From flesh to bone: Building bridges between taphonomy, archaeothanatology and forensic science for a better understanding of mortuary practices
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Publication Type:
- Chapter
- Citation:
- The Routledge Handbook of Archaeothanatology: Bioarchaeology of Mortuary Behaviour, 2022, pp. 501-541
- Issue Date:
- 2022-04-29
Closed Access
| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.4324_9781351030625-32_chapterpdf.pdf | Published version | 3.82 MB |
Copyright Clearance Process
- Recently Added
- In Progress
- Closed Access
This item is closed access and not available.
Archaeothanatology goes beyond taphonomy and bones. It touches on cultural aspects, funerary practices and their socio-cultural interpretation (cf. Knüsel and Schotsmans, Introduction, this volume). In order to conduct an archaeothanatological analysis, taphonomy comes into play. The depositional environment, peri-mortem, post-mortem and post-depositional processes that affect preservation and degradation, should be assessed in order to discriminate human behaviour from natural processes (Schotsmans, Márquez-Grant and Forbes, 2017). Over the last 35 years, taphonomy has gained increased importance in several disciplines. As a result, the depositional environment received more attention because of the contextual information that it can provide. This was not the case in the past. Many remains, whether human remains, animal remains, 502or, for example, stone tools, were (and still are) often studied without information about their depositional contexts. Although there is some overlap, in many countries the division between archaeology and anthropology is demonstrated by a separation between the field and the laboratory: the archaeologist excavates in the field, while the anthropologist studies skeletal remains in the laboratory. This goes against all principles of archaeothanatology. The importance of field analysis is, therefore, one of the foundations of archaeothanatology (Duday and Masset, 1987; Duday et al., 1990; Duday, 2009). A thorough archaeothanatological analysis cannot be conducted without studying the depositional environment and understanding the process of decomposition. Many archaeo-anthropologists have never been confronted with a dead or decaying corpse. Without the understanding of decomposition and factors that influence decay, it becomes more difficult to analyse skeletal remains and interpret mortuary practices. If one does not know what decomposition does or can do to a corpse, incorrect interpretations might be made.
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: