Taphonomy: A Process Approach

Cambridge Paleobiology

by Ronald E. Martin

This book offers a comprehensive review of the entire field of taphonomy, the science of fossil preservation. It describes the formation of plant and animal fossils in oceanic, terrestrial and river settings and how this affects deciphering the ecology and extinction of past lifeforms and the environments in which they lived. Coverage emphasizes a process approach to the subject and reviews the taphonomic behavior of all important taxa, both plant and animal. The book will be of main interest to advanced students and professionals working in paleontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, climate modeling and biogeochemistry. It will also appeal to anyone interested in the preservation of fossils and the formation of fossil assemblages.

526 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1999

Reviews

[Lee Broderick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better written than some other taphonomy textbooks, this one focuses on taphonomy as a sub-discipline of palaeontology and largely ignores its interactions with other disciplines such as archaeology. There's also a determined focus on the taphonomy of littoral environments but it's probably fair to say that this largely reflects the research carried out in the field by palaeontologists.