The taphonomy of fish bone from archaeological sites in East Otago, New Zealand

Abstract

Fish bone assemblages from Pleasant River Mouth are analysed in order to determine the degree of subsurface weathering that each has undergone. It is apparent that different assemblages and different fish species will exhibit different weathering patterns. The analysis is then extended to the nearby site of Shag River Mouth. It seems that the weathering of fish bone can be used to determine the degree of weathering for an entire context, and that a simple visual assessment of element survivorship profiles for each assemblage is sufficient to indicate the comparative degree of weathering, though much more work must be done before the method can be widely applied with confidence.