Abstract:
The indigenous Algerian goat has been the subject of very few studies from a phenotypic, baryometric or osteometric point of view. This work which proposes to realize a first osteo-craniometric approach, was carried out on 60 goats from eastern Algeria (30 males and 30 females). This study was based on a sample of 60 skulls, 60 mandibles and 36 right metacarpus. For each animal, the carcass weight, age and sex were noted. The bones were removed then weighed and measured after cooking and drying (33 variables per animal). Bone gracility ratios and indices were calculated (6 variables per animal). The obtained data were the subject of a uni, bi and multivariate statistical study, to compare between goats and other small ruminants, in addition to a study of the sexual dimorphism. This work made it possible to define the osteo-morphometric characteristics of the bony head and metacarpus of the indigenous goat. The variability and correlations between variables were analyzed and allow, in particular in the context of the creation of a repository for archaeozoology, to handle the measurements of the head from the metacarpus measurements. Linear regression equations have been proposed in order to estimate inaccessible parameters from the best correlated measurements. The multivariate study from the linear parameters of each of the bones was performed ; it permits to consider a separation of the population according to sex or age. The sexual dimorphism appears, in fact, at the level of the skull in a clear manner : the males have heads not only larger and more elongated but also more massive. As part of the constitution of a repository, as large as possible for archaeologists, the addition of a new breed which increases the overall variability of the goat species is an undeniable contribution. This tool makes possible the positioning of ancient or archaeological populations among the current races.
