Skeletal Modification Vocab to know Skeletal Modification Any

Skeletal Modification

Vocab to know � Skeletal Modification – › Any changes made to the skeleton � Pre- or antemortem – › Modifications made before death �Examples: breaking a bone as a kid � Perimortem – › Modifications made just before, during, or just after death; “around the time of death” �Example: stabbing someone & nicking the ribs or vertebrae � Postmortem – › Modifications made after death �Examples: bones that get broken when they are buried or run through a grinder or shredder, etc. . Think back to some of the episodes we watched…

Taphonomy � The study of the processes that operate between the time of death and the time of study (Human Bone Manual) � A subdiscipline of paleontology; but also in the realm of archaeology › Looks at the contexts of skeletal remains’ resting place �How were they buried? Where were they buried? What were they buried with? Body position? Etc…. .

� Skeletal Modification by Physical Agents › Chemistry – the soil the remains are in; weathering; natural decomposition of the body › Rocks, Earth, Ice – Bones can be broken or scratched by rockfalls; freeze-thaw cycles › Abrasion – particles of grit that “sand” the bones › Fire – cremation vs. naturally- occurring fires vs. roasting � Modification by Nonhuman, Biological Agents › Non-Human Animals �Gnawing/chewing on bones; sings of carnivores include: pitting, scoring and puncturing of bone; trampling › Plants – �Roots can grow through & around bones, leaving evidence on the bone; looks similar to etching � Modification by Humans › Cannibalism; cremation; cutting, chopping, scraping; percussion (hammering); projectiles (arrowheads, bullets, spearheads, etc…)