Analyses of bone modifications on human remains: a GIS approach
Résumé
The analysis of fragmentation and cut marks on human remains usually relies on extensive textual descriptions, sketches on bone diagrams and recording in data tables, and most often on a combination of these methods, which each have their disadvantages. Some zooarchaeologists have found ways of facilitating these charts analyses, and a few authors have occasionally adapted them to human bones: using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, where ‘base maps’ are sketches of skeletons instead of geographical areas. We applied this approach to a set of Gallic severed heads coming from Le Cailar (Gard, France) on recent GIS software to investigate the cutting and fracturing. Since it is an ongoing study, we rnainly discuss our method and questions raised by the creation of MNE (minimum number of elements) and density maps. The preliminary results indicate a great accuracy of MNE estimating, and a similarity between the different estimation methods of cut marks or fractures densities.