Description

Summary: An assemblage of mouse bones (m. m. domesticus) 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

An assemblage of mouse bones (m. m. domesticus) 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. All of these individuals have been assigned to Clade E in Rodriguez' (2019) phylogeographic study, and represent some of the earliest known mice remains in the British isles. He associates clade E with a potential introduction via a maritime route.

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.