Pequenos roedores do sítio arqueológico da Lapa do Dragão, Minas Gerais, Brasil: análise de frequência e inferências paleoambientais

Abstract

Rodents are an important part of South America’s mammalian fauna, accounting for more than 20% of known mammalian species. Since they present particular ecological requisites, rodents are widely used for paleoecological studies and reconstruction of paleoenvironment. Studies on fossil rodents are rarely found in Brazil, and only the fauna of Lagoa Santa and of sites in Rio Grande do Sul is known. This work aims at supplying a better understanding about the rodents from the Quaternary Period in Minas Gerais, and also at drawing conclusions on the paleoenvironment of the region studied. 4,000 bone fragments, collected at the archaeological site Lapa do Dragão, in the municipality of Montalvânia, Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil, were analyzed. Out of this material, four taxa of rodents were identified and, then, a frequency graph of the occurrence in the stratigraphic column was generated. Based on the results, a hypothesis about the paleoenvironment during the Holocene was devised.