A Brief Note on the Presence of the Common Hamster during the Late Glacial Period in Southwestern France

The Late Glacial period is characterized by slow warming, punctuated by short, coldepisodes, such as the Younger Dryas (i.e., GS1). The impact of this climatic event on the mammalcommunity is still poorly documented in southwestern France. Here, a new radiocarbon dateobtained directly on fossil remains of common hamster, Cricetus cricetus, confirms its presence insouthwestern France during the Younger Dryas (GS1). This observation currently suggests thatC. cricetus could be an accurate chronological indicator of this event in southwestern France. In thisparticular case, it also demonstrates an attritional death, polluting the deposit, these remains havingbeen found in the Combe-Cullier layer, attributed to an earlier period.