Testing the impact of environmental zone on experimental taphonomic faunal models

Abstract

Traditional paradigms governing the generation of actualistic taphonomic faunal models suggest that outcomes will vary depending on the particular environmental zone in which data is generated. Scavenging experiments were carried out in two distinct environmental zones (temperate and semi-arid) in New South Wales, Australia, to test the validity of this prevailing paradigm. The results of this study suggest that a particular environmental zone may not be as important a variable as other taphonomic factors, such as natural versus cultural agents of accumulation. These observations are part of larger study whose goal is to provide a working taphonomic model for faunal accumulations in open archaeological sites derived from Australian contexts.