"I hunt chickens, men hunt me": the biostratinomy of a shot red fox (vulpes vulpes L.) a case study

• Autores: Erika Gál
• Localización: Journal of taphonomy, ISSN 1696-0815, Vol. 7, Nº. 2-3, 2009, págs. 143-149
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In this paper the author presents the decay process of a shot red fox that decomposed in a temperate forest environment during 2004. Close-up pictures taken regularly are compared with meteorological data concerning temperature and precipitation during the period of investigation. Since neither human- or other vertebrate disturbance, nor water transport or considerable wind affected the body, its complete decay in naturally sheltered conditions (light undergrowth in a wooded area) took about seven month. Due to the unusually warm and humid weeks at the end of the winter and early spring in 2004, however, autolysis, microbial decay and invertebrate scavenging resulted in the complete decomposition of soft tissues in three months. Since red fox is a facultative commensal animal with burrowing habits, its remains are difficult to interpret in archaeological deposits. Such actualistic observations and experiments may help understanding the origin and role of fox remains found at and around ancient human settlements.