ArticleNature communications2022
Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history.
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Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
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Authors and funding
59 authors at 20 institutions in 20 countries.
He Yu *Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Alexandra Jamieson *Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
Ardern Hulme-BeamanDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7WZ, UK.
Chris J ConroyMuseum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3160, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7198-9651
Becky KnightDepartment of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK.
Camilla SpellerBioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK.
Hiba Al-JarahBioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK.
Heidi EagerDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
Alexandra TrinksPalaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.
Gamini AdikariPostgraduate Institute of Archaeology, 407, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo, 7, Sri Lanka.
Henriette BaronRömisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie, Ernst-Ludwig-Platz 2, 55116, Mainz, Germany.
Beate Böhlendorf-ArslanChristian Archaeology and Byzantine Art History, Philipps University of Marburg, 35037, Marburg, Germany.
Wijerathne BohingamuwaDepartment of History and Archaeology, University of Ruhuna, Matara, 81000, Sri Lanka.ORCID 0000-0003-2749-5608
Alison CrowtherDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.
Thomas CucchiArchaeozoology, Archaeobotany, Societies, Practices, Environments (AASPE-UMR7209), CNRS, National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), Paris, France.
Kinie EsserArcheoplan Eco, 2616 LZ, Delft, Netherlands.
Jeffrey FleisherDepartment of Anthropology, Rice University, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6505-9666
Louisa GidneyArchaeological Services, University of Durham, Durham, UK.
Elena GladilinaUkrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of the Sea, Odessa, 65009, Ukraine.
Pavel Gol'dinSchmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, 01030, Ukraine.ORCID 0000-0001-6118-1384
Steven M GoodmanNegaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, 60605, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9318-0570
Sheila Hamilton-DyerDepartment of Archaeology & Anthropology, Bournemouth University (Visiting Fellow), Poole, BH12 5BB, UK.
Richard HelmCanterbury Archaeological Trust, 92a Broad Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2LU, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1449-1731
Jesse C Hillman6 Fell View Park, Gosforth, Seascale, Cumbria, CA20 1HY, UK.
Nabil KallalaL'Ecole Tunisienne de l'Histoire et l'Anthropologie, Tunis, Tunisia.
Hanna KivikeroDepartment of Culture, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 59, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Zsófia E KovácsFreelance archaeozoologist, Liliom u. 4. 1/1, Balatonfüred, 8230, Hungary.
Günther Karl KunstVIAS Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
René KyselýDepartment of Natural Sciences and Archaeometry, Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Letenská 4, 118 01, Prague, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0002-0788-7287
Anna LinderholmPalaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1613-9926
Bouthéina Maraoui-TelminiInstitut National de Patrimoine, Tunis, 1008, Tunisia.
Nemanja MarkovićInstitute of Archaeology, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.ORCID 0000-0002-5260-4362
Arturo Morales-MuñizDepartmento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
Mariana NabaisInstitute of Archaeology, University College London, London, WC1H 0PY, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5344-237X
Terry O'ConnorBioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK.
Tarek OueslatiCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Lille, Lille, France.ORCID 0000-0002-2886-085X
Eréndira M Quintana MoralesDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5927-5058
Kerstin PasdaDepartment of Philosophy, Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3016-3815
Jude PereraDepartment of Archaeology, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo, 07, Sri Lanka.
Nimal PereraDepartment of Archaeology, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo, 07, Sri Lanka.
Silvia RadbauerAustrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Archaeological Institute, Hollandstraße 11-13, 1020, Vienna, Austria.
Joan RamonConsell Insular d'Eivissa i Formentera, Avenida de España 49, 07800, Eivissa, Illes Balears, Spain.
Eve RannamäeDepartment of Archaeology, Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu, 2 Jakobi St, 51005, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID 0000-0003-1186-5512
Joan Sanmartí GregoSecció de Prehistòria i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Edward TreasureDepartment of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Silvia Valenzuela-LamasArchaeology of Social Dynamics, IMF-CSIC, Barcelona, 08001, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-9886-0372
Inge van der JagtCultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Smallepad 5, 3811 MG, Amersfoort, The Netherlands.
Wim Van NeerRoyal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-1710-3623
Jean-Denis VigneArchaeozoology, Archaeobotany, Societies, Practices, Environments (AASPE-UMR7209), CNRS, National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), Paris, France.
Thomas WalkerDepartment of Archaeology, University of Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6AB, UK.
Stephanie Wynne-JonesDepartment of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3005-8647
Jørn ZeilerArchaeoBone, Blekenweg 61, 9753 JN, Haren, The Netherlands.
Keith DobneyDepartment of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7WZ, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9036-4681
Nicole BoivinDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745, Jena, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7783-4199
Jeremy B SearleDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7710-5204
Ben Krause-KyoraInstitute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Kiel, 24105, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9435-2872
Johannes KrauseDepartment of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. krause@eva.mpg.de.ORCID 0000-0001-9144-3920
Greger LarsonPalaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network, Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK. greger.larson@arch.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-4092-0392
David OrtonBioArCh, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO1 7EP, UK. david.orton@york.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-4069-8004
University of York · GBUniversity of Oxford · GBCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRCornell University · USDepartment of Archaeology · LKDurham University · GBThe University of Queensland · AUArcheologisch Diensten Centrum (Netherlands) · NLAustrian Academy of Sciences · ATBournemouth University · GBCanterbury Archaeological Trust · GBChristian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel · DECultural Heritage Agency of Netherlands · NLCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, Prague · CZField Museum of Natural History · USFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · DEGovern de les Illes Balears · ESHUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute · HUInstitución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades · ESInstitute of Natural Sciences · BE
Funding
Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 209817/Z
Abstract
The distribution of the black rat (Rattus rattus) has been heavily influenced by its association with humans. The dispersal history of this non-native commensal rodent across Europe, however, remains poorly understood, and different introductions may have occurred during the Roman and medieval periods. Here, in order to reconstruct the population history of European black rats, we first generate a de novo genome assembly of the black rat. We then sequence 67 ancient and three modern black rat mitogenomes, and 36 ancient and three modern nuclear genomes from archaeological sites spanning the 1st-17th centuries CE in Europe and North Africa. Analyses of our newly reported sequences, together with published mitochondrial DNA sequences, confirm that black rats were introduced into the Mediterranean and Europe from Southwest Asia. Genomic analyses of the ancient rats reveal a population turnover in temperate Europe between the 6th and 10th centuries CE, coincident with an archaeologically attested decline in the black rat population. The near disappearance and re-emergence of black rats in Europe may have been the result of the breakdown of the Roman Empire, the First Plague Pandemic, and/or post-Roman climatic cooling.
Indexed as
PlagueAnimalsArchaeologyDNA, MitochondrialEuropeHumansMiddle EastRatsDNA, Mitochondrial
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