Table 3.
Taphonomic recording criteria (after Pokines and Symes, 2013)
| Signature | Characters or taphonomic traces for recording |
|---|---|
| Preservational | General state of remains (excellent, good, fair, or poor) |
| Cortical erosion/exposure of cancellous bone | |
| Cortical exfoliation (bone loss in thin, spalling layers) | |
| Postmortem breakage | |
| Perimortem breakage/fragmentation or trauma | |
| Rounding (erosion/tumbling in an abrasive environment) | |
| Decalcified | |
| Postmortem cracking of desiccated tooth enamel | |
| Incidental surface striations/scratches | |
| Soil surface exposure | Surface cracking/longitudinal splitting from drying of waterlogged bone |
| Weathering (bleaching and cracking; sensu Behrensmeyer) | |
| Mineral deposition | Copper (green), iron (red), calcium (white), manganese (black), or other mineral oxide staining |
| Vivianite formation | |
| Concretion | |
| Water staining (presence of a water line from mineral deposits, colour differential line) | |
| Mechanical | Excavation damage |
| Micro-abrasion | |
| Soil/burial substrate | General soil staining |
| Warping/flattening of elements (especially the cranial vault) | |
| Crushing/compaction from overburden | |
| Adhering/infiltrating sediments | |
| Faunal | Adhering fauna |
| Carnivore puncture and gnawing | |
| Gastric corrosion, winnowing, or windowing of bone | |
| Rodent gnawing | |
| Invertebrate surface modification and damage |