Trampling Modification : An Actualistic Study in Taphonomy

The current research was designed to add to the literature concerning trampling \nmodification as a taphonomic action capable of mimicking stone tool damage. Instead of \nfocusing on how to differentiate trampling from other forms of bone modification, \nhowever, attention is here given to the varying results of past methodologies. To date, no \none has performed a trampling experiment where live animals alter relatively fresh bone \nassemblages. This is, in part, due to the difficulty of reliably performing and monitoring \nsuch an experiment as well as the difficulty in obtaining the appropriate resources. To \nrectify these problems, the current work utilized previously unemployed technology \nalong with the resources available at a large scale African wildlife preserve in Santa \nRosa, CA. Thus, a series of experiments were developed to 1) test the reliability of the \nutilized resources, 2) generate ungulate mediated trampling damage, and 3) compare the \nresults of this experiment with those of the past. \nThe thesis opens in a way to help the reader first understand the significance of \ntaphonomic interpretation in paleoanthropology. This is done with a review of the \ndifferent lines of indirect evidence used when inferring behavior in the human fossil \nrecord. The focus here is on questions of early hominin carnivory and the implementation \nof stone tool technologies for resource procurement. The chapter then concludes with a \nsummary of the relatively few attempts at experimental trampling and draws attention to \nthe need for a new methodological approach.