DIVJE BABE I. Upper Pleistocene Palaeolithic site in Slovenia
Part I: Geology and Palaeontology

10. Small terrestrial mammals (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha,Chiroptera, Rodentia) from Divje babe I

Borut TOŠKAN and Boris KRYŠTUFEK

Abstract

The remains of at least 407 specimens of small mammals were found in the Upper Pleistocene layers of the Palaeolithic cave site Divje babe I. They belong to at least 17 different species: Erinaceus cfr. romanicus, Sorex alpinus, S. araneus, Talpa europaea seu caeca, Vespertilio murinus, Marmota marmota, Chionomys nivalis, Arvicola terrestris, Myodes glareolus, Microtus agrestis, M. arvalis, M. liechtensteini, M. subterraneus, Apodemus cfr. sylvaticus, Glis glis, Muscardinus avellanarius and Sicista cfr. subtilis. It can be inferred on the basis of the small mammal assemblages that open grassland habitats were more widespread than forest in OIS 5a. The small mammal fauna from OIS 3 shows a different picture, with a mosaic of mixed, predominantly coniferous forest, with meadows and accumulations of rocky boulders. Comparison between the Upper Pleistocene (OIS 5a and OIS 3) small mammal fauna from Divje babe I with contemporary faunas from regions north of the Alps highlighted major differences in the species composition. In the Würm, namely, recent forest species were already present on the southern edge of the Alpine glaciation, while more to the north, boreal and steppe species still predominated.

Bar histogram of Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) for abundant small mammal taxa from Divje babe I according to facies. Considered are only taxa with MNI > 10 in a total sample of pooled facies. Values for the edible dormouse (G. glis) in facies A are dubious, since possible contamination of the uppermost Pleistocene layers by recent animals cannot be excluded.

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2007, (Opera Instituti Archaeologici Sloveniae, 13), 480pp, 10 colour photoogaphs, 178 b-w drawings, photoogaphs and maps, 89 tabels and 38 annexes; 20 x 29 cm, hardcover, ISBN 978-961-254-019-7.

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