[Aztlan] Rats again

[Mary Hopkins]

On the other hand, there is a wide range of native rodents, ranging from 
small (pocket mice) to large-ish (pacas). I used to know a little of the 
Yucatec names, but have mostly forgotten. Some bib. in my appendix to  the 
Cenote book (Artifacts from the Cenote of Sacrifice, Memoirs of the 
Peabody Museum 10:3) -- the references are a bit out of date by now, but 
might be a starting place if you're really interested.

On Tue, 20 May 2008, Nick Hopkins wrote:

> I just had a look at Wikipedia (ALWAYS a reliable source...), and
> "true rats" are Old World (Asian origin) species that spread around
> the globe with commerce, mainly through European vessels.  So there
> weren't any "rats" in precolombian Mesoamerica.  I suspect the
> confusion arises in the translation of Spanish ratón, which means
> "mouse", not "rat" (rata).
>
> Nick Hopkins
>
>
>
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