Journal article
Commensal Rats and Humans: Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies
BioEssays, v 42(5), 1900160
01 May 2020
PMID: 32173902
Abstract
Phylogeography and zooarchaeology are largely separate disciplines, yet each interrogates relationships between humans and commensal species. Knowledge gained about human history from studies of four commensal rats (Rattus rattus, R. tanezumi, R. exulans, and R. norvegicus) is outlined, and open questions about their spread alongside humans are identified. Limitations of phylogeographic and zooarchaeological studies are highlighted, then how integration would increase understanding of species' demographic histories and resultant inferences about human societies is discussed. How rat expansions have informed the understanding of human migration, urban settlements, trade networks, and intra- and interspecific competition is reviewed. Since each rat species is associated with different human societies, they identify unique ecological and historical/cultural conditions that influenced their expansion. Finally, priority research areas including nuclear genome based phylogeographies are identified using archaeological evidence to understand R. norvegicus expansion across China, multi-wave colonization of R. rattus across Europe, and competition between R. rattus and R. norvegicus.
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Details
- Title
- Commensal Rats and Humans: Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies
- Creators
- Emily E. Puckett - University of MemphisDavid Orton - University of YorkJason Munshi-South - Fordham University
- Publication Details
- BioEssays, v 42(5), 1900160
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- 1457523 / Direct For Biological Sciences; Division Of Environmental Biology; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000528705900009
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85082017176
- Other Identifier
- 991021904449104721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Biology