Dear Laura,
Thank you very much for making available your 3-D scans of skeletal
elements from a number of taxa. As you say, they should be most helpful
when no comparative material is available.
I would kindly request, however, that you include on the title pages for
the extremities the NAV-approved nomenclature for the various carpals
and tarsals instead of (or perhaps in addition to) the rather
unfortunate human-based terms that you are now using. The NAV (Nomina
Anatomica Veterinaria) terminology is now (since 1968) the standard that
is used in veterinary works and is also that most usually used for
Holocene archaeofaunas. For example, see:
von den Driesch, Angela
(1976) Das Vermessen von Tierknochen aus Vor- und Frühgeshcichtlichen
Siedlungen. München: Institut für Paläoanatomie, Domestikationsforschung
und Geschicnte der Tiermedizin der Univeristät München.
(1976) A Guide to the Measurement of Animal Bones from Archaeological
Sites. Peabody Museum Bulletin 1. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
König, Horst Erich und Hans Georg Liebich von Schattauer (ed)
(2008) Anatomie der Haussäugetiere: Lehrbuch und Farbatlas für Studium
und Praxis. 4. Auflage Stuttgart: Verlag Schattauer.
(2009) Veterinary Anatomy of Domestic Mammals: Textbook and Colour
Atlas, 4th edition. New York: Verlag Schattauer.
As a generalization, it seems that if one comes into faunal studies from
Biological or Physical Anthropology or even Paleontology, one has a
higher chance of using the human/primate osteological nomenclature,
while if one comes into faunal studies from Veterinary Medicine or
Zoology or Archaeology, one has a tendency to have been trained using
the veterinary nomenclature, which to my mind is much more logical and
easier to remember because it is positional and not based on the shape
of the elements in the human skeleton that may have nothing to do with
the shape of those elements in other animals.
For a convenient tabular source see:
Getty, Robert (ed.)
(1975) Sisson and Grossman's The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals. Fifth
Edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co. Tables 2-2 and 2-4, pp. 29 &
31, respectively.
Carpals:
Os carpale radiale (radial carpal) = Os scaphoideum (scaphoid)
Os carpi intermedioradiale (radial+intermediate carpal) = Os scapholunatum
Os carpi intermedium (intermediate carpal) = Os lunatum (lunate or
semilunar)
Os carpi ulnare (ulnar carpal) = Os triquetrum (triangular or cuneiform)
Os carpi accessorium (accessory carpal) = Os pisiforme (pisiform)
Os carpale I (first carpal = carpal I) = Os trapezium (trapezium)
Os carpale II (second carpal = carpal II) = Os trapezoideum (trapezoid
or lesser multangular)
Os carpale II+III (second+third carpal = carpal II+III) = Os
trapezoideocapitatum
Os carpale III (third carpal = carpal III) = Os capitatum (capitate or
magnum)
Os carpale IV (fourth carpal = carpal IV) = Os hamatum (hamate or unciform)
Tarsals:
Talus or Astragalus
Calcaneus
Os tarsi centrale (central tarsal) = Os naviculare (navicular)
Os tarsale centrale+IV (= Os centralquartale) (central+fourth tarsal or
tarsal c+IV) = Os naviculocuboideum (navicular cuboid)
Os tarsale I (first tarsal = tarsal I) = Os cuneiforme mediale (medial =
first = internal cuneiform)
Os tarsale I+II (first+second tarsal = tarsal I+II) = Os cuneiforme
mediointermedium
Os tarsale II (second tarsal = tarsal II) = Os cuneiforme intermedium
(intermediate = second = middle cuneiform_
Os tarsale II+III (second+third tarsal = tarsal II+III) = Os cuneiforme
intermediolaterale
Os tarsale III (third tarsal = tarsal III) = Os cuneiforme laterale
(lateral = third = external cuneiform)
Os tarsale IV (fourth tarsal = tarsal IV) = Os cuboideum (cuboid)
Note that Roman numerals are used to denote medial-lateral position as
they are in the Metacarpals and Metatarsals and also in Phalanges. Here
there is a mistake in your labeling. Your Phalanx I should be Phalanx 1
(proximal phalanx), your Ph II should be Ph 2 (middle phalanx), and your
Ph III should be Ph 3 (distal phalanx). Roman numerals are not used to
designate proximal-distal positioning.
Finally, let me note that I have only gone quickly through the Equus
(horse) and Capra (ibex) contributions and not with comparative
specimens next to me. I would suggest that you present the tarpals and
tarsals in more or less anatomical positioning proximal row followed by
distal row from medial to lateral, as I have presented the list above.
And, unfortunately, there are mix-ups in the carpals and tarsals of the
ibex, with the intermediate carpal mislabeled and grouped with the
tarsals, and I believe there is some mislabeling of some of the other
carpal and tarsal bones. I include these observations just to alert
users to beware until you have a chance to review these most useful
images again.
If there is an addition I would like to see, it is sets of images of the
phalanges for both fore and hind legs particularly in large bovids and
equids where it is possible to more easily differentiate between fore
and hind elements.
Thanks again for the efforts at providing us all with most useful tools.
I look forward to more!
Best,
Richard H. Meadow
Director, Zooarchaeology Laboratory
Peabody Museum
Harvard University
P.S. for a pdf of NAV (Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria) see:
http://www.wava-amav.org/Downloads/nav_2005.pdf
Laura Niven wrote:
> Dear Zooarchers,
>
> The zooarchaeology group at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig is currently
> working on a project to scan in 3D a variety of reference skeletons. These
> will hopefully be of use for identifications in the field when you do not
> have actual bones on hand for comparison.
>
> The 3D models can be downloaded for free in PDF at our website:
>
> http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/files/downloads.htm
>
> You must fill out a short registration before downloading the PDFs.
>
> Currently, we have the following taxa available:
> Rangifer tarandus (one juvenile, one adult)
> Ammotragus lervia
> Capra ibex
> Equus caballus
> Gazella gazella
>
> The skeletons are complete or nearly complete (sometimes missing the
> cranium) and scanned by element. You will need Adobe Acrobat version 7 or
> higher to use the 3D capabilities in the PDFs.
>
> Please feel free to contact us for questions or feedback.
>
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Also find our recent paper in J. Archaeological Science on the methods and
> equipment used in this project (September issue or available on our website)
>
> Best regards, Laura
>
>
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