Giordani Giorgia, Tuccia Fabiola, Floris Ignazio, Vanin Stefano
School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom.
Dipartimento di Agraria - Sez. Patologia vegetale ed Entomologia, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
PeerJ. 2018 Jan 4;6:e4176. doi: 10.7717/peerj.4176. eCollection 2018.
The studies of insects from archaeological contexts can provide an important supplement of information to reconstruct past events, climate and environments. Furthermore, the list of the species present in an area in the past allows the reconstruction of the entomofauna on that area at that time, that can be different from the nowadays condition, providing information about biodiversity changes. In this work, the results of a funerary archaeoentomological study on samples collected from mummified corpses discovered during the restoration of the crypt of the Sant'Antonio Abate Cathedral of Castelsardo (Sardinia, Italy) are reported. The majority of the sampled specimens were Diptera puparia, whereas only few Lepidoptera cocoons and some Coleoptera fragments were isolated. Among Diptera, Calliphoridae puparia were identified as (Meigen, 1826) and , (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) both species typical of the first colonization waves of exposed bodies. Three puparia fragments were also identified as belonging to a Meigen, 1826, species (Sarcophagidae). Several Muscidae puparia of the species (Weidmermann, 1818), a late colonizer of bodies, and typical of buried bodies were also collected. The few moth (Lepidoptera) cocoons were identified as belonging to the family Tineidae. This family comprises species feeding on dry tissues and hair typical of the later phases of the human decomposition. Among Coleoptera a single specimen in the family Histeridae, (Scriba, 1790) and a single elytra, potentially of a species in the family Tenebrionidae, were also collected. Overall, the samples collected indicated an initial colonization of the bodies in an exposed context, mainly in a warm season. This research allows the finding of elements indicating the presence, at least in the past, of in Sardinia. This species at the moment seems extinct from Sardinia while it is quite common in the continent.
对考古环境中的昆虫进行研究，可为重建过去的事件、气候和环境提供重要的信息补充。此外，过去某个地区存在的物种清单有助于重建当时该地区的昆虫区系，其可能与现今状况不同，从而提供生物多样性变化的信息。在这项工作中，报告了一项对从意大利撒丁岛卡斯泰尔萨尔多圣安东尼奥·阿巴特大教堂地下室修复过程中发现的木乃伊尸体采集的样本进行的丧葬考古昆虫学研究结果。大多数采样标本为双翅目蛹壳，而仅分离出少量鳞翅目茧和一些鞘翅目碎片。在双翅目中，丽蝇科蛹壳被鉴定为（梅根，1826年）和（罗比诺 - 德沃伊迪，1830年），这两个物种都是暴露尸体首次定殖波的典型物种。还有三个蛹壳碎片被鉴定为属于1826年的梅根（麻蝇科）物种。还采集到了几种（魏德曼，1818年）的蝇科蛹壳，该物种是尸体的后期定殖者，也是埋葬尸体的典型物种。少数蛾（鳞翅目）茧被鉴定为属于谷蛾科。该科包括以人体分解后期典型的干燥组织和毛发为食的物种。在鞘翅目中，还采集到了一个葬甲科的单个标本（斯克里巴，1790年）和一个可能属于拟步甲科某物种的单个鞘翅。总体而言，采集的样本表明尸体最初是在暴露环境中定殖的，主要发生在温暖季节。这项研究使得能够找到表明至少在过去撒丁岛存在 的证据。该物种目前在撒丁岛似乎已灭绝，而在欧洲大陆却相当常见。
