Bone weathering in a Mediterranean climate region: An experimental case study from Donana National Park (Spain).

ABSTRACT: Bone weathering constitutes a highly informative and commonly studied variable in taphonomic analyses. Vertebrate paleontologists, zoo-archeologists and forensic anthropologists have used weathering as a taphonomic clock to ascertain the exposure time of a bone assemblage before burial. Given that climatic conditions largely govern the weathering process, it is essential to investigate the effects of weathering across various climatic settings. This study analyzes the bone weathering process at Doñana National Park (Spain), a Mediterranean climate area. In 2018, we set an experiment in which four bones, three tibias and one skull, belonging to the main ungulates from Doñana (red deer, fallow deer, horse and wild boar) were placed in an enclosure and exposed to the natural environmental con

SUBMITTER: Pizarro-Monzo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12578198 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature