to get a lot out of this brief book. The author is careful to define terms, put things into a context of time and place, and refer to as much citable material as possible, allowing a reader to follow up easily into any specific aspect of the synthesis. "Meat" leaves bones and tools for archaeologists to report, but bugs don't so they have been a major, under-reported part of human diet. Lesnik posits that is changing, and hints at new directions for inquiry (Chapter 8 is the big payoff, on how to form and test new hypotheses). This is especially important for future anthropology since, when consumed by modern humans and primates, they are gathered by women and children, thus supplying most of the protein demand for the consumers. Early hominins may have been more dependent upon female insect foraging for high-quality caloric intake than ever anticipated.

[Rick Jackofsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some interesting facts about human evolution and primate behavior, from this somewhat dryly written scientific thesis, but nothing terribly earth shaking.