A Stone's Throw Through Time: Taphonomic Variation Between Pits at Rancho La Brea

First osteohistological and histotaphonomic approach of Equus occidentalis Leidy, 1865 (Mammalia, Equidae) from the late Pleistocene of Rancho La Brea (California, USA)

“…From a macroscopic viewpoint, the taphonomic features identified in the remains here studied ( Table 3 ) coincide with information obtained in previous works using material from different pits (see [ 2 , 5 , 14 ] and references therein). All specimens are completely impregnated with asphalt, which results in a dark coloration; different authors (e.g., [ 72 – 74 ]), proposed that the asphalt favored the excellent preservation of the materials from this site, practically in its original state.…”

“…Null abrasion degree in all specimens reflects a short time of interaction between bones and sedimentary particles or very low intensity of the process. Despite the possible development of water transport events of short duration in the area (i.e., flash floods; [ 75 ]), Spencer et al [ 5 ] mentioned that fluvial action was not significant in the formation of the assemblage from the Pit 91 (but see [ 14 ]). The types of identified fractures indicate that the specimens were affected by destructive processes in different stages of the taphonomic history, both before and after burial.…”

“…In the case of vertebrates, most scientific studies are focused mainly on taxonomic, osteological, paleopathological, and isotopic analyses. However, research on the taphonomy of the assemblages are scarce (e.g., [ 2 , 5 , 13 ]) and limited to only a few pits (see [ 14 ]), so that several questions to understand how the site formed remain unresolved and other possible scenarios should not be ruled out.…”