Biocultural Taphonomies: Teasing apart taphonomic variables in bioarchaeology

As anthropologists who work with human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts, taphonomic influences are part of every bioarchaeological excavation and project. Despite their ubiquity, taphonomic factors are often relegated to presence/absence checklists or part of routine reporting rather than worthwhile avenues of anthropological inquiry. While paleontologists, zooarchaeologists, and forensic anthropologists have made tremendous strides in furthering the importance and scope of taphonomic filters in affecting skeletal materials, bioarchaeologists have been comparatively slow in embracing such avenues of research. In this special collection, we seek highlight some of the exciting and important contributions bioarchaeologists have made to investigating taphonomy utilizing anthropological and biocultural frameworks. This collection stems from the vibrant 2022 American Association of Biological Anthropology podium symposium entitled “Biocultural taphonomies: teasing apart taphonomic filters in bioarchaeology.” at the American Association for Biological Anthropologist meeting, with additional contributions from expert scholars. We focus here on three primary themes: 1) Funerary Taphonomy, 2) 'Epi'-taphonomies, and 3) Recent analytical techniques. The relationships between funerary customs and taphonomy present a prime example of how human remains are bioculturally modified, and their preservation is often influenced by geographic, climatic, and sedimentary factors. Conversely, preservation is often discussed in relation to the interval between burial and discovery, not post-excavation. We inquire how reference collections may be intertwined with taphonomic filters and interrogate whether such filters continue to play a role in the preservation of human skeletal remains even after burial and excavation. Looting, curation procedures, destructive sampling, and community-driven engagements with human remains are ‘extra’-taphonomic factors that affect human remains, and we seek to inquire whether these factors can be considered as intertwined with taphonomic ones, either directly or indirectly. Finally, recent analytical techniques ranging from analyses of chemical integrity in isotopic studies to histotaphonomy can also illuminate complicated taphonomic trajectories. By embracing a biocultural lens, we believe that taphonomies relating to skeletal remains can transcend cultural vs. natural dichotomies, and underscore the myriad of ways in which taphonomic filters become intertwined with local and situated human biologies, environments, ecologies, funerary customs, curation protocols, and heritage management.