Natural insecticides and insect repellents in antiquity: A review of the evidence

Underneath Ranefer's floors – urban environments on the desert edge

“…Abate et al, 2000), losses from insect and other infestation could be almost total, leading to famine. There is some evidence for attempts to mitigate losses in Antiquity (Panagiotakopulu et al, 1995), although it is uncertain how efficient such methods were. Much of the infested foods would either be totally consumed by insects and/or rodents, or become extremely fragile, unlikely to be recognisable after extensive infestation, and simply vanish.…”

“…Samples from the several contexts showed evident infestation levels of between 8.75% and 27.5%, but because the scale of preservation after partial consumption by pests and burning is largely unpredictable, it is not possible to extrapolate this evidence to discuss levels of loss. That the inhabitants of Amarna were aware of insect pest problems is evident from the use of fire ash around saddle querns (Miller, 1987), and Panagiotakopulu et al (1995) have discussed the evidence for the use of other natural insecticides in antiquity. Species of the dermestid genus Anthrenus may occur in grainderived products and spices (Fogliazza and Pagani, 1993), where they probably feed largely on the debris of other insects.…”

حفظ شمع النحل فی قطع السیرامیک الأثریة: الوظیفة والأستخدام

“…Contrarily, biomarkers of beeswax are more stable and resistant to degradative processes; therefore, they have been detected in many archaeological and art historical contexts (Heron et al 1994;Mills and White 1994: 49;Regert et al 2001Regert et al , 2003aRegert et al and 2005Bonaduce and Colombini 2004;Lattuati-Derieux et al 2009). In archaeological ceramic vessels, beeswax was used for different purposes, such as a sealant, an adhesive or a plasticizer in the production of adhesives, a fuel for illumination, a waterproofing agent, an insect repellent, ingredient in the production of medicinal ointments and in lost wax technique used in copper industry (Needham and Evans 1987;Heron et al 1994;Charters et al 1995;Panagiotakopulu et al 1995;Evershed et al 1997;Aveling and Heron 1999;Garnier et al 2002;Regert et al 2003a;Regert 2004;Copley et al 2005a;Mayyas 2007: 359-360;Namdar et al 2009;Baeten et al 2010). However, the presence of beeswax usually implies the availability of honey of bees in that time (Heron et al 1994;McGovern et al 2004;Copley et al 2005a-c).…”

Pithoi and food storage in Neopalatial Crete: A domestic perspective

“…Ethnohistoric and archaeological testimonies have proved that farmers were clearly aware of these factors (cf. Smyth 1989;Panagiotakopulu et al 1995). Consumption may also play a determinant role in the temporal definition of storage.…”