Field and Forest, Pond and Stream: Experimental Taphonomic Research in West-Central Illinois

Summary

Established in 2015, the Western Illinois Taphonomic Research Sites provide access to a variety of environmental contexts for experimental research in skeletal and molecular taphonomy. These secluded, rural sites include deciduous wooded and open areas along a creek in a deep valley, and a hilltop coniferous forest bordering an upland pond. Equipped with several game cameras, these unfenced sites afford unique opportunities to observe the responses and effects of local wildlife as they encounter decomposing faunal remains. Carcasses are deposited at the sites, in buried or surface contexts, as they become available from area agricultural programs. Studies of soil and water chemistry, site vegetation patterns, insect activity, decomposition rates, and skeletal and molecular taphonomy are ongoing. This presentation will summarize the results of the first year of research, and ideas for project expansion.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage