Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b6zl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-12T09:57:35.422Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Baker, Charles M. 1978 The Size Effect: An Explanation of Variability in Surface Artifact Assemblage Content. American Antiquity 43: 288–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, B. 1929 Mammals of Sherburne County, Minnesota. Journal of Mammalogy 19: 153–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bocek, Barbara 1981 Hunter-gatherers of San Francisquito Creek. Paper presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Diego.Google Scholar
Bocek, Barbara 1984 Resource Switching and Subsistence in Central California. Paper presented at the 1984 Annual Meeting of the Society for California Archaeology, Salinas.Google Scholar
Buechner, Helmut K. 1942 Interrelationships Between the Pocket Gopher and Land Use. Journal of Mammalogy 23: 346–348.Google Scholar
Chew, Robert M. 1978 The Impact of Small Mammals on Ecosystem Structure and Function. In Populations of Small Mammals Under Natural Conditions, edited by P. Snyder, Dana, pp. 167–180. Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology Special Publication Series, vol. 5. University of Pittsburgh, Linesville, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Coupland, Robert T. 1979 The Nature of Grassland. In Grassland Ecosystems of the World: Analysis of Grasslands and Their Uses, edited by T. Coupland, Robert, pp. 23–30. International Biological Programme No. 18. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Dalquist, W. W., and Scheffer, V. B. 1942 Origin of Mima Mounds of Western Washington. Journal of Geology 50: 68–84.Google Scholar
Davis, W. B., Ramsey, R. R., and Arendale, J. M. Jr., 1938 Distribution of Pocket Gophers (Geomys breviceps) in Relation to Soils. Journal of Mammalogy 19: 412–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elsasser, Albert B. 1978 Development of Regional Prehistoric Cultures. In California, edited by F. Heizer, Robert, pp. 37–57. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 8. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
English, P. F. 1932 Some Habits of the Pocket Gopher, Geomys breviceps breviceps. Journal of Mammalogy 13: 126–132.Google Scholar
Erlandson, Jon M. 1984 A Case Study in Faunalturbation: Delineating the Effects of the Burrowing Pocket Gopher on the Distribution of Archaeological Materials. American Antiquity 49: 785–790.Google Scholar
Golley, F. B., Ryszkowski, L., and Sokur, J. T. 1975 The Role of Small Mammals in Temperate Forests, Grasslands and Cultivated Fields. In Small Mammals: Their Productivity and Population Dynamics, edited by Golley, F. B., Petrusewicz, K, and Ryszkowski, L., pp. 223–242. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Grinnell, Joseph 1923 The Burrowing Rodents of California as Agents in Soil Formation. Journal of Mammalogy 4: 137–149.Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. J. Jr, and Whitaker, John O. Jr., 1979 Mammals of the Eastern United States. 2nd ed. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.Google Scholar
Hansen, R. M., and Morris, M. J. 1968 Movement of Rocks by Northern Pocket Gophers. Journal of Mammalogy 49: 391–399.Google Scholar
Harvey, Alan 1982 Mammals of the Jasper Ridge Preserve. In A Guide to the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, compiled by Paranal-Bleicher, V., Brown, I. L., and Rosenthal, A. M., pp. 94–98. 1st ed. The Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Office, Stanford University.Google Scholar
Hayward, G. F., and Phillipson, J. 1979 Community Structure and Functional Role of Small Mammals in Ecosystems. In Ecology of Small Mammals, edited by Stoddart, D. Michael, pp. 135–212. Chapman and Hall, London.Google Scholar
Hickman, G. C, and Brown, L. N. 1973 Pattern and Rate of Mound Production of the Southeastern Pocket Gopher (Geomys pinetis) . Journal of Mammalogy 54: 971–975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, W. E., and Childs, H. E. Jr., 1959 Ecology of Pocket Gophers with Emphasis on Thomomys bottae mewa . Hilgardia 29: 277–358. California Agricultural Experiment Station, Sacramento.Google Scholar
Ingles, Lloyd G. 1949 Ground Water and Snow as Factors Affecting the Seasonal Distribution of Pocket Gophers, Thomomys monticola. Journal of Mammalogy 30: 343–351.Google Scholar
Ingles, Lloyd G. 1952 Ecology of the Mountain Pocket Gopher, Thomomys monticola. Ecology 33: 87–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingles, Lloyd G. 1965 Mammals of the Pacific States. Stanford University Press, Stanford.Google Scholar
Kroeber, Alfred L. 1925 Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Lee, David S. 1980 The Pocket Gopher Mound Probe. Natural History 89(6): 36–41.Google Scholar
Limbrey, Susan 1975 Soil Science and Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Linsdale, Jean M. 1946 The California Ground Squirrel. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Mielke, Howard W. 1977 Mound Building by Pocket Gophers (Geomyidae): Their Impact on Soils and Vegetation in North America. Journal of Biogeography 4: 171–180.Google Scholar
Miller, M. A. 1948 Seasonal Trends in Burrowing of Pocket Gophers (Thomomys). Journal of Mammalogy 29: 38–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, R. S. 1964 Ecology and Distribution of Pocket Gophers (Geomyidae) in Colorado. Ecology 45: 256–272.Google Scholar
Mohr, Carl O. 1947 Table of Equivalent Populations of North American Small Mammals. American Midland Naturalist 37: 223–249.Google Scholar
Murray, David F. 1967 Gravel Mounds at Rocky Flats, Colorado. Mountain Geologist 4: 99–107.Google Scholar
Myllymaki, A. 1979 Importance of Small Mammals as Pests in Agriculture and Stored Products. In Ecology of Small Mammals, edited by Stoddart, D. Michael, pp. 239–280. Chapman and Hall, London.Google Scholar
Powers, Stephen 1877 Tribes of California. Contributions to North American Ethnology 3. U. S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, Washington.Google Scholar
Proctor, John, and Whitten, Kenneth 1971 A Population of the Valley Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae) on a Serpentine Soil. American Midland Naturalist 85: 517–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, John W. 1976 Downslope Movement and Archaeological Intrasite Spatial Analysis. American Antiquity 41: 133–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheffer, T. H. 1931 Habits and Economic Status of the Pocket Gophers. USDA Technical Bulletin 224.Google Scholar
Schiffer, Michael B. 1983 Toward the Identification of Formation Processes. American Antiquity 48: 675–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Springett, J. A. 1983 Effects of Five Species of Earthworm on Some Soil Properties. Journal of Applied Ecology 20: 865–872.Google Scholar
Stahl, Peter W. 1982 On Small Mammal Remains in Archaeological Contexts. American Antiquity 47: 822–829.Google Scholar
Stein, Julie K. 1983 Earthworm Activity: A Source of Potential Disturbance of Archaeological Sediments. American Antiquity 48: 277–289.Google Scholar
Thomas, David H. 1971 On Distinguishing Natural from Cultural Bone in Archaeological Sites. American Antiquity 36: 366–371.Google Scholar
Thorp, J. 1949 Effects of Certain Animals that Live in the Soil. Science Monthly 68: 180–191.Google Scholar
Wood, W. Raymond, and L. Johnson, Donald 1978 A Survey of Disturbance Processes in Archaeological Site Formation. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, vol. 1, edited by B. Schiffer, Michael, pp. 315–318. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar