Taphonomy Annotated Bibliography (Updated 5/8/07)

Aaris-Sorensen, K. (1985). An example of taphonomic loss in a Mesolithic faunal assemblage. Animal Bone Archaeology. B. Hesse and P. Wapnish. Washington, D.C., Taraxacum: 243-247.

Agenbroad, L. D. (1989). "Spiral fractured mammoth bone from nonhuman taphonomic processes at Hot Springs Mammoth site." Bone Modification: 139-147.

Aird, P. M. (1985). On distinguishing butchery from other post-mortem destruction: a methodological experiment applied to a faunal sample from Roman Lincoln. Paleobiological Investigations: Research Design, Methods and Data Analysis. N. R. J. Fieller, D. D. Gilbertson and N. G. A. Ralph. Oxford, BAR International Series 266.

Alexander, A. J. and University of Michigan. Dept. of Geology and Mineralogy. (1982). Sedimentology and taphonomy of a Middle Clarkforkian (Early Eocene) fossil vertebrate locality, Fort Union Formation, Bighorn Basin, Wyoming: [thesis, MS in Geology]: vii, 115.

Alhaique, F. (1994). "Taphonomic analysis of the faunal remains from the "P" and "M" layers of the Arene Candide (Savona, Italy)." Upper Pleistocene Deposit of the Arene Candide Cave (Savona, Italy): New Studies on the 1940-42 Excavations: 263-295.

Alhaique, F. (1997). "Do patterns of bone breakage differ between cooked and uncooked bones? An experimental approach." Anthropozoologica 25: 49-56.

Alhaique, F. and C. Lemorini (1996). "Butchering with stone tools: an experimental approach to use wear analysis and taphonomic studies of the archaeological material from Grotta Breuil (Monte Circeo, Latium, Italy)." Reduction Processes ("Chaînes Opératoires") for the European Mousterian: 393-411.

Allison, P. A. and D. E. G. Briggs (1991). Taphonomy: releasing the data locked in the fossil record. New York, Plenum Press.

Andrews, P. (1990). Owls, caves and fossils: predation, preservation, and accumulation of small mammal bones in caves, with an analysis of the Pleistocene cave faunas from Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, UK. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

Andrews, P. (1995). "Experiments in taphonomy." Journal of Archaeological Science 22(2): 147-153.

Several long-term taphonomuc experiments are described with the aim of providing comparative data with which to interpret paleontological and archaeological sites. The study of taphonomy is an adjunct to site interpretation, especially the reconstruction of paleoecology, and an understanding of taphonomuc processes can only come about through actualistic and laboratory analyses. Experiments described include the Overton Down earthworkds (32-year-old buried bone); trampled bone from Draycott (17 years old); weathered amphibian bone also from Draycott (16 years old); surface-weathered bone from Arabia (following 10 years' exposure); bone dispersal, weathering, burial, burning, and scavenging in Rhulen, Wales (with many skeletons ranging from 1 to 20 years old); and finally a series of laboratory experiments set up to test particular processes. These included earthworm activity, abrasion, breakage, and predation on small mammals. Two examples are given at the end to show how the effects of these processes can be identified in the past, and how their identification can help to resolve particular issues in two paleontological sites. These are the middle Pleistocene deposits at Westbury-sub-Mendip, Somerset, and middle Miocene deposits at Pasalar, Turkey.

Audouze, F. and J. Enloe (1991). "Subsistence strategies and economy in the Magdalenian of the Paris basin, France." Late Glacial in North-West Europe: Human Adaptation and Environmental Change at the End of the Pleistocene: 63-71.

Badam, G. L. (1994). "Taphonomic studies of Quaternary mammalian fossils and modern carcasses from central, southern and western India." Man and Environment 19(1): 235-245.

Balek, C. L. (2002). "Buried artifacts in stable upland sites and the role of bioturbation: a review." Geoarchaeology 17(1): 41-51.

Bar-Oz, G. and T. Dayan (2002). ""After 20 years": a taphonomic re-evaluation of Nahal Hadera V, an Epipalaeolithic site on the Israeli coastal plain." Journal of Archaeological Science 29(2): 145-156.

Bar-Oz, G. and T. Dayan (2003). "Testing the use of multivariate inter-site taphonomic comparisons: the faunal analysis of Hefzibah in its Epipaleolithic cultural context." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(7): 885-900.

The results of a detailed zooarchaeological and taphonomic analysis of two faunal assemblages from Hefzibah (HEF), a major Geometric Kebaran open-air site on the central coastal plain of Isreal were compared with two other assemblages from the same general period, site type, and geographic region using multivariate taphonomic analyses. A comprehensie analysis of taphonomic evidence for each assemblage based on the comparison of 28 taphonomic variables points to a preservational bias that accounts for the apparent economic differences found in one of the four Epipaleolithic assemblages. Preservational indices, surface modification, bone density, and bone fragmentation indicate that inter-assemblage differences are related to post-depositional processes. These processes accounted for marked differences in species diversity, the presence of juveniles, and the proportion of small game. The marked difference in preservation highlights the potential role of taphonomic biases in producing overt patterns that bear no real cultural or economic significance in archaeozoological assemblages. High similarity in the length of fresh percussion fractures, the ratio and distribution of butchery marks, and prey body part representation suggest that analogous traditions of food transport, preparation, and processing.

Barton, C. M., J. Bernabeu, et al. (2004). "Long-Term Socioecology and Contingent Landscape." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 11(3): 253-295.

Bartram, L. E. J. and C. W. Marean (1999). "Explaining the "Klasies Pattern": Kua ethnoarchaeology, the Die Kelders Middle Stone Age archaeofauna, long bone fragmentation and carnivore ravaging." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(1): 9-29.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. (1975). The taphonomy and paleoecology of Plio-Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages east of Lake Rudolf, Kenya. Cambridge.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. (1978). "Taphonomic and ecologic information from bone weathering." Paleobiology 4(2): 150-162.

Bones of recent mammals in the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya, exhibit distinctive weathering characteristics that can be related to the time since death and to local conditions of temperature, humidity, and soil chemistry. A categorization of weathering characteristics into six stages, recognizeable on descriptive criteria, provides a basis for investigation of weathering rates and processes. The time necessary to achieve each successive weathering stage has been calirated using known-age carcasses. Most bones decompose beyond recognition in 10 to 15 yr. Bones of animal under 100 kg and juveniles appear to weather more rapidly than bones of large animals or adults. Smallr-scale rather than widespread environmental factors seem to have greatest influence on weathering characteristics and rates. Bone weathering is potentially valuable as evidence for the period of time represented in recent or fossil bone assemblages, including those on archaeological sites, and may also be an important tool in censusing populations of animals in modern ecosystems.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. (1984). "Taphonomy and the fossil record." American Scientist 72(November-December): 558-566.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. (1993). Discussion: noncultural processes. From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. J. Hudson. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 342-348.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. and D. E. D. Boaz The recent bones of Amboseli Park, Kenya, in relation to East African Paleoecology.

Behrensmeyer, A. K. and A. P. Hill (1988). Fossils in the Making: Vertebrate Taphonomy and Paleoecology. Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press.

Behrensmeyer, A. K., A. P. Hill, et al. (1980). Fossils in the making: vertebrate taphonomy and paleoecology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

Beisaw, A. M. (1998). Differential preservation and recovery: taphonomy of bone preservation at the Thomas/Luckey site, Ashland, NY.

Bell, L. S. (1990). "Palaeopathology and Diagenesis: An SEM evaluation of structural changes using backscattered electron imaging." Journal of Archaeological Science 17: 85-102.

This study addresses the problem of diagenetic changes in normal and paleopathological human skeletal material.. Invasive sections were taken from adult human femora and tibiae for a structural and qualitative assessment of bone density changes using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) in backsacatter electron (BSE) mode. The results obtained suggest that macroscopic and X-ray interpretations of archaeological bone, both normal and pathological, run the risk of misinterpretation due to its extensive diagenetic change. The progression of diagenesis was found to be ordered to some extent by collagenous arrangement of bone and so potentially affected by any bone pathology present.

Benefit, B. R. (1994). "Phylogenetic, paleodemographic, and taphonomic implications of Victoriapithecus deciduous teeth from Maboko, Kenya." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 95(3): 277-331.

Bennett, J. L. (1999). "Thermal alteration of buried bone." Journal of Archaeological Science 26: 1-8.

Burned bone is a common component of archaeological deposits traditionally associated with cremations, culinary activities, waste disposal, fuel use and a by-product of naturally occuring fires. Such interpretations assume responsible agents act upon bone prior to deposition or burial. This sequential relationship between heating and burial is challenged by the suggestion that post-burial alteration of bone is not only possible, but can serve to explain the condition of burned material recovered in certain situations.

Exposure to heat following burial incorporates several additiona variables. The sediment in which bone is deposited, duration of exposure to a heat source, and the interval between burial and burning affect the degree nd extent of thermal alteration. Experiments have been conducted to test the hypotheses and parameters surrounding subsurface (i.e. post burial) alteration by surface fires.

Bernabeu Auban, J., C. M. Barton, et al. (2001). "Taphonomic perspective on Neolithic beginnings: theory, interpretation, and empirical data in the western Mediterranean." Journal of Archaeological Science 28(6): 597-612.

Bethell, P. H. and M. O. H. Carver (1987). Detection and enhancement of decayed inhumations at Sutton Hoo. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction: Approaches to Archaeology and Forensic Science. A. Boddington, A. N. Garland and R. C. Janaway. U.K., Manchester University Press: 10-21.

Binford, L. R. (1965). "Radiometric analysis of bone and soil material from Lloyd's Rock Hole, Bedford County, Pennsylvania." Studies in the natural radioactivity of prehistoric materials: 32-40.

Binford, L. R. (1978). Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology. New York, Academic Press.

Binford, L. R. (1981). Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Myths. New York, Academic Press.

Binford, L. R. (1984). "Butchering, sharing, and the archaeological record." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 3(3): 235-257.

Richard Gould has recently advocated certain methodological positions he considers to be appropriate to the field of arhcaeology. These positions have been placed in critical contrast to propositions which this author allegedly advocates with regard to archaeological method and theory. This paper seeks to correct Gould's representation of this author's views and to place in a broader perspective the suggestions which he has offered to the field for consideration.

Binford, L. R. (1984). "Bones of contention: a reply to Glynn Isaac [review of Bones: ancient men and modern myths]." American Antiquity 47(1): 164-167.

Binford, L. R. and J. B. Betram (1977). Bone Frequencies and Attritional Processes. For Theory Building in Archaeology. L. R. Binford. New York, Academic Press: 77-153.

Binford, L. R. and C.-K. Ho (1985). "Taphonomy at a distance: Zhoukoudian, "The cave home of Beijing man"?" Current Anthropology 26(4): 413-442.

Binford, L. R., M. G. L. Mills, et al. (1988). "Hyena scavenging behavior and its implications for the interpretation of faunal assemblages from FLK 22 (the Zinj floor) at Olduvai Gorge." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 7(2): 99-135.

None

Black, A. T. (1989). The effects of cooking on the fracture pattern of bovine bone: a microstructural study. Anthropology. Binghamton, State University of New York at Binghamton: xi, 154 leaves.

Blumenschine, R. J. (1986). "Carcass consumption sequences and the archaeological distinction of scavenging and hunting." Journal of Human Evolution 15(8): 639-659.

Blumenschine, R. J. (1988). "Experimental model of the timing of hominid and carnivore influence on archaeological bone assemblages." Journal of Archaeological Science 15(5): 483-502.

Experiments were conducted to assess the timing of carnivore and hominid influence on arhcaeological bone assemblages. The results of disturbamce by mainly spotted hyenas to simulate archaeological assemblages of hammerstone-broken bovid limb bones show that assemblages accumulated and fed upon by hominids first will nonetheless still be attractive to bone-ravaging carnivores. Such experimental assemblages usually show a virtually complete deletion of epiphyseal fragments, and a maximum incidence of tooth-marked long bone fragments of 45%, with an average of approximately 15%. The results therefore provide for the first time a quantified explaination of how an archaeological bone assemblage can come to bear traces of both taphonomic agents. Assemblages accumulated and fed upon first by spotted hyenas, in contrast, preserve an incidence of tooth-marked long bone fragments in excess of 67% and average approximately 82%. The different intensities of tooth marking are accompanied by equally distinctive incidences of features of hammerstone breakage. Within constraints imposed by physical taphonomic and other factors, these criteria provide a means for testing the primacy of hominids over carnivores in the accumulation of fossil bone assemblages.

Blumenschine, R. J. (1989). "Landscape taphonomic model of the scale of prehistoric scavenging oppurtunities." Journal of Human Evolution 18(4): 345-371.

Blumenschine, R. J. (1995). "Percussion marks, tooth marks, and experimental determinations of the timing of hominid and carnivore access to long bones at FLK Zinjanthropus, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania." Journal of Human Evolution 29(1): 21-51.

Blumenschine, R. J., S. D. Capaldo, et al. (1994). "Competition for carcasses and early hominid behavioral ecology: a case study and conceptual framework." Journal of Human Evolution 27(1): 197-213.

Blumenschine, R. J. and C. W. Marean (1993). Carnivore's view of archaeological bone assemblages. From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. J. Hudson. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 273-300.

Blumenschine, R. J. and C. W. Marean (1993). "Carnivore's view of archaeological bone assemblages." From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains: 273-300.

Blumenschine, R. J., C. W. Marean, et al. (1996). "Blind tests of inter-analyst correspondence and accuracy in the identification of cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks on bone surfaces." Journal of Archaeological Science 23(4): 493-507.

We show through blind tests that marks inflicted on bone surfaces by carnivore teeth, hammerstone percussion, and metal knife cutting and scraping can be distinguished with near perfect reliability without scanning electron microscopy or consideration of only conspicuous marks. Using low-cost and high-volume hand lens and low power light microscope techniques, we determined the presence or absence of conspicuous and inconspicuous marks with 97% three-way correspondence, and diagnosed marks of unknown origin to actor and effector with 99% accuracy. Novices with less than 3 h training on control collections correctly diagnosed 86% of classic but mainly inconspicuous marks. Novices spending several more hours studying control specimens elevated their diagnostic accuracy on morphologically representative marks to near-expert levels of 95%.

Our results show that ppublished cautions about mimicry among cut marks, percussion marks, and carnivore tooth marks are overstated. All types of marks examined can be identified reliably, regardless of conspicuousness. As such, fully standardized comparisons of mark frequencies can be drawn among assemblages, even those documented by different analysts. However, such robust interpretations can be attained only if analysts base diagnoses on (a) a firm familiarity with bones marked under strictly controlled conditions, (b) the systematic application of published morphological and contextural criteria, and (c) the use of prescribed low-power magnification techniques.

Blumenschine, R. J. and M. M. Selvaggio (1991). "On the marks of marrow bone processing by hammerstones and hyenas: their anatomical patterning and archaeological implications." Cultural Beginnings: Approaches to Understanding Early Hominid Life-ways in the African Savanna: 17-32.

Boaz, D. E. D. (1994). Taphonomy and the Fluvial Environment: Examples from Pliocene deposits of the Shungura Formation, Omo Basin, Ethiopia. Integrative Paths to the Past. R. S. Corruccini and R. L. Ciochon. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall.

Bocek, B. (1986). "Rodent ecology and burrowing behavior: predicted effects on archaeological site formation." American Antiquity 51(3): 589-603.

Studies of burrowing rodent ecology are reviewed to identify the dynamics of rodent disturbance and to predict its impact on arhcaeological deposits. Data from a central California site are used to evaluate the proposed effects of rodent behavior. Burrowing activity appears to segregate soil contents by size, causing artificial concentrations of small materials near the surface, and larger materials at depths between 30 and 60 cm. Despite extensive stratigraphic disturbance, rodent burrowing seems to have minimal effects on horizontal material distributions.

Bochenski, Z. M. (1990). "The food of suburban Tawny Owls on the background of birds and mammals occurring in the hunting territory." Acta zool. cracov. 33(9): 149-171.

Bochenski, Z. M. (1997). "Preliminary taphonomic studies on damage to bird bones by Snowy Owls Nyctea scandiaca, with comments on the survival of bones in paleontological sites." Acta zool. cracov. 40(2): 279-292.

Bochenski, Z. M., K. Huhtala, et al. (1998). "Damage to bird bones in pellets of gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus." Journal of Archaeological Science 25(5): 425-433.

Bochenski, Z. M., K. Huhtala, et al. (1999). "Fragmentation and preservation of bird bones in food remains of the Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos." Archaeofauna 8: 31-39.

Bochenski, Z. M., V. A. Korovin, et al. (1997). "Fragmentation of bird bones in food remains of imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca)." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7(2): 165-171.

Fragmentation of bird bones in pellets and uneaten food remains of imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca) was studied. The degree of fragmentation was higher than that produced by owls and lower than that in gyrfalcons. There were significant differences between pellets and uneaten remains in the survival of bones and their fragmentation.

Bochenski, Z. M. and T. Tomek (1994). "Pattern of bird bone fragmentation in pellets of the Long-eared Owl Asio otus and its taphonomic implications." Acta zool. cracov. 37(1): 177-190.

Bochenski, Z. M. and T. Tomek (1997). "Preservation of bird bones: Erosion versus digestion by owls." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7: 372-387.

Bochenski, Z. M., T. Tomek, et al. (1993). "Patterns of bird bone fragmentation in pellets of the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) and the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) and their taphonomic implications." Acta zool. cracov. 36(2): 313-328.

Boddington, A., A. N. Garland, et al. (1987). Death, decay, and reconstruction: approaches to archaeology and forensic science. Manchester, UK ; [Wolfeboro, NH, USA], Manchester University Press.

Boddington, A., A. N. Garland, et al. (1987). Flesh, bones, dust, and society. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction: Approaches to Archaeology and Forensic Science. A. Boddington, A. N. Garland and R. C. Janaway. UK, Manchester University Press: 3-9.

Boessneck, J., y. S. LaBianca, et al. (1995). Faunal remains: taphonomical and zooarchaeological studies of the animal remains from Tell Hesban and vicinity. Berrien Springs, Mich., Andrews University Press in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology Andrews University.

Bonnichsen, R. (1983). "Broken bone controversy: some issues important for the study of early archaeological sites." Proceedings - Annual conference of the Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary(5): 271-284.

Bonnichsen, R. (1988). "Archaeological taphonomy." Current Research in the Pleistocene 5: 39-41.

Bonnichsen, R. (1989). Construction of taphonomic models: theory, assumptions, and procedures. Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans: 515-526.

Bonnichsen, R. (1989). Introduction to taphonomy with an archaeological focus. Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans: 1-5.

Bonnichsen, R., M. H. Sorg, et al. (1989). Bone modification. Orono, Me., Center for the Study of the First Americans Institute for Quaternary Studies University of Maine.

Borrero, L. A. (1988). "Guanaco indexes: their implications for the study of other ungulates." Current Research in the Pleistocene 5: 63-64.

Bovy, K. M. (2002). "Differential avian skeletal part distribution: explaining the abundance of wings." Journal of Archaeological Science 29(9): 965-978.

An abundance of wings relative to other skeletal parts has been observed in avifaunal assemblages from many different types of archaeological sites from numerous locations around the world and of various time periods. Both cultural and post-depositional hypotheses have been proposed to explain this pattern. One of the most powerful explainations to account for this phenomenon is differential survival of avian elements due to bone density. Although bone density has not been systematically measured for all types of birds, I test this hypothesis using predictions derived from observations about the functional anatomy of birds using archaeological data from numerous sites in the PAcific Northwest Coast (U.S.A.). I conclude that the density hypothesis is not supported at these sites and that other hypotheses must be examined further.

Bowdery, D., M.-J. Mountain, et al. (1999). Taphonomy: the analysis of processes from Phytoliths to Megafauna. Canberra, ANH Publications Dept. of Archaeology and Natural History RSPAS the Australian National University.

Brain, C. K. (1981). The Hunters or the Hunted? An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

Brink, J. W. (1997). "Fat content in leg bones of Bison bison, and applications to archaeology." Journal of Archaeological Science 24(3): 259-274.

Brinkhuizen, D. C. and A. T. Clason, Eds. (1986). Fish and Archaeology: Studies in Osteometry, Taphonomy, Seasonality and Fishing Methods. British archaeological reports. International series, 294. Oxford, BAR.

Bromage, T. G., J. M. Bermudez de Castro, et al. (1991). "The SEM in taphonomic research and its application to studies of cutmarks generally and the determination of handedness specifically." Anthropologie 29(3): 163-169.

Bromley, R. G. (1990). Trace fossils: biology and taphonomy. London [England] ; Boston, Unwin Hyman.

Bromley, R. G. (1996). Trace fossils: biology, taphonomy and applications. London [England] ; New York, Chapman & Hall.

Brothwell, D. R. (1992). "Bones and beyond bones: Insects, stains, and keratin remains." Circaea 9(1): 15-16.

Buenger, B. A. (2001). "Patterns of appendicular skeletal disarticulation: a taphonomic investigation of the Hudson-Meng bonebed." Plains Anthropologist 46(175): 39-54.

Information from published taphonomic research concerning bison disarticulation frequencies is compared with additional primary data from several recent bison mortality sites to aid in the assessment of patterns of appendicular skeletal disarticulation within a large Paleoindian bison bonebed.

Bunn, H. T. (1991). "Taphonomic perspective on the archaeology of human origins." Annual Review of Anthropology 20: 433-467.

Bunn, H. T., L. E. Bartram, et al. (1991). "Bone distribution on a modern East African landscape and its archaeological implications." Cultural Beginnings: Approaches to Understanding Early Hominid Life-ways in the African Savanna: 33-54.

Bunn, H. T., E. M. Kroll, et al. (1988). "Variability in bone assemblage formation from Hadza hunting, scavenging, and carcass processing." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 7(4): 412-457.

None

Burton, J. H. (1996). Trace Elements in Bone as Paleodietary Indicators. Archaeological Chemistry. M. V. Orna. Washington. D.C., American Chemical Society Press: 327-333.

Because bone levels of barium and strontium decrease with an organismÕs increasing position in the food chain, they are used by archaeologists to estimate past consumption of plants versus meat. While the Ba/Ca snd Sr/Ca ratios in bone reflect their dietary ratios, factors other than trophic position affect dietary and, hence, bone ratios. Dietary Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca are affected not only by the Ba and Sr content of any specific food but also by the relative contribution of that food to the pool of bone forming cations: Ca+Sr+Ba@Ca. This implies that foods high in calcium, such as leafy vegetables, will contribute most of the bone-forming minerals, and dominate bone composition, even when present in minor amounts. thus bone composition should not be interpreted as a proportional meat/plant measure but as a characterization of whatever foods contribute the most calcium.

Burton, J. H., T. D. Price, et al. (1999). "Correlation of bone Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca due to biological purification of calcium." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(6): 609-616.

Butler, V. L. (1993). "Natural versus cultural Salmonid remains: origins of the Dalles Roadcut bones, Columbia River, Oregon, U.S.A." Journal of Archaeological Science 20(1): 1-24.

The most secure evidence for early Holocene fishing in Pacific North-western North America resides in the huge deposits of 9500-7600-year-old salmonid remains from The Dalles Roadcut site (Columbia River, Oregon). REcently the cultural origin for the fish remains has been challenged. Here, criteria for distinguishing natural (fluvial) from cultural salmonid deposits are developed in order to determine the agents responsible for the Roadcut faunal materials. Comparative analysis of one natural and three cultural assemblages from riverine settings indicates that body-part representation and skeletal completeness vary between natural and cultural settings. Analysis of the Roadcut assemblage suggests the salmonid deposit resulted from largely cultural processes, although the strength of this conclusion is weakened by significant curational biases with the collection.

Butler, V. L. (1996). "Tui chub taphonomy and the importance of marsh resources in the western Great Basin of North America." American Antiquity 61(4): 699-717.

Debates about the importance of marsh resources to prehistoric human subsistence in the western Great Basin are long-standing. Recen t questions regarding the natural vs. cultural origin of fish remains in lakeside archaeological sites further impede understanding of ancient subsistence patterns. Taphonomic study of a huge assemblage of tui chub (Gila bicolor) remains from an archaeological site in Stillwater Marsh, western Nevada, was undertaken to identify agents of deposition in marsh settings. The Stillwater fish remains showed limited surface modification - cut marks, burning, and digestive etching and staining - and thus these attributes were not useful indicators of origin. Fish mortality profiles, reconstructed by regression analysis of body size, indicates cultural selection of young/small fish rather than natural catastrophic mass death. The low survivorship of vertebrae in the chub assemblage suggests differential treatment of cranial and postcranial body parts by cultural agents. The Stillwater site fish assemblage represents a vast number of small fish; the presence of small tui chub from archaeological sites throughout the western Great Basin suggests that prehistoric fishers targeted relatively small chub in the subsistence quest.

Butler, V. L. and J. C. Chatters (1994). "Role of bone density in structuring prehistoric salmon bone assemblages." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(3): 413-424.

Archaeologists working in north-western North America often suggest that the low frequency of salmon cranial elements and abundance of vertebrae in prehistoric deposits reflects the cultural use of stored fish. While empirical documentation of salmon storage is certainly important, a variety of noncultural factors, particularly bone density, should be considered in interpreting body part frequencies. Bone densities of representative cranial and postcranial elements from 10 chinook salmon were measured using X-ray absorptiometry. Except for the otolith, most cranial elements have lower densities than postcranial bones. The role of bone density in structuring prehistoric salmon assemblages is explored through comparisons of density measures with element survivorships in three archaeological assemblages with low cranial element survivorship. The scarcity of cranial elements in two of the assemblages is best explained by density-mediated destruction, while cultural processing probably accounts for the dearth of head bones in the third assemblage.

Butler, V. L. and R. A. Schroeder (1998). "Do digestive processes leave diagnostic traces on fish bones?" Journal of Archaeological Science 25(10): 957-971.

This study examines the extent to which fish remains are affected by digestive processes and includes experimental and comparative analysis of tui chub (Cyprinidae: gila bicolor) fish remains from modern human feeding experiments, modern coyote scates and archaeological human coprolites. Body part representation varies across the samples, but overall bone loss resulting from digestive process is less than that documented for fish remains in previous studies. Selected elements are examined for surface modifications (pitting, rounding, adhering tissue, staining, deformation) and degree of completeness. REsults show that digestive processes often modify specimens, but that many remains are unaffected. Remains that pass through human and coyote digestive tracts are similarly modified, thus distinguishing fish remains generated by the two agents is not possible using the attributes described. A sample of fish remains from western Nevada is examined for surface modification and specimen completeness to determine whether the fish remains were modified by digestive agents. Results show that at least some of the fish fauna had been ingested by mammals.

Byers, D. A. (2002). "Paleoindian fat-seeking behavior: evidence from the Hell Gap Site, Locality II Agate Basin faunal assemblage." Plains Anthropologist 47(183): 359-377.

Analysis of the Agate Basin component faunal remains from the Hell Gap Site (48GO305) Locality II suggests that the assemblage results from a multi-dimensional formational history. Comparisons of skeletal element frequencies with models of density-mediated attrition, bison settling velocities, and several nutritional utility indices indicate that both fluvial action and the transport of high marrow value elements from kill sites to the residential base in the Hell Gap Valley may have contributed to assemblage composition. Observations of impact related conchoidal flake scars document the intensive secondary processing of long bone elements. Although skeletal part frequencies likely document several taphonomic processes, when viewed together with bone modifications they suggest that the Agate Basin Paleoindians responsible for the Locality II deposits may have practiced a fat-seeking feeding strategy stressing the transport of high bulk protein/skeletal fat utility bison parts from kill sites to the residential base at Locality II.

Byers, D. A. (2002). "Taphonomic analysis, associational integrity, and depositional history of the Fetterman Mammoth, eastern Wyoming, U.S.A." Geoarchaeology 17(5): 417-440.

Cameron, D. W. (1999). "The Sinap Formation Project: taphonomic studies at Igbek Locality 49, central Turkey." Taphonomy: The Analysis of Processes from Phytoliths to Megafauna: 79-82.

Cannon, M. D. (1999). "A mathematical model of the effects of screen size on zooarcheological relative abundance measures." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(2): 205-214.

Capaldo, S. D. (1997). "Experimental determinations of carcass processing by Plio-Pleistocene hominids and carnivores at FLK 22 (Zinjanthropus), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania." Journal of Human Evolution 33(5): 555-597.

Published and unpublished skeletal and surface mark data from the large, well-preserved, bovid dominated FLK 22 (Zinjanthropus) archaeofauna are analyzed using data derived from four different experimental control samples. The control samples are realistic because they are based on natural history and paleoecological data collected from FLK 22, and other Olduvai Gorge assemblages; they are precise because independent experimental studies following the same methods have generated the same results; and they restore generality to the study of site formation because each one models a different hominid and/or carnivore scenario of site formation. Comparability between FLK 22 and the control samples is established by excluding specimens from the former which do not meet identification and reporting standards derived from the latter. As in two previous studies, a comprehensive analysis of tooth marks and tool marks on long bone specimens from FLK 22 indicates that they were processed in three stages. In stage one, carnivores defleshed long bones, as inferred from the high percentage of tooth marks on midshaft fragments. In stage two, hominids processed intact long bones for marrow, as inferred from percussion mark percentages. Cut marks suggest that long bones retained flesh, but the amount, as yet, cannot be determined using cut mark percentages. In stage three, carnivores processed long bone epiphyses for grease, as inferred from the under-representation of long bone epiphyses and the high percentage of tooth marks on near-epiphyses and surviving epiphyses. The lack of comprehensive skeletal and surface mark data on cranial, axial, compact, and other specimens currently limits the application of experimental results. However, the available data suggest that the condition and representation of these items in the FLK 22 assemblage are also consistent with a carnivore to hominid to carnivore sequence of site formation. The variety of elements present, and their extensive processing by hominids, indicates that FLK 22 functioned as a central place/refuge where hominids could transport a variety of carcass parts and process them in an unhurried fashion. The presence of numerous small and medium sized individuals also indicates that hominids could have passively scavenged carcasses from a number of different sources including lions, leopards, sabertooth cats, and mass drownings.

Capaldo, S. D. (1998). "Methods, marks, and models for inferring hominid and carnivore behavior." Journal of Human Evolution 35(3): 317-320.

None-response article

Capaldo, S. D. and R. J. Blumenschine (1994). "Quantitative diagnosis of notches made by hammerstone percussion and carnivore gnawing on bovid long bones." American Antiquity 59(4): 724-748.

The frequency and morphology of notches produced on bovid long bones by carnivore gnawing (tooth notches) and hammerstone-on-anvil breakage (percussion notches) are quantified. Notches are semicircular- to arcuate-shaped indentations on fracture edges with corresponding negative flake scars on medullary surfaces. We restrict our analysis to notches produced under controlled conditions by either carnivores or hammerstones when diaphyses are breached to extract marrow. Percussion notches are characteristically more frequent, and, in cortical view, are broader and shallower than tooth notches. The flakes removed from percussion notches are typically broader and have a more obtuse release angle than those removed from tooth notches. These morphological differences are statistically significant for notches on Bovid Size 1 and 2 long bones but not on Bovid Size 3 long bones,

Carter, S. P. (1990). "Stratification and taphonomy of shells in calcareous soils: implications for land snail analysis in archaeology." Journal of Archaeological Science 17(5): 495-507.

Cassoli, P. F., I. Fiore, et al. (1997). "Butchery and exploitation of large mammals in the Epigravettian levels of Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Italy)." Anthropozoologica 25: 309-318.

Casteel, R. W. (1976). "Comparison of column and whole unit samples for recovering fish remains." World Archaeology 8(2): 192-198.

Comparisons were made between fish faunas recovered from entire excavation units and sorted in the field by the excavators and fish faunas from column samples recovered in the same units and examined in the laboratory with the aid of a microscope. The results indicated that the smaller column samples provided adequate control for defining the number of species utilized and often surpassed the whole unit analyses by showing the presence of smaller individuals of species not recovered from the larger units. Microscopic examination of small samples appears to provide a much needed addition to the commonly utilized methods of sampling fish faunas.

Child, A. M. (1996). Amino acid racemization and the effects of microbial diagenesis. Archaeological Chemistry. M. V. Orna. Washington, D.C., A merican Chemical Society Press: 366-377.

Proteins extracted from both bones and teeth found in archaeological contexts are used for radiocarbon dating, amino acid racemization age at death determinations and genetic and dietary studies. This archaeometric information is only reliable when it is certain that the diagenetic changes inherent in the extracted proteins are minimal, or atleast, defined. The changes induced in these proteins as a result of decomposition by known microorganisms have been little studied, however, and definitions of the limits of possible diagenetic changes cannot therefore be certain. This paper attempts to address the possibility that amino acid residues in bone collagen are susceptible to an increased rate of aspartic acid racemization due to microbial degradation. Using microorganisms previously isolated from bones and teeth taken from archaeological sources, decomposition studies were done and the results are outlines below.

Child, A. M., R. D. Gillard, et al. (1993). "Microbially-induced promotion of amino acid racemization in bone:Isolation of the microorganisms and the detection of their enzymes." Journal of Archaeological Science 20: 159-168.

Coard, R. (1999). "One bone, two bones, wet bones, dry bones: transport potentials under experimental conditions." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(11): 1369-1375.

Flume experiments demonstrated that bones had varying hydraulic transport potentials depending on whether the bones were wet or dry, articulated or disarticulated when placed into a water flow. Dry and articulated bones demonstrated the greatest transport potential, while wet and disarticulated bones demostrated the least. The velocity at which bones were transported was plotted against a range of attributes such as the shape, weight, volume and density of the bones with varying degrees of success. Although several attributes did prove to be significant as indicators of bone transport potential, no single attriibute emerged as more useful than another.

Coles, J. (1979). Experimental Archaeology. New York, Academic Press.

Colley, S. M. (1986). Site formation and archaeological fish remains. An ethnohistorical example from the Northern Isles, Scotland. Fish and Archaeology: Studies in osteometry, taphonomy, seasonality and fishing methods. D. C. Brinkhuizen and A. T. Clason. Oxford: 18-33.

Collings, M. J., M. S. Riley, et al. (1995). "Basic mathematical simulation of the chemical degradation of ancient collagen." Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 175-183.

Connor, M. A. and K. P. Cannon (1991). "Forest fires as a site formation process in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Wyoming." Archaeology in Montana 32(2): 1-14.

Crandall, B. D. and P. W. Stahl (1995). "Human digestive effects on a micromammalian skeleton." Journal of Archaeological Science 22(6): 789-797.

This study describes the results of an experiment involving the consumption of a skinned, eviscerated, and segmented insectivore by an adult human male. Bone remains from recovered fecal contets are examined for skeletal element representation, breakage, and digestive damage. Detailed examination of each category suggests severe skeletal attrition which is comparable to, and at time in excess of, the damage exhibited in microvertebrate skeletal accumulations originating from the scats of small mammalian carnivores.

Cruz, I. and D. Elkin (2002). "Structural bone density of the Lesser Rhea (Pterocnemia pennata) (Aves: Rheidae): taphonomic and archaeological implications." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(1): 37-44.

Cruz-Uribe, K. and R. G. Klein (1994). "Chew marks and cut marks on animal bones from the Kasteelberg B and Dune Field Midden Later Stone Age sites, western Cape Province, South Africa." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(1): 35-49.

D'Andrea, A., R. Gallotti, et al. (2002). "Taphonomic interpretation of the Developed Oldowan site of Garba IV (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) through a GIS application." Antiquity 76(294): 991-1001.

D'Errico, F. (1993). "Criteria for identifying utilised bone: the case of the Cantabrian "tensors"." Current Anthropology 34(3): 298-311.

None

D'Errico, F., B. Giacobini, et al. (1984). "An experimental study of the technology of bone-implement manufacture." MASCA journal 3(3): 71-74.

d'Errico, F., C. S. Henshilwood, et al. (2003). "Archaeological evidence for the emergence of language, symbolism, and music: an alternative multidisciplinary perspective." Journal of World Prehistory 17(1): 1-70.

In recent years, there has been a tendency to correlate the origin of modern culture and language with that of anatomically modern humans. Here we discuss this correlation in the light of results provided by our first hand analysis of ancient and recently discovered relevant archaeological and paleontological material from Africa and Europe. We focus in particular on the evolutionary significance of lithic and bone technology, the emergence of symbolism, Neandertal behavioral patterns, the identification of early mortuary practices, the anatomical evidence for the acquisition of language, the development of conscious symbolic storage, the emergence of musical traditions, and the archaeological evidence for the diversification of languages during the Upper Paleolithic. This critical reappraisal contradicts the hypothesis of a symbolic revolution coinciding with the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago, but also highlights inconsistencies in the anatomically–culturally modern equation and the potential contribution of anatomically “pre-modern” human populations to the emergence of these abilities. No firm evidence of conscious symbolic storage and musical traditions are found before the Upper Paleolithic. However, the oldest known European objects that testify to these practices already show a high degree of complexity and geographic variability suggestive of possible earlier, and still unrecorded, phases of development.

Denecan, W. M. (1992). "The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82(3): 369-385.

Deocampo, D. M., R. J. Blumenschine, et al. (2002). "Wetland diagenesis and traces of early hominids, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania." Quaternary Research 57(2): 271-281.

Dixon, E. J. and G. S. Smith (1986). "Broken canines from Alaskan cave deposits: re- evaluating evidence for domesticated dog and early humans in Alaska." American Antiquity 51(2): 341-351.

Broken canines from two caves on the Porcupine River, Alaska are analyzed with respect to size, development, morphology, breakage pattern, and stratigraphic placement. These analyses indicate that they are deciduous bear teeth exfoliated in these caves through noncultural processes associated with dental development. Similarity of these teeth to canines recovered from various levels at Trail Creek Caves 2 and 9, on the Seward Penninsula, Alaska (Larsen 1968:58), indicates that the Trail Creek specimens (including specimens from levels dating to the late Pleistocene) are also naturally exfoliated bear teeth and not dog canines (Canis familiaris) broken out by human beings, as originally suggested.

Dodson, P. (1970). Sedimentology and taphonomy of the Oldman formation (Campanian), Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta.

Domínguez Rodrigo, M. (2003). "On cut marks and statistical inferences: methodological comments on Lupo & O'Connell (2002)." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(3): 381-386.

Lupo & O'Connell (2002) have argued recently that the distributions of cut and tooth marks on the bones of archaeofaunas from the East African archaeological record cannot be properly interpreted because the empirical basis for behavioral inferences lacks resolution. This statement is based on statistical tests that have assumed homogeneity for heterogenous sampling procedures. This work will show corrected data and new tests contradicting some of Lupo & O'Connell's conclusions. It will also explain why the statistical tests applied by Lupo & O'Connell do not warrant O'Connell's conclusions. It will also explain why the statistical tests applied by Lupo & O'Connell do not warrant interpretations stemming from their results.

Dunbar, J. S., D. Cring, et al. (1989). Culturally and naturally modified bones from a Paleoindian site in the Aucilla River, north Florida. Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans: 473-497.

Dunnel, R. C. and J. F. Simek (1995). "Artifact size and plowzone processes." Journal of Field Archaeology 22: 305-319.

Theoretical consideration of the formation of plowzone archaeological deposits implicates artifact size as an important and heretofore under-used source of information. Modality in size distributions of degradeable artifacts such as low fired pottery and bone indicates the addition of stratigraphically deeper materials to a plowzone assemblage. This means that different ages and/or depositional contexts are mixed in such assemblages. With sufficiently large and well controlled samples, the location and characterization of subplowzone deposits may be possible from the analysis of size distributions of surface materials alone. Application to a Òworst caseÓ surface assemblage from SE Missouri demonstrates the feasibility of the approach.

During, E. M. and L. Nilsson (1991). "Mechanical surface analysis of bone: a case study of cut marks and enamel hypoplasia on a Neolithic cranium from Sweden." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 84(2): 113-125.

Elder, R. L. (1985). Principles of Aquatic Taphonomy with Examples from the Fossil Record (Biostratinomy, Lake Sedimentation, Paleolimnology, Paleoichthyology, Vertebrate Paleontology).

Taphonomy has two proximate goals: description of ancient biological interactions and description of ancient environments. The first goal requires evaluating biotic data--population dynamics, mortality, life history, faunal turnover--by discovering and correcting for sources of bias in the fossil record. The second goal, description of ancient depositional systems and climatic conditions, uses fossil preservation patterns and Recent analogues as independent tests of inferences based on other geologic or

climatic evidence.

The sources of taphonomic information are fossils and their depositional context. The biotic processes of decay and disarticulation destroy information about organisms but, upon burial, add information about the biological and geological nature of the environment. This study is an experimental approach to environmental description in quiet-water systems.

Experimental observation of decaying fish under different conditions of temperature, depth, scavengers, and currents has revealed the following basic patterns. Above 15(DEGREES)C fish carcasses float from accumulated decay gas and will drop elements on the substrate. Below 15(DEGREES)C fish tend not to float. Increased depth (>10 m) can delay or prevent floating at higher temperatures. Thus articulated fish fossils may be inferred to have settled into cold or deep water. Partially articulated or closely

associated, disarticulated sets of bones imply disturbance of the carcass on the substrate. Patterns of scavenger versus current disruption can be distinguished by multi- versus unimodal dispersion directions and the absence or presence of hydrodynamic sorting of elements. In general, preservation is controlled by the amount of water in the system, the kinetic energy, the intrinsic strength of the organism's tissues, and the amount of time during which taphonomic processes act.

The examples chosen represent a spectrum of preservation types from perfect articulation to abraded and isolated bones. In addition they reveal the sort of detailed environmental information that aquatic taphonomy can provide. This includes information on depositional systems, climates, water temperature, depth, currents, oxygen content, scavengers, stratification, turnover, lake succession, and population dynamics.

Elster, H., E. Gil-Av, et al. (1991). "Amino acid racemization of fossil bone." Journal of Archaeological Science 18: 605-317.

A study of aspartic acid racemization in different fractions of 51 fossil bones of various ages, shows that the collagen-rich fractions do manifest increasing D-aspartic acid contents with increasing age. No such correlation exists for the fractions rich in non-collagenous proteins. More collagen-rich samples, particularly from bones in older sites, are needed to verify the generality of this trend.

Emery, K. F., L. E. Wright, et al. (2000). "Isotopic analysis of ancient deer bone: biotic stability in collapse period Maya land-use." Journal of Archaeological Science 27(6): 537-550.

Enloe, J. G. (1993). "Ethnoarchaeology of marrow cracking: implications for the recognition of prehistoric subsistence organization." From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains: 82-97.

Enloe, J. G. (1997). "Seasonality and age structure in remains of Rangifer tarandus: Magdalenian hunting strategy at Verberie." Anthropozoologica 25: 95-102.

Enloe, J. G. and F. David (1992). "Food sharing in the Paleolithic: carcass refitting at Pincevent." Piecing Together the Past: Applications of Refitting Studies in Archaeology: 296-315.

Enloe, J. G. and F. David (1997). "Rangifer herd behavior: seasonality of hunting in the Magdalenian of the Paris Basin." Caribou and Reindeer Hunters of the Northern Hemisphere: 52-68.

Enloe, J. G., F. David, et al. (2000). "Hyenas and hunters: zooarchaeological investigations at Prolom II Cave, Crimea." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 10(5): 310-324.

Enloe, J. G., T. S. Hare, et al. (1994). "Patterns of faunal processing at Section 27 of Pincevent: the use of spatial analysis and ethnoarchaeological data in the interpretation of archaeological site structure." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 13(2): 105-124.

Enlow, D. H. and S. O. Brown (1957). "A comparative study of fossil and recent bone tissues. Part II." The Texas Journal of Science 9: 186-214.

Espinoza, E. O., B. C. Yates, et al. (1997). "Taphonomic indicators used to infer wasteful subsistence hunting in northwest Alaska." Anthropozoologica 25: 103-112.

Subsistence hunting allows the Inupiat and Yupik people to harvest walrus. Hunters pursue walrus at the edge of receeding ice floors, or if the opportunity arises, will shoot walrus in the open water (pelagic hunting). Based on recent 9th District Court decisions, killing walrus and taking only the tusks is a violation of the wastage provision and is penalized by law. Surveys conducted on beaches indicated that some walruses are hunted only for their tusks (headhunting). The determination that the walruses are killed off shore is based on the "clean: appearance of exposed cervical vertebrae caused by anthropod scavanging during carcass drift. The conclusion of wasteful take is based on the examination of headless carcasses that had no meat taken.

Evans, J. G. and S. Limbrey (1974). "The experimental earthwork on Morden Bog, Wareham, Dorset, England: 1963 to 1972." Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 40: 170-202.

Ezzo, J. A. (1992). "A Test of Diet Versus Diagenesis at Ventana Cave, Arizona." Journal of Archaeological Science 19: 23-37.

Eighty-two faunal specimens from three stratigraphic levels at Ventana Cave, Arizona, were analysed for multiple trace elements to investigate the effectiveness of Sr and Ba as dietary indicators and to assess the extent of diagenetic contamination. Focusing on predator-prey relationships within levels, comparisons with modern Sonoran Desert fauna and elemental correlations, the results suggest that Ba is a more sensitive paleodietary indicator than Sr in a desert environment, and that the extent of Sr diagenesis is more pronounced than Ba through time at the site. Variations in other elements, such as Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na and P are considered as well.

Farinacci, A. and A. R. Lord (1999). Depositional episodes and bioevents. Roma, Università La Sapienza.

Fernández Jalvo, Y. and P. Andrews (1992). "Small Mammal Taphonomy of Gran Dolina Atapuerca (Burgos), Spain." Journal of Archaeological Science 19: 407-428.

The middle Pleistocene sequence at the Atapuerca (Burgos) complex of cave sis most completely represented at Gran Dolina. Eleven stratigraphic units are distinguished, seven which contain abundant small mammal fossils. These seven units are analysed in order to determine the taphonomic processes present during the accumulation of their faunal remains. The fossil bones are extensively broken, both before and after burial. Fossils from six of the units show evidence of localized pre-depositional acid corrosion, which occured both before and after breakage. In the upper levels, there is also evidence of post-depositional corrosion, both from alkaline and from acid environemnts of deposition, and in the top level some fossil bones also show evidence of weathering and root marks. Images of these modifications, by means of the scanning electron microscope, and their comparison with a large comparative data base of recent modifications from known causal agents, permits the identification of the agents responsible for many of the modification, and consequently the reconstruction of the sequence of events leading to the accumulation and preservation of the fossil assembalges. Predators are implicated for some of the breakage and all of the pre-depositional corrosion, which is the result of digestion in the predatorÕs stomachs. In all cases the category of predator can be identified, and at three stratigraphic levels the actual species can be identified with moderate degrees of reliability. Post-depositional corrosion is linked with observations on local acidity/alkalinity of different levels, and the incidence of weathering is linked with evidence for roof collapse over parts of the cave. Taking account of the effects of these processes, particularly the selectivity resulting from predator hunting methods., allows estimates to be made of the degree of bias in the faunal composition and the paleoecology thereby indicated.

Fernández Jalvo, Y., B. Sánchez Chillón, et al. (2002). "Morphological taphonomic transformations of fossil bones in continental environments, and repercussions on their chemical composition." Archaeometry 44(3): 353-361.

Fiorillo, A. R. (1989). Experimental study of trampling: implications for the fossil record. Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans: 61-71.

Fiorillo, A. R. (1991). "Pattern and process in bone modification." Anthropologie 29(3): 157-161.

Fiorillo, A. R. (1995). "Possible influence of low temperature on bone weathering in Curecanti National Recreation Area, southwest Colorado." Current Research in the Pleistocene 12: 69-71.

Fisher, D. C. (1981). Mode of preservation of the Shotgun local fauna (Paleocene, Wyoming) and its implication for the taphonomy of a microvertebrate concentration. Ann Arbor, Museum of Paleontology University of Michigan.

Fisher, D. C. (1995). "Experiments on subaqueous meat caching." Current Research in the Pleistocene 12: 77-80.

Fisher, J. W. J. (1995). "Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2(1): 7-68.

Flessa, K. W., Paleontological Society., et al. (1987). Paleoecology and taphonomy of recent to pleistocene intertidal deposits Gulf of California. [Washington, D.C.], Paleontological Society.

Frison, G. (2000). "Observations on pronghorn behavior and taphonomic analysis of bonebeds: implications for analysis of the Eden-Farson pronghorn kill." Plains Anthropologist Memoir 45(174): 29-37.

The Eden-Farson site represents a late Prehistoric or early Historic catastrophic event of over 200 pronghorns killed in late October and early November by Shoshonean hunters. No evidence remains of a structure used to trap the animals, but the Bridger Pronghorn Trap in the same general area is proposed as a model.

Frison, G. C. and L. C. Todd (1986). The Colby mammoth site: taphonomy and archaeology of a Clovis kill in northern Wyoming. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press.

Fulcheri, E., E. Rabino Massa, et al. (1986). "Differential diagnosis between palaeopathological and non-pathological post-mortem environmental factors in ancient human remains." Journal of Human Evolution 15(1): 71-75.

Gargett, R. H. (1995). Taphonomy and spatial analysis of a cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) fauna from Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic

implications for the archaeology of modern human origins. Ann Arbor, Mich., University Microfilms International.

Gargett, R. H. (1996). Cave bears and modern human origins: the spatial taphonomy of Pod Hradem Cave, Czech Republic. Lanham, Md, University Press of America.

Garvin, R. D. (1988). Manipulation of vertebrate remains: a scavenger's perspective. Diet and Subsistence: Current Archaeological Perspectives. Calgary, Archaeological Association, University of Calgary: 22-31.

Garvin, R. D. (1989). Research in plains taphonomy the manipulation of faunal assemblages by scavengers. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Gaudzinski, S. (2004). "Subsistence patterns of early Pleistocene hominids in the Levant: taphonomic evidence from the 'Ubeidiya formation (Israel)." Journal of Archaeological Science 31(1): 65-75.

Gautier, A. (1987). "Taphonomic groups: how and why?" ArchaeoZoologia 1(2): 47-51.

Gautier, A., J.-M. Cordy, et al. (1997). "Taphonomic, chronostratigraphic, paleoenvironmental and anthropogenic implications of the upper Pleistocene faunas from Le Trou Magrite, Belgium." Anthropozoologica 25: 343-354.

Gifford, D. P. (1981). "Taphonomy and paleoecology: a critical review of archaeology's sister disciplines." Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 4: 365-438.

Gifford-Gonzalez, D. (1993). Gaps in zooarchaeological analyses of butchery: Is gender an issue? From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 181-199.

Gifford-Gonzalez, D., K. M. Stewart, et al. (1999). "Human activities and site formation at modern lake margin foraging camps in Kenya." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 18(4): 397-440.

Gifford-Gonzalez, D. P. (1989). Ethnographic analogues for interpreting modified bones: Some cases from east Africa. Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen and M. H. Sorg. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans, University of Maine: 179-246.

Gilbert, A. S. Urban taphonomy of mammalian remains from the Bronze Age of Godin Tepe, Western Iran.

Gilchrist, R. and H. C. Mytum (1986). "Experimental Archaeology and burnt animal bone from archaeological sites." Circaea 4(1): 29-38.

Gordon, C. C. and J. E. Buikstra (1981). "Soil pH, bone preservation, and sampling bias at mortuary sites." American Antiquity 46(3): 566-571.

Prediction of human skeletal preservation at mortuary sites is important in archaeological research and in cultural resources management. In this study, correlation between osseous deterioration and soil acidity, as measured by pH, were found to be significant. Age- assosciated preservation biases were also evident. The use of multiple regression is suggested as a technique for estimating recovery of human osteological remains in archaeological context.

Gordon, E. A. (1993). "Screen size and differential faunal recovery: A Hawaiian example." Journal of Field Archaeology 20: 453-460.

Sampling is an important issue in the analysis and interpretation of faunal remains from archaeological sites. Use of various screen sizes influences the representativeness and sample size of remains collected during excavation. In this study, the effects of screen size on measures of diversity were examined using faunal remains excavated from Nu'alolo Kai, Kauai Island, Hawaii. Variation in richness, the number of taxa present, and evenness, the distribution of abundance values, is shown to be related to sampling biases produced by different recovery methods. Consequently, interpretations of prehistoric human subsistence from faunal remains recovered by the larger screen sizes are questionable. The use of smaller screen sizes should be considered the more effective approach to sampling a representative range of faunal remains.

Goren-Inbar, N., J. Weinstock, et al. (1987). "Cut marks on a bone from Biq'at Quneitra: a Mousterian site in the Golan Heights." Mitekufat Haeven 20: 136-142.

Gosden, C. and G. Lock (1998). "Prehistoric Histories." World Archaeology 30(1): 2-12.

This paper discusses prehistoric forms of history. We propose that all prehistoric societies oriented their actions in the present with the past in mind. The task for archaeologists is to understand the sorts of histories at work in different periods. We propose a distinction between genealogical history, where the past is created through links to known ancestors, and mythical history, where a less well-known past is evoked. These two forms of history coexist in a societies with implications for the manner in which continuities and change are handled. We illustrate the insights that these ideas may provide through a case study from the late Bronze Age to Romano-British periods on the Ridgeway in south Oxfordshire, southern England.

Grayson, D. K. (1989). "Bone transport, bone destruction, and reverse utility curves." Journal of Archaeological Science 16(6): 643-652.

Density-meidated bone destruction frequently produces negative hyperbolic relationships between Binford's Modified General Utility Index (MGUI) and relative skeletal abundance. Because processes of bone destruction are so diverse and so universal, it is far wiser to assume that such "reverse utility curves" have resulted from differential destruction rather than from any other cause, including bone transport by people. Although statistical analyses can help discover destruction-driven relationships of this sort, it still remains to be demonstrated that density-free MGUI analyses have the human behavioral meaning that has been attributed to them on the basis of single-case ethnoarchaeological studies.

Greenfield, H. J. (1988). "Bone consumption by pigs in a contemporary Serbian village: implications for the interpretation of prehistoric faunal assemblages." Journal of Field Archaeology 15(4): 473-479.

Greenfield, H. J. (1999). "The origins of metallurgy: distinguishing stone from metal cut-marks on bones from archaeological sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(7): 797-808.

Greenlee, D. M. (1996). An electron microprobe evaluation of diagenetic alteration in archaeological bone. Archaeological Chemistry. M. V. Orna. Washington, D.C., American Chemical Society Press: 334-354.

Backscattered electron imaging and wavelength dispersive spectrometry documented variability in the structure and composition of archaeological human bone samples from the central Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. Structural alterations to bone histomorphology are consistent with those known to reflect microorganismic activities, with hydroxyapatite dissolution followed by remineralization involving ions from both dissolved bone mineral and soil solution. Patterns in the distribution of structurally intact bone were observed to vary with the local post-depositional environment. Differences in the mean concentration and variability of elements (Ca, P, Sr, Ba, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, and V) between structurally intact and structurally altered areas were examined; structurally altered areas frequently displayed higher elemental concentrations and greater variability than structurally intact areas.

Gutierrez, M. A. (2001). "Bone diagenesis and taphonomic history of the Paso Otero 1 bone bed, Pampas of Argentina." Journal of Archaeological Science 28(12): 1277-1290.

Hackett, C. J. (1981). "Microscopical focal destruction in exhumed human bones." Medicine, Science, and the Law 21: 243-265.

Haglund, W. D. and M. H. Sorg (1997). Forensic taphonomy: the postmortem fate of human remains. Boca Raton, CRC Press.

Haglund, W. D. and M. H. Sorg, Eds. (2002). Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory and Archaeological Perspectives. Boca Raton, CRC Press.

Hanson, D. B. and J. E. Buikstra (1987). "Histomorphological alteration in buried human bone from the Lower Illinois Valley: Implications for paleodietary research." Journal of Archaeological Science 14: 549-563.

Microradiographs of femur midshaft thin sections were examined in a mortuary sample (n=119) from the lower Illinois Valley to evaluate variation in histological preservation. Twenty- three percent of the sections displayed varying degrees of microfocal destruction due to fungal/and or bacterial invasion. Histological preservation did not vary with whole bone preservation. The activity of micro-organisms resulted in both extensive resorption of tissue and redeposition of mineral on bone surfaces. Based on the observed patterns of invasive activity, it is suggested that initial invasion and spread of organisms depend on several intrinsic properties of the tissue, including the degree of mineralization and the availability of vascular spaces to provide surfaces for tunneling. The findings indicate that histological evaluation of diagenesis should be a necessary prerequisite to dietary reconstructions which utilize invasive and non-invasive methods of analysis.

Hare, P. E. (1980). Organic Geochemistry of bone and its relation to the survival of bone in the natural environment. Fossils in The Making: Vertebrate Taphonomy and Paleoecology. A. K. Behrensmeyer and A. P. Hill. Chicago, University of Chicago Press: 208-219.

Haynes, G. (1988). "Mass deaths and serial predation: comparative taphonomic studies of modern large mammal death sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 15(3): 219-235.

Longitudinal studies of bone sites in Africa and Canada indicate that both mass death sites and sites of serial predation share many significant characteristics, such as dense bone deposits, representation of multiple taxa, presence of different degrees of gnaw-damage and different weathering stages, and concise spatial areas containing the bones. Surface densities of bone range from 1 per 3 square m in a mass death site to 1 per 125 square m in a site where serial predation accounted for all bones. The average number of bones per represented individual ranges from a low of about seven elements per animal to a high of about 20, with no difference between mass death and cumulative death sites.

Haynes, G. (1991). "Noncultural modifications to mammalian bones in sites of mass deaths and serial predation." Anthropologie 29(3): 151-156.

Haynes, G. A. (1980). "Evidence of Carnivore Gnawing on Pleistocene and Recent Mammalian Bones." Paleobiology 6(3): 341-351.

Haynes, G. A. (1983). "A guide for differentiating mammalian carnivore taxa responsible for gnaw damage to herbivore limb bones." Paleobiology 9: 164-172.

Hedges, R. E. M. and A. R. Millard (1995). "Bones and Groundwater: Towards the Modelling of Diagenetic Processes." Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 155-164.

This paper develops a theory for describing those diagenetic changes in bone which involve its interaction with groundwater. Three main processes are considered, as examples of such changes: namely the uptake of uranium, the siddolution of bone, and the increase in crystallinity of the bone mineral (carbonate hydroxyapatite or dahlite). Here simple models of the chemistry involved are postulated (although how bone interacts with water on a molecular scale is not clearly known) in order to demonstrate the theory with explicit mechanisms and values. Greater emphasis is given to uranium uptake, since the model used in comparatively detailed, being based on the author's previous work.

The basic assumption is that the rate-limiting process in diagenetic change is the movement of solutes to, from, or within the bone. Therefore the main thrust of the paper is to show how the physical structure of the bone itself, together with the hydrology of the burial site, interact to determine how water and its solutes move into, within and from a bone during burial. This interaction can be one of three kinds, defined by the site hydrology. These are termed here, diffusion, hydraulic flow and recharge. All three types may operate together, and their relative importance depends on the extent to which the pore structure of a bone has been altered by diagenesis, as well as the type of chemical change taking place. It is shown that diffusion is usually the most common and important process, but that it is possible to predict the hydrological regimes in which other mechanisms dominate. It is shown how knowledge of site hydrology (mainly the specification of soil structure and moisture variation), the physical state of the bone, and the chemistry of the diagenetic process can provide estimates for the rate and manner of the particular diagenetic process. Such estimates agree with observation, suggesting this approach to be on the right lines. Qualitative predictions also result from teh theory. The main value of this approach is to identify those situations where particular diagenetic changes are simplest (e.g. sites where the hydrology gives rise to a single and quantifiable hydraulic process) so that they may be decisively tested against the quantitiative predictions of the theory.

Hedges, R. E. M., A. R. Millard, et al. (1995). "Measurements and Relationships of Diagenetic Alteration of Bone from Three Archaeological Sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 201-210.

Four diagenetic parameters have been chosen to represent the state of diagenesis of bone buried on archaeological sites. They are: histological preservation, protein content, crystallinity, and porosity. How these parameters are measured is described and results from populations of bones from three different sites are presented. The results show the extent and variation in the degree of change, both within a site and between sites. In particular the correlations between diagenetic parameters are examined, which give clues about the processes which cause alteration. The value of porositydeterminations (both at the intercrystalline level and the coarser levels) in revealing the degree of diagenetic change in bone, and in underlying the dynamics of the interaction between buried bone and the surrounding water is stressed. The data also indicate (but are too restricted to prove) the following:

Microbiological attack is generally complete within 500 years; Substantual levels of protein may remain in bone after maximal micromorphological alteration; Loss of protein appears to be independent of other diagenetic change; The correlated loss of microporosity with increase of crystallinity suggests these changes may arise from the dissolution, perhaps with subsequent recrystallization of the smallest hydroxyapatite crystallites.

Henderson, J. (1987). Factors Determining the State of Preservation of Human Remains. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction. A. Boddington, A. N. Garland and R. C. Janaway. Manchester, Manchester University Press: 43-54.

Henshilwood, C. S., F. d. Errico, et al. (2001). "Early bone tool industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: implications for the origins of modern human behaviour, symbolism and language." Journal of Human Evolution 41(6): 631-678.

Henshilwood, C. S. and C. W. Marean (2003). "The origin of modern human behavior: critique of the models and their test implications." Current Anthropology 44(5): 627-651.

Hill, A. and A. K. Behrensmeyer (1985). "Natural disarticulation and bison butchery." American Antiquity 50(1): 141-145.

Hill, A. P. (1979). "Butchery and natural disarticulation: an investigatory technique." American Antiquity 44(4): 739-744.

The relative frequencies of intact skeletal joints in accumulations of mammalian remains can be used to produce models of the ways skeletons break apart in different circumstances. Information concerning disarticulation in the natural environment permits the detection in archaeological situations of features that may be due to prehistoric human butchery practices. The sequence of disarticulation of excavated Bison occidentalis butchered by North American Paleoindians is compared with that derived from natural assemblages of modern African Topi, Damaliscus korrigum.

Hill, M. E. (2002). "The Milnesand Site: site formation study of a Paleoindian bison bonebed in eastern New Mexico." Plains Anthropologist 47(183): 332-337.

In 1953, E. H. Sellards directed excavations at the Milnesand site in Roosevelt County, New Mexico. Sellards and later researchers have taken a multidisciplinary interest in the Milnesand site, examining geomorphological, paleontological, and lithic artifact databases. Unfortunately, the analysis of the faunal remains from the site has been minimal. The present study is based on a 1993 examination of the bison remains from the Milnesand site. While there are many "problems" with the faunal assemblage--such as poor faunal preservation and biased collection methods--an attribute-based taphonomic analysis can contribute important information on skeletal element frequencies, herd composition, seasonality of occupation, and site formation processes. Analysis shows that the Milnesand bonebed represents a winter and/or spring kill site involving numerous animals that were incompletely butchered following the kill. A gradual burial of the bonebed, interrupted by numerous periods of exposure, resulted in extensive dispersal of the carcasses and the relatively poor condition of the faunal remains.

Hill, M. E. J. and J. L. Hofman (1997). "Taphonomy of the 1953 bison bonebed at the Milnesand Site." Current Research in the Pleistocene 14: 115-117.

Hindelang, M. and A. L. Maclean (1997). "Bone density determination of moose skeletal remains from Isle Royale National Park using digital image enhancement and quantitative computed tomography (QCT)." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7(3): 193-201.

As part of an investigation of prey vulnerability in Isle Royale National Park, MI, digital image processing techniques were used to enhance original quantitative computed tomography (QCT) film products to detail the processes of bone resorption and reformation in skeletal remains of moose (Alces alces). Integration of these two allied imaging technologies allowed analyses of pixels representing fractions of millimetres of bone. Using regression analysis, linear conversions from the pixel digital numbers (DN) to QCT Hounsfield units (HU) to actual bone mineral density (BMD) values were calculated (r2=0.99), and a scale of pixels per millimetre of bone was determined. The colour-enhanced image revealed quantifiable patterns of density, porosity and asymmetry. In addition, the procedure provided a quick but consistent methodology for evaluating numerous scans. Combining the limited use of a high-demand and expensive medical QCT scanner with a lower cost, readily available digital image processing and analysis system provides a technique for researchers to investigate the bone integrity of individual animals and populations. This method of evaluating bone density has implications for use in determining differential skeletal part-preservation in archaeofaunal studies.

Hockett, B. and J. A. Haws (2002). "Taphonomic and methodological perspectives of leporid hunting during the Upper Paleolithic of the western Mediterranean Basin." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9(3): 269-302.

Leporid (rabbit and hare) bones have been shown to yield important information about subsistence practices, mobility patterns, and demographic trends durinng the Paleolithic of the western and eastern Mediterranean regions. Studies of Spanish Paleolithic caves rich in rabbit bones suggest that residential mobility patterns influence the degree of leporid hunting through time. Studies of Paleolithic sites in the eastern Mediterranean suggest that leporids were hunted in large numbers only after population sizes and densities reached certain thresholds. This paper reviews and critiques these studies based on curent taphonomic and ecologic information about leporids. Leporid hunting during the Upper Paleolithic of central Portugal is then discussed and compared to these existing models. These latter data suggest that rabbit hunting in central Portugal does not conform to any existing model, suggesting that local factors of leporid density and environmental conditions likely influenced the nature and timing of small game acquisition during the Upper Paleolithic.

Hockett, B. S. (1989). "Archaeological significance of rabbit-raptor interactions in southern California." North American Archaeologist 10(2): 123-139.

Taphonomy of small fauna is not as well known as actualistic studies performed with large faunal remains. Yet small fauna like rabbit may dominate an archaeological assemblage. Small fauna was a primary meat source for many prehistoric groups in North America. Raptors also damage and disperse rabbit bones. Taphonomic research with rabbit-raptor interactions was undertaken in a lacustrine environment in southern California to determine the role played by raptors in damaging and dispersing rabbit bones which may subsequently be introduced into archaeological sites. Raptors often damage, disperse, and accumulate rabbit bones in a number of areas, including open-air localities and within abandoned human structures. Potential diagnostic characteristics of rabbit bones damaged by raptors are offered as baseline end-effects of raptors exploiting rabbit carcases. Archaeologists can compare rabbit bones excavated from archaelogical sites to these bones known to be damaged by raptors. This information is crucial to archaeologists for accurately interpreting rabbit bones modified by human action, and thus past subsistence strategies over time.

Hockett, B. S. (1991). "Toward distinguishing human and raptor patterning on leporid bones." American Antiquity 56(4): 667-679.

Prehistoric Native Americans hunted leporids (cottontails and hares) for food, clothing, and to obtain raw material for the manufacture of bone tools such as awls. Leporids are also favorite prey of various carnivores and raptors, hence many archaeological sites maycontain leporid bones that were deposited by both human and nonhuman activities. This paper provides data to distinguish specific agents and processes that affected leporid bones in archaeological sites. Human behavior tends to create hare tibia diaphysis cylinders, cut marked bones, unidentifiable burned bone fragments, and assemblages with predominantly adult leporid bone specimens. In contrast, raptor behavior creates more cottontail tibia diaphysis cylinders, bones with beak and talon punctures on only one side, shearing damage principally to the innominates and femora, and high frequencies of forelimb and juvenile bones when leporid bones are deposited mainly as raptor pellets.

Hockett, B. S. (1995). "Comparison of leporid bones in raptor pellets, raptor nests, and archaeological sites in the Great Basin." North American Archaeologist 16(3): 223-238.

Leporid (cottontail and hare) bones deposited on the landscape in raptor pellets may exhibit more forelimb than hindlimb bones, few complete bones, more subadult than adult bones, and abundant vertebrae. In contrast, raptor nest assemblages may exhibit more tibiae than forelimb bones, few incomplete bones, more adult than subadult bones, and few vertebrae. Approximately 1 to 2 percent of leporid bones deposited in either raptor nests or raptor pellets are likely to exhibit puncture marks. Leporid bone assemblages created by humans in the Great Basin may exhibit large numbers of adult Lepus or adult Sylvilagus tibia diaphysis cylinders, many burned and unidentifiable fragments of bone, few identifiable vertebrae and sacra, and assemblages that consist primarily of adult animals. These data suggest that archaeologists should be able to identify leporid bone assemblages that were created largely or solely by the deposition of raptor pellets, by the deposition of unswallowed bones under raptor nests, or by the deposition of bones by humans. Assemblages created by any combination of these three processes, however, will be more difficult to interpret.

Hockett, B. S. (1996). "Corroded, thinned and polished bones created by golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos): taphonomic implications for archaeological interpretations." Journal of Archaeological Science 23(4): 587-591.

Honey, J. G., G. A. Izett, et al. (1988). Paleontology, taphonomy, and stratigraphy of the Browns Park formation (Oligocene and Miocene) near Maybell, Moffat County, Colorado. [Reston, Va.?]

Denver, CO, Dept. of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey ;

For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section.

Hoover, P. R. (1981). Paleontology, taphonomy, and paleoecology of the Palmarito Formation (Permian of Venezuela). Ithaca, N.Y. (1259 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca 14850), Paleontological Research Institution.

Horwitz, L. K. (1998). "The influence of prey body size on patterns of bone distribution and representation in a striped hyaena den." Economie préhistorique: les comportements de subsistance au Paléolithique: 31-42.

Horwitz, L. K. and P. Smith (1990). "Radiographic study of the extent of variation in cortical bone thickness in Soay sheep." Journal of Archaeological Science 17(6): 655-664.

Hudson, J. (1993). Impacts of Domestic Dogs on Bone in Forager Camps; Or, The Dog-Gone Bones. From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. J. Hudson. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 301-323.

Hudson, J. (1993). From bones to behavior: ethnoarchaeological and experimental contributions to the interpretation of faunal remains. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Hurlbut, S. A. (2000). "The taphonomy of cannibalism: a review of anthropogenic bone modification in the American Southwest." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 10(1): 4-26.

Mass deposits of altered human bone have been found at more than 30 sites in the American Southwest affiliated with the Chaco Anasazi culture. Anasazi bone deposits include individuals of all ages and both sexes, sometimes left lying unburied on kiva or habitation room floors, and are rarely encountered in formal cemeteries. Human remains in these deposits are characterized by marked fragmentation and disarticulation, cut marks, percussion fracture, burning, and end-polishing of bone fragments. A close resemblance to faunal remains from trash middens at Anasazi sites has led to an inference of cannibalism.

The taphonomic signature of cannibalism identified from these deposits is compared with other forms of cultural alteration of human bone. Bone modifications associated with mortuary practices, warfare, mutilation, human sacrifice, and execution are reviewed using examples from around the world. Identical types of modification are linked with a variety of behaviours, but distinct combinations of taphonomic patterns differentiate between cannibalism, violence, and other cultural practices. The numbers of individuals involved, age and sex composition, and burial contexts also differ. Intentional, extensive fragmentation, scattering of disarticulated elements, loss of vertebrae, and pot polish are taphonomic characteristics which combine to set Anasazi human bone deposits apart from documented cases of warfare or interpersonal violence.

James, S. R. (1997). "Methodological issues concerning screen size recovery rates and their effects on archaeofaunal interpretations." Journal of Archaeological Science 24(5): 385-397.

Joglekar, P. P. and P. K. Thomas (1992). "Faunal remains: an application of contingency tables." Man and Environment 17(2): 65-70.

Johnson, D. L. (2002). "Darwin would be proud: bioturbation, dynamic denudation, and the power of theory in science." Geoarchaeology 17(1): 7-40.

Jones, A. K. G. (1982). "Bulk-sieving and the recovery of fish remains from urban archaeological sites." Council for British Archaeology Research Report 43: 79-85.

Jones, G. T., D. K. Grayson, et al. (1983). "Artifact class richness and sample size in archaeological surface assemblages." Anthropological papers-Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan(72): 55-74.

Jones, G. T., D. K. Grayson, et al. (1989). "Measures of diversity and expedient lithic technologies." Quantifying Diversity in Archaeology: 69-78.

Jones, K. T. and D. Metcalfe (1988). "Bare bones archaeology: bone marrow indices and efficiency." Journal of Archaeological Science 15(4): 415-423.

Ranking animal body parts according to their economic utility has enabled archaeologists to investigate the economic decisions that resulted in the differential deposition of body parts in faunal assemblages. One of the indices developed by Lewis Binford ranks animal bone according to teh quantity and quality of the marrow associated with each bone. The present study demonstrates that a much simpler index based solely on the amount of marrow is a better predictor of marrow extraction by Nunamiut and shows that additional insights into marrow use are obtained when the parts are ranked on the basis of the costs in time and the benefits oin calories of extracting bone marrow.

Jones, P. R. (1980). "Experimental butchery with modern stone tools and its relevance for palaeolithic archaeology." World Archaeology 12(2): 153-165.

The author gives an interim account of his own experiments in butchering carcasses, including goat and zebra, using stone tools which he had made himself (replicating certain tool types common in Bed IV of Olduvai Gorge). The butchery process was based on the traditional Wakamba method of butchering goats, which is also described step by step. The author found that for most tasks bifacial tools of substantial size, including handaxes, were more efficient than small unretouched or retouched flakes. There are few accounts of experimental butchery in the archaeological literature and detailed ethnographic reports are also very scarce. The conclusions drawn from the experiments are briefly discussed, with reference to the light they may throw on the lithic assemblages recovered from earlier Palaeolithic butchery sites, in which large cutting tools are inclined to be rare.

Kenyon, D. M. E. (1997). "Patterning in Butchery as Cultural Residue." Anthropozoologica 25: 131-136.

Kidwell, S. M., A. K. Behrensmeyer, et al. (1993). Taphonomic approaches to time resolution in fossil assemblages. [Knoxville, TN], Paleontological Society.

Kierdorf, U. (1993). "Fork formation and other signs of osteophagia on a long bone swallowed by a red deer stag (Cervus elaphus)." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 3(1): 37-40.

King, T., P. Andrews, et al. (1999). "Effect of taphonomic processes on dental microwear." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 108(3): 359-373.

Taphonomic processes have the potential to affect microscopic wear on teeth and to modify the wear patterns so as to confound dietary reconstruction based on dental microwear which was formed during the lifetime of an animal. This study described a series of experiments which were conducted to simulate various taphonomic agents and to record their effect on dental microwear. Three types of experiment were carried out in order to explain anomalous microscopic wear that had been found on the dentition of several hominid specimens from the 15 M.a. site of Pasalar in Turkey. The effect of two different acids - citric and hydrochkoric acid - on dental microwear was investigated. Modification to microscopic wear caused by alkali (carbonatite ash) was examined in the second set of experiments. Lastly, the effect of abrasion by three different size classes of sediment from the site of the Pasalar - quartz pebbles (grain size varied from 2,000-11,000 um), coarse sand (grain size ranged from 500-1,000 um), and medium-sized sand (grain diameters were between 250 and 500 um) - was investigated. Results confirm previous findings that the taphonomic modification of dental microwear is readily identifiable and causes the obliteration rather than secondary alteration of microwear features. The experiments show that both citric and hydrochloric acid affect dental microwear but to varying degrees, whereas alkali did not cause any modification of microscopic features. The different size classes of sediment also had different effects on the dental microwear. The largest size sediment (quartz pebbles) polished the enamel and removed finer microwear features. The coarse sand, however, did not have any effect on the microwear. The greatest amount of abrasion was caused by the smallest sediment particles - the medium-sized sand. Several hominoid dental specimens from Pasalar display similar microscopic wear to the two types of acid erosion and the abrasion caused by the medium-sized sands.

Kiszely, I. (1973). "Derivatographic examination of subfossil and fossil bones." Current Anthropology 14(3): 280-286.

Klein, R. G., K. Cruz-Uribe, et al. (1999). "Skeletal part representation in archaeofaunas: Comments on "Explaining the 'Klasies pattern': Kua ethnoarchaeology, the Die Kelders Middle Stone Age Archaeofauna, Long bone fragmentation and carnivore ravaging" by Bartram & Marean." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(9): 1225-1234.

In many archaeological faunas, relative to the smaller ungulates, larger ones are more poorly represented by proximal limb bones (humeru, radioulnae, femora and tibiae) and better represented by bones of the feet and skull. In a recent issue of this journal, Bartram & Marean refer to the contrast as the "Klasies Pattern" for its occurrence at Klasies River Mouth Middle Stone Age site in South Africa. However, they argue that it exists only because archaeologists often fail to identify small midshaft fragments to skeletal part and taxon. They believe that most archaeological faunas have been heavily ravaged by carnivores that selectively removed proximal limb bone epiphyses and left the associated shaft fragments behind. In support, they cite analyses by Marean and his co-workers in which proximal limb bone numbers increased significantly when shaft fragments were refitted to produce identifiable specimens. The dramatic increase in proximal limb bone numbers at Kobeh Cave, Iran is particularly compelling but Bartram & Marean must spell out their procedure for identifying and counting shafts to ensure that others can produce comparable results and to exclude the possibility that the results are an artefact of their procedure. The refitting of small shaft fragments is extremely tedious and time-consuming, but may be justified wherever there is independent evidence that it can produce the contrast between smaller and larger ungulates that comprises the "Klasies Pattern". We conclude that the contrast mainly reflects differences in carcass size as these influence (1) the likelihood that particular skeletal elements will be transported from a carcass to a base camp and (2) the likelihood that parts will survive in identifiable condition.

Klippel, W. E., L. M. Snyder, et al. (1987). "Taphonomy and archaeologically recovered mammal bone from southeast Missouri." Journal of Ethnobiology 7(2): 155-169.

A number of non-human predators have been identified by zooarchaeologists and paleontologists as potentially contibuting to, or otherwise affecting, the predepositional histories of faunal assemblages. Studies of modern bone destruction and modification resulting from feeding activities of gray wolves, and analysis of preferred prey species of owls are applied to identified mammal bone from Granite Quarry Cave in Southeast Missouri. Close similarity between mammal remains resulting from wolf and owl predation and archaeologically recovered remains from Granite Quarry Cave indicates that nonhuman agents were responsible for a large proportion of the archaeological faunal assemblage.

Knüsel, C. J., R. C. Janaway, et al. (1996). "Death, decay, and ritual reconstruction: archaeological evidence of cadaveric spasm." Oxford Journal of Archaeology 15(2): 121-128.

Koch, C. P. (1987). The vertebrate taphonomy and palaeoecology of the Olorgesailie Formation, Middle Pleistocene, Kenya. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Koch, C. P. and University of Maine at Orono. Center for the Study of the First Americans. (1989). Taphonomy: a bibliographic guide to the literature. Orono, Me., Center for the Study of the First Americans Institute for Quaternary Studies University of Maine.

Koch, P. L., N. Tuross, et al. (1997). "Effects of sample treatment and diagenesis on the isotopic integrity of carbonate in biogenic hydroxylapatite." Journal of Archaeological Science 24(5): 417-429.

Koerper, H. C. and N. A. Whitney-Desautels (1999). "Astragalus bones: artifacts or ecofacts?" Pacific Coast Archaeological Society quarterly 35(2): 69-80.

Kos, A. M. (2003). "Characterisation of post-depositional taphonomic processes in the accumulation of mammals in a pitfall cave deposit from southeastern Australia." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(6): 781-796.

Kos, A. M. (2003). "Pre-burial taphonomic characterisation of a vertebrate assemblage from a pitfall cave deposit in southeastern Australia." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(6): 769-779.

Kreutzer, L. A. (1992). "Bison and deer bone mineral densities: comparisons and implications for the interpretation of archaeological faunas." Journal of Archaeological Science 19(3): 271-294.

Volume bone mineral sensities are derived for modern bison skeletal parts using dual energy X-ray densitometry. These density measurements are compared to those published by Lyman (1984) for small cervids; differences that exist can be explained in terms of body size and patterns of locomotion. Density data then are compared to skeletal part frequencies from two Great Plains bison assemblages. Bison bone mineral densities provide a more appropriate model than do cervid densities for examining variability in large bovid bone assemblages, and point to the need for constructing similar data bases for other taxa.

Kuckelman, K. A., R. R. Lightfoot, et al. (2002). "Bioarchaeology and taphonomy of violence at Castle Rock and Sand Canyon Pueblos, southwestern Colorado." American Antiquity 67(3): 486-513.

Violence and the role of violence have emerged recently as topics important to understanding the prehistory of the northern Southwest. Recent excavations at Castle Rock and Sand Canyon pueblos, two thirteenth-century sites in the Mesa Verde region os southwestern Colorado, bring new data to bear on these subjects. Field contexts and the results of bone and myoglobin analyses indicate that nonlethal and lethal violence occurred in both of these villages and that additional modifications to bodies and bones occurred near the time of death. Around A.D. 1280, at least eight individuals at Sand Canyon Pueblo died violently, and at least 41 individuals died at Castle Rock. During or after the warfare event that ended in the occupation of Castle Rock, some bodies were dismembered, bones were broken, crushed, and heat altered; a few bones were reamed, and the end of one bone was polished. Several incidents of violence and probable anthropophagy (the consumption of human flesh) have been documented in the Mesa Verde region for the mid-A.D. 1100s; however, this analysis of violent events in the late A.D. 1200s establishes a critical link between probable anthropophagy and warface, and links both with the depopulation of the region.

Kusmer, K. D. (1988). Microvertebrate taphonomy in archaeological sites an examination of owl deposition and the taphonomy of small mammals from Sentinel Cave, Oregon. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Lam, Y. M. (1992). "Variability in the behaviour of spotted hyaenas as taphonomic agents." Journal of Archaeological Science 19(4): 389-406.

For over a decade, paleoanthropologists have pursued research in order to distinguish between the effects of early hominids and contemporary hyaenids on fossil bone assemblages. A number of recent studies examining the behavior of modern hyaenas has provided specific criteria for determining their influence as taphonomic agents. While certain patterns of bone modifications by hyaenas have bene identified, the potential variation in hyaena activity has not been fully recognized. A faunal assemblage recovered from a spotted hyaena den located near Koobi Fora, Kenya exhibited characteristics not previously documented in hyaena accumulations. It provided new insights both into hyaena foraging activities and into the conditions surrounding the formation of den assemblages.

Lam, Y. M., X. Chen, et al. (1998). "Bone density and long bone representation in archaeological faunas: comparing results from CT and photon densitometry." Journal of Archaeological Science 25(6): 559-570.

Research into animal bone density has provided the foundation for the assessment of post-depositional destruction of archaeological faunal assemblages. This paper presents bone mineral density values for caprid long bones as determined by computed tomography (CT). Unlike photon densitometry, thetechnique employed in previous archaeological studies of bone density, CT provides precise assessments of the cross-sectional area of scan sites. Researchers using photon densiometry have been unable to factor out the marrow cavity in their determination of cross-sectional area, thereby significantly underestimating the density of long bone shafts. The density values obtained by CT are much higher, particularly for middle shaft portions, than those presented in previous studies are more consistent with existing data on the material properties of bone. For two archaeological faunal assemblages that have been subject to post-depositional attrition, the CT density values show a much stronger correlation with long bone portion survival than those provided by photon densitometry. Given such advantages over photon densitometry, CT is a promising method for future archaeological investigations into bone density.

Lam, Y. M., X. Chen, et al. (1999). "Intertaxonomic Variability in Patterns of Bone Density and the Differential Representation of Bovid, Cervid, and Equid Elements in the Archaeological Record." American Antiquity 64(2): 343-362.

Intertaxonomic differences in skeltal element representation in arhcaeological faunas may reflect preferences in the procurement, processingm transport, and/or consumption of these species by pehistoric foragers. However, the possibility that they also may result from preservational bias must be addressed before behavioral attributes of human hunters may be inferred. For example, at many archaeological sites, the remains of equids exhibit a different pattern of skeletal element representation than those of bovids and cervids. To evaluate the significance of such differences, this study examines intertaxonomic variability in patterns of bone density, the attribute most commonly employed as a proxy measure of resistance to destructive processes. DEnsity data derived for a bovid (Connachaetes taurinus), a cervid (Rangeifer tarandus), and two species of equid (Equus burchelli and E. przewalskii) exhibited very similar patterns, suggesting that values for one species may be used to interpret patterns for otehr species of generally similar morphology. The differences in skeletal element representation between the bovid, cervid, and equid species observed in archaeological faunas do not correspond with bone density and thus likely indicate selective treatment by human or other biotic agents.

Lam, Y. M., O. M. Pearson, et al. (2003). "Bone Density Studies in Zooarchaeology." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(12): 1701-1708.

Lambert, J. B., S. V. Simpson, et al. (1984). Analysis of Soil Assosciated with Woodland Burials. Archaeological Chemistry II. J. B. Lambert. Washington, D.C., American Chemical Society Press.

We have analyzed the chemical composition of soil surrounding the femurs of five human skeletons buried during the Middle Woodland period in west-central Illinois in order to document the movement of specific chemical elements between soil and bone. The use of elemental composition of bone as a measure of ancient diet is predicated on the absence of appreciable elemental flux between soil and bone. We found homogenous concentrations of strontium and zinc in the soil, in agreement with the absence of any exchange activity for these elements. Concentrations of clacium, iron, aluminum, and potassium were inhomogenously distributed, indicating flux out of (calcium) or into (iron, aluminum, potassium) bone.

LaMotta, V. M. and M. B. Schiffer (1999). Formation Processes of House Floor Assemblages. The Archaeology of Household Activities. P. M. Allison. London, Routledge: 19-29.

Landon, D. B. (1992). "Taphonomic evidence for site formation processes at Fort Christanna." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 2(4): 351-359.

Langley, S. B. M. (1994). Inundation taphonomy of selected submerged heritage resources in Alberta. Ottawa, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Laub, R. S. (1996). "Taphonomic effects of tree-falls: examples from the Hiscock Site (late Quaternary, western New York state)." Current Research in the Pleistocene 13: 71-72.

Leach, J. D. (1998). "Site formation processes and the origin of artifacts in plow-zone proveniences: a case study from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas." North American Archaeologist 19(4): 343-361.

Archaeological sites located in agricultural settings are subject to a number of post-depositional processes which can alter their original systemic context. This article presents a case that artifacts may be introduced to agricultural fields as secondary deposits in sediment transported during agricultural activities. As the practice of transporting sediment from one location to another in agricultural settings appear to be widespread, caution should be taken when assigning behavioral significance to surface records in such contexts.

Lemoine, G. (1989). "Use wear analysis of bone tools." ArchaeoZoologia 3(1): 211-223.

Experimentally produced use wear on bone tools was examined and compared to use wear on archaeological tools. The results are promising for further use wear studies.

LeMoine, G. M. and A. S. MacEachern (1983). Carnivores, human scavengers & predators: A question of bone technology: Proceedings of the fifteenth annual Conference, the Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary. Calgary, Alta., University of Calgary Archaeological Association.

Linse, A. R. (1992). Is Bone Safe in a Shell Midden? Deciphering a Shell Midden. J. K. Stein, Academic Press: 327-347.

Littleton, J. (2000). "Taphonomic effects of erosion on deliberately buried bodies." Journal of Archaeological Science 27(1): 5-18.

Much has been written on the taphonomic processes affecting exposed animal and human remains, yet the exposure of deliberately buried bodies due to erosion is rarely mentioned. This study examines four burial sites in western New South Wales, Australia, where human burials have become exposed on the surface. Using criteria of stratigraphic location, mineralization, average fragment size, scattering and the degree of weathering, it is possible to demonstrate that wind and water erosion have very different effects on the burial which can create systematic biases in the recording of burials. In the case of wind erosion it is often possible to identify original location and context although the bone itself may be very poorly preserved. In contrast, water erosion causes the remains and the deposit to be lost at the same time. The human remains may be well preserved but once they are moved it is very difficult to reconstruct the original burial location. These differences plus the rate of change over time have a significant impact on the research potential of exposed burials.

Livingston, S. D. (1989). "The taphonomic interpretation of Avian skeletal part frequencies." Journal of Archaeological Science 16: 537-547.

Two archaeological avifaunas from the Great Basin region of western North America are compared with published avifaunal data to reveal that: 1) the relative frequency of anatomical parts is not significantly different between paleontological and archaeological sites, or between archaeological sites in different environments; and 2) a statistic used to distinguish naturally- deposited avian specimens from those accumulated by prehistoric people in European sites reflects differences in locomotor abilities of the birds in the Great Basin assemblages rather than the processes of deposition as reconstructed by independent evidence.

Locock, M., C. K. Currie, et al. (1992). "Chemical changes in buried animal bone: data from a postmedieval assemblage." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 2: 297-304.

Macroscopic chemical analysis of animal bone recovered from dated excavation contexts of known pH from Castle Bromwich Hall, West Midlands, UK, allows an assessment of the rate and effects of bone decomposition, and the evaluation of current models of chemical decay. The results show great variation, and it is suggested that factors such as mechanical disturbance have a more significant effect on the differential destruction of excavated bone assemblages than can chemical decay. The implications of this conclusion for the attempted reconstruction of past faunas, diet and behavior are summarized, recommending caution in the acceptance of assemblages as unbiased samples.

Loreille, O., J.-D. Vigne, et al. (1997). "First distinction of sheep and goat archaeological bones by the means of their fossil mtDNA." Journal of Archaeological Science 24(1): 33-37.

Lotan, E. (2000). "Feeding the scavengers. Actualistic taphonomy in the Jordan Valley, Isreal." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 10: 407-425.

This paper describes the results of a 3-year project carried out in the Jordan Valley, Isreal, in which the influence of specific local environmental conditions, such as scavenging, weathering and scattering of carcasses, were related to their bone survival. During the 3 year period, the taphonomy of 16 whole animal carcasses, deposited in a nature preserve and agricultural cultivated area were compared.

Lubinski, P. M. (1996). "Fish heads, fish heads: An experiment on differential bone preservation in a Salmonid Fish." Journal of Archaeological Science 23: 175-181.

An experiment modelling the effects of cooking and soil pH on salmonid bone survival was completed using cleaned Lake Whitefish bones. The experiemnt tested for preservation differences between head parts and vertebrae and between raw, broiled, and moderately burned bone under both acidic and alkaline conditions. Elements were submerged in aqueous solution for 24-h periods, removed, dried, weighed, and re-immersed. Resulting weight and element loss curves for acidic conditions suggest that 1) head parts are destroyed more quickly than vertebrae, and 2) element destruction increases with heating intensity. Under alkaline conditions, broadly similar trends were observed, but at reduced rates

Lupo, K. D. (1994). "Butchering marks and carcass acquisition strategies: distinguishing hunting from scavenging in archaeological contexts." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(6): 827-837.

Recently, the presence of specific types of cut marks on large bovid bones from Klasies River Mouth has been linked to the butchering of dessicated carcasses acquired by scavenging. This paper presents data from bone assemblages produced by contemmporary hunter-gatherers which show that identical marks can be produced when carcasses acquired by hunting and stiff from rigor mortis are butchered. These data suggest that such marks may be very common whenever there is an interval between when an animal is killed and butchered, Such delays may be common among societies that use simple hunting techniques.

Lupo, K. D. (1995). "Hadza bone assemblages and hyena attrition: an ethnographic example of the influence of cooking and mode of discard on the intensity of scavenger ravaging." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 14(3): 288-314.

Recent research has shown that spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) selectively scavenge bone assemblages produced by humans, in part, as a function of the amounts and types of nutrients associated with the bone. But the amounts and types of nutrients associated with bone in human produced assemblages depend on how the bone was originally processed and subsequently discarded. Modern human populations often expose bones to heat and flames during food processing and trash disposal activities. The resulting bone assemblages contain very little nutritional residues and may be less attractive to scavengers with other options. This paper examines the influence of cooking and burning on subsequent scavenger behavior. Data derived from bone assemblages created by contemporary East African Hadza hunter-gatherers suggest that hyena scavenging behavior is modified when bones are cooked or exposed to fire. These data show that bones that have been intensively exposed to heat or flames display low levels of hyena-induced surface damage. In some of the Hadza bone assemblages described here, low-density bones survive hyena ravaging in higher frequencies than might be expected from prior experimental research.

Lupo, K. D. (1998). "Experimentally derived extraction rates for marrow: implications for body part exploitation strategies of Plio-Pleistocene hominid scavengers." Journal of Archaeological Science 25(7): 657-675.

Through systematic butchering experiments the processing costs (in time) for limb bone marrow, head and foot contents are quantified for four different medium-sized (40-250 kg) East African taxa. These data are used to determine the caloric return rates from processing skeletal elements of animals in different stages of fat depletion. Analysis of these data have three important results. First, for some taxa the feet and head are more eficiently processed than certain limb bones. Second, the exploitation of the malnourished carcasses may not be reflected by the selective processing of the bones with marrow that retain fat. Finally, processing costs vary as a function of carcass size and are higher than previous estimates. Skeletal part representation of medium and larger-sized taxa from FLK Zinjanthropous are reanalysed in light of these data. Results of this analysis challenge previous characterizations of early hominids as efficient and selective scavangers with acess to high quality animal carcasses. These results have implications for the risk factors and predictability of scavenging opportunities encountered by early hominids.

Lupo, K. D. (2001). "Archaeological skeletal part profiles and differential transport: ethnoarchaeological example from Hadza bone assemblages." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 20(3): 361-378.

Skeletal profiles of medium-sized prey (>40 kg) are often used by archaeologists as one line of evidence to infer prehistoric body-part transport patterns. However, recent theoretical and ethnoarchaeological research is divided over the types of bone assemblages that have the best potential for accurately reflecting transport and discard patterns. This paper quantitatively evaluates the usefulness of skeletal part profiles as evidence of differential transport from ethnoarchaeological Hadza bone assemblages. Skeletal part abundances from different types of Hadza sites (butchering sites, a hunting blind, and a residential base) are compared to previously reported observations of body part transport/discard decisions (O'Connell et al. 1988, 1990). Analysis of these assemblages suggests that observed Hadza transport/discard decisions are more accurately reflected by small-scale, single-event butchering stands. Larger-sized bone assemblages representing amalgamations of many butchering events poorly reflect observed transport and discard patterns. The results of this analysis show that under circumstances where prey are singly acquired, small sites may reveal a far more accurate picture of prehistoric body-part transport patterns than large and highly visible archaeological sites.

Lupo, K. D. and J. F. O'Connell (2002). "Cut and tooth mark distributions on large animal bones: ethnoarchaeological data from the Hadza and their implications for current ideas about early human carnivory." Journal of Archaeological Science 29(1): 85-109.

Distributions of cut and tooth marks on the bones of large animals found in archaeological sites are increasingly used as sources of inference about the relative importance of hunting and scavanging in early human diets, and (by extension) about the role of meat-eating in human evolution. Here we review the empircal basis for these inferences in the light of ethnoarchaeological data from the Tanzanian Hadza, a modern East African foraging population. Comparison of the Hadza data with those produced by other actualistic work indicates that while there may be a relationship between cut and tooth mark distributions and order of consumer access (human- versus carnivore-first), it is less clear-cut than many have suggested. Application of these results to the analysis of Plio-Pleistocene archaeological collections is further complicated by inconsistencies in the ways cut and tooth marks have been defined and counted, and by significant differences between patterns observed in modern control samples and those reported at ancient sites. These observations indicate that cut and tooth mark analyses are unlikely to speak effectively to questions about early human carnivory in the absence of: (1) better-warrented, more comprehensive expectations about the potential range of variation in past human carcass acquisistion strategies, (2) a larger, more consistently designated set of control experiments that model the archaeological consequences of these strategies, and (3) a larger, more consistently analysed archaeological data base. Even if these requirements are met, the idea of meat-eating as an important catalyst in the evolution of early humans will remain highly problematic, mainly due to problems involving the frequency and short-term reliability of carcass access.

Lyman, R. L. (1984). "Bone Density and Differential Survivorship of Fossil Classes." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 3: 259-299.

Lyman, R. L. (1984). "Broken bones, bone expediency tools, and bone pseudotools: Lessons from the blast zone around Mount St. Helens, Washington." American Antiquity 49(2): 315-333.

Criteria for recognizing technological and use-wear modifications have been used to identify "bone expediency tools" by archaeologists who analyze bone assemblages recovered from sites where butchering of animals took place. These criteria are here reviewed and then used to identify bone pseudotools in cervid bone assemblages completely formed by non-human processes and recovered from the blast zone around the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington. The procedures for identifying stone tools and bone tools share similar strengths and weakness that seem to originate with the logical criteria used for recognizing modifications to the objects under study. Less equivocal inferential identification of bone objects as "tools" can be facilitated by turning to the problem of constructing testable hypotheses about the way patterns of use-wear modifications to bone tools can be expected to appear in the archaeological record.

Lyman, R. L. (1987). "Archaeofaunas and butchery studies: a taphonomic perspective." Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory 10: 249-337.

Lyman, R. L. (1989). "Taphonomy of cervids killed by the May 18, 1980, volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, U.S.A." Bone Modification: 149-167.

Lyman, R. L. (1992). "Anatomical considerations of utility curves in zooarchaeology." Journal of Archaeological Science 19(1): 7-22.

Lyman, R. L. (1993). Density-Mediated Attrition of Bone Assemblages: New Insights. From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. J. Hudson. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 324-341.

Lyman, R. L. (1994). Vertebrate taphonomy. Cambridge [England] ; New York, Cambridge University Press.

Lyman, R. L. (1995). "Determining when rare (zoo-)archaeological phenomena are truly absent." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2(4): 369-424.

Lyman, R. L. (2002). "Taphonomic agents and taphonomic signatures." American Antiquity 67(2): 361-365.

Erlandson and Moss (2001) indicate one step to deciphering the taphonomic history of a deposit comprising numerous remains of acquatic organisms involves building a list of the nonhuman nlocal carnivores. Such lists indicate potential, not actual, taphonomic agents, and the list they provide does not include one of the more significant potential accumulators of acquatic remains - pinnipeds. Nor do they discuss the critical second step of taphonomic analysis that involves the writing of taphonomic histories based on signature criteria manifest as modifications to faunal remains.

Lyman, R. L., A. L. Chambers, et al. (1992). "Effect of structural density on marmot skeletal part representation in archaeological sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 19(5): 557-573.

Volume bone mineral densities for two species of MArmota are more similar to each other than their average is to previously published volume densities for small cervids and large bovids. Marmot bone density values do not correlate with frequencies of marmot bones reported by Grayson (1989) for the White Mountains of California, suggesting that bone assemblage has notundergone density-mediated attrition. Marmot bone density values are correlated with frequencies of marmot bones recovered from the Salishan Mesa site in Washington, and those specimens appear to be relatively larger and less fragmented than those from the White Mountains. These multiple lines of evidence suggest frequencies of Salishan Mesa marmot remains are the result of density-mediated attrition and frequencies of White Mountains marmot remains may be either the result of differential recovery or the influence of differential fragmentation on identifiability.

Lyman, R. L. and G. L. Fox (1989). "Critical evaluation of bone weathering as an indication of bone assemblage formation." Journal of Archaeological Science 16(3): 293-317.

Weathering of bones has been defined as chemical and mechanical deterioration and destruction occurring over Time (the periodic system of solar years). Actualistically documented correlations between the years since animal death and weatehring stages, and between weathering stages and depositional habitats, lead to hypothesized relationships between prehistoric weathered bones and exposure and accumulation histories of those bones. Detailed review of those hypothesized relationships reveals accumulation and exposure histories are not readily inferred from assemblages of weathered bones. The relationships minimally involve assuming the values of one or more kinds of taphonomic time which can at best be measured on ordinal scales. Simulated accumulation histories and inspection of actualistic data indicate an assemblae of weathered bones may be formed in various ways. Control of skeletal element type and interdependence, taxon, depositional environment, and subsurface weathering are serious analytical challenges seldom fully met, thereby rendering interpretations of weathered bones dateable.

Lyman, R. L. and M. J. O'Brien (1987). "Plow-zone zooarchaeology: Fragmentation and identifiability." Journal of Field Archaeology 14: 493-498.

Fragments of long bones of deer and deer-sized mammals recovered from a ca. 2000- year-old site in eastern Missouri were measured to the nearest 0.5 cm. Frequency distribution of fragment size-classes are similar among five subplow-zone excavation levels, but all have more large and fewer small fragments than does the plow zone. Frequency distributions of size classes for eight identified skeletal elements indicate a minimum identifiable fragment size exists that creates an analytical absence of skeletal elements that have in reality been collected.

Maat, G. J. R. (1993). "Bone preservation, decay and its related conditions in ancient human bones from Kuwait." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 3: 77-86.

By means of scanning electron microscopy, four out of a series of twelve inhumations fr om the Hellenistic Period were examined for traces of the decay process. The changes represented the result of erosion and biological decomposition of human bones on a small island in the northern part of the Persian Gulf over a period of ca. 2200 years. Special emphasis was given to bone preservation and blood cell survival, and to bone changes due to physiochemical erosion and fungus, bacterium, insect, and plant-root activity. Related soil and climatic conditions were taken into consideration. The observations should be evaluated to understand the unusual state of preservation of the bones and to avoid possible misrepresentation of pseudo-pathological bone changes as ante- mortem pathology.

Maat, G. J. R., R. P. M. v. d. Bos, et al. (2001). "Manual preparation of ground sections for the microscopy of natural bone tissue: update and modification of Frost's 'rapid manual method'." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 11(5): 366-374.

Light microscopy should be a routine complementary diagnostic tool for osteoarchaeologists, palaeopathologists and forensic anthropologists. However, this well-established and long existing technique is not widely utilized. It is a popular belief that the preparation of the required sections of bone tissue demands a lot of time, expensive instruments, and a knowledge of plastics. To show that this is not entirely the case, a long existing technique for the manual preparation of ground sections was brushed up and tested. Its application is simple, extremely cheap, rapid and reliable and the final product is a beautiful and intact ca. 10-15 micron or less thin section. A few modifications are proposed which further improve the feasibility of the technique, and which also make it very suitable for less well-preserved, inhumed, and even cremated osteoarchaeological/forensic remains. As in the original method, the modifications need only a few extra, but still very basic and cheap products. A detailed step by step description of the procedure is presented. The advantages are then discussed.

Marchiafauai, A., E. Bonucci, et al. (1974). "Fungal Osteoclasia: A model of dead bone resorption." Calcified Tissue Research 14: 195-210.

A morphological investigation has been caried out on the osteoclastic activity revealed by a fungus of the Mucor genus on buried bone. The hallmark of its activity in eroding bone is the finding of resorption pits and boring channels whose walls are sharp and well calcified up to the free edge, suggesting that bone resorption affects crystallites and the organic matrix simultaneously. Unlike normal osteoclastic cells, the fungal membrane in contact with the bone shows no brush border. As the electron microscope reveals no migration of material to the fungal membrane and its protoplasm, the view is expressed that the material which reaches the fungus has been previously solubilized. There is good reason for supposing that a substance capable of solubilizing the inorganic bone fraction spreads freely through bone tissue, decalcifying the matrix, where, but only where, hyphae show the effects of ageing. All the findings are thoroughly discussed and compared with those furnished by the boring channels in fossilized bone.

Marean, C. W. (1985). "Faunal remains from Smitswinkelbaai Cave, Cape Peninsula." South African archaeological bulletin 40(142): 100-102.

Marean, C. W. (1986). "Seasonality and seal exploitation in the southwestern Cape, South Africa." African archaeological review 4: 135-149.

Marean, C. W. (1989). "Sabertooth cats and their relevance for early hominid diet and evolution." Journal of Human Evolution 18(6): 559-582.

Marean, C. W. (1991). "Measuring the post-depositional destruction of bone in archaeological assemblages." Journal of Archaeological Science 18(6): 677-694.

Post-depositional processes have affected most archaeozoological assemblages, often causing fragmentation or destruction of bone which can vary by assemblage, and hamper interpretations of the original element representation (Klein & Cruz-Uribe 1984). Prior to performing interassemblage comparisons analysts must first assess the post-depositional destruction for each assemblage. Hammerstone breakage and hyena ravaging experiments show that compact bones (carpals, tarsals, fibulae) are rarely fragmented, therefore fragmentation of these bones in archaeozoological assemblages should be the result of post-depositional destruction. A "Completeness Index" for compact bones provides a description of the magnitude of post-depositional destruction because the "Completeness Index" is independent of differential fragmentation and transport by bone collectors, and quanitification variation between researchers. The efficacy of the "Completeness Index" for showing varying completeness of archaeological bone is demonstrated by comparing two Late Pleistocene archaeological sites in Kenya. When guided by experimental results the "Completeness Index" allows an evaluation of the impact of post-depositional destruction on the two Kenyan assemblages. Published archaeozoological reports must provide a measure of post-depositional destruction or else the usefullness of the data for comparative analysis is compromised.

Marean, C. W. (1992). "Hunter to herder: large mammal remains from the hunter-gatherer occupation at Enkapune Ya Muto rock-shelter, Central Rift, Kenya." African Archaeological Review 10: 65-127.

Marean, C. W. (1998). "A critique of the evidence for scavenging by Neandertals and early modern humans: new data from Kobeh Cave (Zagros Mountains, Iran) and Die Kelders Cave 1 Layer 10 (South Africa)." Journal of Human Evolution 35(2): 111-136.

Marean, C. W. and Z. Assefa (1999). "Zooarchaeological evidence for the faunal exploitation behavior of Neandertals and early modern humans." Evolutionary Anthropology 8(1): 22-37.

Marean, C. W. and L. Bertino (1994). "Intrasite spatial analysis of bone: subtracting the effect of secondary carnivore consumers." American Antiquity 59(4): 748-768.

Animal bones discarded by people are commonly subject to disturbance by carnivores. These carnivores are present throughout the world and include wolves, coyotes, hyenas, and many others. The disturbance not only modifies and destroys bone, but also moves many of the bone fragments away from their original position of discard. Intrasite spatial analyses of bone that seek patterns meaningful to human behavior thus need to subtract the effect of carnivore disturbance. Experimental studies with spotted hyenas show that the position of a bone fragment on a limb bone, combined with bone surface modification can be used to identify a class of bone fragments that are minimally affected by carnivores and are thus the best indicators of spatial patterning resulting from human behavior. Limb-bone ends are moved significant distances, as are shaft fragments as a general class. However, middle-shaft portions of limb bones that preserve percussion marks from hammerstone breakage retain nearly the precise spatial position as originally discarded by hominids. Thus, any spatial analysis of bon, whencarnivores are implicated as contributors or consumers at an archaeological site, should focus on middle-shaft portions of limb bones with percussion marks.

Marean, C. W., R. J. Blumenschine, et al. (1992). "Captive hyaena bone choice and destruction, the schlepp effect and Olduvai archaeofaunas." Journal of Archaeological Science 19(1): 101-121.

Marean, C. W. and C. L. Ehrhardt (1995). "Paleoanthropological and paleoecological implications of the taphonomy of a sabertooth's den." Journal of Human Evolution 29(6): 515-547.

Marean, C. W. and C. J. Frey (1997). "Animal Bones from Caves to Cities: Reverse Utility Curves as Methodological Artifacts." American Antiquity 62(4): 698-711.

Utility-based studies are attractive to zooarchaeologists because they afford the opportunity of investigating economic decisions relative to particular contexts. While a positive relationship between utility and skeletal element abundance is anticipated at residential sites, a reverse utility curve is most common. A popular mechanistic explanation argues that reverse utility curves result from density-mediated destruction of bone, suggesting that utility-based studies will rarely be successful as density-mediated destruction will overwhelm any skeletal element patterning created by differential transport. We show with archaeological and experimental/naturalistic taphonomic data that the mechanistic explanation is overstated. Fauna from Kobeh cave (a Mousterian site) and 'Ain Dara (an Iron Age site) both show a reverse utility pattern when estimates of long bone abundance are based just on ends (the procedure followed at all sites that have shown a reverse utility pattern), and all bones are plotted together. When long bone abundance is estimated from the middle shaft portion, the reverse utility pattern collapses and a positive relationship arises. The ubiquity of the reverse utility curve derives in many cases from basing long bone abundance estimates on ends and scatter-plotting the abundance of long bones with non-long bones, thus restricting the analysis to the least dense most spongy bone portions. Long bone abundance estimates must include the middle shaft portion to attain accurate estimates of element abundance. Long bone abundance, when based on shaft portions, can be usefully compared to utility to investigate utility-based models of human behavior.

Marean, C. W. and S. Y. Kim (1998). "Mousterian large-mammal remains from Kobeh Cave: behavioral implications for Neanderthals and early modern humans." Current Anthropology 39: 79-113.

Marean, C. W. and L. M. Spencer (1991). "Impact of carnivore ravaging on zooarchaeological measures of element abundance." American Antiquity 56(4): 645-658.

Most zooarchaeologists estimate limb-bone abundance from limb ends. Researchers have provided detailed documentation of the preferential destruction by carnivores of limb ends (Binford 1981; Binford et al. 1988; Blumenschine 1988; Brain 1981; Marean et al. 1990; Orloff and Marean 1990; Sutcliffe 1970). Others have observed differences between limb abundances calculated on limb shafts vs. ends, suggesting shaft pieces may provide more accurate estimates of original element abundance in carnivore-ravaged assemblages (Bunn 1986; Bunn and Kroll 1986; Blumenschine 1988; Klein 1975; Marean et al. 1990; Orloff and Marean 1990). However, the exact quantitative effect of carnivore ravaging on measures of element abundance has never been investigated. We provide an experimental test of the accuracy of different bone portions for estimating the original element abundance after carnivore ravaging. Spotted hyenas were allowed to ravage 33 simulated archaeological sites of known element abundance. Estimates of abundance calculated on limb ends differ greatly from original bone abundance, and estimates based on proximal/distal-shaft pieces are also inaccurate. Estimates from middle-shaft fragments, however, are uniquely accurate. These experimental data mandate reanalysis of assemblages where limb frequencies were calculated from limb ends and carnivore ravaging is implicated, and experimentally vindicate observations originally provided by Klein (1975).

Marshall, L. G. (1989). Bone modification and "the laws of burial". Bone Modification. R. Bonnichsen. Orono, Center for the Study of the First Americans: 7-24.

Marti Mus, M. (2001). Palaeobiology and taphonomy of early problematic fossils. Uppsala, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis: Univ.-bibl. distributör.

Martin, M. (1987). "Production strategies, herd composition, and offtake rates: reassessment of archaeological models." MASCA journal 4(4): 154-165.

Martin, R. E. (1999). Taphonomy: a process approach. Cambridge [England] ; New York, Cambridge University Press.

Martínez, D. and A. Nel (2000). Studies on Mesozoic and Tertiary insects: systematics, phylogeny and taphonomy. Barcelona,.

Mayer, J. H. (2002). "Evaluating natural site formation processes in eolian dune sands: a case study from the Krmpotich Folsom site, Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming." Journal of Archaeological Science 29(10): 1199-1211.

Mercader, J., R. Marti, et al. (2003). "Archaeological site formation in rain forests: Insights from the Ituri Rock Shelters, Congo." Journal of Archaeological Science 30: 45-65.

This contribution complements the existing literature on rock shelter geoarchaeology and site formation processes by presenting data from 10 granite rock shelters in a tropical rain forest environment. Geological, taphonomic,

pedological, and archaeological data are used to assess the geomorphological evolution of rock shelters in the Ituri rain forest, Northeast Democratic Republic of Congo. Mechanisms of sediment production and deposition, soil formation, and related site formation processes were investigated. The implications for the preservation of archaeological materials and stratigraphic resolution are discussed.

Rock shelters in the tropical environment of the Congo basin are formed by mechanical and chemical denudation

of large granite boulders. The current geomorphological cycle of rock shelter formation and collapse dates to the late Pleistocene and may have been accelerated by anthropogenic forces. The sedimentary record includes in situ breakdown products from the rock shelter walls, while off-site sources are represented by a minor influx of colluvium. Soil-forming forces have acted on these matrices. Humans introduced charcoal, phytoliths, endocarps, shell, animal and human bone, as well as inorganic materials such as stone, ceramics, and metal. Lags of archaeological materials are common

under driplines where fine sediments have been washed away and include artefacts of different ages. There is no evidence of extensive bioturbation, but limited disturbance by roots, burrowing animals, and termites has been documented. Although there is some horizontal and vertical movement of prehistoric artefacts, the post-depositional translocation of materials is not significant. We conclude that the stratigraphic integrity of these granite rock shelter sites, with multiple archaeological horizons, and the potential for the long-term preservation of organic materials in a tropical

environment are better than previously thought.

Meyer, F. O. and University of Michigan. Dept. of Geology and Mineralogy. (1975). Depositional environment, taphonomy, and paleoecology of a Maclurites magnus assemblage in the Crown Point Formation, New York: 77 leaves.

Micozzi, M. S. (1991). Postmortem change in human and animal remains: a systematic approach. Springfield, Ill., C.C. Thomas.

Miller, G. J. (1969). "A study of cuts, grooves, and other marks on recent and fossil bone. I. Animal tooth marks." Tebiwa 12(1): 20-26.

Milner, G. R. and V. G. Smith (1989). "Carnivore alteration of human bone from a late prehistoric site in Illinois." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 79(1): 43-49.

Molleson, T. (1991). "Cuts on human bones produced by metal implements." Anthropologie 29(3): 199-204.

Monks, G. G. (2001). "Quit blubbering: an examination of Nuu'chah'nulth (Nootkan) whale butchery." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 11(1): 136-149.

Morel, P. (1987). "Fragmentation of bone material: a definable mathematical process." ArchaeoZoologia 1(1): 53-55.

This contribution attempts to presenta mathematical method of evaluation of bone fragmentation. This method is based on the fact that the weight distribution of a mechanically fragmented bone material corresponds to a longitudinal curve

Morey, D. F. and W. E. Klippel (1991). "Canid scavenging and deer bone survivorship at an Archaic period site in Tennessee." ArchaeoZoologia 4(1): 11-28.

Taphonomic analysis of identified white-tailed deer bone from the Hayes site (40ML139), a Middle Archaic shell midden in middle Tennessee, reveals that nearly one of every four bones exhibits evidence of canid scavenging. Domestic dogs are probably responsible. Bone characterized by dense, compact structure, and thus most resistant to canid modification, are present in frequencies higher than less resistant bones. survivorship of proximal and distal ends of long bones in particular reflects canid feeding, not human behavior. However, low incidence of gnawing marks on diaphysis fragments suggests that long bones were routinely broken by humans, presumably for marrow extraction, before the dogs had access to them. Low representation of mandibles and high representation of major tarsals compared to selected assemblages may be due to human butchery and preparation procedure. Thus, in spite of the taphonomic overprint at Hayes some aspects of human behavior may be inferred from anatomical part frequencies and patterns of canid gnawing.

Morlan, R. E. (1980). Taphonomy and archaeology in the Upper Pleistocene of the northern Yukon Territory: a glimpse of the peopling of the New World. Ottawa, National Museums of Canada.

Morlan, R. E. (1980). Taphonomy and archaeology in the Upper Pleistocene of the northern Yukon Territory

a glimpse of the peopling of the New World. Toronto, Micromedia.

Morlan, R. E. (1994). "Bison bone fragmentation and survivorship: a comparative method." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(6): 797-807.

Zooarchaeologists usually describe a bone fragment as a particular portion or segment using terminology based on skeletal orientation (e.g. proximal, anterior, lateral). A more precise understanding of bone fragmentation can be achieved by naming portions for discrete anatomical features and defined zones. Since the anatomical features are the diagnostic criteria for identifying and orientating bones, each specimen normally has atleast one such portion, and a complete element contains all of them. This recording method facilitates study of the relationship between survivorship and volume density, and it enhances inter-site comparisons. The method employs the minimum number of elements (MNE) and minimum animal units (MAU) across a site-wide aggregate. Although illustrated here with an analysis of bison bones, the method can be adapted for the study of other taxa as well as for inter-species comparisons.

Muckle, R. J. (1987). Archaeological considerations of bivalve shell taphonomy. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Müller, H.-H. (1997). "Notches in animal teeth: artificial or natural/pathological?" Anthropozoologica 25: 149-152.

Munson, P. J. (1991). Mortality profiles of white-tailed deer from archaeological sites in eastern North America. Beamers, Bobwhites, and Blue-Points: Tributes to the Career of Paul W. Parmalee. J. R. Purdue, W. E. Klippel and B. W. Styles. Springfield, Illinois State Museum: 139-151.

Ages of white-tailed deer can be determined from the eruption wear of teeth. Mortality profiles have been calculated from aged deer mandibles from numerous archaeological sites in eastern North America, and in many cases these profiles show percentages of younger age classes that are much lower than those expected from random hunting of a natural population of this species. Various mortality profiles resulted from selective hunting for older individuals by the site's inhabitants. It is argued here, on the contrary, that the low frequencies of mandibles of young animals are largely the result of predepositional attrition on bones of different, age-correlated densities and that the scavenging activities of dogs were the primary cause for differential attrition rates. Experimental and ethnoarchaeological studies suggest a "correction factor" for the scavenging effect, and when it is applied the archaeological mortality profiles look little different from those expected from nonselective hunting of a natural population of deer.

Munson, P. J. (2000). "Age-correlated differential destruction of bones and its effect on archaeological mortality profiles of domestic sheep and goats." Journal of Archaeological Science 27(5): 391-407.

Economic models based on growth curves predict that the optimum age to slaughter sheep and goats for meat is about 9 months, and if milk production is emphasized about 2-6 months. Mortality profiles from modern and historic flocks fit the prediction, for deaths of 2-12-month-old lambs and kids always exceed 50% of the total and commonly exceed 75%. For mortality profiles of mandibles from archaeological sites, on the contrary, ovicaprids 2-12 months old rarely exceed 50% of the total and in the majority of cases are less than 25%. Ethnoarchaeological and experimental studies show that when subjected to ravaging by domestic dogs the mandibles of adult sheep and goats survive at rates much higher than the less dense and smaller mandibles of young animals. If the actualistic age-correlated survival rates are applied to ovicaprid mandibles from archaeological sites, nearly all convert to mortality profiles that are sloely similar to modern and historically documented situations.

Munson, P. J. and C. W. Marean (2003). "Adults only?: a reconsideration of Middle Paleolithic 'prime-dominated' reindeer hunting at Salzgitter Lebenstedt." Journal of Human Evolution 44(2): 263-273.

Myers, T. P., M. R. Voorhies, et al. (1980). "Spiral fractures and bone pseudotools at paleontological sites." American Antiquity 45(3): 483-490.

Spiral ("green bone") breakage has been suggested as an indicator of human activity by some workers. Our examination of broken ungulate long bones from six paleontological localities in western Nebraska, however, shows that such fractures commonly occurred in the Miocene and Pliocene, long before the advent of man in North America. Pseudotools also occur frequently in these sites. We postulate that spiral breakage, including the production of pseudotools, may be due to trampling by animals.

Our study demonstrates that neither spiral breakage nor gross morphology, alone or in combination, is diagnostic of human activity. Problematical examples must be accepted or rejected wholly upon the basis of patterned wear on the supposed tools.

Nagaoka, L. (1994). "Differential recovery of Pacific Island fish remains: Evidence from the Moturakau Rockshelter, Aitutaki, Cook Islands." Asian Perspectives 33(1): 1-17.

Nawrocki, S. P. (1995). "Taphonomic processes in historic cemeteries." Bodies of Evidence: Reconstructing History through Skeletal Analysis: 49-66.

Neck, R. W. (1991). "Molluscan shells from 41FB32: environmental, cultural, and taphonomic observations." Journal, Houston Archeological Society(101): 15-21.

Nichol, R. K. and C. J. Wild (1984). ""Numbers of Individuals" in faunal analysis: the decay of fish bone in archaeological sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 11: 35-51.

Although quantifying animal remains in archaeological sites is best done by way of bone counts, there are several mechanisms that can cause distortions in the relative frequencies of different species. Some of these problems can be avoided by relatively minor modifications to standard methods, but the situation where bones have decayed since deposition cannot be controlled by methods currently in use. To overcome this a new technique is proposed. This involves comparing the relative frequencies of different anatomical elements across a number of sites, so that the extent of the dispersion of the frequencies of different bone classes at a site can be used as a guide to the extent of attrition there. This approach is illustrated by application to fish bones from sites in New Zeland.

Nicholson, R. A. (1992). "Bone survival: the effects of sedimentary abrasion and trampling on fresh and cooked bone." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 2(1): 79-90.

It is commonly assumed that, at least when considering similar sized animals, the bones from all taxa stand an equal chance of preservation. This paper summarizes one aspect of a larger study undertaken in order to assess whether this assumption is true, based on the results of experiments and observations into the effects of a range of post-depositional processes. The rates of bone destruction by sedimentary abrasion and by trampling are determined for small mammal, fish and frog bones. Patterns of bone loss and fragmentation are examined both between species and within the skeleton, for fresh and boiled bone. It is shown that there is considerable interspecies variation in the ability of bones to withstand these physical forces. Frog bone proved particularly resistant, while within the fish, bone from the Gadidae was less resilient than might be expected, given its prominence in British Medieval archaeological sites and coastal sites of all periods. Within the skeleton, bone shape appears to be a very important determinant of relative survival. Boiling dramatically reduces boneÕs resistance to destruction. The physical properties of fresh, boiled and burnt bone are compared mechanically, and the dramatic loss of strength induced by heating is demonstrated. The often voiced assumption that fish bone is more prone to destruction than mammal bone is shown to have some validity. The results add more evidence to support the view that comparison of species abundance by fragment counts may not always be appropriate, and that interpretation of skeletal element frequencies should be approached with caution.

Nicholson, R. A. (1992). "Assessment of the value of bone density measurements to archaeoichthyological studies." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 2(2): 139-154.

This paper reviews the meaning of the term ÔdensityÕ and the problems assosciated with the methods of density determination for animal bones in archaeology. It has often been assumed that density is the intrinsic property of most influence in controlling the rate of a boneÕs decay. Values for whole bone density have been published only for large mammal bone, however. Fish bone appears to be particularly vulnerable to decay, and usually a restricted range of skeletal elements are recovered from archaeological sites. The object of this study was to examine the relationship between fish bone density and the ability of the bone to survive on occupation sites and in archaeological deposits. A set of ÔdensityÕ measurements was established for the bones of cod (Gadus morhua). The usefulness of these measurements as a predictive tool in archaeoichthyological studies is assessed. It was found that ÔdensityÕ as a measured did not explain adequately the relative survival of skeletal elements after mechanical abrasion and weathering, or within archaeological deposits.

Nicholson, R. A. (1993). "A morphological investigation of burnt animal bone and an evaluation of its utility in archaeology." Journal of Archaeological Science 20: 411-428.

In 1984 Shipman and colleagues proposed a series of stages by which temperature of burning could be recognized from bone colour, mineral crystal size and surface morphology using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). This study investigates whether the changes in colour and surface morphology recognized for large mammal bone can be observed on other vertebrate bone, and if so whether at the same temperatures. Diagenesis is also considered in terms of its effects on crystal structure, and the relevance of the temperature0induced diagnostic changes assassed for archaeological bone. The results indicate that mammal and non-mammal bones undergo a similar range of colour and morphological changes with heating, but the temperature at which each stage is reached may vary. A wider range of surface morphologies was observed on bone exposed to temperatures above 700 degrees C than has been documented before. Similar surface modifications have been recognized on some archaeological bones, but diagenetically-induced surface erosion and recrystallization may complicate interpretation. Inspection using a low-power optical microscope is a valuable precursor to SEM investigation, and may sometimes provide sufficient proof of heating.

Nicholson, R. A. (1996). "Bone Degradation, Burial Medium and Species Representation: Debunking the Myths, an Experiment-Based Approach." Journal of Archaeological Science 23: 513-533.

This paper investigates the process of diagenesis in mammal, bird, and fish bone after burial or fresh and freshly cooked specimens in selected soil types for 7 years. Almost all soft tissue had disappeared, but fur, feathers, and hoof survived in acidic soil. Examination revealed that the rate of bone loss and modification could not be simply related to soil pH and/or inferred Eh; very different bone preservation occurred in geographically adjacent soils of similar pH and drainage. Bone modification also varied greatly between animals of similar size, with bird bone appearing to be particularly resilient. The state of the remains prior to burial was critically important. While boiling clearly accelerated diagenesis, other forms of cooking did not appear to have this effect. The role of micro-organisms in the degradation process is addressed. It is suggested that routine methods of bone quantification may be inappropriate for such diagenetically altered assemblages.

Nicholson, R. A. (1998). "Bone degradation in a compost heap." Journal of Archaeological Science 25(5): 393-403.

This paper describes an experiment set up in 1987 to investigate the decomposition of animal bones, mainly from smaller species, within an accumulating dump of organic refuse. The project forms part of a wider comparative study by the author into the degredation of mainly smaller animal bones with the aim of modelling taphonomic processes and providing data to enhance our understanding of bone preservation of archaeological sites. Following 7 years of burial within an accumulating domestic compost heap, a suite of mammal, bird, and fish skeletons was excavated and examined for evidence of morphological, histological, and chemical modification. By comparison with similar suites of bones buried and excavated at around the same time, most of the bones from the compost heap were very well preserved. It is argued that this may be a consequence of the cross-linking of collagen with humics from the soil, resulting in a structure resistant to enzymatic attack.

Noe-Nygaard, N. (1977). "Butchering and Marrow Fracturing as a Taphonomic Factor in Archaeologial Deposits." Paleobiology 3(2): 218-237.

A major aim of the analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites is the reconstruction of the palaeoecology of early man. Since taphonomic work must precede palaeoecological work, theories concerning the palaeoecology of early man would benefit from firmly based taphonomic studies of the archaeological deposits. One of the numerous taphonomic factors to be considered is the bone fragmentation produced by early man. The degree of bone fragmentation in a deposit uninfluenced by human factors is an expression of the resistance of the various bones to mechanical and chemical decomposition before and during burial. Thus, the degree of fragmentation where human factors are predominant should provide an illustration of man as a taphonomic factor. In both cases the degree of fragmentation may be used as an indicator of the degree of taphonomic overprint. Examination of bone material from four West European Mesolithic sites (all bog deposits), Star Carr 7200 ± 120 B.C., Kongemosen 6600 ± 100 B.C., Praestelyngen 3200 ± 100 B.C., and Muldbjerg I 2900 ± 80 B.C., reveals differences in marrow fracturing techniques. Furthermore, the different techniques result in different numbers of fragments for the same type of bone. Comparison of faunas from different sites based on the number of bone fragments must therefore be preceded by analysis of the marrow fracturing techniques used at the various sites. The number of fragments per estimated minimum number of individuals should indicate the degree of taphonomic loss. The various types of marrow fracturing found seem to belong to cultures at different levels of technical development. Thus, it may be possible within a limited area such as northern Europe to establish a chronology using marrow fracturing type as one of the ecostratigraphic tools.

Novecosky, B. J. and P. R. W. Popkin (2005). "Canidae Volume Bone Mineral Density Values: An Application to Sites in Western Canada." Journal of Archaeological Science 32: 1677-1690.

We present volume bone density values for five different canid species: domestic dog (Canis familiaris), wolf (Canis lupus), coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and swift fox (Vulpes velox). We use these density values to investigate Canidae remains from four archaeological sites in western Canada and show the importance of explicitly stating assumptions made about the original composition of the deposited faunal assemblage as this influences whether correlations are found between density and percent survivorship (%MAU).

Oliver, J. S. (1993). Carcass processing by the Hadza: bone breakage from butchery to consumption. From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains. Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: 200-227.

Olsen, S. L. (1988). "Identification of stone and metal tool marks on bone artifacts." Scanning Electron Microscopy in Archaeology: 337-360.

Olsen, S. L. (1989). "On distinguishing natural from cultural damage on archaeological antler." Journal of Archaeological Science 16(2): 125-135.

Natural traces produced on antlers during the life of the deer may be mistaken for use wear inflicted by humans when the antler is recovered from archaeological contexts. In the process of discarding their velvet and in engaging in a variety of rutting behaviors, deer inflicted several forms of damage to their antlers. The abrasion, polishing, marring, and terminal impact fractures noted on 110 pairs of uncast, unused antlers from 11 species of deer demonstrate yhat this damage is widespread and diagnostic. Comparisons were made between characteristic natural surface modifications and wear found on two common antler tools, pressure flakers and soft hammers.

Olsen, S. L. and P. Shipman (1988). "Surface modification on bone: trampling versus butchery." Journal of Archaeological Science 15(5): 535-553.

Previous researchers have reported difficulties in distinguishing between surface marks on bone formed by sedimentary abrasion and those inflicted while butchering. Trampling by large ungulates and humans has been credited with producing pseudo-cut marks: natural alterations to the bone that mimic cultural ones. The purposes of this research are: (1) to re-examine trampling as a taphonomic process, and (2) to suggest criteria useful for distinguishing sedimentary abrasion, including trampling, from butchery. Macroscopic and microscopic comparison of experimentally trampled bones and those which have had soft tissue removed with a flint tool demonstrate significant differences between the surface modifications produced by the two processes.

Outram, A. K. (2001). "New approach to identifying bone marrow and grease exploitation: why the "indeterminate" fragments should not be ignored." Journal of Archaeological Science 28(4): 401-410.

The economic importance of bone fat to past peoples is discussed and the ethnography of bone marrow and grease extraction is briefly outlined. Models for expected patterns of bone fracture and fragmentation, relating to the exploitation of bone marrow and grease are described. Current methods for assessing bone fracture and fragmentation, in archaeological assemblages, are discussed and a new methodology is suggested. The importance of retaining and studying the "indeterminate" class of fragments is stressed. The new methodology employs a fracture freshness index (FFI) to study fracture type, and fragmentation is assessed through the separation of fragments into size classes and different bone types. An example application is given.

Owen, T. (2002). "Bone sampling for isotope analysis." AA Australian Archaeology 54: 57-58.

Parr, R. E. and M. Q. Sutton (1991). ""Invisible" archaeological deposits at small milling sites." Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 13(2): 279-283.

Pate, F. D. and J. T. Hutton (1988). "The use of soil chemistry data to address post-mortem diagenesis in bone mineral." Journal of Archaeological Science 15: 729-739.

The soluble and exchangeable ions for a soil profile from the Roonka archaeological site, Lower Murray Basin, South Australia, are compared with the total elemental content of the soils. Since the chemical composition of port-mortem ionic substituion phases and secondary minerals in archaeological bone will depend on the avialability of ions to the soil solution under field conditions, it is suggested that models addressing diagenesis in bone employ soluble and exchangeable ions rather than total elemental soil data.

Pate, F. D., T. Owen, et al. (2003). "AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Bone Collagen: Establishing a Chronology for the Swanport Aboriginal Burial Ground, South Australia." Australian Archaeology 56: 8-11.

Pavao, B. and P. W. Stahl (1999). "Structural Density Assays of Leporid Skeletal Elements with Implications for Taphonomic, Actualistic and Archaeological Research." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(1): 53-66.

Structural density assays of standardized bone scan sites are provided from six skeletons of four leporid taxa, including European or domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), snowshoe hare (Lepus canadensis) and black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus). The results are discussed via comparison to published density figures for roughly similar sized North American marmots (Marmota spp.). In the absence of reliable leporid density assays, archaeologists have substituted these figures as appropriate proxy measures. However, the data indicate important differences between leporid and marmot structural density assays, which can be considered as the expression of underlying anatomical dissimilarities. The implications of these results for assessing predator accumulations through application to published taphonomic and actualistic studies of leporid remains undertaken primarily in the Great Basin of the western United States, and for analyses of faunal assemblages in the American Southwest, are explored.

Payne, S. (1972). On the interpretation of bone samples from archaeological sites. Papers in Economic Prehistory. E. S. Higgs. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Payne, S. and P. J. Munson (1985). Ruby and how many squirrels? The destruction of bones by dogs. Paleobiological Investigations: Research Design, Methods, and Data Analysis. N. R. J. Fieller and D. D. Gilbertson. Oxford, BAR: 31-40.

Peacock, E. (2001). "Assessing bias in archaeological shell assemblages." Journal of Field Archaeology 27(2): 183-196.

Peacock, E. and S. Chapman (2001). "Taphonomic and biogeographic data from a Plaquemine shell midden on the Ouachita River, Louisiana." Southeastern Archaeology 20(1): 44-55.

Pearce, J. and R. Luff (1994). "The taphonomy of cooked bone." Whither Environmental Archaeology?: 51-56.

Phillips, S. S. (2002). Look both ways before crossing: the ability of long bone fractures to estimate direction of impact in fatal car-to-pedestrian accidents.

Pickering, M. (1980). "A technique of bone tool manufacture from photographs in the Donald F. Thompson Collection National Museum of Victoria." Artefact 5(1): 93-97.

Pickering, T. R., C. W. Marean, et al. (2003). "Importance of limb bone shaft fragments in zooarchaeology: a response to "On in situ attrition and vertebrate body parts profiles" (2002), by M.C. Stiner." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(11): 1469-1482.

Pickering, T. R. and J. Wallis (1997). "Bone modifications resulting from captive chimpanzee mastication: implications for the interpretation of Pliocene archaeological faunas." Journal of Archaeological Science 24(12): 1115-1127.

Pipenbrink, H. (1986). "Two examples of biogenous dead bone decomposition and their consequences for taphonomic interpretation." Journal of Archaeological Science 13: 417-430.

Decomposition of dead bone occurs in the later stages of decomposition of a corpse. In addition to general environmental influences, micro-organisms play an important role in destruction of interred skeletal remains. fungi are known to penetrate actively through hard tissues, but they also decompose dead bone by extensive sxcretion of secondary metabolites which partially leach the bone tissue. This leads to alterations in quality and quantity of both the organic and inorganic bone matrix. Interpretation of any taphonomically relevant biochemical analysis has therefore to take these post-mortem events into account. As biogenous decomposition also results in changes in bone microstructure (tunnelling, fissuring by selective loss of material) the potential for histomophological studies of exhumed hard tissue is limited. Micro-organisms can also impregnate dead bone with persistent fluorophores and chromophores. These impregnations are often similar to various post-mortem or intra-vitam alterations, and can lead to misinterpretation. Histology, scanning electron microscopy, microradiography, comparative crystallographical and biochemical analyses in combination with microbiological isolation and cultivation tests help in interpretation of a given post-mortem change in exhumed bone as the result of either general environmental influence or biogenous decomposition.

Polk, J. D., B. Demes, et al. (2000). "A comparison of primate, carnivoran and rodent limb bone cross-sectional properties: are primates really unique?" Journal of Human Evolution 39(3): 297-325.

The cross-sectional properties of mammalian limb bones provide an important source of information about their loading history and locomotor adaptations. It has been suggested, for instance, that the cross-sectional strength of primate limb bones differs from that of other mammals as a consequence of living in a complex arboreal environment (Kimura, 1991, 1995). In order to test this hypothesis more rigorously, we have investigated cross-sectional properties in samples of humeri and femora of 71 primate species, 30 carnivorans and 59 rodents. Primates differ from carnivorans and rodents in having limb bones with greater cross-sectional strength than mammals of similar mass. This might imply that primates have stronger bones than carnivorans and rodents. However, primates also have longer proximal limb bones than other mammals. When cross-sectional dimensions are regressed against bone length, primates appear to have more gracile bones than other mammals. These two seemingly contradictory findings can be reconciled by recognizing that most limb bones experience bending as a predominant loading regime. After regressing cross-sectional strength against the product of body mass and bone length, a product which should be proportional to the bending moments applied to the limb, primates are found to overlap considerably with carnivorans and rodents. Consequently, primate humeri and femora are similar to those of nonprimates in their resistance to bending. Comparisons between arboreal and terrestrial species within the orders show that the bones of arboreal carnivorans have greater cross-sectional properties than those of terrestrial carnivorans, thus supporting Kimura's general notion. However, no differences were found between arboreal and terrestrial rodents. Among primates, the only significant difference was in humeral bending rigidity, which is higher in the terrestrial species. In summary, arboreal and terrestrial species do not show consistent differences in long bone reinforcement, and Kimura's conclusions must be modified to take into account the interaction of bone length and cross-sectional geometry.

Pope, G. A. and R. Rubenstein (1999). "Anthroweathering: theoretical framework and case study for human impacted weathering." Geoarchaeology 14(3): 247-264.

Powell, E. N., S. Boyles, et al. (1991). "Dating time-since-death of oyster shells by the rate of decomposition of the organic matrix." Archaeometry 33(1): 51-68.

Pratt, A. E. (1990). Taphonomy of the large vertebrate fauna from the Thomas Farm locality (Miocene, Hemingfordian) Gilchrist County, Florida. Gainesville, University of Florida.

Price, T. D., Ed. (1989). The Chemistry of Prehistoric Human Bone. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Price, T. D., J. Blitz, et al. (1992). "Diagenesis in prehistoric bone:Problems and solutions." Journal of Archaeological Science 19: 513-529.

Post-depositional chemical alteration, or diagenesis, in prehistoric human bone is the major problem in the use of trace element analyses for dietary reconstruction. Following a review of recent studies of diagenesis, we discuss means for evaluating post-depositional chemical change in the bone and for removing such contaminants. Three different procedures are described which reflect current efforts to evaluate and reduce the effect of diagenesis. These include 1) mechanical cleaning, 2) chemical cleaning through acid washing, 3) washing with a reducing agent. These procedures usually remove major contaminats, leaving significant potential of trace element analyses for the investigation of past diet.

Price, T. D., M. Connor, et al. (1985). "Bone chemistry and the reconstruction of diet: Strontium discrimination in white-tailed deer." Journal of Archaeological Science 12(6): 419-442.

Price, T. D. and School of American Research (Santa Fe N.M.) (1989). The Chemistry of prehistoric human bone. Cambridge [England] ; New York, Cambridge University Press.

Reinhard, K. J. and T. M. Fink (1994). "Cremation in southwestern North America: aspects of taphonomy that affect pathological analysis." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(5): 597-605.

The taphonomy of cremation has a great impact on the variety of bioarchaeological infgormation that can be retrieved in the analysis of cremated bone. Aspects of the incineration process such as shrinkage, warpage and fragmentation obscure pathologiocal evidence. Poor gleaning practices and mode of interment also limit data recovery. Despite these factors, a comparative analysis of pathology exhibited in inhumations and cremation deposits shows that certain classes of pathology can be reliably recovered from cremation deposits. These include pathology related to degenerative disease and also the lesions of porotic hypertosis. However, evidence of dental disease and lesions of criba orbitalioa are largely destroyed by the cremation process. The results of the analysis show that pathology data can be retrieved from cremations. However, a review of cremation practice in the southwest shows that alternate forms of cremation can affect the recovery of pathological data. From this comparison, one can predict whether or not cremation practices in any given study area will limit or enhance the retreval of pathological data.

Reitz, E. J. (1994). "Wells of Spanish Florida: using taphonomy to identify site history." Journal of Ethnobiology 14(2): 141-160.

Wells from Spanish Florida provide a wealth of information about subsistence in the colony. Archaeologists working with materials from the Spanish colony argue that these wells were filled quickly. It is possible, however, that they were filled slowly. Wells left open after being abandoned, like natural pitfall traps, should accumulate the remains of animals such as rodent, snakes, and frogs, which become entrapped in such features. Wells filled quickly once abandoned should contain few of these animals. While two Spanish wells have been found that did function as natural traps, most of the wells of St. Augustine and Santa Elena do not appear to have been open and unused long enough to serve as natural traps.

Richter, J. (1986). "Experimental study of heat induced morphological changes in fish bone collagen." Journal of Archaeological Science 13: 477-481.

A method for discriminating between heated and non-heated fish bones is presented. The morphological changes of fish bone collagen during thermal and hydrothermal denaturation has been studied. Controlled heating of samples of modern fish bones from 60 degrees to 100 degrees C were performed. The morphological changes of collagen have been found to increase when temperature is increased. The method might be used to demonstrate subfossil meal remnants and could be a possible means to separate naturally deposited fish bones from human refuse.

Rick, T. C. (2002). "Eolian processes, ground cover, and the archaeology of coastal dunes: a taphonomic case study from San Miguel Island, California, U.S.A." Geoarchaeology 17(8): 811-833.

Robinson, S., R. A. Nicholson, et al. (2003). "An evaluation of nitrogen porosimetry as a technique for predicting taphonomic durability in animal bone." Journal of Archaeological Science 30(4): 391-403.

To date, direct measurements of bone porosity have been used primarily to quantify the degree of diagenetic alteration. Qualitative zooarchaeological observations over many years have suggested that, for equivalent burial conditions, the bones of different taxa degrade at different rates, and that, even within a single skeleton, systematic variation often occurs. Given that freedom of access of water to the internal bone surface is likely to be an important factor controlling the rate of chemical alteration, we postulate that the initial porosity of a bone may be an important factor in predicting the rate of degredation. To test this, we have used nitrogen porosimetry as a technique for comparing the total pore volume and size distribution of pores between a selection of anatomical elements taken from a range of modern animals commonly represented on European archaeological sites. We show that the bones of modern domestic pig are, on average, mor porous than those of other ungulates, and should therefore be likely to degrade faster after burial. Systematic differeces in porosity are also shown between different anatomical elements from a single individual and between adult and juvenile bone. However, we also show that porosity measurements are affected by sample storage and preparation methodology, particularly freezing. Variations in bone porosity between different skeletal elements and taxa necessitate careful sample selection and matching in order to minimize variation. We conclude that, despite these restrictions, direct measurement of variation in bone prorosity shows good potential for contributing a predictive model for bone diagenesis.

Ruig, J. (1999). Collectors as taphonomic agents in the archaeological record. Taphonomy: The Analysis of Processes from Phytoliths to Megafauna. Canberra, ANH Publications, Australian National University: 109-115.

Ruiter, D. J. d. and L. R. Berger (2000). "Leopards as taphonomic agents in Dolomitic caves: implications for bone accumulations in the hominid-bearing deposits of South Africa." Journal of Archaeological Science 27(8): 665-684.

Runia, L. T. (1987). The chemical analysis of prehistoric bones: a paleodietary and ecoarcheological study of Bronze Age West-Friesland. Oxford, Eng., B.A.R.

Runnings, A. L., D. Bentley, et al. (1989). "Use-wear on bone tools: a technique for study under the scanning electron microscope." Bone Modification: 259-266.

Ruth, C. E. (2000). Death, decay, and reconstruction: an osteological analysis of effigy mound material from Wisconsin. Oxford, Archaeopress.

Ryan, M. J. R. (1993). The taphonomy of a Centrosaurus Reptilia: Ornithischia bone bed Campanian, Dinosaur Provincal Park, Alberta, Canada. Ottawa, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Sanders, W. J., J. Trapani, et al. (2003). "Taphonomic aspects of crowned hawk-eagle predation on monkeys." Journal of Human Evolution 44(1): 87-105.

This study provides a taphonomic analysis of prey accumulations of crowned hawk-eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) from Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, collected over 37 months from below nests of two eagle pairs. Crowned hawk-eagles are powerful predators capable of killing animals much larger than themselves, and are significant predators of cercopithecoid monkeys in forest habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa. At Ngogo, 81% of the individuals in the kill sample are monkeys. Redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) are particularly well represented in the sample, making up 66% of monkeys identified to species. Despite an impressive killing apparatus, crowned hawk-eagles are fastidious eaters that inflict far less damage to bone than mammalian predators. Examination of skeletal material from the Ngogo kill sample reveals that crania, hindlimb elements, and scapulae survive predation better than do other bones. Crania of adults are typically complete and accompanied by mandibles, while crania of young individuals are usually dissociated from mandibles and lack basicrania and faces. Long bones are often whole or show minimal damage. Thin bones, such as crania and innominates, are marked by numerous nicks, punctures, and "can-opener" perforations. Scapular blades are heavily raked and shattered. Along with the strong preference for cercopithecoids, these distinct patterns of bone survival and damage indicate the feasibility of recognizing specific taphonomic signatures of large raptors in fossil assemblages.

Berger and Clarke (1995) hypothesized that crowned hawk-eagles or similar large raptors were principally responsible for the accumulation of the late Pliocene fossil fauna from Taung, South Africa, including the type infant skull of Australopithecus africanus. The results of our study suggest that the faunal composition and type of damage to the hominid skull and other bone from Taung are consistent with the predatory activities of large raptors. More rigorous assessment of their hypothesis will require sorting the Taung fauna by locality and further detailed analysis of species composition and bone damage and survivability patterns.

Savelle, J. M. and T. M. Friesen (1996). "Odontocete (Cetacea) meat utility index." Journal of Archaeological Science 23(5): 713-721.

Savelle, J. M., T. M. Friesen, et al. (1996). "Derivation and application of an otariid utility index." Journal of Archaeological Science 23(5): 705-712.

Scheinsohn, V. and J. L. Ferretti (1995). "The mechanican properties of bone materials in relation to the design and function of prehistoric tools from Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina." Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 711-717.

This paper considers the relationship between mechanical properties, function and design in prehistoric bone tools. The evidence that supports this association could lead to the interpretation of bone tool collections in the light of evolutionary theory. In order to evaluate the interaction among these three factors we have studied the mechanical and geometrical properties of bone used by the prehistoric Fuegians for manufacturing tools. In this study, 3-point tests of bone samples were performed; and the possible function, in terms of modes of action, for each group of tools, was inferred from their morphological traits and the ethnographic record. Results support the view that the bones selected for manufacturing each kind of tool were those whose geometric and/or mechanical properties most suited the design and function of the tool involved.

Schiffer, M. B. (1983). "Toward the identification of formation processes." American Antiquity 48(4): 675-706.

Research in experimental archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, geoarchaeology, and vertebrate taphonomy has appreciably increased our general understanding of the formation processes-cultural and natural-of archaeological sites. In synthesizing some of these recent advances, this paper focuses on the traces of artifacts and characteristics of deposits that can be used to identify the formation processes of specific deposits. These observational phenomena are grouped into three basic categories that structure the presentation: (1) simple properties of artifacts, (2) complex properties of artifacts, and (3) other properties of deposits. Also considered is the way in which prior knowledge can help the archaeologist to cope with the large number of processes and the nearly infinite combination of them that may have contributed to the specific deposits of interest. Several analytical strategies are proposed: (1) hypothesis testing, (2) multivariate analysis, and (3) use of published data to evaluate formation processes. This paper demonstrates that the identification of formation processes, which must precede behavioral inference and be accomplished by any research endeavor that uses evidence from the archaeological record, can become practical and routine.

Schiffer, M. B. (1987). Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. Salt Lake City, University of Utah Press.

Schiffer, M. B. (1996). Formation processes of the historical and archaeological records. Learning from Things: Method and Theory of Material Culture Studies. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press: 73-80.

Schmitt, D. N. (1995). "Taphonomy of golden eagle prey accumulations at Great Basin roosts." Journal of Ethnobiology 15(2): 237-256.

Schmitt, D. N. and K. E. Juell (1994). "Toward the identification of coyote scatological faunal accumulations in archaeological contexts." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(2): 249-262.

One of the most important and most difficult tasks in zooarchaeological inquiry is distinguishing small animal bones accumulated by natural processes from those accumulated by human subsistence activities. To assist in this difficult task, attritional characteristics and quantitative data on bones recovered from 40 Great Basin coyote (Canis latrans) scats are presented. Digestive attrition is evident in skeletal pitting, staining, and polishing, particularly along fracture edges. Some distinct breakage patterns are evident, especially on jackrabbit-sized long bones. The data indicate that variability in scatological body part content may be a product of density-mediated attrition and/or prey availability. We propose that bone fragment size may be employed with corrosive attributes to distinguish scatological accumulations from human subsistence refuse.

Schultz, J. J., M. A. Williamson, et al. (2003). "A taphonomic profile to aid in the recognition of human remains from historic and/or cemetery contexts." Florida Anthropologist 56(2): 141-147.

Schulz, P. D. (1987). "Archaeological evidence for early bone lime production in Old Town San Diego." Pacific Coast Archaeological Society quarterly 23(2): 52-58.

Schurr, M. R. and D. A. Gregory (2002). "Fluoride dating of faunal materials by ion-selective electrode: high resolution relative dating at an early agricultural period site in the Tucson Basin." American Antiquity 67(2): 281-299.

When the flouride content of bone is measured with an ion-selective electrode, and when the technique is correctly applied, flouride dating is a very economical method for developing fine-scale relative chronologies. It has been successfuly used to develop relative chronologies for prehistoric human burials and fossilized bones throughout the world, but its much greater potential for the dating of unfossilized faunal materials has been neglected. The flouride contents of 889 lagamorph and 16 artiodactyl bones from 183 contexts at Los Pozos, an Early agricultural period site in Arizona, illustrates how flouride measurements can be used to date features. Flouride dating offers a temporal resolution capable of distinguishing between features separated by as little as 20 to 40 years.

Sealy, J. C. and A. Sillen (1988). "Sr and Sr/Ca in marine and terrestrial foodwebs in the Southwestern Cape, South Africa." Journal of Archaeological Science 15: 425-438.

Strontium and calcium have been measured in a range of plants and animals (both marine and terrestrial) from the southwestern Cape of South Africa as part of an investigation of modern and prehistoric foodwebs in the region.

Seebach, J. D. (2002). "Stratigraphy and bonebed taphonomy at Blackwater Draw Locality No. 1 during the middle Holocene (Altithermal)." Plains Anthropologist 47(183): 339-358.

Salvage excavations at Blackwater Draw Locality No. I (LA 3224) during 1956 recovered a small assemblage of bison remains and a few lithic artifacts from Archaic-age levels at the site. The assemblage was originally reported to be the remains of an Archaic kill/processing event. Reanalysis of the faunal remains and consideration of the taphonomic factors affecting the structure of the assemblage casts the reportedly cultural origin of the bone bed into doubt. Bone density and weathering patterns, the geomorphic history of the strata in which the remains were found and radiocarbon assays suggest the remains were not found in primary context. The strata in which the bones were encased were continually reworked during the Early to Middle Holocene. Eolian deflation (the primary taphonomic agent affecting the assemblage) during the Middle Holocene on the southern Plains was oftentimes severe at the site level, and can be attributed to the overarching climatic regime of the Altithermal.

Selvaggio, M. M. (1994). "Carnivore tooth marks and stone tool butchery marks on scavanged bones: archaeological implications." Journal of Human Evolution 27(1): 215-228.

Selvaggio, M. M. (1998). "Concerning the three stage model of carcass processing at FLK Zinjanthropus: a reply to Capaldo." Journal of Human Evolution 35(3): 319-321.

None-response article

Selvaggio, M. M. and J. Wilder (2001). "Identifying the involvement of multiple carnivore taxa with archaeological bone assemblages." Journal of Archaeological Science 28(5): 465-470.

Serjeantson, D. (1991). "'Rid grasse of bones': a taphonomic study of the bones from midden deposits at the Neolithic and Bronze Age site of Runnymede, Surrey, England." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 1(2): 73-89.

Shaffer, B. S. (1992). "Interpretation of gopher remains from Southwestern archaeological assemblages." American Antiquity 57(4): 683-691.

Fossorial rodents are often considered intrusive into archaeological deposits because of their burrowing behavior. However, ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological studies document the consumption of rodents historically and prehistorically. Several methods were developed to differentiate cultural specimens from noncultural specimens. These methods were applied to a sample from the NAN Ruin in southwestern New Mexico. Results of these comparisons indicate that gophers were procured by the human population at the site.

Shaffer, B. S. (1992). "Quarter-inch screening: understanding biases in recovery of vertebrate faunal remains." American Antiquity 57(1): 129-136.

Fine screening of archaeological materials is often too expensive or too time-consuming for large assemblages. Consequently 1/4" has become a standard size of mesh used among North American archaeologists. Unfortunately, the effects of 1/4" screening on bone recovery and the biases in interpretations are poorly documented. One-quarter-inch screening biases faunal recovery towards "larger" bone specimens, but previous studies fail to document biases in the recovery of specific taxa or elements. To better understand these biases, screening tests were conducted on 26 modern, comparative specimens. Results of these tests indicate that recovery and loss of specific elements for each taxon can be predicted. Mammals with live weights of less than 140 g are almost completely lost by 1/4" screening. Specimens weighing from 71 to 340 g are poorly represented by most elements except foot bones. Taxa greater than 4,500 g are represented by most elements.

Shaffer, B. S. and B. W. Baker (1999). "Comments on James' methodological issues concerning analysis of archaeofaunal recovery and screen size correction factors." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(9): 1181-1182.

Shaffer, B. S. and J. L. J. Sanchez (1994). "Comparison of 1/8"- and 1/4"-mesh recovery of controlled samples of small-to-medium-sized mammals." American Antiquity 59(3): 525-530.

Most previous screen experiments have assessed various mesh-size biases in the recovery of faunal remains from specific archaeological samples. These tests provided detailed information about recovery biases at those sites. To augment these previous tests, Shaffer (1992) conducted 1/4"-screen tests on modern comparative mammal skeletons to assess specific biases for the taxa tested. However, because 1/8" screens are now widely used in archaeological sampling, potential biases should be assessed. Results presented here document hypothetical best recovery of the taxa tested and substantial increased recovery of mammals weighing between 18 and 340 g for 1/8"-screentests relative to 1/4"-screen tests.

Shennan, S. (1997). Quantifying Archaeology. Iowa City, University of Iowa Press.

Shipman, P. (1981). Life History of a Fossil: An Introduction to Taphonomy and Paleoecology. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Shipman, P., G. Foster, et al. (1984). "Burnt bones and teeth: an experimental study of color, morphology, crystal structure and shrinkage." Journal of Archaeological Science 11: 307-325.

Burnt osteological materials are one focus of interest in forensic, archaeological, and plaeontological studies. We document the effects of experimental, controlled heating on a sample of modern bones and teeth from sheep and goats. Four aspects of heating between 20 and 940 degrees were considered: color, microscopic morphology, crystalline structure and shrinkage. hat changes in both color and microscopic morphology of burnt bones can be devided into five stages each of which is typical of a particular temperature range , although the stages based on temperature do not correlate exactly with those based on micromorphology.

Sillen, A. and R. LeGeros (1991). "Solubility profiles of synthetic apatites and of modern and fossil bones." Journal of Archaeological Science 18: 385-397.

Strontium has been shown to vary within trophic levels in natural foodwebs so that previous criteria used to identify biogenic strontium in fossils, namely consistent differences between herbivores and carnivores, may be inappropriate. In this article, two alternative approaches are explored. These include first, experimental studies of the behavior of synthetic apatites in the solubility profile system, and second, solubility profile studies of fossils from the Pleistocene site of Swartkrans. The synthetic apatite studies show that simple mixtures of apatites dissolve discretely in the system. Study of Swartkrans specimens reveals that, while diagenetic Sr is clearly present, some recoverable SR varies in a manner similar to that seen in modern African foodwebs, and is therefore unlikely to be of diagenetic origin.

Sillen, A. and J. Parkington (1996). "Diagenesis of bones from Eland's Bay Cave." Journal of Archaeological Science 23: 535-542.

Archaeological bone specimens have been shown in a number of studies to have increased mineral ÒcrystallinityÓ when measured both by XRD and IR spectrometry. In this study, we investigated the relative dating potential of IR crystallinity measurements (based on the Splitting Factor, or SF) on a sample of 54 specimens from the Holocene sequence at ElandÕs Bay Cave, South Africa. In addition to SF, C and N measurements were obtained using a Carlo-Erba elemental analyser. Results of the study indicate that (i) a reasonably good correlation between SF and time exists in bones under 20,000 years BP, but that the increase in SF levels-off after this period, and (ii) correlations between diagenetic indicators such as SF, C, and N are better than those between any indicator and time. An excellent correlation (r2=0.81) was obtained between SF (residing in the inorganic phase) and N (residing in the organic phase) suggesting that diagenesis of the two phases of bone are linked. Implications of the data for monitoring the stratigraphic anamolies at archaeological sites are discussed.

Simmons, A. H. (1998). "Exposed fragments, buried hippos: assessing surface archaeology." Surface archaeology: 159-167.

Smith, B. D. (1985). Selectivity determinations: A continuum from conservative to confident. Animal Bone Archaeology. B. Hesse and P. Wapnish. Washington, D.C., Taraxacum: 295-302.

Smith, R. K. (2002). "Analysis of skeletal material from Calico Hill, Florida: a question of paleopathology vs. taphonomy." Florida Anthropologist 55(2): 59-65.

Smoke, N. D. (2001). The effect of sediment morphology on post depositional breakage of owl pellet assemblages.

Soligo, C. (2002). "Primatology, paleoecology, and a new method for assessing taphonomic bias in fossil assemblages." Anthropology and primatology into the third millennium: the centenary congress of the Zürich Anthropological Institute 11(1): 24-27.

Solomon, S., I. Davidson, et al. (1989). Problem solving in taphonomy: Archaeological and palaeontological studies from Europe, Africa and Oceania. St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia, Anthropology Museum University of Queensland.

Spennemann, D. H. R. and S. M. Colley (1989). "Fire in a pit: the effects of burning on faunal remains." ArchaeoZoologia 3(1): 51-64.

Stahl, P. W. (1982). "On small mammal remains in archaeological context." American Antiquity 47(4): 822-829.

Analysis of the dissected remains of certain small mammals suggests a consistently high ratio of edible meat to live weight. These figures, together with the great abundance of small mammals in natural and culturally modified settings, are combined to support the argument that they may have been important elements in prehistoric diet. Their dietary status may be consistently underestimated because of a number of biases.

Stahl, P. W. (1992). "Diversity, body size, and the archaeological recovery of mammalian faunas in the neotropical forests." Journal, Steward Anthropological Society 20(1): 209-233.

Stahl, P. W. (1996). "The Recovery and Interpretation of Microvertebrate Bone Assemblages from Archaeological Contexts." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 3(1): 31-75.

The analysis of microvertebrate remains recovered from buried contexts is frequently problematic for archaeoloigists. Dimunitive size is a major obstacle to recovering, identifying, and interpreting microfaunal bone materials successfully. Their taphonomic history is often obscure, thus the significance of microvertebrate accumulations for settlement, subsistence, and ecological interpretation is difficult to evaluate. Recognizeable and reliable archaeological signatures are sought for assessing the effect of taphonomic history on microvertebrate assemblages. Relevant signatures of bone damage, skeletal survivorship, taxonomic composition, and context are examined in assemblages produced and modified through accidental non-predator-related death, predator accumulation, and postmortem alteration.

Stahl, P. W. (1999). "Structural Density of Domesticated South American Camelid Skeletal Elements and the Archaeological Investigation of Prehistoric Andean Ch'arki." Journal of Archaeological Science 26(11): 1347-1368.

This paper presents a standardized series of replicable and comparable density assays, based on the technique of photon densitometry or absorptiometry), for two native South American camelid taxa, the domesticated llama (Lama glama) and alpaca (L. pacos). Two sets of volume density (VD) measures (in g/cm3) are provided: (1) "shape adjusted" volume density (VDsa) which computes cross-sectional area of each scan site based upon computerized analysis of scanned digital images; and (2) standard volume density (VDLD/BT) which norms cross-sectional area to a block form. Derived calue sets are compared with each other, between camelid specimens and with published figured for camelid, deer, bison skeletal elements. Patterns of structural bone densities between South American camelids and other artiodactyls might be attributed to unique anatomical expressions of locomotor and dietary adaptations. The density data are combined with derived meat utility to explore the archaeological correlates associated with the production, distribution, and consumption of ch'arki, a native Andean dried meat product. The paper examines the validity of an Andean charquie effect (sensu Miller 1979) based on the well-known shlepp effect, by comparing hypothetical ch'arki and chalona models of meat preservation. Faunal data from the prehistoric Preuvian site of Chavin de Huantar do not support the consumption of imported ch'arki but could implicate its local production. The data could also support the consumption of imported chalona, or the importation of live camelids which were subsequently slaughtered, locally produced into chalona and consumed. In both cases, the data leave open the possibility that Chavin may have been a production center for either ch'arki or chalona; however, acceptance of differeing interpretations requires some potentially problematic assumptions.

Stahl, P. W. and J. A. Zeidler (1990). "Differential bone-refuse accumulation in food-preparation and traffic areas on an early Ecuadorian house floor." Latin American Antiquity 1(2): 150-169.

Stanford, D. (1987). "Ginsberg experiment. Archeology can be bone- breaking work." Natural History 96(9): 10-14.

Steele, D. G. and D. L. Carlson (1989). "Excavation and taphonomy of mammoth remains from the Duewall-Newberry site, Brazos County, Texas." Bone Modification: 413-430.

Stewart, D. J. (1999). "Formation processes affecting submerged archaeological sites: an overview." Geoarchaeology 14(6): 565-587.

Stewart, K. M. and D. Gifford-Gonzalez (1994). "An ethnoarchaeological contributionto identifying hominid fish processing sites." Journal of Archaeological Science 21(237-248).

Stiner, M. C. (2002). "On in situ attrition and vertebrate body part profiles." Journal of Archaeological Science 29(9): 979-991.

Stiner, M. C., S. Weiner, et al. (1995). "Differential burning, recrystallization, and fragmentation of archaeological bone." Journal of Archaeological Science 22(2): 223-237.

Stojanowski, C. M., R. M. Seidemann, et al. (2002). "Differential skeletal preservation at Windover Pond: causes and consequences." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 119(1): 15-26.

In this paper, we evaluate the causes of differential skeletal preservation in the Windover Pond skeletal series (8BR246). We collected data on sex and age for approximately 110 individuals, and calculated a preservation score for each individual based on the presence of 80 skeletal landmarks. Our research questions evaluated the relationship between bone preservation and individual age and sex, and between the presence of preserved brain material and skeletal preservation, and the effects of burial location on bone preservation. The results indicate variability in average preservation for the sample ( = 0.53, SD = 0.22) with an apparent lack of sex-specific (P = 0.79) or age-specific (P = 0.37) differences in preservation. The relationship between brain and skeletal preservation (P = 0.15) was not significant. The horizontal distribution of burials was not significantly correlated with skeletal preservation (north: r = -0.10, P = 0.93; east: r = 0.09, P = 0.45); however, vertical depth was a significant predictor of preservation (r = -0.31, P = 0.005), indicating that skeletal preservation decreased as burials were located closer to the ground surface. The observed variability in preservation scores may be related to the partial drying and resubmergence of the uppermost burials for the last few millennia. Comparison of Windover element-specific survival rates with previous analyses based on terrestrial samples (Galloway et al. [1997] Forensic taphonomy, Boca Raton: CRC Press; Waldron [1987] Death, decay and reconstruction, Manchester: Manchester University Press; Willey et al. [1997] Am J Phys Anthropol 104:513-528) affirms the relationship between element weight or density and bone survival. The unique taphonomic context of our study sample effected little change in bone deterioration processes.

Szuter, C. R. (1991). Faunal analysis of home butchering and meat consumption at the Hubbel Trading Post, Ganado, Arizona. Animal Use and Culture Change, Philadelphia: Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology: 78-89.

Tappen, M. and J. W. K. Harris (1995). "Comment on possible cut marks and taphonomic history of Senga 5A in the western Rift Valley, Zaire." Journal of Human Evolution 29(5): 483-486.

Thurman, M. and L. J. Willmore (1981). "A replicative cremation experiment." North American Archaeologist 2(4): 275-283.

Cremation can be carried out on dry bone, green (or recently defleshed) bone, or bone in the flesh. Previous experiments in cremation replication argued that dry bone cremation can be readily differentiated from green bone and in-flesh cremations, but did not provide criteria for differentiating cremation of green bone from in-flesh cremation. This paper, based on the cremation of four green humeri and four fleshed upper extremities, suggests that the bone residue of green bone cremation can be differentiated from that of in-flesh cremation.

Todd, L. C. and D. J. Rapson (1988). "Long bone fragmentation and interpretation of faunal assemblages: Approaches to comparative analysis." Journal of Archaeological Science 15(3): 307-325.

Fragmentation of archaeological faunal assemblages has served as the basis for inferring a wide range of human behaviors. However, relationships between long bone breakage and past behaviors have often been expressed in terms of a direct equivalence between bine breakage and intensity of processing -- that is, the greater the fragmentation, the more intense the processing. More refined interpretations based on bone breakage require a development of techniques to examine variability within the archaeological record. Data from western North American archaeological sites and several recent Alaskan collections are used as the basis for documentation of assemblage variability in terms of (1) frequencies of complete bones; (2) percentage difference values of proximal and distal articular ends; (3) length of shaft attached to articular ends; and (4) use of ratios of articular ends to shaft splinters and long bone shaft fragments in the development of minimum number of elements counts.

Todd, L. C. and D. J. Stanford (1992). Application of conjoined bone data to site structural studies. Piecing Together the Past: Applications of Refitting Studies in Archaeology. Oxford, Tempvs Reparatvm: 21-35.

Distances between conjoined fragments of "dry-bone" fractured bones are used as a measure of the degree of site-specific, post-occupational horizontal displacement (distributional smudging) represented in archaeological spatial patterning. Analysis of conjoined pieces of bison bone from the Jones-Miller site, a North American Paleoindian period kill-butchery site, is used as an example of the technique. Controlled information on the magnitude of horizontal displacement can guide the selection of appropriate techniques for the investigation of human activity structure within archaeological sites.

Trapani, J. (1998). "Hydrodynamic sorting of avian skeletal remains." Journal of Archaeological Science 25(5): 477-487.

Sorting by current is an important taphonomic process which may bias archaeological and paleontological assemblages. Determining whether an assemblage has been sorted is crucial to its interpretation. Previous field and flume studies have documented behavior of mammalian skeletal elements under conditions simulating those within a natural channel. Avian bones are structurally different from mammalian bones; thus their hydrodynamic sorting may be different. This study examines the hydrodynamic behavior of bones of the domestic pigeon (or rock dove), Columba liva. Interactions with bedforms (even very small ones) affect the dispersal potential of pigeon bones. A ranking of relative dispersal potential is offered and bones of this taxon are divided into dispersal groups. These sorting groups are compares to those for soft-shelled turtles and for mammals of various sizes. Velocity profile data from the flume studies are used to demonstrate that bones of avian taxa differeing greatly in size (body mass) may not vary significantly in their boundary-layer interactions and dispersal behavior. Thus the results from this experiment may be applied, albeit with caution, to other avian taxa.

Tsujita, C. J. (1996). Stratigraphy, taphonomy, and paleoecology of the upper Cretaceous Bearpaw Formation in southern Alberta. Ottawa, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Turner, C. G. I., R. C. Green, et al. (1993). "Taphonomic analysis of Anasazi skeletal remains from Largo-Gallina sites in northwestern New Mexico." Journal of Anthropological Research 49(2): 83-110.

Turner, C. G. I. and J. A. Turner (1990). "Perimortem damage to human skeletal remains from Wupatki National Monument, northern Arizona." Kiva 55(3): 187-212.

Turner, C. G. I. and J. A. Turner (1995). "Cannibalism in the prehistoric American Southwest: occurrence, taphonomy, explanation, and suggestions for standardized world definition." Anthropological Science 103(1): 1-22.

Tykot, R. H., N. J. van der Merwe, et al. (1996). Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen, bone apatite, and tooth enamel in the reconstruction of human diet: A case study from Cuello, Belize. Archaeological Chemistry. M. V. Orna. Washington, D.C., American Chemical society Press.

Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen is now a well-established method of studying ancient human diet. Carbon isotope values distinguish between C3 and C4 plants in the terrestrial food web; nitrogen values can indicate marine resource exploitation, terrestrial climate, and trophic level. unfortunately, the relative contributions of the protein, carbohydrate, and fat portions of the diet to bone collagen and bone apatite are still not fully understood. Stable isotope data for human burials from the Preclassic Maya site of Cuello, Belize demonstrate that isotopic analysis of both tissues is necessary for proper dietary reconstruction of all but the simplest ancient food webs. Equally important are isotopic analyses of the fauna and flora available for human exploitation, and the integration of these data with archaeological evidence. At Cuello, it appears that maize-eating dogs may have been a significant dietary component but there is no evidence that deer were tamed or loose-herded as ethnohistoric accounts suggest.

Ubelaker, D. H. (1991). "Perimortem and postmortem modification of human bone: lessons from forensic anthropology." Anthropologie 29(3): 171-174.

Ubelaker, D. H. (1996). "Skeletons testify: anthropology in forensic science - AAPA luncheon address, April 12, 1996." Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 39: 229-244.

Villa, P. and E. Mahieu (1991). "Breakage patterns of human long bones." Journal of Human Evolution 21(1): 27-48.

Visser, J. (1987). Sedimentology and taphonomy of a Styracosaurus bonebed in the Late Cretaceous Judith River formation, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Von Endt, D. W. and D. J. Ortner (1984). "Experimental effects of bone size and temperature on bone diagenesis." Journal of Archaeological Science 11(247-253).

In the ground, bone undergoes chemical and physical changes which affect its preservation. This fact has important implications for dating and other analytical procedures involving bone, as well as faunal analysis where differential preservation of bones of different species may affect conclusions regarding the relative significance of an animal to the economy of a given society. The diagenic processes in bone range from minor changes in the bone protein to complete structural and chemical breakdown.

Using fresh cow bone, we conducted laboratory experiments which simulate the effect of temperature and bone size on the rate and nature of bone disintegration in archaeological sites. Temperature influences the rate of chemical change, and bone size and density affect the accessibility of the molecular constituents of bone to extrinsic chemical reactions. These findings clarify the importance of two well-known concepts in bone taphonomy. The rate of chemical breakdown in bone tissues is related to the proximity of a given unit of tissue to the bone surface. This means that, in archaeological bone samples, tissue near the surface may be different chemically from tissue away from the surface and great care is necessary inchoosing and preparing bone samples for analytical procedures. In general, small bones are not as well preserved as large bones, therefore snall animals are likely to be underrepresnted in faunal assemblages.

Voorhies, M. R. (1969). Taphonomy and population dynamics of an early Pliocene vertebrate fauna, Knox county nebraska. Laramie, Wyo.,.

Walde, K. (1987). Pollen analysis and taphonomy of locality 15 alluvial sediments, Old Crow Basin, Yukon. Ottawa, National Library of Canada.

Waldron, T. (1987). The Relative Survival of the Human Skeleton:Implications for Palaeopathology. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction. A. Boddington, A. N. Garland and R. C. Janaway. Manchester, Manchester University Press: 55-64.

Waller, S. J. (1994). "Taphonomic considerations of rock art acoustics." Rock Art Research 11(2): 120-121.

Wandsnider, L. (1997). "The Roasted and the Boiled: Food Composition and Heat Treatment with Special Emphasis on Pit-Hearth Cooking." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 16: 1-48.

Webb, G. R. (1976). Benthic ecology and taphonomy of a Bay of Fundy rocky subtidal community, with particular reference to the articulate brachiopod Terebratulina septentrionalis (Couthouy).

Weiner, S. and O. Bar-Yosef (1990). "States of preservation of bone from prehistoric sites in the Near-East: A survey." Journal of Archaeological Science 171: 187-196.

A survey of the states of preservation of organic material in 30 fossil bones from 16 different porehistoric sites in the Near East shows that whereas almost all the bones have little or no collagen preserved, they do, with few exceptions, contain non-collagenous proteins. These macromolecules, therefore, represent an important reservoir of indigenous fossil bone constituents.

Westergaard, G. C. and S. J. Suomi (1994). "Use and modification of bone tools by capuchin monkeys." Current Anthropology 35(1): 75-77.

Wilson, D. C. (1994). "Identification and assessment of secondary refuse aggregates." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1(1): 41-68.

Wilson, M. C. (1983). "Canid scavengers and butchering patterns: evidence from a 3600-year-old bison bone bed in Alberta." Proceedings - Annual conference of the Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary(5): 95-139.

Winkelmann, H. M. (1993). Taphonomy and paleoecology of Devonian Rhynie Chert arthropods.

Winkler, D. A. (1981). Paleontology and taphonomy of an early Eocene mammalian fauna in the Clarks Fork Basin, northwestern Wyoming (U.S.A.): 67 leaves.

Yu, F. (1997). Ontogeny, taxonomy, and taphonomy of some Upper Ordovician silicified trilobites from eastern Nevada, U.S.A. Ottawa, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada.

Zohar, I., T. Dayan, et al. (2001). "Fish processing during the early Holocene: a taphonomic case study from coastal Israel." Journal of Archaeological Science 28(10): 1041-1053.

Study of fish bones recovered from coastal archaeological sites requires careful taphonomic analysis in order to

determine whether the fish bone assemblage is naturally or culturally derived, and how fish may have been processed by humans. We analysed a grey triggerfish (Balistes carolinensis) assemblage from Atlit-Yam, a submerged Pre-Pottery Neolithic site (8140–7550 ••) off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, using multiple taphonomic criteria and quantitative analyses. The clumped distribution of remains, the high bone scatter frequency, the presence of a few burnt bones, the bones’ state of fragmentation, the absence of a correlation between bone density and bone frequency, the low species diversity and wide range of body sizes represented, all point to a culturally derived assemblage. The high percentage of identifiable elements, the occurrence of most skeletal elements, and the virtual absence of branchial region bones, are compatible with fish gutted for immediate or later consumption, and incompatible with the expected of refuse. Cranial bones and first dorsal spines of large individuals were missing, apparently a result of size-dependent butchering methods. The emergent picture is of a pile of fish gutted and processed in a size-dependent manner, and then stored for future consumption or trade. This scenario suggests that technology for fish storage was already available, and that the Atlit-Yam inhabitants could enjoy the economic stability resulting from food storage and trade with mainland sites.

Taphonomy.com Index

Questions? abeisaw@taphonomy.com