Kristi,

Birds do not undergo epiphyseal "fusion". Growth
occurs at ossification centers as the cartilaginous
precursor ossifies. This occurs very quickly, by 8
months of age in chickens. Bird bone is therefore
usually limited to  classification as juvenile or
adult.

As for mammal ribs, in general it is very difficult
identify isolated archaeological ribs to the species
level. This is why very few reference texts discuss
them. Unless you have fairly complete adult ribs (with
the proximal articulation), identification is usually
limited to size groups such as medium mammal. Due to
this difficulty in identification, assigning species
specific ages to ribs is generally not undertaken.

A good reference for domestic animal bone fusion
tables is:
Silver, I. A. (1970) The Ageing of Domestic Animals.
In Science in Archaeology.D. Brothwell and E. Higgs,
editors. Prageger Publishers.

-April
______________________
April M. Beisaw, RPA
Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy Consulting
[log in to unmask]
http://www.taphonomy.com
______________________

--- Kristi Benson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> If anyone can recommend a (preferably accessible)
> source for epiphyseal
> fusion tables for Chicken and Turkey, I would really
> appreciate it.
> Also, does any know when rib heads and/or tubercles
> fuse for cow, pig
> and sheep? For some reason neither of my photocopied
> sources contain
> information on ribs.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Kristi


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