Description

Summary: One of a number of mouse bones from a number of different environmental samples taken during excavations of the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age midden site at Blackberry Field, Potterne.

Research results

Mouse bones from an environmental sample taken during excavations of the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age midden site at Blackberry Field, Potterne. These remains were examined by Rodriguez (2019) who found that the identifiable features of the mandible were not present, so it could not be assigned to a particular species and was not studied as part of their wider investigation of m. m. domesticus.

These bones were sampled by Rodriguez (2019) as part of their phylogeographical study of mammalian populations (including humans) since the Last Glacial Maximum, c. 12,000 years ago. Rodriguez' study sought to compare different mammal populations across Europe to provide better insight into how populations have moved across the continent in the holocene, and has suggested that the true picture may be more complex than simple pattern of southern refuges. They also investigate to what extent commensal species, such as the house mouse, can be used to infer human population movements; in particular attempting to trace the route by which one species of house mouse spread from the Near East and Cyprus to Britain.