Faculty of Letters, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
PLoS One. 2011 Mar 29;6(3):e14785. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014785.
Three Sitophilus species (S. granarius L., S. oryzae L., and S. zeamais Mots.) are closely related based on DNA analysis of their endosymbionts. All are seed parasites of cereal crops and important economic pest species in stored grain. The Sitophilus species that currently exist, including these three species, are generally believed to be endemic to Asia's forested areas, suggesting that the first infestations of stored grain must have taken place near the forested mountains of southwestern Asia. Previous archaeological data and historical records suggest that the three species may have been diffused by the spread of Neolithic agriculture, but this hypothesis has only been established for granary weevils in European and southwestern Asian archaeological records. There was little archeological evidence for grain pests in East Asia before the discovery of maize weevil impressions in Jomon pottery in 2004 using the "impression replica" method. Our research on Jomon agriculture based on seed and insect impressions in pottery continued to seek additional evidence. In 2010, we discovered older weevil impressions in Jomon pottery dating to ca. 10 500 BP. These specimens are the oldest harmful insects in the world discovered at archaeological sites. Our results provide evidence of harmful insects living in the villages from the Earliest Jomon, when no cereals were cultivated. This suggests we must reconsider previous scenarios for the evolution and propagation of grain pest weevils, especially in eastern Asia. Although details of their biology or the foods they infested remain unclear, we hope future interdisciplinary collaborations among geneticists, entomologists, and archaeologists will provide the missing details.
三种米象物种（S. granarius L.、S. oryzae L. 和 S. zeamais Mots.）在其共生体的 DNA 分析基础上被认为密切相关。它们都是谷类作物的种子寄生虫，也是储存谷物中的重要经济害虫。目前存在的米象物种通常被认为是亚洲森林地区的特有物种，这表明对储存谷物的第一次侵害一定发生在亚洲西南部的森林山脉附近。以前的考古数据和历史记录表明，这三个物种可能是随着新石器时代农业的传播而扩散的，但这种假说仅在欧洲和西南亚的考古记录中得到了证实。在 2004 年使用“印痕复制品”方法在绳纹陶器中发现玉米象印痕之前，东亚几乎没有关于谷物害虫的考古证据。我们基于陶器中的种子和昆虫印痕对绳纹农业的研究继续寻找更多的证据。2010 年，我们在绳纹陶器中发现了更早的约公元前 10500 年的象鼻虫印痕。这些标本是在考古遗址中发现的世界上最古老的有害昆虫。我们的研究结果表明，在最早的绳纹时代，即尚未种植谷物的时期，有害昆虫就已经生活在村庄中。这表明我们必须重新考虑关于谷物害虫象鼻虫的进化和传播的先前情景，特别是在东亚。尽管它们的生物学细节或它们侵害的食物仍然不清楚，但我们希望遗传学家、昆虫学家和考古学家之间的未来跨学科合作将提供缺失的细节。
