thought this e-mail from Britarch might be of interest Cheers Andy The Megalithic sites of Perthshire: http://www.andysweet.co.uk/stones/ Begin forwarded message: > From: Zim Babwe <tbk22222@YAHOO.CO.UK> > Date: Mon Jun 7, 2004 12:48:14 am Europe/London > To: BRITARCH@JISCMAIL.AC.UK > Subject: Re: Bronze Age exports of tin from Britain > Reply-To: British archaeology discussion list <BRITARCH@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> > > A little off-subject, but the Orkney Vole (Microtus arvalis > orcadensis) is an oddity in the British fauna, being most closely > related to Continental forms. It is assumed to have been introduced by > neolithic settlers. A recent study indicates a southern Spain origin > before 1400 BC (older studies also hypothesised neolithic > Mediterranean origins). > > Abstract of the study is reproduced below. Source: > www.geo.ed.ac.uk/nabo/Abstracts.pdf > > New evidence for the colonisation history of the Orkney vole (Microtus > arvalis orcadensis): a proxy for reconstructing the origins of early > human settlers in Orkney > > *Dr Susan Haynes, *Dr Jeremy Searle, **Dr Keith Dobney *Dept. Biology, > University of York **Dept. Archaeology, University of Durham > > The only Microtus in mainland Britain is M. agrestis, while in Orkney > the sole species is M. arvalis, which otherwise occurs widely in > Continental Europe between 41-58°N (Mitchell-Jones et al. 1999). Much > debate concerns the origins of Microtus arvalis populations in Orkney. > The long-held assumption that the Orkney vole is a relict population > of M. arvalis, left over from the last glaciation, has in the last > decades been comprehensively challenged. Human introduction is > nowadays generally accepted as the means by which M. arvalis reached > Orkney, although when, where from and why are still a matter of > conjecture. The Orkney vole is, therefore, not only of interest in > itself, but can, most importantly, tell us about the humans that > introduced it, providing a model for the concept that studies of > animal colonisation history may act as a proxy for elucidating human > colonisation history. > > The recovery of numerous fossil remains of M. arvalis from a variety > of archaeological excavations in Orkney provide evidence that the > species has long been present in the islands, although common problems > of site taphonomy (often associated with micromammal remains) have > sometimes cast doubt on their archaeological associations. Radiocarbon > dates (BP) of 3590 ± 80 and 4800 ± 120 from two vole bone samples > excavated from the Links of Noltland clearly indicate their presence > during the Neolithic period. > > Early attempts at addressing the geographic origin of the Orkney vole > by Berry & Rose (1975) using the frequency of non-metrical skull > variants as phenotypic markers for M. arvalis from Orkney and sites in > Continental Europe, concluded that the Orkney samples were most > similar to those from Yugoslavia, indicating a possible origin for the > Orkney populations somewhere in the E. Mediterranean. A more pragmatic > view would be that the source area was the closest part of the M. > arvalis range in Continental Europe (i.e. Denmark or the Netherlands). > > A recent pilot study has provided further, tantalising new evidence > regarding the origins of the Orkney vole (and by proxy the early human > settlers). The analysis of complete mitochondrial cytochrome b > sequences from Orkney and 20 sites scattered throughout Continental > Europe demonstrated a very clear phylogeographic pattern which > strongly suggests that the source population for the colonisation by > M. arvalis of the Orkney archipelago lies in S.W. Europe (specifically > France or N. Spain). This appears to support a claim by Corbet (1979, > p. 136) who postulated a Spanish source area on the basis of the > similarly large size of the Orkney (M. arvalis orcadensis) and Spanish > (M. arvalis asturianus) voles. This scenario is intriguing with regard > to the origins of the early human settlers of the Orkney islands, > since there are known similarities between the Neolithic cultures of > Orkney, France and N. Spain, in particular, specific features of > megalithic tomb art and architecture. > > Berry & Rose (1975) J Zool 177, 395 > Corbet (1979) In Investigations in Orkney ed. Renfrew

On 07 June 2004 10:50, Andy Sweet wrote: >> A recent pilot study has provided further, tantalising new evidence >> regarding the origins of the Orkney vole (and by proxy the early >> human settlers). See for Keith Dobney's paper on this at http://www.orkneydigs.org.uk/dhl/papers/kd/index.html The study is ongoing - as a the fridge full of dead voles in the Orkney Museum will testify (all died through natural causes, I should add, and sent in from across the islands after an appeal for samples) -- Sigurd Towrie Blackhall - Kirbister - Stromness - Orkney Heritage of Orkney: www.orkneyjar.com Home: sigurd@orkneyjar.com Work: sigurd.towrie@orcadian.co.uk