DOI: 10.33547/ODA-SAH.12.Kaz.14
Anomalie tafonomiczne w pochówkach ludzkich zarejestrowanych na stanowisku 12 w Kazimierzy Wielkiej (Taphonomic anomalies in human burials recorded at site 12 in Kazimierza Wielka)
by Łukasz Majchrzak 
In: Marcin M. Przybyła, Anita Szczepanek, Joanna Zagórska-Telega (eds) 2024. Kazimierza Wielka, stanowisko 12. Od neolitycznej osady do cmentarzyska z okresu wpływów rzymskich (Ocalone Dziedzictwo Archeologiczne 12), pp. 301–314. Pękowice – Kraków: Wydawnictwo Profil-Archeo.
The chapter examines the arrangement of bones in burials from site 12 in Kazimierza Wielka (Poland), employing insights from archaeothanatology and experimental studies observing the decomposition of
human bodies. A detailed analysis of the preservation or disruption of anatomical connections and the displacement of bones facilitates the partial reconstruction of the original body position, the burial’s initial
architecture (whether an empty or filled grave), and potential postmortem interactions with the remains. The burials at site 12 in Kazimierza Wielka reveal a series of taphonomic anomalies. Some of these anomalies cannot be attributed solely to natural processes, suggesting deliberate human intervention. This activity occurred after the decomposition of soft tissues and reflects one of the earliest forms of religious and magical behaviour in human culture – the fetishisation of human remains.