Evolving ecosystems: ecological data from an Iron Age small mammal accumulation at Alorda Park (Catalonia, Spain)

Abstract

Small mammals are considered to be good indicators of ancient environments. One particular layer in a fortification tower of a Mediterranean Iberian village, Alorda Park (4th century BC), provided a large amount of well-preserved small mammal bones (about 19,200 remains) probably accumulated by barn owls ( Tyto alba). Such an accumulation is rarely available from the Iron Age. It provides not only palaeoenvironmental data, but also further information about other studies such as morphometrics, ancient DNA and zoogeography. This article focuses on the ecological data, and attempts to develop an accurate taphonomic study to assess the reliability and statistical significance of this archaeological sample. The species encountered include the short-tailed mouse ( Mus spretus), the Cabrera vole ( Microtus cabrerae), the lesser white-toothed shrew ( Crocidura suaveolens), the white-toothed shrew ( Crocidura russula), the field mouse ( Apodemus sylvaticus), and the garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus). The presence of the commensal house mouse ( Mus musculus domesticus) is suspected. In addition, the absence of black rat ( Rattus rattus) suggests that this species had not yet colonised the Iberian coast at that time.