Taphonomic alteration and evolutionary taphonomy

Abstract

Every process of taphonomic alteration implies change and modification of the affected taphonomic elements, but it does not necessarily lead to the destruction of taphonomic elements. Taphonomic alteration can be of four types: elementary, populational, taphonic and taphocladal. In order to interpret the differential preservation of fossils and fossilization mechanisms it is necessary to take in mind not only the original architecture of taphonomic elements and the environmental changes, but also the successive changes in architecture of taphonomic elements and the activities carried out by taphonomic elements, as well as the evolutionary modifications of taphons and taphoclades. This systemic and evolutionist procedure allows to explain how the representatives of some taphons or taphoclades have been able to end up being preserved outside of the limits of tolerance of the originally produced taphonomic elements.