Lior Weissbrod:
Rodent Communities of Maasai Villages: An ethnoarchaeological study of biological indicators for pastoral mobility

My research interest is the remains of microvertebrates, especially micromammals such as rodents, from archaeological sites and the information they reveal about past interactions between these animals and human societies.



During MA research at the University of Haifa, Israel, I analyzed the micromammal remains from a ca. 12,000 year old Natufian culture site of complex hunter-gatherers in Mt. Carmel, Israel (Weissbrod et al. in press, Journal of Archaeological Science). Using taphonomic analysis of this assemblage and comparing it with modern assemblages of known origin (actualistic research) I discovered that most of the remains were deposited by owls. Skeletons of mole rats, Spalax sp. revealed, however, evidence that suggest that these animals were procured as food by the Natufians. In addition, more than 25% of the micromammal molar teeth were from common mice, Mus spp. These rodents may have been commensals of
sedentary Natufian hunter-gatherers in the same way that mice and rats today exist in our permanent villages, towns and cities. Remains of commensal rodents from archaeological sites may provide strong evidence for sedentism in ancient societies. It is not clear, however, whether societies that are moderately mobile such as transhumant pastoralists can attract and foster commensal rodents. This question can only be resolved by studying the relationship between rodent communities and human settlement behavior in present day situations (ethnoarchaeology).

During the course of PhD research I will study the rodent communities around villages of Maasai pastoralists in Kenya. Maasai economy is based on subsistence production from livestock – cattle, sheep and goats – and their settlements are relatively temporary because they continuously move herds to widely dispersed pastures. Maasai settlements usually remain in use between 3 and 5 years and some for over 10 years, but are not occupied continuously. I will investigate the question of whether such an intermittent pattern of occupation encourages the formation of commensal rodent communities similar to those that occur around more permanent settlements.

Maasai villagers in southern Kenya recognize two different forms of rodents with which they coexist in their villages. As many Maasai are now diversifying their economic pursuits and taking up agriculture as well as becoming more sedentary their interactions with rodents are likely to change. Commensal rodents elsewhere are important pests of cultivated crops and transmitters of numerous diseases to humans. My proposed research has implications for development in Kenay’s Maasailand and for the ability of archaeologists to use rodent community signals to identify the degree of mobility of prehistoric human societies from the remains of rodents in archaeological sites. Because the earliest food producers in Africa were mobile herders this has important implications for studying the beginnings of food production in Africa.