Taphonomy
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die, especially the study of fossilization. countable, uncountable
"These characteristics are also applicable in forensic taphonomy. In contrast to our approach here, Buikstra and Ubelaker place "premortem and perimortem fractures, wounds, and abrasions" (p. 106) in the chapter on paleopathology, thus separating perimortem trauma from taphonomy."
Example
More examples"These characteristics are also applicable in forensic taphonomy. In contrast to our approach here, Buikstra and Ubelaker place "premortem and perimortem fractures, wounds, and abrasions" (p. 106) in the chapter on paleopathology, thus separating perimortem trauma from taphonomy."
Etymology
From tapho- + -nomy. From Ancient Greek τάφος (táphos, “grave”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.