Search results for "taphonomy."
showing 10 items of 90 documents
Cartographie des restes osseux et conservation différentielle dans l'amas coquillier d'Ouessant "Mez Notariou": du Bronze moyen à la période romaine
2008
This article addresses the impacts of differential preservation in an alkaline shell midden (fig. 1) overlying an acid soil which does not allow bone to survive. This midden accumulated over an extended period and displays unusual traits attributable to practices of a ritual nature (Le Bihan et Méniel, 2002). Excavation extended to approximately 1000 square metres (fig. 2). Bone was collected on a quarter-metre grid by individual context (fig. 3). Some 35,000 animal and bird bones were recovered; fish bones, which were very numerous, are presently still under study. Consideration of the entire bone assemblage (fig. 8) indicates that the principal deposition occurred along the SW/NE axis of …
A taphonomic investigation of small vertebrate accumulations produced by the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) and its implications for fossil studies
2019
17 pages; International audience; The action of predators, such as diurnal raptors, owls, mammals or humans, influence the nature of smallvertebrate fossil assemblages but currently their taphonomic features are still poorly understood. In this study,we investigate the taphonomic signature of the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) based on an analysis of pelletscollected at breeding sites located in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. This taxon is widely distributedthrough the North Hemisphere and was an important predator in Pleistocene times. Taphonomic parameterssuggest that, contrary to previous assumptions, B. scandiacus produces, on average, moderate digestion of incisors,molars and post-cra…
Poggetti Vecchi (Tuscany, Italy): A late Middle Pleistocene case of human-elephant interaction
2019
Abstract A paleosurface with a concentration of wooden-, bone-, and stone-tools interspersed among an accumulation of fossil bones, largely belonging to the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus, was found at the bottom of a pool, fed by hot springs, that was excavated at Poggetti Vecchi, near Grosseto (Tuscany, Italy). The site is radiometrically dated to the late Middle Pleistocene, around 171,000 years BP. Notable is the association of the artifacts with the elephant bones, and in particular the presence of digging sticks made from boxwood (Buxus sp.). Although stone tools show evidence of use mainly on animal tissues, indicating some form of interaction between hominins and an…
‘Not All That Is White Is Lime’-White Substances from Archaeological Burial Contexts: Analyses and Interpretations
2019
Archaeological burial contexts may include a variety of white substances, but few analyses have been published. This study reports on the physico‐chemical characterization of such residues from seven archaeological sites. It is often assumed that white materials from burial contexts are lime. Our findings demonstrate that they can be gypsum, calcite (chalk), aragonite, brushite, degraded metal, natural (gum) resins or synthetic polymer–based products. These may be present as the result of diagenetic processes, funerary practices or modern contamination. This paper provides an analytical approach for the holistic investigation of white materials encountered in burial contexts.
Architectural effects on fossil preservation. The case of macaroni coralline algae
2020
Coralline red algae with protuberances in their thalli are common and instructive examples of fabricational effects on fossil preservation. The body (thallus) of non-geniculate coralline algae is a coherent mass of cell filaments. All vegetative cells, except the epithallial ones at the tip of each filament are enclosed by a high-Mg calcite wall. Many extant and extinct species of coralline algae have protuberances in their thalli. Protuberances appear both on the dorsal surface of algae that grow attached to a rigid substrate and in unattached specimens living on loose sediment. In either case, protuberances develop due to a higher growth rate of fi laments in their centre. In each growth …
SOLUTRENSES DEL SUR DE IBERIA EN TRANSICIÓN
2013
La cuestión de las relaciones tecnoeconómicas entre el Solutrense y los complejos que lo enmarcan (Gravetiense y Badeguliense) permanence abierta y condicionada por los procesos erosivos que coinciden con estos momentos en la mayoría de yacimientos de la región mediterránea ibérica. El análisis de las industrias líticas de Parpalló y Nerja, así como el conjunto de las dataciones radiocarbónicas permite una aproximación a estas relaciones y una evaluación crítica de su marco cronológico.The relationship between the Solutrean and the Gravettian and Badegoulian is still an open issue, and the analysis of this relationship in most sites appears to be conditioned by the effects of erosive proces…
Discrepancies between archaeological and 14C-based chronologies: problems and possible solutions
2018
14C dating of bone collagen is believed to produce the most reliable absolute dates for the Central European Early Neolithic, as the selection of bones in anatomical context minimises taphonomic problems. In contrast, a comparison of three newly published local or regional chronological models as well as a comparison of several series of dates from bone collagen, charcoal and cereals highlights problems probably caused by diagenetic influences, especially on collagen. Therefore, at least the checking of bone collagen 14C dates against charcoal or cereal dates from the same contexts seems to be indispensable.
Taphonomy of insects in carbonates and amber
2004
Abstract The major taphonomic processes that control insect preservation in carbonate rocks (limestones, travertines and nodules) are biological: insect size and wingspan, degree of decomposition, presence of microbial mats, predation and scavenging; environmental: water surface tension, water temperature, density and salinity, current activity; and diagenetic: authigenic mineralisation, flattening, deformation, carbonisation. The major taphonomic processes that control the preservation of insects in fossil resins (amber and copal) are different, but can be considered under the same headings – biological: presence of resin producers, size and behaviour of insects; environmental: latitude, c…
Taphonomical peculiarities and formation conditions of Baltic Devonian vertebrate fossil assemblages
2013
Devona mugurkaulnieku atrodņu tafonomiskais raksturojums un veidošanās apstākļi dienvidaustrumu Baltijā Pirmo reizi paleontoloģisko pētījumu vēsturē Baltijā ir veikta detalizēta Živetas, Franas un Famenas mugurkaulnieku atrodņu tafonomisko īpašību analīze, izmantojot mūsdienu metodiku. Savā starpā ir salīdzinātas vidējā un augšējā devona oriktocenozes Latvijas teritorijā, bet Baltijas (Galvenā devona lauka) fosiliju atrodnes ir salīdzinātas ar sakopojumiem Dienvidu Timanā. Ir secināts, ka, neskatoties uz tafonomisko pazīmju atšķirībām, Franas un Famenas klastiskās slāņkopas, kā arī vidus- un augšdevona mugurkaulnieku sakopojumu veidošanās mehānismi Baltijā ir bijuši visai līdzīgi. Ir noteik…
Indagini archeozoologiche della Palermo antica: la Gancia, Palazzo Bonagia e Via Imera.
L’analisi archeozoologica della Palermo medioevale qui presentata si inserisce nell’ambito degli studi di antropologia e di archeologia medievale che da oltre un decennio stanno interessando il centro storico della città. Il presente studio mira alla ricostruzione dell’ecologia umana durante il periodo di islamizzazione della Sicilia e di Palermo, attraverso l’analisi dei resti faunistici di tre siti inediti del centro storico di Palermo, la Gancia, Palazzo Bonagia e Via Imera, in un periodo compreso tra la fine del IX e il X sec. d.C., e l’analisi comparativa di resti provenienti da centri rurali siciliani, alcuni di questi databili fino al XV secolo. L’analisi ha messo in evidenza alcuni …