Taphonomic scoring system and multimodal paleo radiography

Taphonomy, which means burial, is the study of the transition of organisms after death from the biosphere to the lithosphere, which means underground. In short, it is the study of the remains of creatures after death to gain information on the processes that transpire after death (S King & Anna Zajicek, 2019). As subdisciplines of biological anthropology, such as bioarchaeology and zooarchaeology, it helps tell the story of the decomposing process of various creatures in the pretense of environment and culture, which can tell us a bit about the history prior to death, including how an organism became a fossil (S King & Anna Zajicek, 2019).

A taphonomic analysis may reveal essential information about the consequence of profound thinking and the ritualistic aspect of human evolution (S King & Anna Zajicek, 2019). For example, Motley (2022) based her dissertation on “The Taphonomy and Ritual Economy of Funerary Bundles on the Pre-Hispanic Central Coast of Peru (1000-1532 CE)”, where she uses methods such as a taphonomic scoring system and multimodal paleo radiography to gather data collection. In Motley, By using an integrated biocultural approach that uses taphonomy, ethnohistoric research, and theoretical discussions of Andean ontology, the results showed deep rituals among the Ychsma that revealed skull removal, delayed burial, differential access to intentional natural mummification, and the inclusion of ritually significant objects in select non-elite burials (2022). Not only is this information an essential part of history, but some of the rituals discussed have also been depicted in our current entertainment, such as tv shows, movies, and books.