Insect remains as biological tools for ecological and archaeological reconstructions

The Research Seminar Series in Archaeology and Environmental archaeology invites you to a seminar with Nick Schafstall, GAMTC Laboratory of Quaternary Sciences. THe seminar title is "Insect remains as biological tools for ecological and archaeological reconstructions".

Speaker: Nick Schafstall, GAMTC Laboratory of Quaternary Sciences, Vilnius, Lithuania. Link to profile

Abstract:

Quaternary entomology, the study of remains of insects and other invertebrates from natural and archaeological deposits, has greatly aided us in understanding the Quaternary climate, past landscapes and important elements of these landscapes such as Pleistocene megafauna, as well as aspects of the lives of people of past civilisations such as the Egyptians, Romans, and Vikings. But do we already know everything that can be deduced from this biological proxy, and have we exhausted its use? The brief answer is, of course, not by far.

During this seminar, I will present results from my portfolio of work on natural and archaeological deposits in Central Europe. Results will include unpublished work from archaeological deposits in the Czech Republic, Holocene landcape reconstructions based on beetle remains from Central Europe, and beetle-based Late Glacial temperature reconstructions from Lithuania. The slowly growing amount of data from Central Europe shows how in this region as well, palaeoentomology provides important supporting information to more commonly used palaeo-proxies such as pollen. These results will be integrated into the SEAD (Strategic Environmental Archaeology Database) to expand the region for studies on past insect biodiversity, insect-human-landscape relationships, and palaeoclimate.

About the seminar series

The Research Seminar Series in Archaeology and Environmental Archaeology presents and discusses current research in archaeology and environmental archaeology.
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