Assessing the Survival to Subaerial Conditions of Disinterred Human Bones in Southern Patagonia (Argentina): Archaeological and Forensic Implications

MIOTTI LAURA; BARRIENTOS, GUSTAVO; MAGNIN, LUCÍA; GARCÍA, RENATO

Lancashire

Simposio; Taphos NomoS International Council; 2018

The estimation of the above-ground survival of human bones under different conditions is important from both an archaeological and a forensic point ofView.In this region, work on recently exposed prehistoric faunal assemblages suggests a maximum aboveground survival of bones of about 20 years.The aim of this contribution is to describe the preliminary observations made ona weathered and lichen-colonized bone assemblage.The bones were left on the ground surface after the looting of an ancient aboriginal cairn burial (?chenque?) in southern Patagonia (Santa Cruz, Argentina).