Osteometry of Duck Species in Northwestern Europe—A Reassessment of Woelfle's (1967) Dataset

Abstract

This study revisits and expands upon Elisabeth Woelfle's (1967) foundational analysis of bone morphology and osteometry,which has long been a key reference for zooarcheological identification of duck species in northwestern Europe. By examiningWoelfle's unpublished measuring protocols and incorporating 523 newly measured specimens, we evaluate the reliability of traditionalskeletal measurements. Our results highlight significant inconsistencies in inter-andintra-observerreproducibility ofseveral commonly used metrics. We identify nine problematic measurements and propose revised definitions to improve standardizationand recommend abandoning poorly defined metrics. This revision aims to refine osteometric practices for ducks andpotentially other avian taxa, to ensure greater accuracy in zooarcheological identifications. All measurement data, including digitizedversions of Woelfle's original data, are made publicly available to support further morphological and comparative studies