Taphonomy and Site Formation (Other Keyword)
101-125 (146 Records)
The Lower Paleolithic site of Dmanisi, Georgia, is well known for its rich archaeological and paleontological deposits, which include bones from at least five individuals attributed to Homo erectus. Taphonomic analyses show that carnivores contributed greatly to the accumulation of faunal material, while contributions by hominins were present, but uncommon. Recent excavations in the hominin-bearing layers of Block 2 at Dmanisi have revealed a complex underlying basalt formation that likely...
Pinniped Taphonomy: Observations from a Northern Elephant Seal Breeding Colony Provide New Insights into the Taphonomic Processes on Pinnipeds (2018)
Actualistic studies on vertebrate taphonomy have been focused on terrestrial mammals, and little is known about the taphonomic processes affecting marine mammals. Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur seals) exhibit an extensive fossil and archaeological record, the interpretation of which is often impeded by the lack of research on their taphonomic processes. We present the preliminary results of a taphonomic study performed in a modern breeding colony of Northern elephant seal (NES; Mirounga...
Point Counter Point: Interpreting Chipped Chert Bifaces in a Terminal Classic "Problematic Deposit" from Structure A2 at Cahal Pech, Belize (2018)
Sixteen small chert bifaces are part of a Terminal Classic (AD 800-900) peri-abandonment "problematic deposit" recovered just above the surface near the western base of Structure A2 at the ancient Maya site of Cahal Pech, Belize. The results of stylistic, technological, and use-wear analyses performed on these chert artifacts indicate: 1) production from locally available stone; 2) five different tool styles; 3) evidence for some tool curation/re-sharpening; and 4) wear patterns on some of the...
Post-Depositional Ridge Rounding on Banded Ironstone and the Condition of the Fauresmith Artifacts at Bestwood, South Africa (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Transitional lithics have the potential to inform researchers about innovation during significant periods of human evolution. The Fauresmith, an Early Stone Age (ESA) to Middle Stone Age (MSA) transitional industry in South Africa, is marked by the appearance of blade technology and composite tools alongside continuing traditions of large cutting tools. This...
Post-Mortem Interval and Age-at-Death Estimation through Forensic Proteomics (2018)
The estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI) and the age-at-death (AAD) are both important aspects of forensic anthropology for which numerous methods have been developed, each with different limitations. As proteins represent biomolecules that carry out a wide range of functions, many of which structural to the tissues undergoing decomposition, and the collection of these (i.e., the proteome) is dynamic not only throughout life, but also post-mortem, proteomic methods have great potential...
Potential Applications for Agent-Based Models in Obsidian Studies (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Advances in Obsidian Studies of the Old and New Worlds" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeologists have been using agent-based modelling (ABM) to re-create prehistoric social, economic, and political processes, along with prehistoric environments since the first publication of the model commonly known as "Artificial Anasazi." Very few archaeologists have attempted to model prehistoric lithic technology, however,...
Preliminary Assessment of Recent Research at the Old Vero Site (8IR009), Vero Beach, Florida (2018)
Intensive excavations and attendant analyses conducted at the Old Vero Site (8IR009) from 2014-2017 have revealed a long and complex stratigraphic succession which dates from ca. 30,000 B.P. to the present. The excavations have documented not only 195 species of plants and animals but also a human presence which extends back to at least 11,000 B.P. and, perhaps, earlier. Terminal Pleistocene extinction dates are provided on several taxa as well as observations about the environments within which...
Preliminary Study in Skeletal Weathering in the Southwest Llano Estacado (2018)
Skeletal weathering is rarely addressed in archaeological contexts, despite its importance to archaeology, and other fields of research. Experimental studies in taphonomy should be completed on regional scales, because changes in the microclimate will cause taphonomic agents to express differently on skeletal remains. This research quantifies and calibrates the skeletal weathering cycle for the southwest Llano Estacado region of eastern New Mexico, by placing faunal remains in full sun, shade,...
Preservation and Perception: Archaeobotanical Patterning and Site Formation Processes in Mycenaean Messenia (2018)
Despite the increased application of spatially intensive sampling for archaeobotanical remains at large Mycenaean sites in Greece, the recovered assemblages are typically small and show poor preservation. Here, we consider the macrobotanical assemblage recovered through flotation of more than 7000 L of sediment at the site of Iklaina, in Messenia, in conjunction with microbotanical remains (starches, phytoliths) to illuminate cultural and natural site formation processes that have either...
Quebrada Jaguay-280 (QJ-280) under the Microscope: A Geoarchaeological Investigation of the Site Formation and Anthropogenic Features at a Peruvian Coastal Site (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Some of the earliest evidence for human settlement of Peru comes from lowland sites along the arid Pacific coast. Localities at Huaca Prieta, Quebrada Tacahuay, and Quebrada Jaguay demonstrate that during the Terminal Pleistocene, people had settled the coast and had incorporated marine resources into their subsistence strategy. Excavations led by Daniel...
Rabbits, Pronghorn, Oh Deer! Oh My! Part II: A Complete Faunal Analysis of Utility Indices at Wupatki National Monument, Northern Arizona (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Wupatki National Monument, a Puebloan site located in the Sinagua region of Northern Arizona, yielded an assortment of wildlife available to past populations. Analyzing faunal remains from archaeological sites on the Colorado Plateau develops a holistic understanding of the prehistoric lifeways of Southwest communities. Through the determination of taxa...
Rapid Increase in Production of Symbolic Artifacts after 45,000 Years Ago Is Not a Consequence of Taphonomic Bias (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Big Ideas to Match Our Future: Big Data and Macroarchaeology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Researchers have long been aware of an apparently rapid increase ca. 40,000–45,000 BP in the frequency of “symbolic” artifacts in the Old World paleolithic record. However, some hypothesize that if not for taphonomic loss the data would instead show a gradual increase in such artifacts’ frequency during the Middle Stone...
Re-creating and Rethinking Pot Polish: The Taphonomic Implications of Cooking Fauna (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeologically, the term "pot polish" refers to wear on skeletal elements resulting from cooking in a ceramic vessel. The active mixing, stirring, and rubbing of the materials within and against the vessel's abrasive interior leads to polished fragmented bones. Unfortunately, limited experiments have been conducted on this topic. Despite natural taphonomic...
Re-examining Site 48PA551 in Sunlight Basin, Northwest Wyoming: The Faunal Remains from the 2018 Field Season (2019)
This is an abstract from the "New Multidisciplinary Research at 48PA551: A Middle Archaic (McKean Complex) Site in Northwest Wyoming" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Site 48PA551, located in the Sunlight Basin of Northwest Wyoming, is widely accepted as a winter camp dated to the Middle Archaic period. In the original excavation, researchers initially identified one consistent occupation layer, dated to ca. 3800-4400 radiocarbon years B.P and...
A Reexamination of the Nature and Context of the Finley Paleoindian Bison Bonebeds in Southwest Wyoming (2018)
The Finley site is in the western Killpecker dunes in the Green River valley in southwest Wyoming, and consists of at least two Cody age bison bonebeds. For modern Paleoindian researchers, Finley still poses important questions and offers several potential avenues for research. The prior work with the Finley faunal remains, as well as our current investigations, demonstrate that the site is associated with an enormous collection of bison remains that are thought to have been killed on site or...
Remnant Landscapes, Taphonomic Challenges and Middle Range Theory in Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology (2018)
Submerged prehistoric archaeological sites have increased relevance in archaeology because they retain direct evidence addressing multiple questions, such as human dispersal patterns, use of coastal zones, and human responses to climate change. They also have potential for high degrees of preservation in some cases. However, just as often, they present significant site formation challenges including geochemical and mechanical degradation of artifacts and features, weathering and deflation of...
The Return of the Large Enigmatic Pit: Investigating Off-Mound Areas at Pumpkin Lake (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Pumpkin Lake (22JE517) mound in the Natchez Bluffs region of southwestern Mississippi was excavated as part of the Mississippi Mound Trail project in 2013. The single mound was determined to have been constructed during the Middle Woodland and early Late Woodland periods (AD 200–750). During the summer of 2022, we returned to assess the extent of...
Revisiting Kelly Forks (10CW34): Current and Future Research at a Western Stemmed Tradition Occupation in the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forest, Idaho (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Kelly Forks Work Center Site (10CW34) is located in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests, Idaho, and has an occupation sequence spanning the terminal Pleistocene (Western Stemmed Tradition or WST) through the historic period. The site is within the homelands of the Nimíipuu (Nez Perce) Tribe, in an upland area traditionally important for late...
Revisiting the Rolland and Dibble Synthesis: The Emergence of Artifact Retouch and Artifact Density Variability in Paleolithic Assemblages (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Establishing the Science of Paleolithic Archaeology: The Legacy of Harold Dibble (1951–2018) Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Rolland and Dibble synthesis was an ambitious attempt to reframe the interpretation of Middle Paleolithic variability. The model postulates that Middle Paleolithic assemblage variability is continuous in nature, driven principally by raw material availability and occupation intensity....
Revisiting the Submerged Shell Midden at Sabine Pass: Preliminary Core Results from the NOAA Exploration Mission: Paleolandscapes and the ca. 8000 BP Shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Submerged Paleolandscape Investigations in the Gulf of Mexico" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Over 40 years ago Coastal Environments Inc. pioneered a phased approach to identify prehistoric occupations on the now submerged outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. This work homed in on a target in the Paleo-Sabine Valley and identified one of the first in situ, submerged prehistoric sites known in the Americas....
Sedimentary and Taphonomic Contexts of Quaternary Vertebrate Fossils in the Northern Rocky Mountains (2018)
Quaternary vertebrate assemblages from the northern Rocky Mountains can be used to understand the biogeographic consequences of climate change. Some localities contain strata from before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), while others consist mostly of Late Glacial and Holocene deposits. The Merrell Local Fauna is from a stratigraphic sequence in Centennial Valley. Radiocarbon dates range from >52,000 to 19,000 BP and fossils are in lacustrine deposits, fluvial sediments, and a debris flow. The...
Sedimentary, Molecular, and Isotopic Characteristics of Bone-Fueled Hearths (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Charred Organic Matter in the Archaeological Sedimentary Record" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Molecular and isotopic analyses of sediments from archaeological combustion features is a relatively new area of study. Applications have the potential to inform us about ancient pyro-technologies and patterns of animal exploitation in a wide range of human contexts but may be particularly informative with regards to...
Shacks and Scraps: Understanding Middle Epipaleolithic Site Structure in the Southern Levant through Taphonomic Analysis of Faunal Refuse (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. We explored the spatial organization of the Middle Epipaleolithic site of Neve David (Mt. Carmel, Israel) through macro and micro contextual taphonomy of ungulate bones. The Epipaleolithic (23,000-11,500 cal BP) of the southern Levant is renowned for its cultural diversity, culminating with the complex hunter-gather Natufian culture. Emerging research from...
Site and Assemblage Integrity for Middle and Upper Paleolithic Levels at Lapa do Picareiro, Portugal (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Central Portugal is a critical area of study for addressing the replacement of Neanderthals by Anatomically Modern Humans in Iberia. This paper presents new data on lithic refitting and assemblage integrity from Lapa do Picareiro, a cave in central Portugal containing punctuated levels of occupation within a continuous sequence of deposition spanning the...
Small Mammals from the Hell Gap Site, Wyoming and their Paleoecological Significance (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Hell Gap at 60: Myth? Reality? What Has It Taught Us?" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Limited small mammal remains were recovered from Hell Gap during the early 1960s. Based on these remains, a lowering of "life zones" was proposed at Hell Gap around c.a. 10,800 yrs B.P. In 1997, the Early Holocene small mammal population of the Hell Gap site Locality One was reinvestigated. Flotation samples were collected by five...