Gil Amador, “And Then What Happened? Exploring Taphonomic Change at the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery 2”
Mentor: Shannon Freire, Anthropology
Poster #211

Through study of human remains from archaeological contexts, bioarchaeologists can tell stories about people in the past, such as where they came from and how they lived.  Bone condition reveals critical osteological and archaeological details that support these stories. Bone condition and levels of osteological fragmentation are two taphonomic factors that influence our ability as bioarcheologists to build a robust biological profile. Generating a biological profile is often the first step in developing these interpretations. Taphonomic changes and historical disturbances to the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery 2 (1882-1925) negatively impact the osteological analyses that help us build provisional identifications. A provisional identification is one component of the stories that guide us, keep us humble, keep us scrupulous, and keep us rigorous. This poster illustrates patterns of bone condition and their spatial relationships in Cemetery 2. A descriptive qualitative analysis can explain some of these patterns. Understanding taphonomic changes and their spatial-temporal relationship within the cemetery will benefit future and ongoing research that helps us associate archival documents with individual interments, a process that is central to making provisional identifications