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Rodent Ecology and Burrowing Behavior: Predicted Effects on Archaeological Site Formation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Barbara Bocek
Barbara Bocek*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
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Abstract

Studies of burrowing rodent ecology are reviewed to identify the dynamics of rodent disturbance and to predict its impact on archaeological deposits. Data from a central California site are used to evaluate the proposed effects of rodent behavior. Burrowing activity appears to segregate soil contents by size, causing artificial concentrations of small materials near the surface, and larger materials at depths between 30 and 60 cm. Despite extensive stratigraphic disturbance, rodent burrowing seems to have minimal effects on horizontal material distributions.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , July 1986 , pp. 589 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1986

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References

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