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

ALVAREZ, M. C.; MASSIGOGE, A.; SCHEIFLER, N. A.; GONZÁLEZ, M. E; KAUFMANN C. A.; GUTIÉRREZ, M. A.; RAFUSE, D. J.

Journal of Taphonomy

Prometheus Press

Lugar: Madrid; Año: 2017 vol. 15 p. 79 - 92

1696-0815

The main objective of this paper is to characterize the pattern of thermal alteration in a sample ofmodern bones collected after a natural grassland fire in the Pampas region (Argentina). A total of 917 boneremains were recovered, including a variety of different body size taxa. Results suggest that naturalgrassland fires affect bone remains in a more severe way than previously documented. In general, a highproportion 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 todifferentiate a natural grassland fire from cooking, in which the burning pattern would be more heterogeneous.