Small mammal is traditionally defined as one which cannot be seen above long grass. This includes a variety of rodents, lagomorphs (hares and rabbits), insectivores and carnivores. Bones of these animals are commonly preserved on archaeological sites, accumulating in drains, pits, wells and other such traps. Identification of teeth and jaws of the smaller animals is relatively easy, but post-cranial material may not be so precisely identified. The composition of small mammal faunas may be interpreted in terms of the environment within and surrounding the archaeological site on which they were found.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied