Taphonomic Effects of a Grassland Fire on a Modern Faunal Sample and its Implications for the Archaeological Record
-
María Clara Álvarez [1] ; Agustina Massigoge [1] ; Nahuel A. Scheifler [1] ; Mariela E. González [1] ; Cristian Kaufmann [1] ; María A. Gutiérrez [1] ; Daniel J. Rafuse [1]
-
[1] Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (FACSO-UNICEN) Avda. del Valle 5737, Olavarría, Buenos Aires, Argentina
-
- Localización: Journal of taphonomy, ISSN 1696-0815, Vol. 15, Nº. 1-3, 2017, págs. 77-90
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
- Dialnet Métricas: 4 Citas
-
Resumen
The main objective of this paper is to characterize the pattern of thermal alteration in a sample of modern bones collected after a natural grassland fire in the Pampas region (Argentina). A total of 917 bone remains were recovered, including a variety of different body size taxa. Results suggest that natural grassland fires affect bone remains in a more severe way than previously documented. In general, a high proportion of bones with thermal alteration (70%) was recorded for the different body size categories, with calcined bones dominating the sample. Some differences in relation to the size classes were found; specifically, a higher extension of burning was recorded for the smaller-sized taxa. For the small animals, the homogeneous distribution of the burning damage in long bones and mandibles could help to differentiate a natural grassland fire from cooking, in which the burning pattern would be more heterogeneous.
