TY - JOUR
T1 - The taphonomy of mammoth localities in southeastern Wisconsin (USA)
AU - Johnson, Eileen
N1 - Funding Information:
The author greatly appreciates the opportunity provided by David Overstreet (Center for Archaeological Research at Marquette University, Milwaukee) to conduct the taphonomic analysis of the mammoth localities, funded by National Science Foundation Grant SBR-9708616, his review of a draft of the manuscript, and access to the Hebior and Fenske mammoths; access to the Schaefer and Mud Lake mammoths by the Kenosha Public Museum, and the continued interest, encouragement, and review of a draft of the manuscript by Dan and Ruth Joyce (Kenosha Public Museum); photographic work by James A. Clark Jr. (Center for Archaeological Research) and Mary Bartlett (formerly with the Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock); and technical assistance by Sarah Willett and Tara Johnson (both with the Museum of Texas Tech University) and María Gutierrez (formerly with the Museum of Texas Tech University). Any errors in interpretation, however, are those of the author. This manuscript represents part of the ongoing Lubbock Lake Landmark regional research program into grasslands adaptations of the Americas.
PY - 2006/1
Y1 - 2006/1
N2 - Four southeastern Wisconsin mammoth localities located within a glacial landscape had well-preserved remains found in inter-morainal depressions filled with lacustrine clays covered with peat. Numerous radiocarbon ages dated the mammoths to the late Pleistocene. The taphonomic analysis focused on determining the agency or agencies involved in site formation and the agency or agencies involved in modification to the bones. Statistical approaches to bone orientation data underscored that water transport was not a factor in the formation of the bone beds nor was water movement a disturbance factor. The bone modification profile of the overall assemblage was dominated by chemical weathering, followed by other chemical and microbiological processes. Root etching was the most common biological modification, and the most frequent modifications are involved with the microenvironments of the surface to burial substrate. Potentially cultural modification accounted for only a small portion of the cortical damage to the bones. This general profile indicated an assemblage far more influenced by the immediate environment than by passing animals or people.
AB - Four southeastern Wisconsin mammoth localities located within a glacial landscape had well-preserved remains found in inter-morainal depressions filled with lacustrine clays covered with peat. Numerous radiocarbon ages dated the mammoths to the late Pleistocene. The taphonomic analysis focused on determining the agency or agencies involved in site formation and the agency or agencies involved in modification to the bones. Statistical approaches to bone orientation data underscored that water transport was not a factor in the formation of the bone beds nor was water movement a disturbance factor. The bone modification profile of the overall assemblage was dominated by chemical weathering, followed by other chemical and microbiological processes. Root etching was the most common biological modification, and the most frequent modifications are involved with the microenvironments of the surface to burial substrate. Potentially cultural modification accounted for only a small portion of the cortical damage to the bones. This general profile indicated an assemblage far more influenced by the immediate environment than by passing animals or people.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=26044438757&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2005.03.005
DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2005.03.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:26044438757
SN - 1040-6182
VL - 142-143
SP - 58
EP - 78
JO - Quaternary International
JF - Quaternary International
ER -