Early development of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L. 1758): an osteometrical tool to address taphonomical and archaeozoological issues

Abstract

The skeletal development of the European rabbit during its first weeks of life is a poorly documented phenomenon whose potential applications reach to various fields of research. In this paper a table is provided to turn the lengths of seven skeletal elements (mandible, humerus, radius, ischium, ilium, femur and tibia) into weight and age equivalents. The database consisted of sixteen rabbits of known size and weight from the same population whose ages were previously estimated through the application of widely used age-weight regression equations. This reference should allow faunal analysts to recognize those size thresholds for each element below which rabbits are not able to leave the burrow, a feature that will help spot them as intrusive elements in archaeological deposits.