Mice Infested Humans’ Houses about 15000 Years Ago

Researchers claim that mice infested humans’ settlements approximately 15,000 years ago. This appears to be earlier than scientists had previously thought. Wild mice infested the settlements of humans in the Eastern Mediterranean region to feed on wild seeds and grains which were stored by ancient people.

Mice infested humans’ houses approximately 15,000 years ago

Mice easily became house mice, being offered in ancient people’s homes and food. Dr. Thomas Cucchi of Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, argued that due to this relationship between mice and humans, house mice colonized every area of the world, being almost as pervasive as humans. They are also known as one of the most intrusive mammalian species.

Dr. Cucchi’s research was developed based on previous studies on teeth which pertained to rodents skeletons uncovered in the southern Levant. He stated that mice and humans developed this relationship as soon as people learned how to build their houses 15,000 years ago. Back then, they had built round houses made of mud and stone.

Back then, they were not threatened by predators

People used to consume wild cereals and seeds, like barley and emmer wheat. They hunted wild boar and deer. Mice appear to prosper in this environment where they were not confronted or hunted by predators, having plenty of food. It took them several years until dogs and cats became man’s best friends. Dr. Cucchi discovered at the site in southern Levant that it contained some evidence regarding the early domestication of dogs.

He revealed a human skeleton which was buried with his hand on his dog. Dr. Jeremy Searle of Cornell University, United STtes, stated that the new study offers an outstanding insight regarding the pre-agriculture connection of humans and house mice. Cucchi pointed out that the most important thing about their culture back then is that people have a settled existence with a massive storage of grains and seeds.

It wasn’t necessarily cultivated grain. They also revealed wild foodstuffs which might have been gathered and stored by hunter-gatherers. Even if the mouse is known to be a wild animal, it mainly lives with humans. This creature has also been domesticated by people as a pet or a lab mouse which is now one of the most significant models in medical research.

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