Taphonomic analysis of the Twilight Beach seals

Abstract

Taphonomic studies have become an integral part of zooarchaeological research over the past 30 years. Understanding the processes that led to the samples of animal remains found in archaeological sites is crucial for evaluating the validity of interpretations of these datasets (Klein and Cruz-Uribe 1984; Lyman 1994a). It is important to recognise that taphonomic analysis, ‘as the science of the laws of embedding or burial’ (Lyman 1994a:1), is not done for its own sake, but to solve problems in zooarchaeological research (e.g. Gifford-Gonzalez 1991; Lyman 1994a; Stiner 2005). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of taphonomic analyses, and provide an example of a detailed taphonomic analysis of a fauna – the Twilight Beach fauna – related to particular research questions in New Zealand.