What is Taphonomy?

The fossil record is rich in its biological and ecological information (Behrensmeyer, 103), but very few fossil are persevered. Leaving the fossil record uneven and incomplete. The natural processes affect our fossil record by giving us a set sampling size even before our research begins. Taphonomy seeks to understand the natural processes in order for information to be collected and evaluated correctly.
Taphonomy can be defined as the study of post-mortem, pre-burial remains of an organism from the biosphere into the lithosphere, or more generally characterized by Behrensmeyer and Kidwell as “the study of processes of preservation and how they affect information in the fossil record.” “Today, taphonomy focuses more on a geobiological understanding of the earth, grounded on the postmortem process that recycle biological materials and affect our ability positively or negatively to reconstruct past environments and biotas” (Behrensmeyer,104). However there are several factors and processes that affect the preservation of skeletal remains. These are: the amount and durability of the remains. Secondly, the physical, chemical, and biological components at pre-burial site that includes, air, water, and soil. Third, the amount of time the remains are exposed on the surface and how quickly the remains are buried. Next, the digenetic conditions within the upper part of the sedimentary column, this includes microbial process, physical reworking, or unequal amounts of biochemical in the soil. Lastly, the depth and location of the remains in the sedimentary. Most of our longest surviving fossils are commonly found in stable cratonic margins or interiors and continental rifts margins; for they escape the tectonic recycling. Some destructive factors during these stages are commonly referred to as: bioerosion, scavenging, dissolution, abrasion, rounding, disarticulation, and weathering which all affect the outcome of the remains. With all these factors and several more it might seem that the chance to reconstruct the past is impossible, but through the combination of understanding natural process, a more complete research of materials in prehistoric history, and ingenious experiments and observation, it is becoming possible to solve specific problems in our fossil record (Lewin, 95).
There are several ways we can use taphonomy to aid our understanding and to resolve certain questions. Take for example, a taphonomists can examine the characteristics of contemporary kill site, where animals have been killed, processed, and eaten by various predators, including humans. This enables the taphonomist to monitor how each type of predator consumes their prey, while noting which bones are carried off or cracked open for marrow, and how bones are scattered throughout the site. This data enables archaeologists to develop a profile of characteristics of a historical kill site (Boyd,318).
Another example how taphonomy can be used, is by looking at modern sites where skeletal remains are affected by sediments rapidly moving through water. These sediments will leave a number of distinctive characteristics on the bones, which can be compared that to of a historical sites with the same sediment mixture. If the markings do not match then taphonomists can find out whether the distinctive marks were made from animals gnawing on the bones, or even caused by flaked-stone tools. Taphomomic data is also been applied to other fields such as paleobiology, paleoceanography, ichnology and biostratigraphy




Behrensmeyer, Anna, with Susan Kidwell, and Robert Gastaldo
2000 “Taphonomy and Paleobiology.” Paleobiology Society 26(4):103-147

Body, Robert and Joan B. Silk
2003 How Humans Evolved. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc.

Lewin, Roger, and Robert A. Foley
2004 Principles of Human Evolution. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing


Shipman, P.
1981 Life history of a fossil: An introduction to taphonomy and paleoecology. Harvard
University Press