New Evidence for the Date of Introduction of the House Mouse,<i>Mus musculus domesticus</i>Schwartz &amp; Schwartz, and the Field Mouse,<i>Apodemus sylvaficus</i>(L.), to Shetland

Nicholson, Rebecca; Barber, Paul; Bond, Julie M.

doi:10.1179/env.2005.10.2.143

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…While house mice can sometimes thrive in wild environments, they tend to occupy fully commensal niches in locations outside their original range [ 51 ], as their evolutionary path and recent expansion throughout the world were clearly enabled by their adaptation to human presence [ 66 , 67 ]. While there is little information available regarding historical populations of house mice in Orkney, research on archaeological material from Shetland revealed their presence in middle Iron Age deposits (second century BC–AD fourth century [ 68 ]). However, this does not rule out later introductions, including Viking involvement in their movement across the North Sea and beyond.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pests or prey? Micromammal species within an ancient anthropic environment at the Norse settlement site of Tuquoy (Westray, Orkney)

et al. 2023

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Micromammals, like rodents and shrews, adapt rapidly to take advantage of new food sources, habitats and ecological niches, frequently thriving in anthropogenic environments. Their remains, often retrieved during archaeological investigations, can be a valuable source of information about the past environmental conditions as well as interspecies interactions and human activity. However, the research on such finds rarely covers multiple approaches, often relying on single species or data type (e.g. identification/information for proxy studies). Here we investigate micromammal remains from the Norse and medieval (AD tenth–fourteenth centuries) archaeological site at Tuquoy, Orkney, to elucidate the relationships between micromammals, humans and other species present using a variety of data. Four micromammal species were identified, and their species dynamics as well as relationships with humans could be inferred by tracking changes in spatial and temporal location of remains, from their taphonomic history and by age estimation for individual animals. A larger, predatory assemblage was also identified, with species composition differing from that in the rest of the archaeological assemblage, and possibly therefore representing small mammal species composition in the wild. The assemblage was probably deposited by a diurnal raptor, though identification to species is not certain due to post-depositional processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%