Archaeologia Islandica - 01.01.2013, Page 65

PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES WHEN USING BEETLE REMAINS (COLEOPTERA) FOR INTERPRETATION OF
POST-MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE INTERDISCIPLINARY HÓLAR PROJECT, ICELAND
aquatic environments, usually with sparse
vegetation in the bottom. Both of these
environments are easily found in the
natural surroundings of Hjaltadalur and
also close to Hólar. The origin of both
these species is most likely through the
turf material for the building construction,
since they are probably indicators of the
natural environment of the turf material.
A typical situation was when the insect
assemblage represented a mixture of
indoor and outdoor species, as in the
excavated ‘kitchen’. One of the beetles
found in the samples was Lathridius min-
utes, which is considered to be a natural
species in this kind of environment.
Lathridius minutes are common
throughout Iceland and are also considered
synanthropic and living indoors feeding on
mould and spores, and would have found
an appealing habitat in the kitchen. Species
of the family Chryptophagous were also
found, which are attracted by the same
substrates as Lathridius minutes. The
spider beetle species Ptinus fur was also
found in samples from this ‘kitchen’ and its
presence here was probably a result of the
indoor environment and activities, each
presenting attractive substrates.
Another problematic situation was the
difficulty in establishing an interpretation
when there was only one species present.
In such instances the importance of other
methods is increased. The interpretation of
one building at Hólar as a stable was based
mainly on one beetle fmd together with
macroscopic sediment analysis. The
samples provided a few insect remains,
but four remains were identifíed to the
spider beetle species Ptinus fur, listed as
an “uninvited guest” in houses in places
such as dark and moist cellars. The species
is considered as synanthropic and is
connected to human environments such as
in houses, particularly in Iceland, and it
may therefore be considered as a
qualitative fmding for the interpretation.
Its natural habitat is in dry places such as
bird nests, but human environments and
substrates attract the beetle and it may be
found in storage rooms where it feeds on
dried meat and físh, vegetable, spices,
grain and dried fruit and different kinds of
organic remnants. Although sometimes
interpreted as a pest in stored products,
this interpretation was not possible at
Hólar, as there were no support from other
fínds. This interpretation to stable is also
supported by previous studies of bams and
byres showing that the predominant insect
assemblages are those connected to hay
and manure and dung (Buckland et.al.,
1991, 1995).
Figure 3
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