| Taphonomy |
Website Links For Taphonomy |
Information AboutTaphonomy |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT TAPHONOMY | |
| methods and principles in archaeology | |
| paleontology | |
| archaeological sub-disciplines | |
|
Taphonomists study such phenomena as Biostratinomy , Decomposition , Diagenesis , and Epibiont encrustation. The motivation behind the study of taphonomy is to better understand biases present in the Fossil record. Fossils are ubiquitous in sedimentary rocks, yet Paleontologist s cannot draw the most accurate conclusions about the lives and ecology of the fossilized organisms without knowing about the processes involved in their fossilization. For example, if a fossil assemblage contains more of one type of fossil than another, one can either infer that that organism was present in greater numbers, or that its remains are more resistant to decomposition. Archaeologists study taphonomic processes in order to determine how plant and animal remains accumulate within archaeological sites. This is critical to determining whether these remains are associated with human activity. In addition, taphonomic processes may alter biological remains after they are deposited at a site. Some remains survive better than others over time, and can therefore bias the excavated collection. Experimental taphonomy ''testing'' usually consists of exposing the remains of organisms to various altering processes, and then examining the effects of the exposure. REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|