False adversaries: Material heritage and human-insect relationships in museum collections

Abstract

From archaeological sites to the controlled environment of museum storage, the relationship between material heritage and biological processes is a frequent point of tension for those invested in the longevity of cultural objects. In this paper, the author – an objects conservator specialising in the care of archaeological and ethnographic collections – reflects on human-insect dynamics through the ways in which they shape or contribute to the value, utility and integrity of material heritage in a variety of social, institutional and epistemological settings. This includes an examination of insecticide use in museums and how preservation decision-making works against processes of decomposition or regeneration, especially for organic materials. Rather than seeing insects as a potential adversaries to human knowledge production, this paper attempts to engage with the biome of heritage collections as a system that represents changing distinctions between nature, culture and the valorisation of each.