Department of Cartographic and Terrain Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School of Ávila, Higher Polytechnic School of Ávila, University of Salamanca, Hornos Caleros 50, 05003, Ávila, Spain.
Área de Prehistoria, Universitat de Rovir i Virgili (URV), Avignuda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
J Microsc. 2020 Feb;277(2):107-117. doi: 10.1111/jmi.12873. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
Sedimentary abrasion and postdepositional damage to fossil remains are of great interest if considering the possible distortion they could produce in the archaeological and paleontological record. Since their discovery, natural agents such as trampling phenomena have been a topic of great taphonomic interest. Nevertheless, the majority of investigation into these traces has focused almost exclusively on their differentiation from other anthropic agents such as cut marks. In recent years, advances into bone surface modification analysis via geometric morphometrics have proven useful for in-depth characterization of different taphonomic traces; including cut, tooth and percussion marks. Through this, a preliminary study of trampling marks using advanced 3D digital microscopy was able to detect differences between what have since been known as scratch and graze marks. The present study expands from this, developing a more detailed analysis of these traces. Here, we use advanced data science techniques to provide a means of understanding trampling mark variations, contributing to our knowledge of site formation processes. Our results show how scratch and graze marks are a product of progressional decay and changes in cortical hardness, providing a new means of understanding taphonomic processes. LAY DESCRIPTION: The study of microscopic bone surface modifications in archaeology and palaeontology is of great importance, allowing for a detailed reconstruction of the formation of a site and providing a means of interpreting the fossil register. The damage that sedimentary abrasion can produce, however, is likely to distort and influence these studies, thus requiring a detailed understanding of the different traces that can be found on different materials. Here, we use advanced 3D digital microscopy and pattern recognition algorithms to analyse the different marks produced in different sedimentological contexts, also controlling for other variables such as the state of the bone when buried, the type of bone and the time exposed to these types of damages. Through this detailed microscopic analysis of these types of damages, we are able to conclude that morphological variations in trampling marks are product of the state of decay when the bones are buried.
如果考虑到它们可能对考古学和古生物学记录产生的扭曲，那么化石遗骸的沉积磨损和沉积后损坏是非常有趣的。自发现以来，踩踏现象等自然因素一直是埋藏学研究的热点。然而，对这些痕迹的大多数研究几乎完全集中在区分它们与其他人为因素，如切割痕迹上。近年来，通过几何形态测量学对骨表面修饰的分析进展，已被证明对深入研究不同埋藏痕迹（包括切割、牙齿和打击痕迹）非常有用。通过这种方法，使用先进的 3D 数字显微镜对踩踏痕迹进行的初步研究能够检测到划痕和擦痕之间的差异。本研究在此基础上进一步扩展，对这些痕迹进行了更详细的分析。在这里，我们使用先进的数据科学技术来提供一种理解踩踏痕迹变化的方法，为我们了解遗址形成过程做出贡献。我们的研究结果表明，划痕和擦痕是皮质硬度渐进性衰减和变化的产物，为理解埋藏学过程提供了一种新的方法。
在考古学和古生物学中，研究微观骨表面修饰非常重要，它允许对遗址的形成过程进行详细的重建，并提供一种解释化石记录的方法。然而，沉积磨损造成的损害可能会扭曲和影响这些研究，因此需要对不同材料上可能发现的不同痕迹有详细的了解。在这里，我们使用先进的 3D 数字显微镜和模式识别算法来分析在不同沉积学环境中产生的不同痕迹，同时还控制了其他变量，如骨头被埋葬时的状态、骨头的类型以及暴露于这些类型的损伤的时间。通过对这些类型的损伤进行详细的微观分析，我们能够得出结论，踩踏痕迹的形态变化是骨头被埋葬时腐烂状态的产物。
