Back from the SAA meetings, tired, have a nasty cold, and have three days of
oral testing facing me.  Anyone have a noose for sale, cheap?
 
Q: (FML): "A special thank you to Bob Church...my uncle apparently knows
   him pretty well...his very nice wife, Sue...Isn't it interesting that
   ferret people are such friendly people???"
 
A: Cool!  A new wife!  Never been married to a Sue before....
 
One small problem with your post: I am now a free man, I was married 18
years to Ann, not 15 or 16 to a Sue, and neither Elizabeth nor Ann remember
such a conversation.  But that's OK; there are two other Robert Churchs in
my area, and one even has a couple of ferrets.  I know about the others
because I was arrested for having a bench warrant out for me because of
unpaid traffic tickets.  Wrong guy, everyone was sorry, and I got a get out
of jail free card.
 
I'm not saying you didn't actually have a conversation.  Depending on the
exact time of your call, you could have talked to Ann or Elizabeth.  I am
having trouble with someone who keeps bombing my e-mail and sending me dirty
messages (it was past tense, but I just got another anonymous nasty-gram).
If someone calls my old number, and Ann, Andrew or Elizabeth doesn't know
them, they are given a line of bull, partly to source information "leaks"
and partly because I am a very private person, don't apologize for it, and
generally try to keep my private life private (I have actually ended
relationships because of gossip).
 
In any case, thanks for the "Attaboy!" Now, how do I find this Sue....?
 
Q: (Private Post): You said [archaeological] ferret remains are very rare.
   Have any been found?
 
A: I love it. Lost: one rare ferret....sounds like something from the
   Roadkill Cafe.
 
Yes, I know of one very well documented site in Europe, reported in 1988.  A
ferret (with clipped teeth) was found in a castle midden dating to the late
13th to early 14th century.  It was found in association with rabbit bones.
The only other instance was reported at a conference about 6 years ago, but
nothing has been published.  I have an incomplete copy of the paper, and
like many conference papers, it is sketchy, but it claims the ferret remains
are prehistoric.  There are also many instances of European polecat remains
having been recovered.  There is a possibility that some of them might in
fact be ferrets, but until a method to distinguish one population from the
other is worked out, you are forced to assume the remains are polecat, not
ferret.
 
The lack of ferrets in the archaeological record remains a mystery, and one
I am determined to figure out.  But it will take time.  One of the biggest
problems is a lack of skeletal remains for comparison, and not just from
ferrets.  Since skeletons respond to external and environmental influences,
pet ferrets, breeding ferrets, neutered ferrets, working ferrets, feral
ferrets, and polecats could all have slightly different skeletons.  This is
complicated by sexual and age differences and confusion with mink.  In order
to differentiate them, you need lots of skeletons for comparison, and the
stockpiles just don't exist, even in Europe.  I'm working on the problem,
but it just takes time to build the data base.  I'm hoping for some post-doc
monies to visit Europe to help sort out this problem.  Any volunteers with
cash?
 
Bob C and the 17 Ferrets Named Sue (How do you do?) (In Memory of Gus and
Buddy)
[Posted in FML issue 1896]