The term taphonomy (from the Greek taphos – τάφος – meaning burial and nomos, νόμος, meaning law) is defined as the study of the transition of plant and animal organisms after death from the biosphere (living surfaces) to the lithosphere (underground). Taphonomists study processes such as decomposition or burial that affect organisms after death and which ultimately result in animals and plants becoming part of the fossil record.
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Further Reading
Haglund, W.D. & M.H. Sorg. (ed.) Advances in forensic taphonomy: method, theory and archaeological perspectives. Boca Raton: CRC.
Nawrocki, S.P. 2009. Forensic taphonomy, in S. Blau & D.H. Ubelaker (ed.) Handbook of forensic anthropology and archaeology: 284-294. California: Left Coast.
Sorg, M.H., W.D. Haglund & J.A. Wren. 2012. Current research in forensic taphonomy, in D.C. Dirkmaat (ed.) A companion to forensic anthropology: 477-498. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
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Blau, S. (2014). Taphonomy: Definition. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_132
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