PILOT STUDY USING FLUORESCENCE LIGHT MICROSCOPY TO IDENTIFY ARTHROPOD REMAINS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEDIMENTS

The study of arthropod remains from archaeological contexts has the potential to reveal information about the past that may not necessarily be readily forthcoming from faunal, botanical or artefact analyses. Yet, in southern Africa the field of archaeoentomology is practically non-existent. Here, I explore the application of excitation (fluores-cence) light microscopy to an experimental sample of crushed arthropod remains of 14 common species. It is shown that different lighting pathways can reveal valuable information about arthropod sclerites (pieces of their chitinous exoskeleton), and that ultraviolet light in particular is useful for distinguishing certain features, some of which appear to be taxon-specific, and hence helpful for identifying highly fragmented arthropod remains recovered from archaeological settings. Furthermore, excited light can be used effectively to distinguish arthropod remains from inert sediments and botanical fibres. While a lot of work remains to be done, not least of which includes the establish-ment of a useful arthropod reference collection and the scouring of sediment samples from excavated sites that have not had the benefit of an archaeoentomological assessment, I hope that this paper highlights the potential of excited light microscopy for arthropod identification and will stimulate further research on this topic.