La taphonomy It is a discipline that belongs to paleontology and is responsible for studying all the processes that have occurred before, during, and after the burial of an organism in an archaeological site. This discipline can provide a great deal of information about the processes that affect bones for the fossil record. In addition, it is essential to understand how animals turn into stone, which is related to the study of taphonomy and its importance.
Study of taphonomy
The origin of this discipline was given by Ivan A. Efremov in 1940. Taphonomy is a scientific discipline that seeks to study what happens to organic remains from the biosphere in the lithosphere. Taphonomy means "laws of burial" in Greek. This arose from Efremov's concern about interpreting certain errors in fossils caused by the action of various paleoecological agents.
Since the creation of this scientific discipline, the objectives, methods, and techniques of study have expanded. This is also due to the emergence of new questions about the processes of fossilization and the preservation of paleobiological traits. It must be taken into account that fossil remains are also subject to the action of microorganisms and their diverse behaviors. Therefore, the study of taphonomy is essential to better understand how fossils are formed and how they are preserved.
Taphonomic processes
As is to be expected, the processes that take place in Taphonomy must be classified. These processes are grouped into two main categories:
- Biostratinomic processes
- Fossyldiagenetic processes
Thanks to this division of the different processes that are studied in Taphonomy, it can be emphasized which are the processes and agents that act on the remains of organisms in two well differentiated contexts. On the one hand, we have the subaerial side and, on the other hand, the subsurface. Let's take a closer look at each of the two broadly divided processes. In this sense, it can be said that taphonomy is crucial for understanding the preservation of fossils over time.
Biostratinomic processes
These are the processes that fossils undergo before being buried. That is, microorganisms act on the corpses to decompose the organic matter. Once the remains are preserved, they are buried over time. Once they are enclosed, taphocenosis occurs. Taphocenosis is nothing more than the set of remains of organisms that have been buried together. The entire area occupied by these buried organisms is called a tafotope.
The stage where entities are buried is called differential preservation. This stage consists of all the processes, agents and transformations that have intervened on the bones during the moments prior to burial. These agents and processes can modify the internal and external structure of the bones before they are buried.
Unfortunately, in biostratinomic processes it is where the greatest loss of information from the fossil record takes placeThis is because organisms have a large amount of organic matter that decomposes easily after death. Only under exceptional conditions can some of this organic matter be preserved. Understanding these processes is essential for studying the traces and marks found on animal bones, thus allowing for the analysis of the behavior of past species.
Keep in mind that a dead organism is still present in the food web. This is because there are numerous animals, fungi and bacteria that are scavengers.Scavengers are living beings responsible for eliminating dead matter. They are very important components of ecosystems and their ecological balance. Therefore, when the corpse of an organism is in the food web, a large amount of information can be lost, given its reduced organic matter.
These processes are divided into 4 points:
- Reorientation: This is the process related to the transportation of remains. During this process, the action of predators is quite important, as they can grab their prey and tear it to pieces. There are other prey items that are not as damaged.
- Dislocation: it is the process that takes place in organisms that have a skeleton of various elements. The consequence of this process is the separation of the different parts of the same organism.
- Fragmentation: It is the process that includes all the breakage of the pieces into smaller ones. This has to do with the action of many scavengers that end up eating the remains of organic matter to a present around the bones.
- Corrosion: covers all the effects caused by physical, biological abrasion and chemical dissolution. It is an effect somewhat similar to what happens with the weathering of rocks.
Fossyldiagenetic processes
These processes are those experienced by entities preserved after burial. Once they are in the lithosphere, differential preservation occurs. This encompasses the action of different agents, processes, and transformations that affect organic matter during the burial period. As with the previous processes, these can also be destructive and cause the loss of a large amount of information and potential resources.
Some of the processes that occur are mineralization by erosion, permineralization, neoformism, recrystallization, replacement, dissolution or compactionThese processes depend on other variables, such as the action of burrowing animals like worms. There are also various microorganisms that live underground, the chemical components of the subsoil, the influence of hydraulic flows, and other factors that affect fossil remains. Understanding these processes is essential to understanding ecological balance and how it affects the environment.
Objective of Taphonomy
Now that we've presented all the processes that can affect organisms during burial, let's analyze the objective of taphonomy. It focuses on the study of animal bones found in archaeological sites.
Some aspects, such as bone transport, have gradually gained importance in order to obtain more information. The current fields of study in taphonomy are responsible for analyzing the marches and tracks that appear on the surface of the bonesThese footprints could have an anthropogenic origin. This allows us to study some of the lifestyles of past humans, and the study of butcher marks on bones is particularly noteworthy.