ABSTRACT
Dept, of Biology, University of Oulu, SF-90014 Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, Finland and School of Engineering & Science, International University Bremen, D-28725 Bremen,
P.O. Box 750561, Germany. E-mail: b.meyer-rochow@iu-bremen.de
Abstract Taxonomic identifications and vernacular names of some insects and spiders, consumed by the following ethnic communities, are presented: Ao-Naga (North east India: Nagaland), Meeteis (Northeast India: Manipur), Chimbu (Central Highlands: Papua New Guinea), Onabasulu (Southern Highlands: Papua New Guinea), Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands: Papua New Guinea), Walbiri (Central Australia), Pintupi (Central Australia), and Maori (New Zealand/Aotearoa). Differences and similarities of entomophagous habits among the groups are briefly examined with regard to cultural, ethnic, and linguistic relationships. It is postulated that prehistorically two centres in the region under discussion ex isted where entomophagy evolved and from where the practice spread: South ern India and Southeast Asia. It is further postulated that not protein-rich, but sugar-and fat-containing insects were the first species to find a place in the regular diet of prehistoric man. Species containing mostly protein were added to the local food spectrum later. According to this scenario, the food insect pref erences of the Australian Aborigines reflect those of the earliest insect-eating humans. Evidence is also presented that domestication of the silkworm and use of its product (i.e., silk) could have arisen in Northeast India as early as 4000 years BC as a consequence of eating wild silkworm larvae and pupae.
