Human taphonomy at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV, Siberia: a new method for documenting skeletal condition

Abstract

This paper employs a new three-part method for documenting skeletal condition in order to examine human taphonomy at the Glaskovo (5000–3700 BP, calibrated) cemetery of Khuzhir-Nuge XIV, located in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia (Russia). Relationships among three distinct aspects of condition – completeness, fragmentation, and articulation – and 15 identified taphonomic factors are investigated in order to explain the high variability observed at the site. Intrinsic skeletal characteristics such as element type and age at death were found to be responsible for some of the variable condition, but cultural activities, particularly mortuary practices, appear to have played even greater roles – both direct and indirect. Articulation, in particular, appears to have been an aspect of skeletal condition which was directly affected by a number of cultural practices. In addition to applying a new method of documenting skeletal condition to human taphonomic analyses, this research explains much of the variable condition observed at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV and emphasizes the significance of cultural practices as taphonomic agents affecting human remains.