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Differential skeletal preservation at Windover Pond: causes and consequences
Christopher M Stojanowski1, Ryan M Seidemann, Glen H Doran
1Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA. cstoj1@cs.com
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|September 5, 2002
Summary
Skeletal preservation in the Windover Pond site varied significantly with burial depth, not sex or age. Deeper burials showed better bone preservation, likely due to environmental factors like drying and resubmergence affecting shallower graves.
Area of Science:
- Bioarchaeology
- Forensic Anthropology
- Taphonomy
Background:
- The Windover Pond skeletal series (8BR246) offers a unique opportunity to study differential skeletal preservation.
- Understanding factors influencing bone preservation is crucial for bioarchaeological and forensic interpretations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causes of differential skeletal preservation within the Windover Pond skeletal series.
- To evaluate the impact of age, sex, burial location, and brain preservation on skeletal preservation.
Main Methods:
- Collected data on sex and age for approximately 110 individuals.
- Calculated a preservation score based on 80 skeletal landmarks.
- Analyzed correlations between preservation and age, sex, brain presence, and burial location (horizontal and vertical depth).
Main Results:
- Overall skeletal preservation showed significant variability (mean = 0.53, SD = 0.22).
- No significant differences in preservation were found based on sex (P = 0.79) or age (P = 0.37).
- Vertical burial depth was a significant predictor of preservation (r = -0.31, P = 0.005), with shallower burials preserving less bone.
- Brain preservation was not significantly correlated with skeletal preservation (P = 0.15).
Conclusions:
- Differential skeletal preservation at Windover Pond is primarily influenced by burial depth, not individual demographic factors.
- Environmental fluctuations, such as partial drying and resubmergence, likely affected the preservation of shallower burials.
- Element-specific survival rates align with established principles related to bone density and weight, despite the unique taphonomic context.