title: Rodents: food or pests in Neolithic Orkney.
abstract: Rodents have important effects on contemporary human societies, sometimes providing a source of food but more often as agricultural pests, or as vectors and reservoirs of disease. Skeletal remains of rodents are commonly found in archaeological assemblages from around the world, highlighting their potential importance to ancient human populations. However, there are few studies of the interactions between people and rodents at such sites and most of these are confined to locations where rodents have formed a part of the recent diet. Here we compare the accumulation pattern of rodent remains from four locations within and adjacent to the renowned Neolithic site of Skara Brae, Orkney, showing that those within the settlement itself were the result of deliberate human activity. The accumulation and nature of burnt bones, incorporated over an extended period within deposits of household waste, indicate that rodents were used as a nutritional resource and may have been the subject of early pest control. We, therefore, provide the first evidence for the exploitation or control of rodents by the Neolithic inhabitants of Europe.
authors.affiliation: School of History, Classics and Archaeology , University of Edinburgh , Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG , UK.
authors.forename: Andrzej A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Romaniuk
authors.affiliation: Skara Brae Publication Project, 509 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 3BT , UK.
authors.forename: Alexandra N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.affiliation: Department of Scottish History and Archaeology , National Museums of Scotland , Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF , UK.
authors.forename: David V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Department of Scottish History and Archaeology , National Museums of Scotland , Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF , UK.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sheridan
authors.affiliation: School of History, Classics and Archaeology , University of Edinburgh , Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG , UK.
authors.forename: Sheena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies , Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bartosiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Sciences , National Museums of Scotland , Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF , UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy S
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4104-2322
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Herman
keywords: Microtus arvalis; Rodentia; animal osteology; archaeology; human subsistence