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Stating in print what methods are used to make species identifications is a critical part of zooarchaeological research. In fact, an entire symposium on this subject was held at the 1995 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (see Butler and Lyman 1996 for a review). Other articles that address this issue include Baker and Shaffer (1999) and Driver (1992). One of the reasons this becomes so critical is that variables other than morphology are often considered when making species identifications (such as biogeography). Other researchers need to be able to evaluate in detail the discrete traits, morphometrics, and biogeographic data we use to make IDs. If we don't describe our criteria, there's no way for other researchers to evaluate the validity of our identifications or the conclusions we draw from them. As a practical example, this is one of the challenges that has faced the FAUNMAP project. When you begin summarizing Quaternary mammalian data for all of North America, how do you know which identifications to believe? Even though many anthropology journal editors don't like to publish our long taxonomic and morphological descriptions, there are plenty of paleontological journals that would love to see our manuscripts. So, my advice - describe and cite extensively! Baker, Barry W., and Brian S. Shaffer. 1999. Assumptions about Species: A Case Study of Tortoise Bones from SE Texas. Journal of Field Archaeology 26(1):69-74. Butler, Virginia L., and R. Lee Lyman. 1996. Taxonomic Identifications and Faunal Summaries: What Should we be Including in Our Faunal Reports? Society for American Archaeology Bulletin 14(1):22. Driver, Jonathan C. 1992. Identification, Classification and Zooarchaeology. Circaea 9(1):35-47. Sincerely, Barry W. Baker Forensic Scientist Morphology Section National Fish & Wildlife Forensics Laboratory 1490 East Main Street Ashland, Oregon 97520-1310 U.S.A. E-mail: [log in to unmask] Web: http://www.lab.fws.gov Adjunct Professor of Anthropology Department of Sociology and Anthropology Southern Oregon University Ashland, Oregon Co-editor, Zooarchaeology Home Page: http://borealis.lib.uconn.edu/zhp/ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%