Bones from six animal taxa were experimentally introduced into an active rat denning site in a rock shelter on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. After six months, patterns were examined relative to taxonomy, element selection, weight selection, rapidity and distance of bone movement, and gnawing. These analyses demonstrate that wood rats can affect significant changes in the character of an archaeofaunal assemblage through their compulsive acquisitive tendencies. The presence of wood rats in enclosed sites may results in a complex and confusing array of conditions that zooarchaeologists will want to recognize before applying basic quantitative techniques to a related faunal assemblage. -- AATA