Rodent gnawing over fresh, dry and thermo altered bones: an experimental study with archaeological implications at El Mirador Cave (Atapuerca, Spain)

A groundbreaking discovery reveals that rodents modify bones regardless of their state—whether fresh, boiled, carbonized, calcined, or dry. The study highlights that the most intense gnawing occurs on fatty bones, with pedestalling—a characteristic modification—observed exclusively in fresh and boiled samples. This finding challenges previous assumptions about rodent behavior and its impact on bone preservation. Researchers conducted an experimental study using Mus musculus to analyze modifications left by rodents on different bone states, providing new insights into archaeological taphonomy. The discovery of pedestalling in the human remains from El Mirador Cave (Atapuerca, Spain) suggests that fatty bones exposed on site surfaces may have influenced this modification.

Marginedas, F., Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A., & Saladié, P. (2022). Rodent gnawing over fresh, dry and thermo altered bones: an experimental study with archaeological implications at El Mirador Cave (Atapuerca, Spain). Historical Biology, 35(8), 1470–1483. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2022.2098487