Palaeolithic sites with evidence for early H. sapiens in Britain are few. Recent excavations at Wogan Cavern, located under Pembroke Castle, Wales, have recovered evidence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer occupation dating to c.11,000 years, as well as older Palaeolithic occupations during the last Ice Age. Alongside evidence of human occupation are faunal remains including large numbers of small mammals. Microfauna in particular are an important environmental indicator, as they can be more readily affected by shifts in ecology/climate. The PhD research will focus on analysing DNA from small mammals remains to understand diversity and occupation at Wogan Cavern and whether we can detect localised extinction and recolonisation events. There will also be scope to analyse faunal DNA from ancient sediments from the site, all of which will be contextualised with data from across Britain and Europe during the Late Pleistocene/early Holocene.
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