Dear All,
Rob Symmons and I are planning to organise a session on taphonomy and
diagenesis for ICAZ 2010. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are
interested in contributing so we can gauge interest. Apologies for the late
posting of this abstract (see below).
Best wishes
Richard
Taphonomy and Diagenesis
The study of taphonomy, though still far from fully developed, plays an
increasingly important role in research on faunal assemblages. It is widely
recognised that an understanding of the impact of taphonomic processes is
key to the interpretation of zooarchaeological data. An appreciation of the
susceptibility of different fossil classes to these processes is also crucial.
This session aims to build on the highly successful ICAZ 2002 session on
taphonomy and will showcase recent research related to the themes covered
in the 2002 conference and present new issues that have been raised since.
In addition the session will bring together researchers with interests in these
topics and promote collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
The session aims to encompass all aspects of the transition from life to death,
excavation and publication for all classes of animal remains. Themes may
include, but are not restricted to:
• Experimental research – laboratory based and actualistic
• Structural properties of tissues – the inherent susceptibilities of
different classes of remains to taphonomic alteration
• Environmental variables – the impact of the depositional environment
• Fire/cooking/boiling – effects of cooking on faunal material
• Sampling/recovery/analysis – bias created by excavation strategies
and post-excavation analysis
• Histological preservation – microscopic and chemical effects of
taphonomic processes
• Isotopic analysis – the potential effects of taphonomic alteration on
isotopic analysis
• DNA – studies concerning the preservation of ancient DNA.
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