Long bone length and stature in the Western European Mesolithic. I. Methodological problems and solutions

Stature estimations have been made from a sample of long bones from Western European Mesolithic skeletons. A systematic difference is observed between the stature estimations from the distal parts of the extremities and those from the proximal parts. In this paper this methodological problem is discussed and a solution for this specific sample is proposed. In a second article, to be published at a later date, the proposed method is used to analyse the chronological and geographical variability of stature in the Western European Mesolithic.