## Highlights ### first evidence of insect remains on stone artifacts in the world > Inside Cloggs Cave, in Victoria, Australia in the Australian Apls, researchers found a small, roughly 11-ounce grinding stone dated to between 1,600 and 2,100 years ago. It's the first conclusive archaeological evidence of insect food remnants on a stone artifact in the world. ### ancient Indigenous people used portable grindstones to render moths into flour or paste > the grindstone was portable enough for ancient Indigenous people to carry it on their travels. Its owners may have used the stone to grind the insects into cakes or pastes that could then be smoked and preserved. Another popular cooking technique was roasting the moths in a fire. ### Australian Aboriginal oral histories about moth consumption confirmed > The tool’s discovery confirms long-held oral histories, showing that Aboriginal families have harvested, cooked and feasted on Bogong months for upward of 65 generations. ### Indigenous peoples stopped moth harvests because of European colonialism, but the practice was revived. > Written settler histories note that locals harvested the insects between the 1830s and ’50s. Indigenous people from many different societies would gather for ceremonies during the moth harvest. But the festivals came to an end within three decades of European colonists’ arrival in the region during the late 18th century. Indigenous Australians revived the tradition in the 20th century, creating what became the Bogong Moth Festival. ### bogong moths taste nutty with a sweet aftertaste > “Opinions vary about the taste. Some people report a peanut butter flavor and others saying they have a sweet aftertaste like nectar.”