Taphos-m, a Taphonomical Research using Sus scrofa domestica Model in an Experimental Facility

Abstract

Taphos-m is an experimental archaeology and anthropology project, created in 2011, with the objective of knowing what taphonomic agents and processes could be responsible for the observable effects in the field. The first stage of the project consisted of the burial of 26 domestic pig carcases under different environmental conditions and burial types; the antemortem information about the animals was also compiled. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained during the first three years since the last burial took place. The evolution of the funerary structures was evaluated and four bodies were exhumed. The antemortem data and the information obtained from these four exhumations, have helped in understanding of the cadaveric state of the bodies and the anatomical disassociation of bones buried in different types of funerary structures. The preservation and condition of the cortical surface of the bones and the presence or absence of fragmentation were described too. The results presented here allow an understanding of the evolution of the characteristics of the facility and the differences among the pig remains. Opening all funerary structures is considered necessary in order to obtain further conclusions.