The Body’s Afterlife: How Mineral Concretions Became Molecular Time Capsules

Ancient microbial DNA and proteins preserved in burial concretions are changing how scientists read the record of decay — and revealing a new archive of human history.

Taphonomy - Wikipedia

Episode 213 – Decomposers

Listen to Episode 213 on PodBean, YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! Leave a carcass or a log or a pile of poop out in the wild long enough and it will break down i…

Stratigraphic Paleobiology Modeling Pipelines

The fossil record is a joint expression of ecological, taphonomic, evolutionary, and stratigraphic processes (Holland and Patzkowsky, 2012, ISBN:978-0226649382). This package allowing to simulate biological processes in the time domain (e.g., trait evolution, fossil abundance), and examine how their expression in the rock record (stratigraphic domain) is influenced based on age-depth models, ecological niche models, and taphonomic effects. Functions simulating common processes used in modeling trait evolution or event type data such as first/last occurrences are provided and can be used standalone or as part of a pipeline. The package comes with example data sets and tutorials in several vignettes, which can be used as a template to set up one's own simulation.

Fetid Fish Revise Understanding of Fossil Formation

This study's findings raises important questions regarding just how "primitive" the early ancestors of vertebrates were 500 million years ago.

Fetid Fish Revise Understanding of Fossil Formation

This study's findings raises important questions regarding just how "primitive" the early ancestors of vertebrates were 500 million years ago.

Bone diagenesis and stratigraphic implications from Pleistocene karst systems - Scientific Reports

Bone diagenesis is a complex process that modifies bone components in response to burial conditions. These modifications help to understand deposit formation and classify fossils by stratigraphy. The combined techniques of X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement and infrared spectroscopy were used to study the bone diagenetic processes along the complete stratigraphic sequence of Galería site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Eleven chemometric indices considering the different bone components (phosphates, carbonates, organic phase), together with the apatite unit cell parameters and cell volume were evaluated by 9 machine learning algorithms for bone diagenesis/stratigraphic classification. The results showed differences along the stratigraphic sequence due to changes in the apatite structure chemistry (i.e., F− and OH−), producing a gradual shift of the unit cell volume (from 531.9 to 526.1 Å3) from GII to GIV associated with coupled dissolution–precipitation processes. Two diagenetic pathways are indicated: The lowest unit (GII) is characterized by leaching and carbonate loss in bone, suggesting an acidic and wet burial environment with the formation of authigenic phosphate minerals. The uppermost units (GIII-GIV) show bone apatite undergoing F− and CO3 incorporation, suggesting a slightly alkaline and drier environment. These differences enabled the development of classification models to understand deposit formation dynamics and also recontextualize dissociated fossil bones.