Palaeozoology of Hamsters (Rodentia: Cricetidae) frome Quaternary sediments in Kani Mikaeil cave Kurdistan Province, western Iran

Kani Mikaeil cave with an area of about 712 m2 is located in the northeast of Sanandaj in the Zagros region. An archaeological excavation by Palaeolithic Research Center (Roustaei et al 2002) was held in 2001 in this cave to document the prehistoric settlement of man in the region. Several test pits were dug in different parts of the cave. A great number of microvertebrate remains (Rodents, Aves, Amphibien, Reptiles) were found after the systematic dry sieving of the sediments from each section which were found to be originally pellet accumulations. The cave might have been occupied during the last 20,000 years from the late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene. In order to document the environmental changes during this time period the rodent remain from these sections are studied currently at the rodent department of the Science Faculty of the Mashad University. The rest of the material is studied at the Natural History Museum of Paris. The rodent assemblage, the most abundant part, is composed of Hamsters, Jirds, Dipodidae, Wood mouse, Voles, and Pikas. This research presents, the hamsters, for which two genera Mesocricetus and Cricetulus were identified on the basis of tooth morphology and morphometrics.