Experimental analysis of soft-tissue fossilization: opening the black box

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dc.contributor.authorPurnell, Mark A.
dc.contributor.authorDonoghue, Philip J. C.
dc.contributor.authorGabbott, Sarah E.
dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Maria E.
dc.contributor.authorMurdock, Duncan J. E.
dc.contributor.authorSansom, Robert S.
dc.contributor.funderNatural Environment Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderRoyal Societyen
dc.contributor.funderLeverhulme Trusten
dc.contributor.funderEuropean Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderHorizon 2020en
dc.contributor.funderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-09T12:58:10Z
dc.date.available2021-09-09T12:58:10Z
dc.date.issued2018-03-20
dc.date.updated2021-09-07T10:42:40Z
dc.description.abstractTaphonomic experiments provide important insights into fossils that preserve the remains of decay-prone soft tissues, tissues that are usually degraded and lost prior to fossilization. These fossils are among the most scientifically valuable evidence of ancient life on Earth, giving us a view into the past that is much less biased and incomplete than the picture provided by skeletal remains alone. Although the value of taphonomic experiments is beyond doubt, a lack of clarity regarding their purpose and limitations, and ambiguity in the use of terminology, are hampering progress. Here we distinguish between processes that promote information retention and those that promote information loss, in order to clarify the distinction between fossilization and preservation. Recognizing distinct processes of decay, mineralization and maturation, the sequence in which they act, and the potential for interactions, has important consequences for analysis of fossils, and for the design of taphonomic experiments. The purpose of well-designed taphonomic experiments is generally to understand decay, maturation and preservation individually, thus limiting the number of variables involved. Much work remains to be done, but these methodologically reductionist foundations will allow researchers to build towards more complex taphonomic experiments and a more holistic understanding and analysis of the interactions between decay, maturation and preservation in the fossilization of non-biomineralized remains. Our focus must remain on the key issue of understanding what exceptionally preserved fossils reveal about the history of biodiversity and evolution, rather than on debating the scope and value of an experimental approach.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNatural Environment Research Council (NERC grant NE/K004557/1; NERC NE/P013678/1; NERC fellowship NE/I020253/2); Royal Society (Wolfson Merit Award); Leverhulme Trust (Early Career Fellowship); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC grant BB/N015827/1)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationPurnell, M. A., Donoghue, P. J. C., Gabbott, S. E., McNamara, M. E., Murdock, D. J. E. and Sansom, R. S. (2018) 'Experimental analysis of soft-tissue fossilization: opening the black box', Palaeontology, 61(3), pp. 317-323. doi: 10.1111/pala.12360en
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/pala.12360en
dc.identifier.endpage323en
dc.identifier.issn1475-4983
dc.identifier.journaltitlePalaeontologyen
dc.identifier.startpage317en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11860
dc.identifier.volume61en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherWileyen
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020::ERC::ERC-STG/637691/EU/Animal coloration through deep time: evolutionary novelty, homology and taphonomy/ANICOLEVOen
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pala.12360
dc.rights© The Palaeontological Association. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Purnell et al. (2018), Experimental analysis of soft-tissue fossilization: opening the black box. Palaeontology, 61: 317-323, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12360 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.en
dc.subjectDecayen
dc.subjectFossilizationen
dc.subjectTaphonomyen
dc.subjectExperimenten
dc.subjectExceptional preservationen
dc.titleExperimental analysis of soft-tissue fossilization: opening the black boxen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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