Long ago Derry claimed that much of the damage done to bones from Egypt and Nubia was caused by termites and not by beetles - Nature, 86:245-246 (1911).
Derry writes: "A skull is found covered with mud firmly stuck on, and with traces of the white ants' tunnels running through. If the mud is removed, large areas of the cranial walls may be found to have disappeared altogether. In less exaggerated cases, holes will be seen with white, gnawed edges, or perhaps only the surface of the bone has been attacked. The cranial sutures are a favourite site for the commencement of the termites' operations."
Derry is writing about human skulls, but I don't imagine termites restrict themselves to one species.
Can anybody point me to illustrations of such damage from North Africa or southern Europe - whether on human or animal bone?
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