Taphonomy as it applies to human remains from archaeological contexts typically considers issues of preservation and diagenesis in the burial environment. Less attention has been paid to biocultural taphonomic factors including excavation techniques, expertise of excavators, and post-excavation treatment. The ways in which human remains are transported from the field to the lab and long-term storage area; effects of field conservation; how skeletons are cleaned, stored, and organized; the degree to which excavation records and osteological analyses are documented; and the management and maintenance of collections over time all have substantial impact on the ability to evaluate and contextualize them. Examples drawn from fieldwork and study of human remains from Cyprus, Egypt, Sudan, and the USA confront these human-induced taphonomic factors. Insufficient expertise and planning for storage and ongoing care of human remains may lead to missing or damaged skeletal elements, mixing, loss of provenience information, and limited accessibility. Best practices are recommended, even where locally available materials are limited. All archaeological projects in which human burials are anticipated must include experienced bioarchaeologists in fieldwork and study to minimize damage and loss of information and to ensure ethical treatment of human remains at all stages.

Taphonomy 适用于考古背景下的人类遗骸，通常考虑埋葬环境中的保存和成岩问题。对生物培养 taphonomic 因素的关注较少，包括挖掘技术、挖掘机的专业知识和挖掘后处理。人类遗骸从野外运输到实验室和长期存放区的方式;田间保护的影响;如何清理、储存和组织骨架;发掘记录和骨学分析的记录程度;以及随着时间的推移对馆藏的管理和维护，都会对评估和情境化的能力产生重大影响。从对塞浦路斯、埃及、苏丹和美国的人类遗骸的实地考察和研究中得出的例子面临着这些人为诱导的 taphonomic 因素。人类遗骸的储存和持续护理专业知识和规划不足，可能导致骨骼元件缺失或损坏、混合、来源信息丢失以及可及性受限。建议采用最佳实践，即使在当地可用的材料有限的情况下也是如此。所有预计会进行人类埋葬的考古项目都必须包括经验丰富的生物考古学家进行实地考察和研究，以尽量减少损害和信息损失，并确保在各个阶段对人类遗骸的道德处理。