Of Mice and Rats (and All Manners of Voles) - Ep 55

This episode of ArchaeoAnimals is about all creatures small and smaller! Tune in to learn more about small rodents and insectivores and their importance for reconstructing palaeoenvironments, characterising human-animal interactions, as well as their slow but inevitable spread through the near entirety of the globe. Case studies include the house mouse in the Levant, the Pacific rat in Mangareva, and Deer Mice and Montane Vole in Washington, USA.

Transcripts

• Segment 1

• Segment 2

• Segment 3: No transcript. There was an error in the file.

Links and Sources

• Baker, P., & Worley, F. (2019). Animal bones and archaeology: recovery to archive. Historic England.

• Cucchi, Thomas, et al. (2014) "The changing pace of insular life: 5000 years of microevolution in the Orkney vole (Microtus arvalis orcadensis)." Evolution 68.10. 2804-2820.

• Fraser, M., Sten, S., & Götherström, A. (2012). Neolithic Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) from the Island of Gotland show early contacts with the Swedish mainland. Journal of Archaeological Science, 39(2), 229-233.

• Lyman, R. L. (2003). Lessons from temporal variation in the mammalian faunas from two collections of owl pellets in Columbia County, Washington. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 13(3), 150-156.

• McGovern, T., et al. (2008) "NABONE Zooarchaeological Database: Recording System Codes."

• Swift, J. A., Miller, M. J., & Kirch, P. V. (2017). Stable isotope analysis of Pacific rat (Rattus exulans) from archaeological sites in Mangareva (French Polynesia): The use of commensal species for understanding human activity and ecosystem change. Environmental Archaeology, 22(3), 283-297.

• Weissbrod, L. et al. (2017) "Origins of house mice in ecological niches created by settled hunter-gatherers in the Levant 15,000 y ago." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114.16. 4099-4104.

• https://www.nhbs.com/blog/uk-small-mammal-identification

Contact

• Alex FitzpatrickTwitter: @archaeologyfitz

• Simona FalangaTwitter: @CrazyBoneLady

• Alex’s Blog: Animal Archaeology

• Music "Coconut - (dyalla remix)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2UiKoouqaY

Affiliates

• Wildnote

• TeePublic

• Timeular

• Motion