Impact of taphonomic surface alterations of bone on geometric morphometrics analyses
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1Taphonomic alterations on bioarchaeological remains are common and can have a major impact on osteological collections. During geometric morphometrics analyses, the bones used may be more or less well preserved and may limit feasible studies. We investigated the impact of taphonomic surface alterations on bone shape studies. To this end, we scanned by microtomography 19 humeri from the La Granède site (a medieval funerary complex in Millau, 12) in an excellent state of preservation. We virtually applied taphonomic alterations by adding and removing material on 3D model of the referential humeri. These two types of virtual degradation were designed to mimic the effects of roots and concretions on bone. We then compared the morphology of the bones before and after alteration using a geometric morphometrics protocol. We were able to see that, when there is a fairly slight removal of material that can be compared to the action of roots on a bone, the data remain usable and similar to those of the reference group. On the contrary, when sediment is added, the data are unreliable and the difference with the reference group is significant. These results therefore call into question the use of archaeological data with taphonomic alterations in morphological studies, while demonstrating the possibility of retaining bones with certain types of alteration in geometric morphometrics studies.
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Zoé Corselle, Samuel Bédécarrats, Nicolas Vanderesse, Frédéric Santos, Stéphane Rottier et Guillaume Leduc, « Impact of taphonomic surface alterations of bone on geometric morphometrics analyses », Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 37(S) | 2025, mis en ligne le 16 janvier 2025, consulté le 08 mai 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14789 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/133o6
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