Dear All,
I might be enquiring about the obvious, but I have not had lots of exposure to Horse,
and less so to Donkey. Any thoughts on my observations and any others people would
like to share would be extremely welcome!
Is there an accepted way to separate the two species using the 3rd phalanx? Of course
overall size is important, but in my sample (incl. an archaeological one from Crete which
prompted me to look into this) there seems to be some slight convergence.
Examining an admittedly small sample of 2 Donkeys and 3 Horses from the University
Museum of Natural History in Oxford, I've come up with the following two observations:
1. Shape of distal side (as seen from above) is more U-shaped for horse and more of a
straight line for Donkey, i.e. horse has longer prominences distally.
2. The shape of the articulation is different, in horse more longitudinal. The ratio of
breadth to depth of the articular surface was >3 for horse (c. 3.1- 3.7) whereas for
donkey it was <3 (c. 2.5-2.8).
Could anyone inform me whether these observations- and the measurement ratio- have
a more general validity, or are they simply a result of my small sample size (admittedly
one horse Ph3 did not concur with the measurements: either the ratios do not work
universally, or I'll have to check with the Museum about the provenance of that animal).
Many thanks to all in advance!
Best wishes,
Nellie
PS. I've posted a photograph of the bones:
http://www.alexandriaarchive.org/icaz/icazForum/viewtopic.php?t=985
----------------------------
Dr. Nellie Phoca-Cosmetatou
Research Fellow & Tutor in Archaeology and Anthropology
Keble College, Oxford OX1 3PG
Tel: +44 (0)1865 282395
Fax: +44 (0)1865 272705
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/academics/about/dr-nellie-phoca-cosmetatou
"Engrave yourself somewhere, in any possible way,
and then again erase yourself with magnanimity"
O. Elytis
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