Niah Cave Bone IX: First Pleistocene Record of Hose’s Pigmy Shrew Suncus Hosei.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
Niah Cave Bone IX: First Pleistocene Record of Hose’s Pigmy Shrew Suncus Hosei. |
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Author :
Philip J. Piper and Earl of Cranbrook |
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Abstract:
In the course of the 2000-2004 Niah Cave Project (Barker et al., 2002), the team re-investigated a small upstanding baulk of original deposit, deliberately left during earlier excavations by the Sarawak Museum under the late Tom Harrisson (Harrisson, 1958; 1959). Radio-carbon (C14) assessments have established that this deposit dates between 21,360±90 years before present (BP) (OxA-V-2077-8) and 17,770±65 BP (OxA-V-2077-7). Using modern techniques of palaeobiological recovery, the work was highly successful at extracting the bones of small vertebrates from sediment matrices. From this assemblage, PJP recovered a partial left lower jaw of a very small shrew, field context ref. NCP 01 (2171). The specimen is stained mid-brown in colour. The jaw bone lacks the posterior directed angular process, and is broken at the level of the second unicuspid (premolar), although a small part of the root of the first unicuspid appears to be retained,as is the internal tip of the root cavity of the incisor. Because of its delicacy and very small size, measurements were not taken directly from the specimen, but from a scaled photograph (Plate IX). Comparative measurements of museum specimens were also taken from scaled photographs, but checked by hand-held calipers. All measurements are given to the nearest 0.1 mm.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Philip J. Piper and Earl of Cranbrook. (2007). Niah Cave Bone IX: First Pleistocene Record of Hose’s Pigmy Shrew Suncus Hosei. The Sarawak Museum Journal, LXIII (84): 227-232 |
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References
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