A comprehensive identification protocol for postcranial bones of Southeast Asian Ruminantia. Part 1: Osteometry

Abstract

Taxonomic identification of animal bone remains from archaeological and paleontological contexts is usually conducted by comparison with modern skeletal specimens, an approach that is relatively straightforward in temperate or insular regions. In contrast, it is more challenging in continental tropical areas, where rich biodiversity makes it difficult to assemble exhaustive modern references. This situation is well illustrated in continental Southeast Asia, where studies of large mammal assemblages have largely focused on teeth and cranial elements, while postcranial remains are rarely investigated. To address this issue, we established an osteometric reference dataset of the limb bones from Southeast Asian ruminant species and analyzed both the potential of raw measurements and osteometric ratios to identify the different taxa. The results reveal marked differences between genera and species, allowing size-based grouping and precise taxonomic identification in some cases. These data were subsequently used to develop an easy-to-use identification tool based solely on measurements. The performance of this tool was tested against previously published datasets, allowing confirmation of existing results and discussion of potential biases associated with identification based on measurements alone. This new methodological framework provides a solid foundation to be combined with the qualitative morphological criteria described in the other papers of this series to enhance the precision and robustness of the taxonomic identifications of subfossil bones from continental Southeast Asia.