Toward the definition of criteria for the recognition of artificial bone alterations

Auteur :
MORLAN, R. E.

Description :
Cutting, fracturing, flaking, and polishing of bones and other osseous materials may in some instances be interpreted as evidence of former human activity. Such interpretations must avoid confusion with the wide variety of natural processes that alter bones. Reliable criteria are prerequisite to sound inferences based on bone, regardless of whether they have been redeposited or recovered from primary assemblages. Criteria must be defined by means of actualistic studies (neotaphonomy) and experiments that demonstrate causal relationships between patterns of alteration and the processes that produce them. The criteria can be employed in the interpretation of fossil bones (paleotaphonomy) on the basis of uniformitarian principles.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Quaternary research New York, 1984, vol. 22, n°. 2, p. 160-171, Références bibliographiques : 48 réf.

Date :
1984