Sheep
The Sigurgeir Sheep Bone Collection (Sigurgeirssafn)
The Icelandic Zooarchaeology Laboratory collection holds a large number of partial and complete skeletons of Icelandic sheep (Ovis aries). A large number of partial sheep skeletons of known age and sex are held in a special collection, Sigurgeirssafn. This collection comes from a PhD project “Growth and development of Scottish Blackface and Icelandic Sheep” by Sigurgeir Þorgeirsson (1981).
Large collections of skeletons with detailed information about sex and age at death are not common and the material in Sigurgeirssafn will be very valuable for future research. Bones from 90 individuals, rams and ewes, slaughtered at birth to 74 weeks of age (Þorgeirsson, 1981, p. 9), are now ready for use and processing of more skeletons is underway.
The provided spreadsheet is a simplified version. Download here for the full version. If you want any further information or wish to reference the reference collection please contact Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir.
Reference: Þorgeirsson, S. (1981). Growth and development of Scottish blackface and Icelandic sheep (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
Number on bones | Age in days | Sex | Year | Scapula | Radius ulna | Humerus | Pelvis | Femur | Tibia | Ribs | Atlas | Axis | Vertebra | Vertebral column | Sacrum and caudal vertebrae | Sternum | Metacarpal | Metatarsal | Skull | Mandible | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4061 | adult | unknown | unknown | x | x | x | x | x | x | 1 | null | null | null | null | x | x | null | null | null | null | referance collection |
485 | adult | unknown | unknown | x | x | x | x | x | x | 1 | null | null | null | null | x | x | null | null | null | null | referance collection |
4063 | adult | unknown | unknown | x | x | x | x | x | x | 5 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | referance collection |
10798 | 42d | female | 1978 | x | x | x | 2 | x | x | 13 | null | null | null | x | x | x | null | null | x | x | referance collection |