Osteometriska Mätningar
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Ribs from sheep, goat and pig are rarely assessed to species due to the fact that they are very similar in their morphology and size. The ribs are instead considered unidentifiable although it is possible to see what kind of bone it is. If these ribs would be identified to species not only would species assessment degree of archaeological source material increase, the relationship between meat-rich and meat poor regions would change.To find out whether there are morphologically measurable differences between sheep, goat and pig ribs, three measurement points on each rib has been defined and measured. At each measurement point two measurements were measured, one medial-lateral measurement and one cranial-caudal measurement. The ratio between the medial- lateral measurement and the cranial-caudal measurement was calculated for each point. In this way, it is not the size variation between species that are studied, but its morphology.There are statistically differences between the species. Sheep and pig have significant differences in 11 pairs of ribs. Goat and pig also have significant differences in 11 pairs of ribs. Sheep and goat are significantly different in five pairs of ribs. The results of this study could be used to develop a method for the assessment of sheep, goat and pig based on ribs.