Julie J. Lesnik, PhD
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I am an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. I received a PhD in anthropology and a MS in kinesiology from the University of Michigan in 2011. My primary interest is in the evolution of the human diet, specifically in regards to entomophagy, or eating insects. My book Edible Insects and Human Evolution reconstructs what insect consumption likely looked like across human evolution. From the back cover: |
Researchers who study ancient human diets tend to focus on meat eating because the practice of butchery is very apparent in the archaeological record. In this volume, Julie Lesnik highlights a different food source, tracing evidence that humans and their hominin ancestors also consumed insects throughout the entire course of human evolution.
Lesnik combines primatology, sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and paleoanthropology to examine the role of insects in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins. She posits that women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over the past five million years.
Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not usually considered food in Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that insects are highly nutritious and a very sustainable protein alternative. She believes that if we accept that edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about what is good to eat—both in past diets and for the future of food.
Lesnik combines primatology, sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and paleoanthropology to examine the role of insects in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins. She posits that women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over the past five million years.
Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not usually considered food in Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that insects are highly nutritious and a very sustainable protein alternative. She believes that if we accept that edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about what is good to eat—both in past diets and for the future of food.
I continue to do work in south and east Africa reconstructing the role of insects in the hominid diet. My research has been funded by the American Association of University Women and the Leakey Foundation.
lECTURE
Watch "The evolution of insects as food," a 45 minute lecture given to Wednesday Nite @ the Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
OUTREACH
Watch my tips on engaging the public with research in biological anthropology and edible insects. Spoiler: It gets a little silly
MORE FUN
Watch me present my research using only the one hundred most common words in the American English language, inspired by the webcomic XKCD.
oTHER RESOURCES
Find my CV and publications below