Armadillos play havoc with archaeological sites. The mischievous creatures rearrange artefacts as they dig their burrows, making it tricky for archaeologists to date pieces from the strata of soil in which they turn up.
To quantify the effect, Astolfo Mello Araujo from the University of S茫o Paulo in Brazil placed a yellow armadillo in a mock-up of an archaeological site on display at a Brazilian zoo. The animal managed to bury some bits of ceramics in an extra 60 centimetres of soil, and raised others through the earth by a similar distance (Geoarchaeology, vol 18, p 433). The armadillo left behind some telltale signs of its activities, and archaeologists hope it will now be possible to spot when the creatures have been at work.
Those who know the animals shouldn鈥檛 be too surprised by the results 鈥� armadillos are nicknamed 鈥�grave diggers鈥� in Brazil because of their tendency to dig up cemeteries.
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