***Bird bones from the archaeological excavations in the castle of the Teutonic Order in Klaipėda, Lithuania, in 2016***
Authors: Freydis Ehrlich

Corresponding author: Freydis Ehrlich
Contact information: 

freydis.ehrlich@ut.ee

Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu, Jakobi 2, 51005, Tartu, Estonia

***General Introduction***
The dataset contains bird bone identifications by Freydis Ehrlich from May 2020. 
The bird bones were found from the archaeological excavations in 2016 in the castle of the Teutonic Order in Klaipėda, Lithuania. The bones are dated by context to the 13th-14th centuries.
A paper has been published based on this dataset https://doi.org/10.15388/ArchLit.2019.21.4.
The dataset is made public to act as a supplementary data for this paper and to make it usable for other researchers.
When using this dataset, please cite as follows: Ehrlich, F., 2020. Bird bones from the archaeological excavations in the castle of the Teutonic Order in Klaipėda, Lithuania, in 2016. UT DataDOI online repository. Available at: DOI link.

The identifications were based on morphology, using the reference collections of the Department of Archaeology and the Natural History Museum at the University of Tartu, Estonia, and a personal reference collection of Ülo Väli (Estonian University of Life Sciences).
Morphologically very similar species were distinguished with the help of handbooks (Kraft, 1972; Bocheński and Tomek, 2009; Tomek and Bocheński, 2009). 
Measurements were taken after standards by von den Driesch (1976) in millimeters.

The work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant No PRG29.

***Description of the data in this dataset***
The dataset consists of two files: 
'README.txt' - this file
'bird_bones_Klaipeda_Castle_2016.xlsx' - file with identifications

Explanation of column names in the identification table in 'bird_bones_Klaipeda_Castle_2016.xlsx': 
Number - number given to the bone fragment
Taxon - taxon identified
Skeletal element - skeletal element identified
Side - side of the skeletal element 
Sex - sex of the skeletal element if possible
Pathology - pathologies recorded
Age - juvenile or subadult recorded, rest of the bones are of adult
Taphonomy - cut, gnawing marks recorded
Specimen description - description of the bone find
CorGL - greatest length of the coracoideum
CorLM - medial length of the coracoideum
CorBb - basal breadth of the coracoideum
CorBF - breadth of the basal articular surface of the coracoideum
HumGL - greatest length of the humerus
HumBp - breadth of the proximal end of the humerus
HumKC - smallest breadth of corpus of the humerus
HumBd - breadth of the distal end of the humerus
UlnaGL - greatest length of the ulna
UlnaBp - breadth of proximal end of the ulna
UlnaDp - diagonal of the proximal end of the ulna
UlnaKC - smallest breadth of corpus of the ulna
UlnaDd - diagonal of the distal end of the ulna
CmcGL - greatest length of the carpometacarpus
CmcL - length of the metacarpus II of the carpmetacarpus
CmcBp - breadth of the proximal extremity of the carpometacarpus
CmcDd - diagonal of the distal end of the carpometacarpus
PpdmGL - greatest length of the phalanx proximalis digiti majoris 
FemGL - greatest length of the femur
FemLm - medial length of the femur
FemBp - breadth of the proximal end of the femur
FemTp - depth of the proximal end of the femur
FemKC - smallest breadth of corpus of the femur
FemBd - breadth of the distal end of the femur
FemTd - depth of the distal end of the femur
TbtGL - greatest length of the tibiotarsus
TbtLa - axial length of the tibiotarsus
TbtDp - diagonal of the proximal end of the tibiotarsus
TbtKC - smallest breadth of corpus of the tibiotarsus
TbtBd - breadth of the distal end of the tibiotarsus
TbtTd - depth of the distal end of the tibiotarsus
TmtGL - greatest length of the tarsometatarsus
TmtBp - breadth of the proximal end of the tarsometatarsus
TmtKC - smallest breadth of corpus of the tarsometatarsus
TmtBd - breadth of the distal end of the tarsometatarsus

***References***
Bocheński Z. M., Tomek T. 2009. An identification key for the remains of domestic birds in Europe. Preliminary determination. Krakow: Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences.
Kraft E. 1972. Vergleichend morphologische Untersuchungen an Einzelknochen Nord- und Mitteleuropäischer kleinerer Hühnervögel. München: Institut für Paläoanatomie Domestikations forschung und Geschichte der Tiermedizin.
Tomek T., Bocheński Z. M. 2009. A key for the identification of domestic birds in Europe: Galliformes and Columbiformes. Krakow: Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Siences.
von den Driesch A. 1976. Das Vermessen von Tierknochen aus vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Siedlungen. München: Institut dür Paläoanatomie, Domestikationsforschung und Geschichte der Tiermedizin der Universität München.