A new geometric morphometrics-based shape and size analysis discriminating anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic bone surface modifications of an experimental data set |
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| Antoine Souron, Alexandre Napias, Thomas Lavidalie, Frédéric Santos, Ronan Ledevin, Jean-Christophe Castel, Sandrine Costamagno, Daniel Cusimano, Stephanie Drumheller, Jennifer Parkinson, Lee Rozada, David Cochard |
- Abstract:
- Reliable discrimination of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic bone surface modifications (BSM) is crucial to reconstructing the taphonomic history of bone assemblages and past behaviors of hominids and other animals. This discrimination is hindered by equifinality, i.e., BSM with similar morphologies that were produced by different agents. Here we propose a new method to identify the taphonomic agents responsible for BSM and apply it to an experimental data set containing 177 BSM produced by anthropogenic (stone tool-induced cut marks) and non-anthropogenic agents (carnivoran and crocodylian bite marks, and trampling marks). We used 3D topographic models of BSM built from confocal microscopy and applied geometric morphometricsbased shape and size analyses to cross-sectional profiles extracted from the BSM. The new method considers both average profiles and intra-mark variability of profiles. Multivariate analyses of several shape and size variables result in a new synthetic morphospace where anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic BSM show very little overlap.
- Download:
- IMEKO-TC4-METROARCHAEO-2019-109.pdf
- DOI:
- -
- Event details
- IMEKO TC:
- TC4
- Event name:
- TC4 MetroArchaeo 2019
- Title:
IMEKO TC4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
- Place:
- Florence, ITALY
- Time:
- 04 December 2019 - 06 December 2019