Schöningen locality is a significant complex for understanding hominin behaviour and their adaptation to the changing environment during the Lower Palaeolithic in Central Europe. Schöningen 13II-1 ...Show moreSchöningen locality is a significant complex for understanding hominin behaviour and their adaptation to the changing environment during the Lower Palaeolithic in Central Europe. Schöningen 13II-1 (site 13, channel II, level 1) was the first and oldest sedimentary cycle of Schöningen 13II from the bottom, dating to MIS 9 interglacial at around 300 ka. The climate at Schöningen 13II-1 was reconstructed to be the warmest compared to the climate of other layers at Schöningen 13II. The landscape of Schöningen 13II-1 was featured with forested and regularly flooded marsh. The preservation of faunal assemblages as well as lithics provides a good opportunity to conduct taphonomic and spatial analysis to reconstruct the depositional and post-depositional processes of Schöningen 13II-1. The taphonomic analysis of large mammal remains has revealed that both hominins and carnivores were involved in the accumulation and modification of faunal deposits which were evidenced by the percussion marks and carnivore gnawing marks, fragmentation pattern, as well as the skeletal presentations. The coexistence of hominins and carnivores was also documented in fragments with percussion and carnivore gnawing marks on the surface. However, the absence of overlap between these marks made it challenging to determine which group initially accessed the carcasses. The total absence of hominin cut marks and less frequent carnivore-induced modifications might be the results of abiotic agents that engaged in the taphonomic processes of altering bone surfaces, which were consistent with the varying degrees of weathering and abrasion of bones. For the results of spatial analysis, the fauna remains were distributed in a clustered pattern, which could be the results of where the fauna died naturally, such as rhinoceros bones. Additionally, the influence of hominin activities and carnivores carrying carcasses away first and consuming them cannot be ruled out. The patterns of orientation and vertical distribution indicate that different parts of Schöningen 13II-1 might have been affected by post-depositional processes to various extents which could be the bioturbation, and abiotic agents such as water movement from flooding and glacial erosion. Due to the post-depositional processes, it was hard to differentiate each accumulation event by hominins and other predators that happened at Schöningen 13II-1. However, regarding vertical distribution, the accumulations of faunal remains and lithics were mainly concentrated in the upper sublayers of Schöningen 13II-1. This could be interpreted as the outcome of spatial palimpsest formed over an unknown time scale. Within this context, various independent events involving biotic or abiotic agents happened at Schöningen 13II-1, depositing atop one another in a sequence that might have been disturbed by post-depositional processes. Despite the impact of post-depositional factors that might obscure the original spatial and taphonomic information of the accumulations, it is plausible to conclude that hominins were already well adapted to the interglacial environments by consciously taking advantage of forested lakeland with rich resources and less competition with other predators, to exploit botanic and faunal resources during the Middle Pleistocene in Central Europe.Show less
Establishing age-at-death is important to forensic and biological anthropologists for identification and demographic analyses, but some degree of error is unavoidable. In human osteoarchaeology,...Show moreEstablishing age-at-death is important to forensic and biological anthropologists for identification and demographic analyses, but some degree of error is unavoidable. In human osteoarchaeology, there is a general assumption that there is worse preservation with increasing age of adult skeletal remains resulting in inaccuracies in paleodemographic reconstructions. This thesis examines skeletal material from the 17th to 19th-century Middenbeemster cemetery in the Netherlands to understand taphonomic processes that cause age and sex biases in the preservation of the adult pelvic girdle. Skeletal age estimation techniques have focused on the iliac auricular surface and pubic symphysis. However, the morphological features that are considered for age estimation methods of the pubic symphyseal surface, iliac auricular surface, and sacrum get destroyed or damaged to the point where the morphological features are no longer or only partially observable, which, in turn, affects the accuracy of these age estimation methods. The degeneration pattern in human remains from individuals aged 50 years and older becomes too unclear to put into smaller age groups, which is further complicated by taphonomic factors. Differences in bone preservation are caused by several taphonomic processes that affect the pelvic girdle of old adults more than young and middle aged adults. The general results show that the pelvic girdle of old adults is less well-preserved than young and middle adults, and that adult female pelvises are less complete than males. This research supports the view that age biases in preservation are more important than sex biases.Show less
Little specific evidence of skeletal remains recovered from shipwrecks exists in the archaeological record and when found, it is often difficult to distinguish the identification of bone...Show moreLittle specific evidence of skeletal remains recovered from shipwrecks exists in the archaeological record and when found, it is often difficult to distinguish the identification of bone assemblages from being in situ or disturbed. When the human body gets submerged in marine environments for a prolonged period of time, the soft tissue begins to detach and the skeletal remains will be dispersed, which may be the result of scavenging animals living underwater and changing currents. Treasure hunting and commercial salvage of archaeologically significant shipwreck are also potential threats. This thesis has aimed to examine the influence of taphonomic effects of marine environments on human bone assemblages recovered from shipwrecks to gain an understanding of the distribution of skeletal material during an archaeological assessment of shipwrecks. Knowledge about the pattern of transport potential or decomposition can be used in the recovery of skeletal remains and interpretation of missing skeletal elements. In order to examine the influence of taphonomic effects in skeletal remains in Dutch waters, a case study was required. The skeletal remains that were found during the archaeological assessment of the 17th-century shipwrecks Burgzand Noord 2 (BZN2) and Burgzand Noord 9 (BZN9) were assessed. This case study aimed to subject the observations from fluvial and forensic taphonomy to skeletal remains in Dutch waters. Despite the small amount of recovered skeletal remains, significant differences have been demonstrated for the surface preservation of the bones even within a single site. In terms of fragmentation and articulation, almost all of the joint surfaces of the long bones were greatly damaged or partly missing. The long bone shafts were almost all remained intact. The variability in the rate of preservation is evident in the colour of the specimens. It became evident that the dark coloured bones are better preserved than the light coloured bones, of which the cortical layer is (partly) missing. Two types of marine organisms can be distinguished that are present on the skeletal remains, namely acorn barnacles and moss animals. It seems that the moss animals may protect the cortical layer of the bone against weathering processes rather than damaging the bone. However, the results from the case study did not all confirm observations from fluvial and forensic taphonomy. The conflicting conclusions of previous research on fluvial and forensic taphonomy and the preliminary results of the case study highlighted the importance of using multiple and different research literature on the same subject.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
2017-12-31T00:00:00Z
This research focuses on understanding the influences of taphonomic processes on the interpretations of human-animal relations through the analysis of taphonomic markers on osteological remains...Show moreThis research focuses on understanding the influences of taphonomic processes on the interpretations of human-animal relations through the analysis of taphonomic markers on osteological remains from two Middle Bronze Age sites. The results of the archaeological, osteological and taphonomic aspects of this dataset are integrated and discussed. Four main research questions are proposed: 1) What types of Bronze Age features are present at the Andijk sites and how are these connected in their relative chronological framework? 2) Are there zones in the settlements signalling a heightened level of human-animal related practices and how can these be characterised? 3) What kind of activities are shown via the taphonomic markers on the osteological remains? 4) In what way(s) can the improved knowledge on taphonomic processes benefit the interpretations of Bronze Age subsistence and other human-animal related activities? Answering these different types of research questions will not only profoundly improve our current understanding of past human-animal related activities and the cultural mechanics behind these activities within Bronze Age settlements. Furthermore, the data contributes to comprehend to what extent taphonomic processes induced by various agents might alter the archaeological record.Show less
The Palaeolithic locality Schöningen (Germany) is known particularly well for its magnificently preserved hominin crafted spears and the remains of large mammals with traces of butchering and...Show moreThe Palaeolithic locality Schöningen (Germany) is known particularly well for its magnificently preserved hominin crafted spears and the remains of large mammals with traces of butchering and marrow exploitation. The Palaeolithic sites in the Schöningen area yielded also several other find categories such as botanical remains, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds. This thesis reports on the investigation of the avian remains from Schö 13 II-4, the site where they found the wooden spears. Most (≥70%) of the bird remains are from that site. For the identification of the bird remains three different comparison collections as well as the literature have been consulted. At least five species have been identified; four different ducks and a member of the Phasianidae family. The avian assemblage seems to have natural origins; there are no distinctive anthropogenic marks on the bones and the quantity of the elements is one to be expected after a natural death. The avian fauna does not contradict previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions i.e. the occurrence of open water, temperate climate conditions and a somewhat sheltered type of vegetation.Show less
In human osteoarchaeology there has been discussion if there is a difference in preservation between adults and subadults and what this difference is caused by. To add to this discussion, this...Show moreIn human osteoarchaeology there has been discussion if there is a difference in preservation between adults and subadults and what this difference is caused by. To add to this discussion, this thesis examines material from the 17th to 19th century cemetery Middenbeemster. Individuals with ages from before birth to over 50 years were divided into seven age groups. The skeleton was examined for traces of damage caused by external factors on the bones, their completeness and weathering. The long bones were examined for all these factors as well. The results showed that subadults are less complete than adults. This difference is caused by fetal, perinate, and infant remains, that differ significantly from all other age groups in almost all variables. There is no difference in preservation between old adults, and the other age groups. Further it was found that the shaft of long bones is better preserved than the epiphyses. This effect exists in all age groups, but is much stronger in individuals under two years of age. These differences are caused by the intrinsic properties of the bone of subadults under the age of two and not by excavation damage or other external influences. Intrinsic bone properties that cause the remains of children under two to be less well preserved are the larger surface-to-volume ratio of small bones and their incomplete fusion. Also, the higher porosity and lower percentage of hydroxyapatite play a role. This research supports the view that subadults are not as well preserved as adults, and that especially the remains of children under two years are poorly preserved. Also, it seems that in the long bones of children under two, degradation processes have a stronger effect than in older individuals. However, contrary to previous research old adults were not significantly more poorly preserved than the other age groups. In order to improve the recovery of children under two years old, excavations where such remains can be expected should be conducted more carefully. Where entire skeletons have disappeared, extra use should be made of the archaeological evidence other than bones, that has been preserved.Show less
