Dr. David Orton – Rats in Europe and Zooarchaeology

Dr. David Orton of the University of York joins the show to discuss how he uses zooarchaeology (the study of animal remains in archaeological contexts) to understand the how rat and human populations interacted and affected each other over time in Europe. He gets into the spread of rats, the plague, using ancient DNA and isotopic analysis to analyze rats, and what rats can tell us about historic events.

Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles:

• Dr. Orton's University of York faculty profile
• RATTUS project website
• Eric Guiry et al., The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition. Scientific Advancements. 10, eadm6755(2024). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adm6755
• Yu, H., Jamieson, A., Hulme-Beaman, A. et al. Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history. Nature Communications. 13, 2399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30009-z
• Jason Munshi-South et al., The evolutionary history of wild and domestic brown rats (Rattus norvegicus). Science. 385, 1292-1297. (2024). DOI:10.1126/science.adp1166
• E. E. Puckett, D. Orton, J. Munshi-South, Commensal Rats and Humans: Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies. BioEssays 2020, 42, 1900160. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201900160
• Guiry, E.J., Gaulton, B.C. Inferring Human Behaviors from Isotopic Analyses of Rat Diet: a Critical Review and Historical Application. J Archaeol Method Theory 23, 399–426 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-015-9248-9
• Susat, Julian et al. A 5,000-year-old hunter-gatherer already plagued by Yersinia pestis. Cell Reports, Volume 35, Issue 13, 109278.
• Hall, A. R., Kenward, H. K., and Williams, D. Environmental Evidence from Roman Deposits in Skeldergate. The Archaeology of York. Volume 14, Issue 3. (1980).
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Owl Pellet Teaching Tips.
• Beisaw, April. (2013). Identifying and Interpreting Animal Bones: A Manual. Texas A&M University Press.
• O'Connor, Terry. (2008). The Archaeology of Animal Bones. Texas A&M University Press.
• O'Connor, Terry. (2014). Animals as Neighbors: The Past and Present of Commensal Animals. Michigan State University Press.
• MacArthur, R.H. and E.O. Wilson. (1967). The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press.
• Kalmring, Sven. (2024). Towns and Commerce in Viking-Age Scandinavia. Cambridge University Press.
• Vinge, Vernor. (2010). A Fire Upon the Deep. Tor Books.
• Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur's Gate 3.
• Chambers, Becky. (2021). The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Harper Voyager Books.