When Did Humans Stop Eating Insects?

Using genomic evidence, researchers have reconstructed the patterns of human insect consumption over thousands of years. The study suggests that in Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia, eating insects may have been only an occasional behavior, whereas in tropical regions and among Neanderthals, entomophagy was more prevalent. Researchers examined 745 dental calculus samples from modern humans, dating back as far as 33,000 years ago.

Dental calculus preserves food DNA, providing researchers with a record of ancient diets. The results indicate that modern humans living in northern Eurasia did not regularly consume insects. The research team also examined genes associated with the breakdown of chitin, the primary component of insect exoskeletons.

In northern Eurasian populations, the chitinase gene mutated, reducing the human body's ability to digest insect exoskeletons. This genetic pattern has persisted for about 9,000 years, tracing back to the rise of agriculture. The situation was quite different for Neanderthals, whose dental calculus contained significantly more insect DNA.

The most common genetic traces in Neanderthal dental calculus came from dipterans, including flies and mosquitoes, with mosquito DNA being particularly abundant. This finding supports a recent hypothesis that Neanderthals may have frequently consumed animal carcasses infested with maggots. The abundance of mosquito remains also supports another theory: that prey carcasses were sometimes stored in pond or marsh environments, where mosquitoes lay their eggs.