[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 1. 2011 (1 issue)

Taphonomy, as a branch of learning and a research area, has undergone a tremendous growth in the past few decades. It has extended its application from palaeontology to other disciplines, it has broadened its referential scope and has incorporated humans as taphonomic agents. This has affected the way taphonomy is perceived by its practitioners and requires a modification of its definition, following a process that is common in most evolving natural science disciplines.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 1. 2011 (2 issue)

This papers deals with the analysis of Eurasian badger (Meles meles) remains in an archaeological context. Eurasian badgers dig large burrows as living structures and so the identification of their remains in archaeological context appears doubtful. More than 400 remains of these small carnivores were recovered from Unikoté Cave. This site is assumed to be a hyena den with the occurrence of human remains and lithic artefacts. In this paper, we aimed to: 1) explain how and why so many remains of these carnivores are recognised at Unikoté Cave; 2) evaluate the role of Eurasian badgers in site formation processes and 3) to test the archaeological relevance of a bioturbated site.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 1. 2011 (3 issue)

Taphonomic studies of carnivores have become an integral part of taphonomic research in the past two decades. These studies are developing a referential framework for the identification of carnivore signature variety in the fossil record. Hyaenas and felids are predominant in these studies, whereas other carnivores such as wolves have not received as much attention yet. This paper analyses wild horse carcasses processed by wild wolves and discusses the implications for the study of site formation in the Euroasian Pleistocene. Carcasses have undergone different kinds of consumption by wild wolves and show important differences in the degree of bone modification according to wolf hunting and scavenging strategies. The different degree of bone destruction when consumed in one or many events is also discussed.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 2. 2011 (1 issue)

The Cape porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis, is an acknowledged accumulator of bones in southern Africa. Here we examine porcupine accumulated material from five localities in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, including a re-analysis of the Nossob lair published by Brain (1981). These results are then compared to a Mid-Late Pleistocene assemblage (L/63) from Post-Member 6 at Sterkfontein. The taphonomic analyses indicate that porcupines are indiscriminate collectors of bones and other items. Unlike many other vertebrate bone accumulators porcupines do not appear to have a collection size bias, as the species represented in the assemblages range in body mass from >0.14kg to 60% gnawed bones is needed to establish that material has been collected by Cape porcupines rather than as a result of a number of other sources. Of the macrovertebrate component of the L/63 fossil assemblage, only 149 specimens exhibited porcupine gnawing (11%), while that number rose to 263 (6.97%) of the total NISP and fragment count (n= 3775). This is well below the threshold proposed in this analysis and in the published literature, indicating that porcupines are unlikely to have been a primary contributor to the L/63 assemblage. The possible role of porcupines in creating and maintaining mosaic environments through their foraging activities is also discussed.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 2. 2011 (2 issue)

Preliminary taphonomic investigations were carried out at the site of Wadi Zarqa Ma'in 1 (WZM-1), at 31o37'N, 35o43'E, approximately 730 m above mean sea level and 10 km south-southwest of Madaba, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This large, open sinkhole is a natural faunal trap and raptor roosting site, accumulating significant faunal remains within deposits likely reaching well into the Pleistocene. The Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) of identified megafauna and microfauna totals 629, with a minimum of 30 taxa represented. Nine actual or potential vectors of faunal introduction were identified, including prey of roosting raptors, natural mortality of sinkhole inhabitants, accidental falling, and deliberate introduction of dead animals by humans. Roosting raptors include barn owl (Tyto alba), the prey remains of which yielded the majority of the species diversity and total MNI. This site offers a unique opportunity to collect data on the on-going function of a prolific faunal trap in a semi-arid Near East environment, and multiple significant taphonomic considerations can be drawn from it for the analysis of both its own deposits and those of similar karst features.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 2. 2011 (3 issue)

Taphonomic data are presented for a bone assemblage composed of the remains of seven baboons killed and eaten by wild leopards in Mapungubwe National Park (South Africa). Mortality and sex distributions of the sample meet theoretical expectations of a leopard-produced assemblage and skeletal part patterning, as well as gross patterns of bone modification, match conditions of other leopard-derived faunas composed of small- and medium-size prey, but bone surface damage is much more intensive than previously documented in collections produced by leopards. These data are analyzed comparatively and their paleoanthropological relevance for the interpretation of important fossil primate faunas, such as those from Swartkrans Cave (South Africa), is discussed.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 3. 2011 (1 issue)

Marrow is a valuable source of energy, fat, and nutrients that has been exploited by prehistoric and historic peoples across many different environments. Previous experiments on marrow yields have provided new insights into the nutritional value of many ungulates that were important to the diets of past hominins. However, few studies have been conducted on suids. To investigate the caloric value of suid marrow, we broke ten humeri, seven radii, eight femora and seven tibiae of domestic pig and two of each of these elements of wild boar (both Sus scrofa) limb bones using the hammerstone and anvil technique. The marrow inside was removed and dried so that its kilocaloric value could be calculated. In this paper we compare and discuss the kilocaloric yields of males and females, different elements, and different age groups and conclude that, beyond seasonality, body size and age are potential indicators of marrow kilocaloric yields. Further, we compare our data to available data on impala (Aepyceros melampus) and wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), and we conclude that these ungulates provided more marrow than suids, and therefore they may have provided more benefits as a food resource.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 3. 2011 (2 issue)

Modern mollusc shells and samples from the Pleistocene of the Patras-Corinth rift (Greece) have been studied to determine the state of preservation of the microstructures. Diagenetic effects are highly variable within the site, within a shell, and within a structural layer. The strongest effects have destroyed the microstructures. Some microstructural changes are correlative of a mineralogical change (aragonite to calcite). The comparison of soluble organic matrices extracted from modern and “well-preserved” fossil shells shows there is a loss of organic matrices in fossil shells even in still aragonitic samples. Moreover, the composition of the organic matrices is also altered. From these data, it appears that diagenetic alterations are still unpredictable. Thus, the only control of the mineralogy of carbonate skeletons used as proxies for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, to establish tectonic movements, or for dating is necessary, but insufficient.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 3. 2011 (3 issue)

Sediment consolidation can influence both stone flake artifact inclination and vertical displacement. In this paper we present a novel experiment for investigating the effect of sediment consolidation on the morphology of stone flakes. Focusing specifically on the variables of gravel size and pressure, we show that sediment consolidation does not appear to result in the creation of retouched assemblages from nonretouched ones. Bend-break fractures via sediment consolidation did occur at higher frequencies, and as such the occurrence of bend-breaks needs further experimentation to tease out other specific contexts in which they occur. Overall, however, our experimental results suggest that in most cases archaeologists should not be concerned with sediment consolidation altering the appearance of flaked stone assemblages.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 4. 2011 (1 issue)

From the Upper Palaeolithic to the beginning of the Holocene, the presence of small carnivores in archaeological context is widely interpreted as evidence for peltry activities. This hypothesis is supported by several arguments, including the skeletal-part representation, the spatial distribution of bone remains, and the nature of cut marks on bones. At the end of the Palaeolithic, the question of whether small carnivores were utilised only for their skin or for their meat as well is still under debate. It has been postulated that the consumption of small carnivore meat has been underestimated in the past. In this paper, we propose a new experimental record of bone modification on small carnivore skeletons resulting from skinning by three taxidermists. The professionals produced cut marks on all the skeletons in the sample. The skinning marks are always localised on the same bones and on similar locations on those bones. We argue that this set of reference skinning marks constitutes a new tool that will prove useful in understanding the role played by small carnivores in the subsistence strategies of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 4. 2011 (2 issue)

Since the 1980s, the development of anatomical refitting methods opened the door to interpreting the single versus multiple occupations, separate households versus distinct activity areas, and unique food sharing of archaeological sites. In particular, bilateral refitting is a useful tool to link the social concepts and theory from cultural anthropology and apply them to the static remains of the archaeological record. Recently, critiques have raised concerns about the accuracy and precision of predictions that has limited the application of bilateral refitting. Bilateral asymmetry and large sample sizes have inhibited the success of univariate and bivariate refitting schemes. This paper presents a multivariate model that renews the potential of anatomical refitting. The flexibility of this approach allows for bilateral refitting of complete and partial skeletal elements. Through a battery of trials on simulated assemblages of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) humeri and empirical datasets, the results indicate significantly higher rates of successful matches and lower rates of Type I and Type II errors than existing methods.

[+info] VOLUME 9. ISSUE 4. 2011 (3 issue)

The Ediacaran scyphozoan Corumbella werneri is one of the oldest animals capable to perform skeletogenesis. This metazoan had a thick carapace, but also a low potential of fossilization due to its organic or weakly mineralized nature and have almost always frequently a fragmented and compressed fossil record lacking key taxonomic features. Hence, such original description as recent ones may be under taphonomic biases which resulted in deformation of morphologic features incurring in wrong taxonomic descriptions. In order to magnify the taphonomic spectrum and reduced the taphonomic bias of its altered morphology, we performed here a study of detailed morphology, under description of fossilization modes and discussion of different taphonomic classes observed on C. werneri from Tamengo Formation and its implications on key morphological features used to establish taxonomic affinities. Structural and morphological attributes were reconstituted by the means of a geometric modelling.

Year 2011 Archives - Journal of Taphonomy

Volumen 9. Issue 1. Year 2011.

Volumen 9. Issue 1. Year 2011.

Alberto2020-03-28T19:21:40+02:00octubre 26th, 2019|Volumen 9. Issue 1. Year 2011.|

How Can Taphonomy Be Defined in the XXI Century?

Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, Sixto Fernández-López, Luis Alcalá.

Keywords: TAPHONOMY, ARCHAEOLOGY, PALAEONTOLOGY, PALAEOBIOLOGY, BIOSTRATINOMY, FOSSIL-DIAGENESIS

Volumen 9. Issue 1. Year 2011.

How Can Taphonomy Be Defined in the XXI Century?

Badger (Meles meles) Remains Within Caves as an Analytical Tool to Test the Integrity of Stratified Sites: The Contribution of Unikoté Cave (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France).

A Taphonomic Study of Wild Wolf (Canis lupus) Modification of Horse Bones in Northwestern Spain.

The Taphonomist´s Corner: Fossil microorganisms.

Volumen 9. Issue 2. Year 2011.

The Likely Accumulators of Bones: Five Cape Porcupine Den Assemblages and the Role of Porcupines in the Post-Member 6 Infill at Sterkfontein, South Africa.

The Functioning of a Natural Faunal Trap in a Semi-Arid Environment: Preliminary Investigations of WZM-1, a Limestone Sinkhole Site Near Wadi Zarqa Ma’in, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Taphonomy of Bones from Baboons Killed and Eaten by Wild Leopards in Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa.

The Taphonomist´s Corner: Bone surface marks: beyond inferences of carcass consumption?

Volumen 9. Issue 3. Year 2011.

Suid Bone Marrow Yields and How They May Influence Resource Choice.

Diagenetic Changes in Pleistocene Mollusc Shells of the Patras-Corinth Rift (Greece).

Flaked Stone Taphonomy: a Controlled Experimental Study of the Effects of Sediment Consolidation on Flake Edge Morphology.

The Taphonomist´s Corner: Isognomon shell concentration.

Volumen 9. Issue 4. Year 2011.

Small Carnivore Skinning by Professionals:Skeletal Modifications and Implications for the European Upper Palaeolithic.

An Alternative Bilateral Refitting Model for Zooarchaeological Assemblage.

Taphonomic Analysis and Geometric Modelling for the Reconstitution of the Ediacaran Metazoan Corumbella werneri Hahn et al. 1982 (Tamengo Formation, Corumbá Basin, Brazil.

The Taphonomist´s Corner: The Fidelity of the Amber Preservation.