Abstract
The present paper deals with small mammal cranial and postcranial remains from two Bronze Age archaeological sites on Crete, Greece: Mochlos on Eastern Crete and Khania on Western Crete. The endemic Pleistocene species Mus minotaurus and Crocidura zimmermanni were identified in skeletal material from archaeological excavations under the modern city of Khania, while M. musculus domesticus and C. cf. suaveolens were identified in skeletal material from archaeological excavations in the Minoan town of Mochlos. Other identified species include Suncus etruscus and Apodemus sylvaticus/flavicollis. Issues of island biodiversity changes between Pleistocene and Holocene as well as the dates of appearance of the various large and small mammals on Crete are discussed. New dates for the introduction of new micromammal species by modern humans are proposed. The non-endemic species, C. cf. suaveolens, and especially the house mouse, M. musculus domesticus, indicate accidental introduction by humans from the eastern Mediterranean and competition with the endemic ones that led to extinction of M. minotaurus and a radical change of the micromammal zoogeography of Crete.
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