By: Johannes Weigelt, J. Schaefer (Transcribed by)

Paperback

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The first English translation of Johannes Weigelt's 1927 classic makes available "the" seminal work in taphonomy, the study of how organisms die, decay, become entombed in sediments, and fossilize over time. Weigelt emphasized the importance of empirical work and made extensive observations of modern carcasses on the Texas Gulf Coast. He applied the results to evidence from the fossil record and demonstrated that an understanding of the postmortem fate of modern animals is crucial to making sound inferences about fossil vertebrate assemblages and their ecological communities.
Weigelt spent sixteen months on the Gulf Coast in the mid-1920s, gathering evidence from the carcasses of cattle and other animals in the early stages of preservation. This book reports his observations. He discusses death and decomposition; classifies various modes of death (drowning, cold, dehydration, fire, mud, quicksand, oil slicks, etc.); documents and analyzes the positions of carcasses; presents detailed data on carcass assemblages at the Smither's Lake site in Texas; and, in a final chapter, makes comparisons to carcass assemblages from the geologic past. He raises questions about whether much of the fossil record is a product of unusual events and, if so, what the implications are for paleoecological studies.
The English edition of "Recent Vertebrate Carcasses" includes a foreword and a translator's note that comment on Weigelt's life and the significance of his work. The original bibliography has been brought up to date, and, where necessary, updated scientific and place names have been added to the text in brackets. An index of names, places, and subjects is included, and Weigelt's ownphotographs of carcasses and drawings of skeletons illustrate the text.

Foreword
Note Publisher's
Note Preface
Introduction
Death and Its Aftermath
Death
Decomposition
Preservation
The Role of Insects
What Happens to Carcasses Lying on the Surface of the Ground
The Embedding Media
Modes of Death
Death Due to Volcanic Activity
Death Due to Gases
Death Due to Grass, Prairie, and Forest Fires
Death by Drowning
Bogging Down in Mud
Stomach Contents
Death in Quicksand
Becoming Mired in Tidal Slits
Death in Crude Oil and Asphalt
Death Due to Flooding
Death Due to Fluctuations in Salinity
Death When Bodies of Water Dry Up
Overcrowding of Animals during Drought
Death Due to Hunting
Death Due to Cold
Death on Ice
Laws Governing Positions of Recent and Fossil Vertebrate Carcasses
Burial of Land Vertebrates in Marine
The Law of the Lower Jaw
The Passive Position of "Water Carcasses"
Displacement of Carcasses
Feeding Grounds
Partial Burial
Carcasses on Facies Boundary Lines
The Formation of Faceted Remains by Flowing Water
The Law of the Ribs
Desiccation of the Carcass
Hooked, Bent, and Curved Carcasses
The Carcass Assemblage at Smithers Lake and Its Origin
The Significance of the Climate
The Landscape at Smithers Lake
Laws Governing Formation of Strandlines
Ganois Fishes at Smithers Lake
Turtle Carcasses at Smithers Lake
Alligator Carcasses at Smithers Lake
Carcass Assemblages and Concentrations in the Geologic Past
Conclusion
Figures and Plates
References
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9780226881676
ISBN-10: 0226881679
Audience: Professional
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 296
Published: 25th July 1989
Dimensions (cm): 22.6 x 15.5  x 1.675
Weight (kg): 0.41