ABSTRACT
Taphonomic studies have become absolutely central to our understanding of hominid origins and the role of hunting and scavenging in early hominid subsiste. Evidence of early hominid activity frequently occurs in or adjacent to ancient stream channels, in deltaic deposits, or along lake shores. The degree of bone fragmentation may at times reflect seasonal differences in hominid use of animal resources, rather than the extent to which the faunal remains were the products of human as opposed to nonhuman agents. Since the physiological condition and nutritional needs of the human foragers probably also vary in a complex manner, the extent to which animal bones will be fragmented to retrieve marrow fat or bone grease is unlikely to be uniformly high in all human situations. The upsurge of interest in the hunting, butchering and processing strategies of contemporary foragers and small-scale horticulturalists aids in redressing this imbalance.
