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Some morphometric criteria for the identification of small wader remains (Recurvirostridae, Haematopodidae, Charadriidae, Scolopacidae) from archaeological sites in continental Northwestern Europe

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Abstract

Osteological remains of small waders of the order Charadriiformes are regularly found in archaeological sites in Europe. Due to high taxonomic diversity, the rarity of some species in reference collections, and a lack of published diagnostic criteria, their identification poses challenges. To help resolve this issue, this study uses morphometric data, taken on a sample of extant wader skeletons, to identify metric criteria for species differentiation. Despite the relatively small sample size, the results show that multiple taxa can be distinguished using morphometrics. Used in conjunction with comparative morphological analysis, this morphometric method provides a valuable aid to zooarchaeologists working on wader remains from continental Northwestern Europe.

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The author confirms that all the data supporting the findings in this study are available in the supplementary data.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Shijama Vermeersch, Bea de Cupere, Laura Llorente Rodriguez, Andre Ramcharan, Bram Langeveld, Pepijn Kamminga and Tarek Oueslati for granting access to the collections under their care. Veronique Laroulandie, Umberto Albarella and Phoebe Liu are thanked for sharing measurements of several specimens from the Universities of Bordeaux and Sheffield. I am indebted to Sophie de Bruijn for assisting me with the data collection.

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  1. Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-Chemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium

    Ben Gruwier

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The sole author of this manuscript is responsible for the conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation, writing and draft preparation, review and editing, and resources.

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Correspondence to Ben Gruwier.

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Gruwier, B. Some morphometric criteria for the identification of small wader remains (Recurvirostridae, Haematopodidae, Charadriidae, Scolopacidae) from archaeological sites in continental Northwestern Europe. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 16, 98 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02010-8

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