Anissa Zaske, Abigail LaChance, David Shaw, and Taylor Rynish, “Identification of Mammal and Bird Bones in an Archaeological Context”
Mentors: Jean Hudson and Emily Middleton, Anthropology
Oral Presentation Block 2

This research project uses a scientific approach to identify and illustrate morphological criteria to help zoo archaeologists differentiate between fragmented bones of mammals and birds. When bones are fragmentary, it becomes much harder to identify them taxonomically, and since most bone in an archaeological context is fragmented, there is a risk of confusing taxa that share certain osteological traits. Although studies exist for whole bone comparison, some elements are much more easily distinguishable, leaving those as the ones most often documented. Elements such as pedal phalanges, vertebrae, and long bone shafts are often left out of published comparisons; this is a gap I hope to address, specifically as it pertains to two small-bodied animals, rabbits, and ducks. I will prepare a comparative osteological specimen of one rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) and one duck (Anas platyrhynchos). To increase my sample size and capture more individual variation, I will also use the existing UWM Zooarchaeological Comparative Collection, which includes several specimens of each of those species. The two animals chosen for my preparation are of similar size, which will make it easier to control for that variable. Additionally, both selected animals are species that are commonly found at local Wisconsin archaeological sites; thus this study has practical applications. At the end, I hope to have a comparative collection of rabbit and duck long bone shaft fragments, as well as illustrated descriptions of other morphological identifying features for elements that are commonly confused (e.g. pedal phalanges and vertebrae). Additionally, I intend to work with my co-SURF student, Abigail LaChance, on her butchery marks project to collect data on additional fractured bone specimens. This will also help illustrate how such bones may appear in the archeological record after having been butchered, though that is not the primary purpose of my project. The distinctions between certain bird and mammal bones from archaeological contexts is a challenge I have run into in my own studies, and I intend to use my research to make those identifications easier for other students and zoo archaeologists.