Taphonomic effects of a grassland fire on a modern faunal sample and its implications for the archaeological record

MARÍA CLARA ALVAREZ; AGUSTINA MASSIGOGE; NAHUEL SCHEIFLER; MARIELA GONZÁLEZ; CRISTIAN KAUFMANN; MARÍA A. GUTIÉRREZ; DANIEL RAFUSE

Journal of Taphonomy

The Palaeontological Network Foundation

Lugar: Madrid; Año: 2017 vol. 15 p. 77 - 90

1696-0815

The main objective of this paper is to characterize the pattern of thermal alteration in a sample of modern bones collected after a natural grassland fire in the Pampas region (Argentina). A total of 917 bone remains were recovered, including a variety of different body size taxa. Results suggest that natural grassland fires affect bone remains in a more severe way than previously documented. In general, a high proportion of bones with thermal alteration (70%) was recorded for the different body size categories, with calcined bones dominating the sample. Some differences in relation to the size classes were found; specifically, a higher extension of burning was recorded for the smaller-sized taxa. For the small animals, the homogeneous distribution of the burning damage in long bones and mandibles could help to differentiate a natural grassland fire from cooking, in which the burning pattern would be more heterogeneous.