Bias and potential misinterpretations in the analysis of insects collected from human remains of archaeological interest

Insects collected from human remains are an important source of information about the peri- and postmortem events and they are the object of attention of two disciplines. Forensic entomology deals with insects collected from remains of forensic interest and funerary archaeoentomology with insects from archaeological contexts. In the collections of human remains (mummies, bones, etc.) belonging to museums or other institutions, insects can be found and can be used to make some interpretation about the past. This is possible only if the specialist is able to distinguish between the insects associated with the living subject or with the body decomposition and the pests colonizing the body stored in the collection. This paper, starting from the analysis of 42 human individuals belonging to three Italian osteological collections (Bologna, Parma, and Cagli), provides a working scheme to distinguish between old and museophagous insects in order to reduce the misinterpretations of the entomofauna associated with human remains.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the importance of insects collected from human remains for studying the past, introducing the disciplines of forensic entomology and funerary archaeoentomology. It also presents a working scheme to help distinguish between old insects and insects infesting bodies in collections.