Small mammals from Mondeval de Sora (San Vito di Cadore, Belluno): paleoenvironmental differences between early and late Holocene

The Mondeval de Sora terrace opens in the high valley of the Cordevole River, a sub-affluent of the Piave River. The site, also known as Val Fiorentina 1 (VF1), is located at 2.150 m a.s.l. and lies beneath two shelters of a big erratic rock, in an area surrounded by high elevations and connected to other valleys by large passes (Passo Giau) and narrow saddles (Forcella Ambrizzola). Two sides of the rock have been investigated from 1980s to 2000 (called sectors I and III). At the base of the two sequences, several Mesolithic layers are present and covered by strata that testify human occupation from the proto-historic period (i.e. Bronze age) until sub-actual epochs. The small mammals remains that come from the two sectors have been analyzed. The total number of individuals of sector I is too low to make any consideration (Total NI= 24) while sector III has a higher NI (148). The Stratigraphic Units of this sector have been grouped into three macro Units: Mesolithic Unit, that corresponds to the early Holocene (Preboreal and Boreal) and Proto-historic and Historic Units that correspond to the late Holocene (Subboreal and Subatlantic). The substitution of an association dominated by Microtus arvalis with one dominated by M. (T.) gr. multiplex-subterraneus and Chionomys nivalis testifies an environmental change in the area near the site from grassland during the early Holocene to a less grass-covered landscape characterized by exposed rocks during the Subboreal and Subatlantic. The relatively high percentage (up to 10%) of the forest component (Sciurus vulgaris, Myodes glareolus and Apodemus (Sylvaemus) above all) in the early Holocene unit testifies the presence of a woodland near the site, around 2000 m a.s.l.