Squamate bone taphonomy: A new experimental framework and its application to the Natufian zooarchaeological record.

ABSTRACT: Squamate (lizard and snake) remains are abundant in the terminal Pleistocene Natufian archaeological sites of the Levant, raising the question of whether they constitute part of the broad-spectrum diet characteristic of this period. However, the role of squamates in Natufian diets remains unclear, as they are taphonomically under-studied. We conducted a series of experiments and actualistic observations that tested the impact of pre- and post-depositional processes on squamate vertebrae. We emphasized the multiple destruction processes that leave overlapping or altered marks on the bones, such as digestion marks that were modified by trampling. The resulting bone modification typology provides a tool for studying archaeological squamate remains. The experimental data were compared to the a

SUBMITTER: Lev M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7287132 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature