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1 results

  • A geometric morphometric approach to distinguish ferret from polecat and its application to an archaeological specimen from Mechelen (Belgium)

  • Ben Gruwier
  • Journal:
    Antiquity / Volume 98 / Issue 399 / June 2024
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    28 February 2024, pp. 795-804
    Print publication:
    June 2024
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  • The inability to differentiate skeletal remains belonging to the ferret from those of its wild ancestor, the European polecat, presents a particular challenge for zooarchaeologists which currently hinders a better understanding of ferret domestication history. Using a geometric morphometric approach on the mandible, this study provides a new method to distinguish the two forms. Despite a small sample size and some overlap in the dataset, this method allowed the identification of a (post)medieval specimen from Mechelen (Belgium) as a wild polecat. Results demonstrate that ferrets can largely be distinguished from polecats based on mandibular morphology.